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Touchpad

COBALT5S contains a multi-axis, pressure-sensitive, highly-configurable touchpad for applying 
modulation and pitch bend.

The touchpad has five axes - X+, X-, Y+, Y-, Z / pressure - each of which are modulation 
sources in the COBALT5S modulation matrix.

The touchpad can be set to one of five modes and contains various other settings for 
configuring the exact behaviour and response.

Touch Modes

The touchpad can be set to one of five modes for configuring the XY position behaviour and 
pitch bend generation.
 

• 

Pitch Bend + Mod (default):

 Absolute 4-axis XY position, X+ / X- generates pitch bend

• 

Mod:

 Absolute 4-axis XY position, no pitch bend generation

• 

Dyn Pitch Bend + Mod:

 Dynamic relative 4-axis XY position, X+ / X - generates pitch 

bend

• 

Dyn Mod:

 Dynamic relative 4-axis XY position, no pitch bend generation

• 

Classic XY:

 Absolute 2-axis XY position (X+ / Y+ only), no pitch bend generation

The ‘Absolute’ modes behave in the same way as most other 4-axis touchpads - e.g. press in 
the centre to generate a central value, press in the top right corner to generate an X+ and Y+ 
value, and so on. 

However with the ‘Dynamic relative’ modes the value that is generated is relative from the 
position of the initial press - the XY position of the initial press generates a central value which 
is then dynamically scaled from this position as you move your finger. For example - press 
anywhere on the left side of the touchpad to generate a central value, and then move your 
finger to the right to generate X+ values where the full X+ range is scaled from the start 
position to the right-side edge of the touchpad. 

This behaviour can be useful for a number of reasons:

• 

If you always want to start from a central / 0 value, this behaviour means you don’t have 
to worry about pressing on the centre of the touchpad

• 

If you only want to control one side of the X or Y axis with each touch, this behaviour can 
provide you with up to 2x the physical range for controlling an X or Y axis

Touchpad

While the majority of the available Touch Modes give you access to all 4 XY axes (bipolar), the 
‘Classic XY’ mode gives you access to X+ and Y+ (unipolar) only but behaves like the more 
traditional XY touchpads that you may be more familiar with.

Primarily the Touch Mode is a global settings (found on the “Settings - UI & Controls” screen 
page) for setting your preferred behaviour that will be applied to all patches.
However, there is also the option to give each patch its own mode. This “Patch Mode” option 
can be found on the “Touchpad” screen page where, when set to “Global”, it uses the global 
settings value.

Touchpad Lock

By default, when you release a touch the generated value resets back to the central / 0 value.

However, if you enable the ‘Lock’ performance parameter (using the ‘Shift + Oct+’ button 
combo, or using the screen parameter) the generated value will ‘lock’ to the last position on 
touch release. 

By default, this ‘lock’ functionality only applies to the X and Y axes, however using the “Touch 
Z Locking” global setting you can enable Z locking so that the Z axis / pressure value will lock 
to the hardest pressed force value.

MIDI Output

By default the touchpad sends the following MIDI messages to the MIDI outputs:

• 

X+ / X-: 

pitch bend (if using a pitch bend Touch Mode), or CC 116 / CC 117 (if using a 

mod-only or classic XY Touch Mode)

• 

Y+ / Y-:

 CC 1 (Mod Wheel) / CC 118

• 

Z:

 CC 11 (Expression)

However Pitch Bend, Mod Wheel, and Expression messages can be disabled using global 
settings to help prevent conflicts with external MIDI devices.

Summary of Contents for Cobalt 5S

Page 1: ...1 Modal COBALT5S 5 voice polyphonic extended virtual analogue synthesiser User Manual OS Version 1 1...

Page 2: ...spilt onto or come into contact with the apparatus In the event this should happen remove power from the unit immediately and seek expert assistance This apparatus produces sound that could cause per...

Page 3: ...s LFOs Arpeggiator Sequencer FX Modulation Keyboard Voice Audio Output Gain Touchpad Settings 04 MIDI MIDI Implementation Chart MPE Polychain 05 Update 06 MODALapp Getting Started Main Editor Preset M...

Page 4: ...be accessed independently or all three simultaneously on board COBALT5S also boasts a hugely powerful Mod Matrix with eight assignable slots and four additional fixed routes 11 mod sources and 41 des...

Page 5: ...h 11 modulation sources and 41 modulation destinations Specification Sequencer and Arpeggiator Polyphonic Real time and Step sequencer with 512 notes and four recordable editable parameter animations...

Page 6: ...olycarbonate enclosure Monochrome OLED display for instant visual feedback at all times of playing editing Power Power DC 9 0V 1 5A centre positive or USB bus powered Editor Software Free MODALapp sof...

Page 7: ...een using the two detented encoders These two switched encoders are located either side of the screen are used for screen navigation and control and can be clicked to either switch mode or trigger mod...

Page 8: ...s the Patch or Seq switch to return to the Preset page and use the Preset Edit encoder to scroll through presets Click this encoder if Preset Auto Load is not enabled on the desired preset to load it...

Page 9: ...dd pattern notes or press the Edit switch to add a rest to the pattern Hold the Patch switch and turn the Division encoder to control Arp Gate Keyboard Voice Hold the Patch switch and press the Mix en...

Page 10: ...n is displaying the Reset option press the Edit switch and follow the confirm instructions to reset all global settings to the factory default settings Please note that this will also reset the Main V...

Page 11: ...u Arp Seq Out MIDI in Oct Offset MIDI in Monitor Settings UI Screen Brightness Screen Switch Mode Screensaver Idle Time LEDs Brightness Keyboard Local Velocity Curve Aftertouch Curve TP Global Mode TP...

