I had seen Carbon Electra advertised a lot over the past year or so and never really took much interest in it. The reason being is I thought how many synths do you actually need to own. I mean they all essentially do the same thing. There are exception like Xfer Serum that just take sound design to the next level. Carbon Electra always looked to be very similar to everything else I had. I saw it was on sale at 40% off and figured at that price even if I use it only once it’ll be worth it.
So I downloaded, installed and was quite honestly blown away with how it sounded. Controls wise was very similar to everything else I’ve used, so navigation around the synth was simple. Where the instrument gets interesting is how it sounds. I instantly thought this sounds a little like my Arturia Minibrute, which if you’ve used before will know how good it sounds. For a soft synth to be compared to sounding like an analogue beast is quite a compliment. Much like the minibrute the more you distort and saturate the sound the better it gets. Rich in harmonics and full of bite in the top end. Which really did surprise me as this is not something you associate with a soft synth.
Artists Presets By:
- Mike Huckaby
- Kosheen
- Freemasons
- Carl Cox
- DJ Pierre
- D Product
- Rob Lee
- Dom Kane
- Timo Garcia
Features
- Powerful synth engine that is easy to learn and use with no hidden menus
- 4 Analog style sync-able oscillators with adjustable pulse width, frequency modulation, oscillator unison and multiple wave types including pitch-able noise
- Ability to run the amp section “too hot” into the built-in optional limiter at the main output, creating a modern hyper-compressed sound
- Super flexible unison control ranging from subtle warmth to massive super saw or super square sound
- Multiple stereo width parameters allowing high precision control of the stereo field
- Ability to faithfully recreate classic analog sequences and acid lines with a modern twist by using note sequencer, editable nodes and unique filter modes
- Create aggressive tones with the all-new distortion modes and oscillator unison
6 Filter Types (with different modes) Including Powerful Vocal Filter with Filter Drive and various saturation types
Over 800 Factory Presets Covering Sequences, Acid, Chords, Motions, Bass, Leads, Keys, Pads & Effects
Simple, Incredibly Usable and Useful FX Section, Like Having a Bunch of Great Guitar Pedals
Editable Step Sequencer Can be Assigned to Note (allowing rests, ties and slides), Pitch, Volume and Cut-Off with Various Wave Types & Edit Mode Allowing Node Creation and Line Curve
New Features in Version 1.5
- New sequencer function for step envelope: Includes an extended 28 semitone range and rests with support for pitch sweeps, legato glide and envelope re-trigger. Create analog style note recordings with a modern twist.
- All new classic analog style filter modes: Sallen-Key 12dB Low Pass Filter, 6dB Band Pass Filter and 6dB High Pass Filter and Soft OTA 24dB Low Pass Filter. New filter modes allow a wider range of tones from smooth crunchiness to screaming self-oscillation.
- True filter bypass: It is also now possible to bypass (disable) the filter for raw oscillator timbres.
- New Distortion mode: Provides brighter, harsher and in-your-face distortion without overdrive muddiness.
- Oscillator 1 FM modulation switch: Easily create classic FM sounds.
- Step Envelope Menu: Step Envelope context menu (right-click on Step Envelope text) with copy, paste and other features eases graph editing and makes it possible to easily copy data between presets.
- Over one hundred and fifty new presets: Exclusive to Carbon Electra 1.5 – new presets using all the new features and including ACID, SEQUENCE, LEAD AND FX banks
- Mousewheel functionality implemented on MacOS
Review Quotes:
- ‘A very powerful synth with a character of its own, the envelope step sequencer is one of the most clever additions I’ve seen.’ Producer Spot
- ‘A digital beast perfectly easy to approach, yet complex for your sound design needs. A focused instrument geared for the modern producer.’ Ask Audio Mag
- ‘Carbon Electra has a sonic richness, the raw oscillators are fat, buzzy and especially delicious in the lower octaves. The precision and clarity of modern VA synthesizers with the wild aggressive nature of an analogue beast.’ Bedroom Producers Blog
- ‘The synth’s sounds definitely cut through mixes. Basses really bring the bottom end of mixes to life and some of the leads and incidental effects add angles to tracks I can only dream of.’ MusicTech
- ‘An easy to use synth with stunning visuals and incredible sound.’ Computer Music Academy
- ‘Directly from a future: a modern aggressive sound with best step sequencer ever and lots of presets from star producers.’ Sound Bytes Mag
- ‘Carbon Electra steps up the game. This synth is a goldmine. Lush pads, wicked bass and leads that melt your brain.’ Nine to Five
- ‘Carbon Electra is a great sounding, versatile, powerful and easy-to-use synth with a massive library of presets that will be an asset to anyone aiming to create interesting electronic music — it’s great for novices and pros alike.’ DJ Mag
- ‘Carbon Electra does a great job on combining analogue features and modern graphical tools within one interface. Programmers should be able to create a wide range of vintage-style noises with it.’ Sound On Sound
System Requirements
Mac
- OS X 10.7 or later (OS X 10.13 is recommended)
Formats:
- AU – Audio Units (64-bit)
- VST 2.4 (64-bit)
Windows
- Windows 7 SP1 (Direct2D) or newer
Formats:
- VST 2.4 (64-bit)
Note: Carbon Electra is compatible with most major DAW platforms, and is available for both PC and Mac computers.
