Modal Electronics CARBON8X - 8 Voice Experimental Synthesizer
PRODUCT CODE: MDE-CARBON8X
CARBON8X introduces radical new ways to create, experiment with and perform next-generation synth sounds. CARBON8X’s sound engine, twice as complex as in our acclaimed ARGON8 and COBALT8 series, embeds complex waveform algorithms and wavetables into an 8-voice superior synth engine with outstanding filter technology and exciting LFO capabilities.
To complement the innovative CARBON8X sound generation, we added unparalleled modulation options, an inspiring real-time / step sequencer, the energising arpeggiator, the Premium FATAR 61-note keyboard, MPE, studio-quality effects and MODALapp integration. CARBON8X is the ideal synth for everyone who wants to leave everyday synth experiences and endeavor the raw and exciting world of contemporary sound dimensions.
Raw and Bold Sound Sources
CARBON8X provides two high-powered oscillators with 56 Cores each. They generate 18 unique high-resolution algorithms or 38 wavetables for exceptional sounds that range from aggressive and bold to ear-pleasing soft and lush tones. This extensive sonic palette empowers musicians and sound designers to sculpt everything from lush, harmonically rich strings to razor-sharp leads and dynamic basslines. The oscillators’ flexibility allows for real-time modulation and parameter tweaks, ensuring expressive performances and deeply customizable sound design. Whether exploring contemporary aggressive synth textures or lush soundscapes, CARBON8X delivers an unmatched level of sonic depth and versatility.
Mangle and Tweak
The XCore engine introduces sophisticated oscillator modifiers such as Phase Distortion and Wave-Shaping, unlocking a vast spectrum of harmonic richness and character. These advanced processing techniques allow for sophisticated manipulation of waveforms, enabling musicians to craft everything from smooth evolving pads to aggressive, cutting-edge leads. By dynamically shaping and folding waveforms, XCore brings an organic, expressive depth to synthesis, ensuring that each note resonates with clarity and detail. With this level of control, sound designers can push sonic boundaries, creating textures that range from the familiar to the entirely new and experimental.
For Filter Gourmets
The extensive filter section boasts 34 distinct filter types, ranging from vintage-inspired analog emulations to modern hybrid designs. Morphable and static variations allow seamless control over frequency shaping, adding depth and nuance to every patch. The morphable filters smoothly transition between different modes, enabling dynamic tonal shifts, while the static filters offer precision sculpting for razor-sharp frequency control. With additional parameters such as drive and resonance manipulation, the filters can add warmth, grit, or crystal-clear definition to any sound. Whether crafting deep, resonant basses, airy choir-like sounds, or biting leads, the CARBON8X’s filter section ensures unparalleled sonic flexibility and expressiveness.
Reshape and Modulate
Three high-resolution LFOs with variable waveforms, coupled with three fully independent envelope generators, provide extensive modulation possibilities. Each LFO features a range of shapes, including variable pulse width, dual-rate ramps, and tempo-synced options, allowing for rhythmic and evolving modulation effects. The envelope generators, designed for AMP, MOD, and FILTER, offer deep customization, enabling precise control over attack, decay, sustain, and release stages for expressive shaping. With 12 modulation routes and four additional fixed routings, CARBON8X delivers an expressive, evolving sound. The modulation matrix provides seamless assignment of sources and destinations, allowing for complex movement, subtle dynamic shifts, or aggressive transformations. Whether sculpting twisted rhythmic textures or sweeping cinematic synth textures, CARBON8X ensures unparalleled depth and flexibility in sound design.
Bring in some movement
The integrated 512-note Realtime / Step Sequencer with four powerful Animation Lanes invites you to compose massive and complex melodic patterns. The polyphonic step sequencer mode enables easy step input for note and animation values, allowing for exciting multi-layered compositions. With multiple playback and trigger modes, users can create evolving sequences that seamlessly adapt to performance dynamics. Coupled with the powerful onboard arpeggiator—programmable up to 32 steps—CARBON8X opens the door to boundless rhythmic and melodic exploration. Advanced features such as Chord Hold, Inversions, Transpose, and Sustain Latch further enhance creative possibilities, making it easy to generate cascading harmonies, shifting textures, and dynamic phrase variations. Whether crafting intricate polyrhythms, evolving drones , or tight, driving sequences, CARBON8X provides a performance-ready toolkit that excels in both studio production and live performance settings.
Feel the Sound
Built for both studio and stage, CARBON8X’s rugged aluminum and steel chassis ensures durability while maintaining a sleek and professional aesthetic. The premium 61-key FATAR TP9/S keybed, featuring velocity sensitivity and aftertouch, delivers a highly responsive and expressive playing experience suited for nuanced performances. Performance controls include 29 endless encoders and 24 buttons, offering precise real-time parameter adjustments for effortless sound shaping. The assignable X/Y joystick adds an extra layer of expression, enabling dynamic pitch bends, filter sweeps, and modulation depth control with intuitive, fluid movements. Additionally, multiple keyboard modes—including Mono, Poly, Unison, and Stack—provide further flexibility for crafting juicy synth patches. Designed for both studio musicians and live performers, CARBON8X offers a robust and tactile interface that enhances creative freedom and hands-on control over every aspect of your sound.
Studio-grade FX included
Enhance your sound with three independent stereo FX engines, each offering in-depth customization and professional-grade processing. With 26 high-quality effects—including rich, spacious reverbs, pristine delays, lush choruses, swirling phasers, dynamic flangers, tremolo, compressor, and EQ — CARBON8X allows you to sculpt and refine every sonic detail. The FX engines support real-time parameter tweaking, enabling deep control over effect intensity, modulation rates, feedback, and tonal shaping. Whether adding warmth and depth to pads, creating rhythmic delays for leads, or fine-tuning dynamics with compression and EQ, the onboard effects provide an essential suite of tools for both studio production and live performance.
