Modal Electronics Argon8 Synthesizer Series

Inspiring Wavetable Engine

At the core of the Argon8 expansive sound is its sophisticated wavetable engine, which can generate an astonishing array of sonic combinations. The Argon8 boasts true 8-voice polyphony, with each voice containing 4 high-resolution oscillators (which can be stacked for up to 32 oscillators).

The Argon8 leans on the legacy of the Modal 002 synth and inherits 4 wavetable banks from the flagship hybrid synth.

Each voice features two blendable waves (Wave 1 & Wave 2) and you have a choice of 120 carefully crafted wavetables, which are separated into 24 banks of 5 morphable wave sets. Wave 2 also features 4 additional Noise and PWM banks. The Argon8’s waves range from virtual analogue waves to harmonic sweeps to complex waveforms - it’s a true sound designer’s playground where the only limit is your imagination.

Deep Modifiers

What sets Argon8 apart from other wavetable synths is the musicality, richness and variety of its wave sets - each one is a potent sonic foundation for your patches. Using the variety of voice modes, you can closely tailor the Argon8 to the type of sound you’re aiming for. Poly delivers the full 8-voice polyphony, Stack 2/4 layer voices for thick chords and Mono/Unison are perfect for massive leads & basses.

When you’ve selected your wavetables, you can apply one of the 32 static wavetable modifiers (which includes Derez, Resample & Crush) to each Wave independently. With these modifiers, you can completely transform and redraw the waveform to create new timbres. You can also use one of the 8 oscillator modifiers (such as Phase Modulation, Hard Sync & Shaper) to evoke exciting cross-modulated patches. Wave 1 acts as the carrier and Wave 2 is the modulator.

Once you start mixing, blending and modulating the wavetables, the Argon8 starts to come into its own.

Morphable Filter

Another top-notch sound-shaping tool is the Argon 8’s morphing filter, which features a resonant 2-pole design. The Argon 8 presents 4 filter modes - Standard, Standard Notch, Classic and Classic Notch. The Standard filter is based on the one found in Modal’s SKULPTsynth & CRAFTsynth2.0 whilst the Classic filter has a more rounded character, with a softer resonance response.

When playing with the Argon 8, we recommend turning up the Drift and Voice Width parameters. They’re a quick way to add space and organicness to your sound.

The Argon 8’s filter is state-variable, which means it can blend between Low Pass, Band Pass & High Pass or Low Pass, Notch & High Pass. This design is a lot more flexible than a traditional filter and a tonne of interesting sounds can be found when blending between filter types. As you manipulate the Morph knob, the Argon 8’s OLED screen will handily indicate what state the filter is currently in.

Powerful Modulation

The Argon8 more than delivers with its trio of 4-stage envelope generators (filter, amp & mod) and dual audio-rate LFOs (one global & one polyphonic) when it comes to modulation.

Assigning one of the 11 sources to 52 destinations couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is press/hold the button of the source then turn the knob of the destination to set the depth. The bi-polar envelopes have 8 curves to choose from, allowing you to make your percussive patches snappier, elongate your evolving pads and more. Both the LFOs feature clock sync, 3 retrigger modes and blendable shapes.

An advantage of the polyphonic LFO is that it can track keyboard notes at different ratios, allowing you to create Filter FM and tuned FM patches.

When you want to start adding depth and movement to your patches, the envelopes and LFOs are at your disposal. The Argon8 features 12 modulation slots, 8 freely assignable and 4 that are fixed to common mod routings.

Intuitive Interface

Whilst there’s no doubting that Modal Electronics’ Argon8 has a deep and expansive sound engine, thanks to its intuitively designed and knob-laden interface - crafting unique sounds is a breeze. Modal have equipped the Argon8 with robust endless encoders, which have a solid action and will always start from the preset value, ensuring on-the-fly tweaks always sound smooth. All parameter changes are instantly reflected on the crystal clear white-on-black OLED screen.

Professional Hardware

Housed in a durable steel and aluminium chassis, the Argon8 is more than ready to handle rigorous gigs, tours and recording sessions.

Each model in the Modal’s Argon series features a sturdy 4-axis joystick, which can be used to dynamically alter parameters and introduce pitch bending to your performance. Pitch bending can be disabled, enabling you to use the Y direction as an alternate mod source.

One of our favourite aspects of the Argon8 and Argon8X is the premium Fatar TP9/S keybed, which features a lovely semi-weighted action. The Argon8 and Argon8X’s keyboard is both velocity and aftertouch sensitive, enabling you to make the most of the expressive sound engine.

Fun Performance Features

Modal Electronics have kitted out the Argon8 with a fully-featured arpeggiator and sequencer, which can be used to quickly generate ideas and free up both hands for knob tweaking. The rate of your arps and sequences is determined by either the Argon8’s internal or external clock.

What we love about the Argon8’s arpeggiator and sequencer is that they can be used simultaneously. This is tonnes of fun, as you can record and layer arpeggiated patterns on top of each other whilst a sequence is playing.

The onboard arpeggiator features an adjustable clock division, swing, gate length and various play modes. There’s nothing like a feature-packed arpeggiator when it comes to instant inspiration.

The polyphonic sequencer offers both real-time (up to 512 notes) and step (64 steps) sequencing, depending on how you like to compose. When recording in real-time, you can use the Argon8’s metronome to cue you in for the start of a sequence and keep you in time when it’s rolling.

You can also motion sequence up to 4 parameters, all you have to do is adjust one whilst the sequencer is recording. If you’re feeling limited by the LFO waves, you can use the motions sequencing to design unusual mod patterns.

Quality Stereo Effects

The Argon8’s lush stereo effects engine is available when you want to introduce additional texture and depth into your sound design. The FX engine provides you with 11 types (including modulation, delay & reverb), 3 user-configurable slots (allowing you to chain effects however you wish) and up to 6 parameters within an effect.

Some effects parameters are modulation sources, which allows you to closely incorporate them into your sound design. Try assigning the Aftertouch to the Delay Feedback to create ambient swells. Using the joystick to control the Delay Time alongside this trick is a lot of fun, too.

In addition to the spatial and modulation effects, the Argon8 features a post-filter distortion. This waveshaping overdrive is a great way to inject grit and dirt into your patches.

Comprehensive Connectivity

As you’d expect from a quality modern synth, the Argon8 is packed with connectivity options. For controlling and synchronising the Argon8 with your other gear, there’s MIDI DIN In & Out, USB MIDI and analog sync in & out (Korg/Teenage Engineering specification). Using the 3.5mm stereo input, you can run external audio sources such as instruments or extra oscillators through the Argon8 and its FX engine.

For the best expressive experience, we highly recommend hooking up an MPE or polyphonic aftertouch controller to the Argon8.

You can also connect an expression pedal (which can be quickly assigned to a destination with the front panel) and sustain pedal for hands-free control.

Plenty Of Patches

With 500 preset slots available, you’ll have plenty of space to store your custom sounds. Modal Electronics have outfitted the Argon8 with 300 factory presets. These sounds have been meticulously designed to demonstrate the potential of the sound engine and work as excellent jumping-off points for your own explorations. Your favourite combinations of effects and sequences can be stored independently of the preset. This is useful if you want to try a sequence with another patch or have a go-to FX combo.

One of the best things about Modal Electronics is how they’re constantly breathing new life into their synths, adding fresh features with each firmware update and bringing out free presets packs.

If you’re an Argon8 owner, make sure to download Digital Obsession and Monster Machines. Monster Machines is an ultra-inspiring sound set, containing 40 otherworldly patches that are perfect for both modern production and traditional composition.