Player Mode Virtual Guitarist CARBON

Style Selector

Here you choose a STYLE – the selection of phrases accessible via the Style Phrases range on the keyboard.

Style Selector

A STYLE in Virtual Guitarist CARBON is a collection of phrases that you “ask” your guitar player to play. Styles are the “rhythmic vocabulary” of Virtual Guitarist CARBON, which is why we have included over 50 of them.

You can select styles by either clicking the arrows of the Style Selector to skip to the previous/next style, or by clicking the name of the current Style to bring up the full list.

Style List

Every Style is a set of eleven phrases. You can select them from the Style Phrases area of the Interactive or MIDI keyboard.

In many Styles, Phrases are ordered by intensity/density from left to right, with white keys playing the actual phrases and black keys providing fills.

Common Phrases

Common Phrases

The lower left of the MIDI keyboard (C1 – F2) is reserved for a collection of so-called Common Phrases. These phrases are “hard-wired” and won’t change with the STYLE selection. Common Phrases complement the Style Phrases by patterns that are more generic and applicable to multiple contexts.

Note: Virtual Guitarist CARBON lets you switch phrases in real-time without interrupting the performance. That’s a great way to create dynamic and interesting phrasings of your own by quickly switching phrase keys.

Special keys

Within the Common Phrase range, certain keys have special functions:

• The lowest key of the Common Phrase range (C1) is the Silent key – it will keep playback running, just with an empty phrase. Use it to create temporary gaps without restarting phrases.
• The keys C#1 and D#2 play an open and muted long note and end the performance. Handy for a simple ending.
• “Black” keys from F#1 to D#2 play Shreds – these are super-fast note successions almost impossible to play on a keyboard. Use them in quick alternation to spice up your phrases. Notice that Shreds keys are temporary – Shreds just get played as long as you hold the key.

Reference of Common Phrases

Style Phrases

Style Phrases

Keys in the F#2-E3 range play phrases of the currently selected Style. There are 11 phrases in each Style, which you can freely combine with the Common Phrases.

Stop Key

The highest key of the Style Range – F3 – is the Stop key. In Latch mode, pressing this key will stop playback.

Single/Chords Mode

Single/Chords Mode Selector

Essentially, the Single and Chords Modes are optimized for two different scenarios:

• Use the Single Mode for melodic riffs and melodies. In Single Mode, the Legato feature of Instrument mode is enabled and you can only play one note at a time.
• Use the Chords Mode for power chords or a mix of melodic and power chords. Chords Mode lets you play up to four notes at the same time, although with a low guitar like CARBON you will probably hardly ever play more than two or three. In Chords Mode, the Legato feature is disabled.

Key

Key Selector with menu

The Key parameter forces any note you play on the keyboard to notes of the selected scale. This comes in particularly handy when you use pad controllers to play Carbon, or when you are not a prolific keyboard player.

• Click between the arrows or on the current key denominator to change the key.

Play Range

Play Range on the Interactive Keyboard

The right section of the keyboard is the one that actually starts and stops the guitar performance and determines the notes or melodies your guitar player will play.

Because of the nature of the instrument, CARBONs note range is significantly lower than that of a standard guitar – extending 10 semitones lower than the regular E to a F#, covering exactly 3 octaves. This provides for a large palette of playing styles, from bass riffs to super-evil low power chords to regular power chords to melodic riffs and even simple melodies.

Transposing Phrases

When you transpose recorded or dropped MIDI notes from CARBON in your DAW, always make sure to not use the Transpose parameter for the track, but to manually transpose only the notes of the Play Range, as otherwise you will transpose articulation or phrase select notes as well.

If you know you’re going to be experimenting with transposition, you could record or split notes and select keys to two separate tracks and only transpose the note range track.