Can I just use Pulverizer as my go-to filter? Am I missing something?

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mbfrancis
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15 Feb 2018

I'm wondering what people are using as a filter when assembling massive combi patches. I've trialed the Primal audio stuff, the Synapse filter, tried patching in Thor's, and I'm just not hearing that big a difference. Usually it's taking a massive supersaw type thing and taming it, sometimes putting an LFO on it which the Pulverizer has on board. So convenient.

What filters do you love and why?
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

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nickb523
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15 Feb 2018

Yes it's a perfectly viable go-to filter. You also get the added bonus of being able to add grit and compression. You can also modulate the volume and pan (as well as other synth parameters via cv) as desired. It's really flexible.

Synapse AF4 is a close runner up. It sounds great but it's not as versatile.

Synchronous also works well as a catch-all FX unit.

Cheers,

Nick

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dvdrtldg
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15 Feb 2018

Hi, my name's David and I'm a filterholic

My take on filters is that if all you want to be doing is shaping frequencies for conventional instruments in a conventional sort of mix, then yes you probably don't need a lot of options. But for more sound-designish or experimental or ambient purposes, the more the merrier. I find that the way a filter's slopes/resonance/saturation/distortion parameters interact with each other can be very different from one device to the next, and each filter can have sweet spots that are peculiar to that filter only - or at least, sweet spots that you *could* conceivably replicate across a number of devices if you had a lot of time on your hands and a certain "I believe you can do everything in Thor and I have dedicated my life to proving this point" mentality, but for the rest of us it's just nice to get to know the different personalities of a bunch of different filters

I love the way Etch Red distorts, and it's a modulation powerhouse. I love the simplicity and vintage flavour of Synapse AF1. I love the precision of D Filter, the gritty character and squelchy weirdness of the Primal Audio filters, and especially I love the super aggressive potential of Runciter. And that's just REs, I could go on about Soundtoys FilterFreak and Waves MetaFilter and Audio Thing VF1. Wouldn't be without any of them

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nickb523
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15 Feb 2018

dvdrtldg wrote:
15 Feb 2018
Etch Red
i forgot about Etch. It's like all of the above on steroids... it's not for beginners but it's very, very good. :)

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mbfrancis
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16 Feb 2018

Cool thanks, appreciate the feedback.
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

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miscend
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16 Feb 2018

Primal Audio is all you need.

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normen
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16 Feb 2018

miscend wrote:
16 Feb 2018
Primal Audio is all you need.
He wasn‘t asking what filter he should use he was asking why people use different filters. Which is a question I find interesting as well, I did see people perform better with different filters, I just couldn‘t say why exactly.

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miscend
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16 Feb 2018

normen wrote:
16 Feb 2018
miscend wrote:
16 Feb 2018
Primal Audio is all you need.
He wasn‘t asking what filter he should use he was asking why people use different filters. Which is a question I find interesting as well, I did see people perform better with different filters, I just couldn‘t say why exactly.
Its because filters all sound different and also workflow preference. Even the LP and HP on eqs will sound diffferent. Which is why I handily recommended Primal.

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O1B
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16 Feb 2018

If you get the settings for Pulverizer to do Biscuit, many'd pay good money for that patch!
Distortions and pulverizations are not made equally. heavenly filter sweep below.


I doubt Props would make no less than 5 filters, if there was one tool for every job.
Pulveriser, Aligator, Scream, the ECF-42, to name four...
- that's not counting Pass, Shelf, Bell, and Graph. EQs.

Then there's dozens of RE filters..
Do you need/want to add Distortion (what kind?), a steep filter, movement, EQ?

Pulverizer might be the best one-stop shopper for filtering - as it has a lot of the above ..
But, Pulveriser feels more like a butter knife or spoon - than a machete.

Have you tried Selig's ColoringEQ...? monster filter. Tedious, but tons of control.
Scream takes time, but can deliver.

Here's a Good Thor vs Primal Audio PMS-20 (picks up at the A/B point)


A guy out of Greece of making a run '(20) of Filters HP and LP w/resonance. (Nostra)
Ever try a Hardware Filter? have a listen (listed for $2.. offered $1. Grabbed 2.
mbfrancis wrote:
15 Feb 2018
I'm wondering what people are using as a filter when assembling massive combi patches. I've trialed the Primal audio stuff, the Synapse filter, tried patching in Thor's, and I'm just not hearing that big a difference. Usually it's taking a massive supersaw type thing and taming it, sometimes putting an LFO on it which the Pulverizer has on board. So convenient.

What filters do you love and why?

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Loque
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16 Feb 2018

I dont think all mentioned filters in the OP sound close or the same.

PMS-20 has a very nice, smooth sound, that can be saturated from soft to aggressive. But this does not fit my needs in all cases and sometimes just makes a sound bad and sometimes i just dont like its resonance. And it lacks a good note-follow.

The Synapse filter has an awsome overdrive with a warm sound and the resonance can get very wimpering. Good to use it in combination with other filters/EQ/saturation devices to give the cutoff frequency an extra punch.

The other stuff from Primal Audio is also very good. The Ladder filter is awsome, with less saturated sound compared to PMS-20. The Acid filter is nice, but can easily sound like a small cheeze box, but works nice in combination with other filters or in parallel.

If i want it more clean, i take F-16 which has also a very nice overdrive, which sounds more aggressive compared to PMS-20 or Synapse. Nice note-following and envelope control. DFilter is nice and clean and gos very deep in its slope, which can be usefull from time to time. Still GQ-7 is my favorite for simple LP/HP.

