Filterstation User’s Guide Audio Damage, Inc. Release 1.
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Introduction Filterstation exists because of a simple premise: everyone needs some good filters. While filters used to be permanent parts of analog synthesizers, they‘re now used on just about everything in modern music production: vocals, drums, guitar, cello, whatever. Anything that makes noise can make more interesting noise if you add a filter.
On Windows, the installer installs VST2.4 and VST3 versions of Filterstation by default. You can choose not to install one or the other format if you so desire. If you‘re running a 64-bit version of Windows, you can also choose to install either 32- or 64-bit versions of Filterstation, or both. (There is no reason to install 64-bit plug-ins on a 32-bit version of Windows, and there are good reasons to not do so.
notch is controlled by the resonance control; a higher resonance value makes the notch narrower, cutting fewer of the frequencies. This means that, unlike the other filter types, increasing the resonance setting of a notch filter usually creates a less-dramatic filtering effect. Filters are also often characterized by their number of poles1. The more poles a filter has, the more it attenuates frequencies.
Operation If you‘re at all familiar with synthesizers, either the hardware or software variety, you‘ll find Filterstation familiar. In a nutshell, Filterstation is a pair of filters controlled by an LFO and an envelope follower. This simple description belies its flexibility, which lies in its three different routing modes, twelve different filter types, and independent modulation paths. Most of Filterstation‘s onscreen controls are numbers which directly represent the current value of the parameters.
4 POLE LP – Audio Damage‘s own 4-pole low-pass filter. Loosely based on the famous Moog filter, this is the one to use for overtly electronic-sounding filter effects. 4 POLE HP – a high-pass filter with a steeper cutoff slope than its 2-pole counterpart. If you want to kill the bass in your sound, this will do the job. 2 POLE NOTCH – that‘s pretty much what it is. Notch filters can create phase-shifter-like effects, particularly if you use a couple of them with different frequency settings.
The XY control Filterstation has a handy graphical control for making rapid, sweeping adjustments to the frequency and resonance of both filters. You can change the settings of either filter independently, or both filters simultaneously. There are two numbered handles, one for each filter, and a third, smaller handle which moves the other two handles in tandem. Dragging a handle left and right changes the frequency of the filter(s), dragging a handle up and down changes the resonance.
Click on the symbol to choose the corresponding routing configuration: Series Parallel Stereo Note that it's not difficult to create configurations in which no sound at all comes out of Filterstation. Suppose, for example, you use the Series routing and band-pass types for both Filter 1 and Filter 2. If the frequency settings of the two filters are far enough apart, nothing will come out of Filter 2: only a narrow range of frequencies will be emitted by Filter 1, and these will be blocked by Filter 2.
Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO) Filterstation has a single low-frequency oscillator (LFO) for controlling the filters. The LFO can modulate the frequency of either or both of the filters. Shapes The LFO has a selection of different wave shapes. The following shapes are available: SINE - a sinusoidal wave which rises and falls smoothly, with no corners or sudden jumps. TRIANGLE - a wave which moves up and down in straight lines, rising at the same speed that it falls.
LFO Amount Each filter has its own LFO AMOUNT control, which sets how much the LFO changes the filter‘s frequency. These controls have a range of -100 to +100. Larger values, either positive or negative, have a greater effect on the filter. If you set the LFO AMOUNT control to a positive value, the LFO will increase the filter‘s frequency. (For low-pass filters, this is usually called ―opening‖ the filter, since it allows more harmonic content to pass through.
Envelope Follower Filterstation can respond to the loudness of the incoming signal with its envelope follower. The envelope follower generates a modulation signal that rises and falls in proportion to the loudness of the input signal, and can be used—like the LFO—to control the frequencies of either of the filters, or both. The envelope follower has two parameters for adjusting how it responds to the signal: ENV ATTACK and ENV DECAY.
lets you control the loudness of one instrument with another. For instance, you could use a kick drum to apply rhythmic filtering to a synthesizer, or use your voice to control the filter. In this version of Filterstation, the main audio inputs are not connected to the envelope follower. Saturation The SATURATION slider applies a variable amount of analog-like distortion to the signal before it enters the filter. If the slider is moved to the far left it has no effect.
create a preset using the VST3 version of Filterstation running on Windows, and load it with the Audio Unit version of Filterstation running on OS X. Filterstation stores its presets in different locations depending upon the operating system. On Windows, presets are in the user‘s Documents folder, in Audio Damage\Filterstation\. On OS X, they‘re stored on the system hard drive, in /Library/Audio/Presets/Audio Damage/Filterstation/.
And the preset menu looks like this: You can freely create, rename, delete, and rearrange folders and files within the preset folder. This allows you to create your own categories and organize your presets to your liking. The Default Preset When you put a new instance of Filterstation into your project, it looks for a special preset file, named Default, in the preset folder. If it finds this file, it will load it automatically.
MIDI Control Filterstation responds to incoming MIDI note-on messages. If you send a MIDI note to Filterstation, it will set the frequency of Filter 1 to the pitch of the note. For example, if you play an A above middle C, the frequency of Filter 1 will jump to 440Hz. The frequency of Filter 2 will also change, preserving the pitch ratio present between the frequencies of the filters.
