Modal Electronics 002

General

These days, there are many compact synthesizers on the market that allow you to get to grips with the basics of synthesis. Modal Electronics' 002, however, is not one of them! It's unashamedly large and packed full of possibilities. One look at its control panel tells you all you need to know. There, you'll find lots of buttons and knobs as well as a beautiful 4.3-inch display. This top-quality synth will undoubtedly find a central place in any professional studio or live setup.

Modal Electronics 002

The 002 is a subtractive synthesizer with twelve voices and two oscillators per voice. Each oscillator also has a sub oscillator essentially giving you four per voice. The sub oscillators can take the same waveform as the main oscillator or have a traditional square wave. The 24 dB filter is special too: it can morph from four pole to band pass to one pole 6 dB per octave and everything in between. There are also two syncable LFOs, one per voice and a global one.

Other highlights

In addition to comprehensive modulation options (without menus), there's also a parameter sequencer and an extensive arpeggiator. The Fatar keyboard supports aftertouch so that you can play expressively too. Other highlights include support for MPE (for polyphonic expression) and a web interface for operation via a browser. There's also USB-MIDI host that allows you to connect a USB device, like a MIDI controller, without a computer.