Xils Lab Memorytone Review: A Deep, Flexible Memorymoog Emulation
I spent an afternoon with the Xils Labs Memorytone, building a complete track from start to finish using nothing but this one synth. This Xils Labs Memorytone review covers my genuine first impressions of the sound, workflow, presets, effects, and the features that make it stand out.
Xils Labs describes Memorytone as one of its most ambitious instruments to date, and after spending a few hours with it, I can see why. It takes inspiration from a legendary polyphonic analog synth, but adds enough modern flexibility to make it much more than a straightforward software recreation.
What Is Xils Labs Memorytone?
Memorytone is Xils Labs’ interpretation of the legendary Memorymoog, originally introduced in 1982. The hardware instrument combined six polyphonic analog voices with three oscillators per voice, creating the huge, harmonically rich sound that made it so desirable — and notoriously expensive.
Memorytone recreates the core character and architecture of that instrument in software while significantly expanding what it can do. You get the familiar three-oscillator approach, but with increased polyphony, modern modulation possibilities, built-in effects, and several performance features that would have been impossible on the original hardware.
“From an emulation point of view, this is very well done. Good job.”
Full disclosure: Xils Labs provided me with a copy of Memorytone for the video this article is based on. Before recording, I played exactly one note to make sure the plugin loaded correctly. Everything else — including the sounds, workflow, and opinions in this review — came from using it for the first time while making the track.
Xils Labs Memorytone: Key Features
Memorytone comes with a substantial feature set:
- Up to 16-voice polyphony with three oscillators per voice
- Three oscillators per voice with combined waveforms, oscillator sync, and pulse-width control
- Polyphonic glide for independently sliding notes within chords
- Dedicated filter, envelope, mixer, and noise-generator sections
- Built-in chorus, flanger, delay, and reverb
- Flexible modulation and signal-routing options for more complex sound design
- A large preset browser covering basses, pads, leads, keys, plucks, strings, bells, drums, effects, and more
- Presets inspired by and carried over from the original Memorymoog factory library
Individually, many of those features are familiar territory for a modern software synthesizer. What makes Memorytone interesting is how they work together. Three oscillators per voice, generous polyphony, and particularly the polyphonic glide give it a personality that becomes obvious as soon as you start playing chords and building patches.
“It’s broader, it has more palette — and that’s good news, because there are millions of Memorymoog-style clones out there, but this one is way more flexible and has much more potential.”
Sound Quality and Preset Library
The Memorytone preset browser is well organized and genuinely enjoyable to explore. Categories include bass, pads, leads, keys, plucks, strings, bells, voice, sound effects, drums, and tuned percussion, so it is easy to jump straight to the type of sound you need.
The overall quality is consistently strong. I found convincing classic brass-style basses alongside much fatter modern electronic low end, deep analog drones, warm string-machine textures, and some particularly characterful bells and plucks.
Several third-party sound designers have also contributed presets, and some of those patches were among my favorites in the entire library. They help demonstrate that Memorytone is capable of going well beyond traditional vintage-synth territory.
The inclusion of sounds based on the original Memorymoog factory presets is another welcome touch. If you are curious about the instrument that inspired Memorytone, these patches provide an immediate connection to its hardware roots before you start exploring the more modern side of the plugin.
Making a Track With Memorytone in Ableton Live
Rather than simply clicking through presets, I wanted to see how Memorytone behaved in a real production. I built a short electro-leaning track in Ableton Live, using Memorytone for bass, chords, pads, and lead sounds across several tracks.
The standout feature for me was easily the polyphonic glide.
With a short envelope attack and a long glide time — I pushed it towards 700 milliseconds at one point — you can hold one chord and slide into another while the individual notes move independently. The result is a smeared, almost unstable texture that sounds fantastic for evolving pads and atmospheric chord progressions.
It is the kind of effect that immediately inspires musical ideas rather than simply adding another parameter to tweak. Layering that glide with a slow phaser gave me a constantly moving pad sound that effectively suggested its own arrangement.
Built-In Effects
The effects section is useful and straightforward. The chorus, flanger, and delay all worked exactly as I hoped and made it easy to add width, movement, and space without leaving the plugin.
The one area I was less convinced by was the built-in reverb. It is perfectly usable, but to my ears it could sound a little fuller and more spacious. On some of the pad sounds, I eventually reached for an external granular reverb to create the larger atmosphere I wanted.
That is largely a matter of taste rather than a serious criticism. The core synth already sounds strong enough that replacing or supplementing the reverb is easy if you have a favorite third-party option.
How Well Does Memorytone Sit in a Mix?
One of the biggest surprises was how easily multiple instances of Memorytone worked together.
I had several tracks running simultaneously — including bass, chords, pads, and lead sounds — with no EQ or additional corrective processing, and they still occupied their own space surprisingly well.
“I have not used any EQ at all, no extra processing — and the overall composition still sits together quite good.”
That matters because some large analog-style synths can sound fantastic in isolation but become difficult to manage once several instances are stacked together. Memorytone has plenty of weight and character, but it did not feel excessively dominant or muddy when I started building the arrangement.
For anyone who likes creating entire tracks from a single instrument, that is a significant advantage.
Memorytone Ease of Use and Workflow
I never opened the manual.
Within a minute or two of clicking around, I had a good understanding of the main interface. The preset browser, oscillators, mixer, filter, envelopes, and effects are all laid out logically, so it is easy to move from selecting presets to editing them and eventually building sounds from scratch.
“It is very easy to use, and this is sometimes a big plus. Nowadays people tend to go overboard with parameters — this one has a very simple interface.”
That accessibility is impressive considering how much is happening under the hood. Memorytone gives you three oscillators per voice, extensive polyphony, modulation options, effects, and features such as polyphonic glide without burying everything underneath endless pages of parameters.
Experienced sound designers still have plenty to explore, but you do not need to understand every part of the architecture before you can start making useful sounds.
Who Is Xils Labs Memorytone For?
Memorytone should particularly appeal to producers who enjoy analog-style polysynths, synthwave, electro, ambient music, cinematic textures, electronic pop, and evolving pad sounds.
It can certainly handle traditional basses and leads, but I think its biggest strengths become apparent when you start working with chords, movement, detuning, modulation, and glide.
“This is a workhorse, I would say. It sounds great, and Xils Labs did a fantastic job.”
If you already own several vintage-inspired software synths, the question is naturally whether you need another one. For me, the combination of its three-oscillator architecture, generous polyphony, preset library, and especially the polyphonic glide gives Memorytone enough of its own identity to justify a closer look.