Review: Modal Cobalt5S

Cobalt5s is the stripped down version of the virtual analogue synthesizer Cobalt8. The potent sound generation is mostly identical, but there are limitations in the number of simultaneously playable voices (5 instead of 8) and unmistakable with the hardware.

Compact and mobile

With dimensions of approx. 56 x 16 x 6 cm, Cobalt 5S is more compact than the Cobalt8 keyboard. In return, the small version only has one row of 16 multiply assigned endless rotation knobs (with button function), while Cobalt 8 offers a good double of controls for direct access to the sound. The parameter values can be read via the centrally located OLED display, which can also show graphics such as the currently set envelope curve or the waveform in real time.

Mini keys, touchpad

While the Cobalt8 has a high-quality Fatar keyboard, you have to deal with