karacter 500

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Paint Your Tones

The karacter 500 is a box full of vibrant colors. It covers a complete spectrum including mastering-grade saturation, tube-inspired distortion and glorious destruction. Gone are the days when only racks full of outboard gear could achieve these elusive and highly desirable styles of tonal coloration...

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Konclusion

"OK, I admit it, I am gushing. I love this little box. Why? Because after trying many distortion/saturation plug-ins, patching in reamped overdrive pedals, clipping my microphone preamps in series, and more – techniques which can easily get over the top and out of control fast – the karacter offers the amount of control, blending, and sonic throw I have been craving in a saturation/distortion box.

The karacter 500 is a great tool to add analog grit and life to sterile MIDI-based DAW tracks. I even had success gently thickening up an acoustic guitar/electric bass duet, and was surprised by how much I liked the results."

Paul Vnuk | Recording Magazine | Milwaukee

Four Channel Configurations

This enormously creative tone-shaping solution offers two separate channels which can be set up for dual mono, linked stereo or linked and unlinked M/S operation. Three different coloration styles can be chosen from, and integrated mix stages for parallel signal processing as well as the unique Color Control add further versatility.

Mastering-Grade Saturation

In this mode, the karacter 500 generates gentle Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) with a soft characteristic curve, resulting in very musical symmetrical clipping.

Tube-Inspired Distortion

In FET Shred mode, the behavior of the karacter 500 changes drastically. The sound reminds of tube amplifiers, with a wide range of asymmetrical distortion.

Glorious Destruction

Pushing the envelope! Turbo Boost shifts the operating point of the distortion circuit in FET shred mode and generates even more asymmetrical wave forms.

Color Filter

Color changes the harmonics-frequency relation with tons of interesting variations. Middle is flat; turn left for more dub and right for more shred.

Integrated M/S Matrix

As an alternative to standard stereo operation you can process the mid and side signals, opening up completely new options for your work!

Dual Mono/Stereo Link

For ultimate flexibility, the karacter 500 offers true dual mono and linked stereo operation, while in M/S mode the channels can be linked or unlinked as well.

Stepped Controllers

All potentiometers of the karacter 500 have 41 steps, which is a great help in recalling your previous sessions fast and precisely.

Ground Layer Shield

One of the six layers of both PCBs is a full copper plane which helps to reduce interferences caused by electric fields.

Discrete Class-A Topology

The input and output stages as well as the complete audio path are fully discrete designs running in class-A mode. The result: Signal coloration, high-end style.

Technical Data

If you are interested in learning more about typical measurements and technical specifications of the karacter 500, this is the right place to check.

VPR Alliance

Like all elysia 500 series modules, the karacter 500 has been thoroughly tested and announced to be fully VPR compliant by our friends from API.

The VPR Alliance is a program of standardization and consistency guidelines for approved manufacturers wishing to design products for API's 500-series rack format.

The program provides complete design specifications for manufacturers interested in producing third-party modules that physically fit and electronically conform to API's rack specifications.

The entire unit is designed with discrete class-A topology, so even the most lo-fi sounds will benefit from the karacter's high-end touch. Enhance your tracks or decimate everything – It's a matter of karacter.