French synth developers XILS-Lab have gone one step beyond in their latest release. Not content with already offering the brilliant EMS VCS3 emulation in the XILS 3, they’ve now produced the never-before-released EMS VCS4. And when I say never-before-released I don’t just mean in plugin form, I mean in real life – it never got past the prototype stage. In fact, only two were ever made, one of which belongs to Matt Black from Coldcut.

At a very basic level, a VCS4 is two VCS3s, a keyboard, a mixer and a signal processing unit all in one handy case, but XILS-Lab have completely interlinked the two VCS3s making them operate in serial or side by side, and also coupled them with the famous 256 analogue polysequencer. Also throwing in a whole host of effects and performance controls and features this looks to be a very comprehensive update to one of the rarest synthesizers never made.

Available now as a 32- and 64-bit-compatible virtual instrument and effects plug-in for Mac (AAX, AU, RTAS, VST) and Windows (AAX, RTAS, VST), if you buy direct from XILS-Lab before the 17th June you can take advantage of a special introductory offer that a discounted price of €149, a free eLicenser USB dongle, and a free copy of the XILISTICS preset bank! Full details can be found on the XILS 4 product page where you can also find full audio and video demos.