Modal ElectronicsCarbon8 Experimental Digital Keyboard Synthesizer

Modal Electronics Carbon8

Modal's Carbon8 might look like the Argon8 or Cobalt8—but it features an all-new experimental sound engine designed to bring contemporary, edgy sound design to your synthesizer workflow. Like its siblings, Carbon8 is an eight-voice polyphonic digital keyboard synthesizer with a 37-key Fatar keybed; but while the others deal in virtual analog and wavetable tones, Carbon8 is all about exploring newer, edgier, more experimental means of tone shaping.

As such, it offers two oscillators per voice, each of which may select independently from a range of 40 distinct synthesis algorithms. These range from familiar techniques to considerably more complex and peculiar-sounding approaches—all giving you continuously variable control over the waveshape. This ranges from simple waveshape morphing/skewing all the way to more complex enhancements of your sound's harmonic spectrum; and of course, since you can use distinct algorithms for each oscillator, you have a huge range of new tones to explore. Interestingly, the oscillators can be cross-modulated in a number of ways, including ring modulation, phase distortion, wavefolding, and more...unlocking all manner of complex, evolving, and even inharmonic tones.

The oscillator and mixer section are followed by a filter section. Here, you'll find familiar filter types from Modal's prior offerings—but you'll also find a new vocal filter, among other novel offerings. The modulation section has been significantly overhauled: you get three LFOs, each with their own complex and unique shapes and continuous shape morphing controls. All in all, the unifying theme behind Carbon8 is transformation: and indeed, it offers you many simultaneous dimensions of transformation in even a single patch.

The familiar keyboard and joystick controller and complemented by a complex sequencer and arpeggiator, bringing additional life and animation to your playing. And of course, the app-based editor makes it simple to get into the weeds, offering easy access to all of Carbon8's internal parameters. If you're looking to add a new sonic edge to your productions—if the world of conventional wavetables and virtual analog techniques don't give you the grit that you need—take a look at Carbon8. It's a dream machine for evolving textures, grinding drones, harsh pads, and nuanced exploration of the outer edges of sound design.

Carbon8 Features

• Experimental digital synthesizer
• Eight voices of polyphony
• 37-key Fatar keybed with 2-axis assignable joystick controller
• Each voice features two distinct oscillators, a mixing section, and a complex filter
• 40 oscillator algorithms designed for edgy, modern timbres
• Variable waveshape controls
• Independent algorithm selection per oscillator
• Inter-oscillator cross modulation types including ring modulation, wavefolding, waveshaping, phase distortion, and more
• Over 30 distinct filter types—including a new vowel filter
• Morphing filter type options
• Complex LFO shapes with continuously variable shape controls, one-shot modes, and more
• Integrated effect processor for adding depth to your sounds
• 512-step sequencer and arpeggiator section from the familiar Cobalt8 and Argon8 synthesizers