Just got the Cobalt 8M. Huge fan of the Argon 8 37, so I actually like the fact that the layout is similar, which makes navigation really easy.
First impressions are very good. I do feel VA is a bit of a limiting term. You start with the basic analog waves, but with all of the algorithms and modifiers, you immediately end up with sounds that are nothing like a traditional analog poly. And I love that. I think what makes Modal unique is they give you all of these crazy wavefolding/waveshaping capacities, but they simplify how you reach your destination. And to me that’s what makes their stuff so good. It’s a goldilocks zone of creativity. I have a Hydrasynth, which gives you six parameters for controlling oscillator sync, for example. That’s incredibly flexible, but I prefer the Modal approach, which is to curate your options without limiting the variety of sounds you can create. You get two knobs for an osc sync algorithm, but there are endless variations within those two knobs.
This makes patch creation so much easier in comparison to any other complex synth I’ve had. They make synths for musicians, not engineers.
Regarding the sequencer, I don’t really understand why the step mode recorder has 64 steps while real time recorder has 512. Could you clarify this (if you used it ) ?
Just picked up the 37 key version. I like it quite a bit. The build quality, feel, and usability are all excellent.
I’m a little confused by the filter. It seems that the frequency range is limited for some patches, where even at the lowest cutoff there’s still quite a broad bandwidth, while for others it cuts the sound completely at the lowest cutoff. Is the cutoff range restricted by the mod settings on some patches, perhaps?
The sound of the filter is not what I’m accustomed to, but I’ll withhold judgement until I’ve spent more time with it.
Could the filter morph be turned up a little bit? From memory it morphs from lowpass to bandpass, so if that was turned up a little bit I can imagine it would change the slope of the lowpass
You have different Filters. Hold the Patch button and turn the Cutoff encoder to control the Filter type.
Edit : from the manual :
COBALT8 has a 4-pole morphable ladder filter, with switchable configurations
• Cutoff : This parameter controls the filter cutoff frequency. This affects the cutoff frequency of the filter, from 0Hz up to 22kHz.
• Reso : This parameter controls the amount of resonance of the filter.
• Morph : This encoder changes the frequency response of the filter. See below for how this control morphs each of the different filter types.
• Type : Holding the ‘Patch/Seq’ button and turning the Cutoff encoder selects the current type of the filter.
The filter types available are :
Resonant Low Pass - Morphs 4-pole lowpass, through bandpass, to 1-pole lowpass
Balanced Low Pass - Morphs 4-pole lowpass, through bandpass, to 1-pole lowpass
Balanced High Pass - Morphs 4-pole highpass, through notch, to 1-pole highpass
Balanced Phase - Morph controls the width and depth of the dual notches
The Resonant Low Pass filter type is designed to maximise resonance response.
The Balanced Filter types lose less low end frequencies at high resonance settings, with the
trade off that resonance is reduced when sweeping the cutoff towards lower frequencies.
A keytracking designation could also prevent the filters from closing all the way (since they would only close to the key whose frequency they are tied to).
I want the Synth to Receive (Rx) on MIDI Channel 5 but to Transmit (Tx) on Channel 10 as I want to play my others Synths with the Cobalt8 Keyboard on the Auto Channel of the Digitakt.
Is it possible cause right now, nothing points out in that direction.
It’s the MAIN reason why I bought this Synth : to have a Keyboard to play all my Desktop Synths.
) ?
. Clarification done.