Looking to connect
With a comprehensive set of connectivity options, CARBON8X seamlessly integrates into any studio or live performance setup. Full-size MIDI In and Out ports, along with USB-MIDI, ensure effortless communication with external hardware, DAWs, and software instruments. The inclusion of analog sync I/O allows for precise clock synchronization with modular gear, drum machines, and sequencers, making it a powerful hub for complex performance rigs. Dedicated inputs for expression and sustain pedals enable dynamic real-time control over key parameters, enhancing playability and expressiveness. For those seeking even greater sonic potential, poly-chain support allows two CARBON8X units to be linked together, expanding the total polyphony to an impressive 16 voices—ideal for lush pads, complex harmonies, and expansive cinematic patches. Whether in the studio or on stage, CARBON8X delivers the flexibility and connectivity required for modern music production and performance.
Access all Areas
With an extensive library of 500 patch slots, including 300 expertly crafted factory presets, CARBON8X offers a vast sonic playground for musicians and sound designers alike. Each patch can be fully customized, allowing for deep exploration of synthesis and personal sound creation. The synth also includes 100 user-configurable effects slots, enabling artists to store and recall their preferred FX settings instantly, whether in the studio or during live performances. Additionally, 100 sequencer presets provide instant access to complex rhythmic patterns and evolving melodic structures, perfect for adding dynamic movement to compositions.
Enjoy Peace of Mind with Our Extended 3-Year Warranty
Specification
Polyphony
True 8 voice polyphonic
MPE
Supports MPE-compatible MIDI controllers, allowing you to apply polyphonic control and expression to individual notes
Oscillators
Two independent high-resolution digital oscillators
56 complex Digital Core Waveforms per oscillator, incl. 18 Digital Algorithms and 38 sophisticated Wavetables
Advanced XCore Modifiers, incl. Wave Shape, Wave Fold, Phase Distortion, and others
Extended Oscillator Drift
Vintage Parameter
+ Digital Core Waveforms
Filter
34 resonant Filter types including morphable and static filters
Cutoff Scaling with two distinctive modes
+ Filter Types
Modulation
Three dedicated envelope generators for AMP, MOD and FILTER that can be accessed independently or all three simultaneously, including negative (reverse) versions for MOD and FILTER ENVs
Three audio-rate LFOs with tempo sync (two poly, one global) with over 15 different shapes
Eight assignable modulation slots and four additional fixed modulation routings for common assignments with 12 modulation sources and 55 modulation destinations
Sequencer and Arpeggiator
Polyphonic Real-time sequencer with 512 notes and four recordable/editable parameter animations (Delay FX, LFOs, sequencer and arpeggiator can be either clocked internally or externally)
Polyphonic Step Sequencer with 64 steps, 8 notes per step, 4 lanes of Parameter-Lock style animation, Step Input mode, multiple playback modes including gate modes and rest functionality
Built-In sophisticated programmable arpeggiator of 32 steps with rest capability with up to 2048 steps before repeating
FX
Three independent and user-configurable stereo FX engines for 26 Effects algorithms, incl. Drive, Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Tremolo, LoFi, Rotary, Stereo Delay, Ping-Pong Delay, X-Over Delay and Reverb.
User Memory
500 patch memories, all fully editable and ships with 300 factory programs
100 sequencer presets that can be linked to any patch for quickly loading arrangements
100 FX presets
8 Quick Recall slots accessible from the panel for quickly loading your favourite patches
Controls and Performance
Premium FATAR 61-key Keyboard with velocity and channel aftertouch
29 endless encoders, 24 buttons
4-axis joystick that can be assigned to a huge range of modulation destinations and virtually ‘locked’ when desired
Multiple keyboard modes, Mono, Poly, Unison 2, unison 4, unison 8,
Stack 2 and Stack 4
Glide/Portamento with both legato and staccato modes
Chord Invert control to easily create chord inversions and variations
Supports MPE-compatible MIDI controllers, allowing you to apply polyphonic control and expression to individual notes
Inputs and Outputs
6.35 mm / 1/4″ TS dual-mono line outputs
6.35 mm / 1/4″ TRS headphone output
3.5 mm / 1/8″ TRS stereo audio input
MIDI DIN In and Out
3.5 mm / 1/8″ TS Analogue clock sync In and Out
Class-compliant MIDI over USB connection
6.35 mm / 1/4″ TRS expression pedal input
6.35 mm / 1/4″ TS sustain pedal input
Enclosure and Display
Road-ready steel and aluminium enclosure with economical stained bamboo end cheeks
1.54-inch large OLED display for instant visual feedback at all times of playing/editing
Power
Power: DC-9.0V – 1.5A centre-positive
Editor Software
Free MODALapp software editor available for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android
MODALapp can also be run within your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), with VST3 and AU versions available
General
Dimensions (L x W x H): 885 x 300 x 100 mm / 34.8″ x 11.8″ x 4″
Weight: 9 kg / 19.9 lbs
Free MODALapp for immersive sound programming sessions
The free MODALapp brings the comfort of screen-based editing on your computer or mobile device. Available as a standalone app for macOS, Windows, iOS, iPadOS or Android systems and in VST3 and AU plug-in formats, it is the perfect companion for synth enthusiasts looking to deep dive into all sound forming and performance parameters to create their own signature sounds and to backup and manage patches and sequences.
