That is correct. Electric organs, electric pianos, clavinets. Things like that.
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The main Modal webpage says this:
Shape your sound
Three flexible audio-rate (2 x polyphonic) LFOs can be routed to a massive amount of destinations using the modulation matrix and sync to internal or external tempo.
Is that what you’re talking about ? I realize audio-rate can mean different things when talking about LFOs. There’s a big difference between 400 Hz and 10,000 Hz, that detail I didn’t find.
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Oh, if you’ve never seen this feature before:
(I chose Loopop because Loopop is good at clarity, but he doesn’t choose the most exciting example.)
The audio rate LFOs in Argon8 can be synced to the frequency of the note being played. This is a tremendously powerful sound-shaping tool (you essentially get another oscillator per voice capable of audio rate modulation), so if the Cobalt8 has two of these polyphonic LFOs to the Argon8’s one…
Oddly, the manual does not confirm that they maintain this feature from Argon8 (I checked the Cobalt8 manual’s description of the LFOs against the Argon8 manual, where the feature is explicitly mentioned). Any clarification there @ModalElectronics?
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I’ve been wondering where the Loopop Co8 video is— he’s often the first one out. (Not a complaint, Loopop works so ncredibly hard !)
Any other big name video mia ?
I often like vids done by Daniel Fisher at Sweetwater, he can get into technical stuff but still have a musical relevance. He did a video for the Argon but i haven’t seen one for the Cobalt yet.
I know it’s still early on.
Exactly, and it’s why I made this video a few days after I got my Argon8…
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I’m surprised I haven’t heard more talk about the filter differences between the A8 and C8. 2 pole vs 4 pole makes a huge difference in sound. It’s also a bit frustrating that you can’t have both in one synth…
First of all, thanks for your interest. COBALT8 uses two osc groups with up to 4 oscillators each (a total of up to 64 oscillators for 8 voices). Off course, they generate the standard waveforms we all love, but each osc group can be equipped with one of the 34 algorithms individually, which provide a wide range of possible sounds. On top, the morphable 4-pole ladder filter adds another layer of versatility to the sound. These features lead to very unique sounds and differentiate COBALT8 from other synths available.
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Any video’s showing all the algoritms coming up?
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Some more sounds, wasn’t posted before:
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Thanks so much for responding and for being so specific. One last thing: to what degree is the Argon8’s wavetable synthesis incorporated into the Cobalt8’s architecture?
It is not. No wavetables in Cobalt8
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Hi Scrypt, Wavetable synthesis is a different concept based on (dynamically) scanning a sampled wave, whereas virtual-analogue synth oscillators are generating a classic waveform digitally. The 34 algorithms in COBALT8 are also generated digitally - so, very different sound generation architectures.
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@ModalElectronics Can you give more details on the LFOs? How far up into audio rate do they go? Is it possible to have them pitch-track the keyboard for FM?
Thank you. I know the difference between wavetable synthesis and analog modeling, but I was hoping that the Cobalt8 might have incorporated wavetable synthesis to some degree. I understand why that might have been impractical or undesirable, but I wouldn’t have assumed the architecture had to be pure when we live in an age of hybrids.
Hi t, LFO’s are 0 - 18 Hz Using the normal rate range. However using the clock sync’ed rates, they will go faster. e.g. at 295 bpm with 1/64 division, its around 78Hz. You can modulate the rate by note but there is no LFO Frequency tracking available.
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Thank you for clarifying. Argon8’s LFO2 is about 100 times faster under normal conditions (if I’m doing my math right 
) and guessing it will stay a unique feature of the Argon8?
Best regards,
Gino
Hmmm, that’s a shame. When I read “audio rate” in the website spiel I assumed it would be a bit more audio rate that 78Hz.
Is there a technical reason why you don’t make the lfo’s track at audio rates? Audio rate modulation is kind of awesome on almost all parameters.
I would guess audio rate LFOs use more CPU, I think modulation in virtual synths is sometimes computed at a lower sample rate than the audio is generated at, in order to save on processing. Could be wrong though. There are probably also weird edge cases with artefacts and stuff when you modulate a parameter really quickly.
Thanks for clarifying the LFO thing. In that case I have a feature request for the addition of a few nice FM oscillator models in a future update!