Amp Stacks and Sound section Virtual Guitarist CARBON

Amp Stacks and Sound Section

The left two thirds of the mid section in CARBONs user interface let you set up and tweak the guitar sound using a bunch of innovative, powerful controls.

Condition

Condition Selector

You can tell we didn’t want to call this selector “Amp Select”, as it would not do justice to what it actually is. We deliberately didn’t emulate real-world, physical amps or cabinets to create the Carbon Sound.

We first created that sound we wanted to go for using a literal network of real and virtual processors, distortion stages, amps, cabinets, and then built the algorithms that created that sound. We refer to them as ultra amps, as they not only go beyond the traditional amp concept in terms of distortion. But definitely distortion.

Carbons five “ultra amps” can’t be defined by terms like “British” or “American”, “Rectifier” or “Tube”. They are more like moods or different types of force, which is why we called them Conditions.

There are five of them available in CARBON, representing increasing stages of rage and insanity from bottom to top:

Paranoid

A tamer, warm sound almost resembling tape saturation. The sound will become grungier with higher Severity settings, with a rich, over-rectified and fuzzy tone when pushed over the edge.

Disturbed

Typical hard rock setting with a warm and mid-based speaker array. The distortion is based on a hi-gain model that emphasizes the transients and the natural roaring sound of the low strings. Pushed over the edge using Severity adds a lot of high-frequency quality and shine.

Insane

The bridge between classical hard rock and hi-gain metal. Combines the best of both worlds in a crystal-clear, aggressive and piercing sound when pushed over the edge. Becomes less mid-heavy and a more linear distortion when turning Severity from 0 to 100%. Will easily blend into the mix but can also shine through if necessary.

Rabid

Fully-grown metal setting with aggressive hi-gain distortion, punchy bottom end and piercing high frequency quality. This is the in-your-face guitar that cuts through the mix.

Lobotomized

The most dangerous weapon of choice – the soundtrack to tearing down empires or destroying planets. At Severity settings below the red range, Lobotomized will still behave like an amp stack.

From there, you’re on your own!

Severity

Severity Knob

Like a flu or headache, CARBON conditions come in various levels of Severity too, and this knob gives you that kind of control. Technically, Severity turns up “distortion” inside the multiple amp stages.

As indicated visually, going into red range pushes the ultra amps “over the edge”, resulting in often broken, harsh, unpredictable results.

And that’s often what you’ll end up loving. “Going to 11” is cute, but so 1984.

The Severity Knob goes all the way to 666 – the number of the beast. You can take that literally.

Focus

Focus Knob

The Focus knob controls a morphing EQ. Across the range of the knob we have placed 4 distinct EQ settings, optimized for Virtual Guitarist CARBON. Instead of just switching between those settings, the Focus control lets you morph through them, allowing you to tweak CARBONs sound character before you send it into the Finisher.

Filter

Filter Knob

This is a multimode 24dB synthesizer filter specifically optimized for creating those juicy risers and intros by slowly turning the filter across a bar or two.

• Turn the knob left for a lowpass filter (gradually removing high-end frequencies), turn right for a resonant high pass (gradually removing low-end frequencies).

Apart from automating the filter, you can of course use it stationary as an extra sound-shaping parameter.