Carbonated Audio presents

Your track,
played back on a handheld.

TALLBOY listens to the pitch of whatever you feed it and replays that performance through a four-channel console sound chip. Not a filter over the top — an actual chip voice following your line.

  • 3 cartridges
  • Pitch-tracked resynthesis
  • Tempo-synced arp
  • VST3 · AU · AAX
Hear it Try the demo — free Get TALLBOY — $20

Own it forever · 3 machines · no iLok, no subscription

The TALLBOY plugin: a violet handheld console with a four-shade green dot-matrix screen showing the CHIP 4CH cartridge, a D-pad, A and B buttons, and three cartridge cards below

Hear it

Same take. Two very different outcomes.

Every clip below is the same source file, rendered through TALLBOY with one of the shipping presets. Nothing else is on the chain.

Before

Dry vocal

CHIP 4CH · 4BIT CHOIR

Through TALLBOY

Sustained and chordal — the chip voice holds the vocal's pitch while the arpeggiator spreads it across octaves.

The cartridges

Three engines. Insert the ones you want.

Each cartridge has a power LED on its bay card. Click it to insert or eject that stage. Any combination runs — including none, in which case TALLBOY passes audio through completely untouched.

Cartridge 01

CHIP 4CH
RESYNTH

Tracks the pitch and envelope of your input, then rebuilds it on four hardware-modelled channels.

  • Two pulse channels, four duty cycles
  • 32-sample, 4-bit wavetable
  • 15/7-bit LFSR noise, transient-keyed
  • 11-bit frequency register detune

Cartridge 02

ARP + GLIDE
SEQUENCER

Shapes the chip voice into a pattern. Locks to your project tempo, or free-runs with swing.

  • UP, DOWN, UPDN, RAND, CHRD
  • 1/4 to 1/32, host-synced
  • One to four octaves
  • Portamento up to 400 ms

Cartridge 03

CRUSH ROM
DECIMATOR

Bit and sample-rate reduction with deliberate aliasing. Works on anything, chip voice or not.

  • 1 to 16 bits
  • Rate divide 1–64, with jitter
  • Drive into the quantiser
  • Post filter, 18 kHz down to 540 Hz
The TALLBOY dot-matrix screen showing four channel lanes above the parameter list

The device

Everything happens on the screen.

There are no knobs. You drive TALLBOY the way you'd drive the thing it's modelled on — with a D-pad and a four-shade dot-matrix display.

  • D-PADUp / down selects, left / right adjustsSix parameters per cartridge, always visible with a live value bar. Arrow keys work too.
  • SELECTSwap cartridgeCycles the page and replays the insert animation, exactly like swapping a cart.
  • STARTPowerTrue bypass — it nulls perfectly against dry. Verified in testing, not just claimed.
  • A / BFullscreen the visualiserDrop the parameter list and watch the four channels, the arp steps, or the crushed waveform at full size.

What it's for

Where it earns its place.

TALLBOY is a resynthesiser, so it's happiest with something it can follow. Here's where it works — and where it doesn't.

Best on

  • Vocals and vocal doubles
  • Bass lines
  • Single-note leads and hooks
  • Monophonic synth parts

Also good for

  • Transitions and risers
  • Turning a hook into a counter-melody
  • Chiptune layers under a real instrument
  • Game and video soundtrack work

Use CRUSH ROM alone for

  • Drums and full mixes
  • Anything without one clear pitch
  • Straight lo-fi bitcrushing
  • Parallel crush on a bus

One price

$20

One-time. No subscription, ever.

  • VST3, AU and AAX on macOS — universal, Pro Tools-signed
  • VST3 on Windows, 64-bit
  • Three machines on one licence
  • No iLok, no dongle, no account
  • Works offline after one activation
  • Lifetime updates
Try the demo — free Get TALLBOY — $20

Or 4 payments of $5 with Klarna or Afterpay at checkout

Questions

The things people ask.

Is this just a bitcrusher?

The CRUSH ROM cartridge is a proper bit and sample-rate decimator, so it will do that job. But CHIP 4CH is doing something different: it tracks the pitch of your audio and re-synthesises it on four modelled chip channels. A bitcrusher degrades what you give it. TALLBOY replaces it.

What does it sound like on drums?

The chip voice needs one clear pitch to follow, and drums don't have one — it will chase the loudest partial and sound unstable. That's the wrong tool. Eject CHIP 4CH and ARP, and run CRUSH ROM on its own; that's a straight decimator and it sounds great on drums. The drums demo above is exactly that.

Do I have to use all three cartridges?

No. Every cartridge has its own power LED. Click it to insert or eject that stage. Any combination works, including none — with all three out, TALLBOY passes audio through untouched.

Does the arpeggiator follow my project tempo?

Yes. It locks to host tempo at 1/4, 1/8, 1/8T, 1/16 or 1/32. With the transport stopped it free-runs, and the swing control applies there.

How many computers can I use it on?

Up to 3 machines with one licence. No iLok, no dongle, no account. Activate once online and it works offline forever. If you need to move an activation, email mixedbysoda@gmail.com and we'll reset it.

What formats and systems?

VST3, AU and AAX on macOS — universal for Apple Silicon and Intel, signed for Pro Tools. VST3 on Windows, 64-bit, with an installer. Works in Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton Live, FL Studio, Studio One, Cubase, Reaper and the rest.

Is there a demo?

Yes. Download it here — no email required. It is identical to the paid version except audio plays for 60 seconds then mutes for 10, on a loop.

The demo is macOS VST3 and AU. AAX is not included; if you are on Pro Tools and want to try it, email mixedbysoda@gmail.com and we will sort you out.