Page 12: ...ormally Closed pedals must be connected before powering on the device and disconnected after powering off the device in order to work correctly If your sustain pedal has a polarity switch we recommend...

Page 13: ...24 25 03 Synthesis engine...

Page 14: ...to cycle through the different Voice Modes Algorithms The available algorithms on COBALT5S include a variety of complex analogue synthesis techniques built in cross modulation SYNC RM and many more PW...

Page 15: ...in musical intervals Algorithms Fractal Saw Complex sync with un quantised control over ratio A and and an asymmetry control B that allows every second cycle of the wave to have a different sync rati...

Page 16: ...and turning the Cutoff encoder selects the current type of the filter The filter types available are Resonant Low Pass Morphs 4 pole lowpass through bandpass to 1 pole lowpass Balanced Low Pass Morphs...

Page 17: ...elease the key The envelope then enters the release phase Release Holding the Shift button or when latched in shift mode and turning this encoder controls the time passing from the moment you leave a...

Page 18: ...s an intuitive programmable arpeggiator The speed of the arpeggiator is controlled by the current clock which can either be received from the sync in port external MIDI or from the internal clock in C...

Page 19: ...e current sequencer step and repeats it like a beat repeater When the Preset Edit switch is released the sequencer carries on from the location it should have been before the step was repeated so it w...

Page 20: ...ed value When the cursor is over an animator value parameter changes panel or MIDI will assign an animation lane and or set the highlighted value Sequencer Overdub While the sequencer is playing press...

Page 21: ...tedly will play back the sequence as programmed playing note 61 will play the sequence back 1 semitone higher than programmed Great when used in conjunction with the Arp Arp octave controls playing ba...

Page 22: ...engine s audio output with the pre FX signal When set to minimum only the dry signal will be heard When set to maximum only the FX engine s signal will be heard Delay A Delay Time This parameter cont...

Page 23: ...Mod button is pressed a second time Note An LED flashing is used to indicate that the panel is in assign mode for the related function to that LED Press the Mod button repeatedly without selecting a...

Page 24: ...q LFO1 Rate X X X X X LFO2 Rate X LFO1 Shape X X X X X LFO2 Shape X LFO1 Depth X X X X X LFO2 Depth X Cutoff X Reso Morpth FEG Attack X FEG Sustain X FEG Release X FEG Amount X AEG Attack X AEG Decay...

Page 25: ...Polyphonic voice mode for the current patch 5 voice true polyphonic path into a stereo FX engine input Unison Monophonic voice modes where multiple voices are stacked and detuned the number reflects...

Page 26: ...s If you always want to start from a central 0 value this behaviour means you don t have to worry about pressing on the centre of the touchpad If you only want to control one side of the X or Y axis w...

Page 27: ...range in semitones for both MIDI in Pitch Bend messages and the Touchpad X axes Note If MPE Mode is enabled then this sets the pitch bend range MPE master channel messages only where the MPE Pitch Ben...

Page 28: ...r the upper range of values of the aftertouch response or select Heavy or Very Heavy if you want more control over the lower range of values of the aftertouch response Settings Sequencer Metronome Ena...

Page 29: ...nsmitting MIDI Expression messages MIDI CC 11 to the MIDI outputs You may want to disable this behaviour if the COBALT5S is connected to other synthesisers that responds to MIDI Expression messages To...

Page 30: ...thesiser to a USB port and it will show up as a MIDI input and output device in any software that supports external MIDI devices On macOS COBALT5S will show up in Midi Studio found in Applications Uti...

Page 31: ...detected the COBALT5S will continue to use whatever tempo it is internally configured to MIDI Soft Thru COBALT5S has two soft thru settings configurable from the app DIN Thru Forwards Midi received o...

Page 32: ...Osc2 Algorithm MIDI CC Implemention Chart CC Function 64 Sustain Pedal 65 66 67 Seq Length 68 Seq Mute 69 Seq Clear 70 Seq Hold 71 Seq Loop 72 Seq Record 73 74 75 Transpose 76 77 78 Swing 79 Seq Quan...

Page 33: ...e MPE instruments may not specify a Number of Channels in this case the most likely value to use here is 15 Please refer to the MPE instruments settings or documentation for more information 5 Set MPE...

Page 34: ...Settings General Polychain Master and turn this on The slave device should now be showing all voice mode LEDs lit and Polychain Slave on screen When In Polychain mode the slave COBALT5S panel is disab...

Page 35: ...to the latest version each time an update is released You can update COBALT5S using the MODALapp MODALapp is available for macOS iOS Windows and Android To find the app on your platform visit www moda...

Page 36: ...ation page to quickly view and edit the current patch modulation settings FX page for selecting and editing Chorus and Delay FX on COBALT5S Sequence page for live sequence controls and editing the 4 p...

Page 37: ...Editor This is the main section for patch design editing You will find keyboard voice oscillator filter and envelopes here The currently selected preset is shown at the top There are also options for...

Page 38: ...the exporting or importing options Exporting will copy and send all of the selected presets to the selected folder Importing will overwrite all of the selected presets in the preset manager with the p...

Page 39: ...zontal can be changed by clicking the controls on the top bar or scrolling left right Draw Mode To create some notes ensure the draw button on the top bar is highlighted this will be by default and cl...

Page 40: ...rd can be scrolled using the top scroll bar There is also access to the Arpeggiator controls and transpose chord options In the Settings Tab there are options for updating your COBALT5S to the latest...

Page 41: ...e necessary to provide a copy of the original invoice or Dealer purchase receipt to the Distributor In the event that you are unable to provide proof of purchase directly then you should contact the D...

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