Etch Red is nice, but for simple tasks just too complicated - its more for "tweaking day" stuff.

Do not forget all those filters that comes with Synths! I love the filter in VK-2! Or the comb-filters in Nostromo!

Thors filters sound a bit dirty and unclean, works sometimes quite good. Same goes for Pulverizer, but they sound a bit deeper and more clean in its quality.

I have a big bunch of different filters and EQs, some add color or have nice overdrive, whereas others are just clean filters. It always depends, what sound you are looking for and often just a filter is not enough and go in parallel with saturation or additional filters/EQ.

Still looking for some good formant/vocal filter stuff, but this seem to be still a big lack in filter-types all over the place. Most i tried sound...boring...or just sh!t. The formant filter in Thor is defently not my go-to. The khs is a bit boring, but ok.
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antic604

16 Feb 2018

So I guess this is a good deal, for psychedelic trance music (lots of filtering typically):
https://shop.propellerheads.se/product_ ... -classics/

?

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Loque
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16 Feb 2018

antic604 wrote:
16 Feb 2018
So I guess this is a good deal, for psychedelic trance music (lots of filtering typically):
https://shop.propellerheads.se/product_ ... -classics/

?
Not only for psytrance. You are right, awesome MUST BUY deal.
Reason12, Win10

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Karim
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16 Feb 2018

Infact, is my go-to filter too. It is pretty efficient and with a bit of dirt sounds greats.
I own 2-3 rack filters but I usually just go to Pulvertizer EVERY TIME! :puf_smile:
mbfrancis wrote:
15 Feb 2018
I'm wondering what people are using as a filter when assembling massive combi patches. I've trialed the Primal audio stuff, the Synapse filter, tried patching in Thor's, and I'm just not hearing that big a difference. Usually it's taking a massive supersaw type thing and taming it, sometimes putting an LFO on it which the Pulverizer has on board. So convenient.

What filters do you love and why?
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scratchnsnifff
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17 Feb 2018

Iv been using the pulverizer for a quick comb filter for riddim sounds, but my two favorites are the blamsoft F-16 for simplicity and the phase filter mode. And hands down etch red, which provides a phase like filter using notch and peak filter slopes combined into one filter under the Japan setting. Also etch red is awesome for its envelope and LFO routing. Plus it offers multiple pre/post filter drive settings. Etch red might be older than most Res but it will always pack a punch
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EdGrip
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17 Feb 2018

PMS-20 is still my favourite, it's my go-to when I'm just messing around with some "sound design" (too grand a term for what I do) and just want to put a HP or LP on something. It does those things well, but you can use the HP and LP at the same time with loads of resonance to make double-peaky narrow Daft Punk sounds, with a bit of saturation... modulate the peak positions a bit, and the resonance... Lots of fun! I use it just for its saturation sometimes, though the filters will always colour the sound. It's one of the first REs I ever bought and still one of my favourites.
Ladder gets lots of use too as an alternative HP or LP - I don't use band-pass much.
Acid gets the least use, because I still haven't figured out just what to do with it. Its built-in envelope follower is not it.
(€31 for the whole bundle!!)

VK-2's filter is lovely.
Of the built-in Reason filters, Pulveriser is the one I almost always go for too.

I love filters. There's definite value in having a buffet of them. I want to try the FabFilter filters, but they're all a bit expensive for me and they don't go on sale.

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adfielding
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17 Feb 2018

As is often the case... if it sounds right, it is right! Nothing wrong with using the Pulverizer if it sounds right to you.

When it comes to effects - the Synapse AF-4 is my go-to filter device when I want something with a bit more character. The drive can sound really, really nice - I frequently use it as a means to add a bit of tasty grit to a sound. Between the AF-4, the SSL filters, and the ECF-42 (yes, still using it - though I tend to avoid cranking the resonance on that one these days!), I feel pretty well covered.

That said... when it comes to instruments, I think there's a tendency to sometimes overlook how pivotal the filter section is to the overall sound of a synth. I think the filter section imparts a huge amount of character on the overall sound. Looking at the included devices - I still like the old LP ladder filter on Thor, but comparing it to some of the filters on Europa makes me appreciate just how much of a difference it makes. The MFB filter modes (the 24dB slope in particular) just sound wonderfully musical, though the SVF LP 12dB filter mode is satisfyingly smooth to me. Further afield in RE land, the filter on The Legend is absolutely glorious - I'm still really impressed with the sound you can get out of it with a pretty minor CPU hit. I really like Blamsoft's no-compromise approach as well - their devices can be pretty taxing on the ol' CPU, but they sound brilliant.

Serum has a pretty diverse selection of filters - there's some really odd ones in there, but by and large it's a pretty strong selection.

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EnochLight
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17 Feb 2018

On topic, here's a great article discussing various popular filters in depth:

https://ask.audio/articles/synthesis-es ... ur-filters
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BRIGGS
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17 Feb 2018

I mainly use the magmasonics filter... but, I was using Primal Audio ladder filter, but the cpu hit is crazy. The primal audio is used just for resampling and playing around. I don't leave it my rack for long.
r11s

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Rason
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17 Feb 2018

I own most of the onez discussed here and must say primals pms20 is smh special. It boosts and changes the sound in a pleasant way, it adds content.



mojo
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17 Feb 2018

thanks because when i want to filter something i never think about pulveriser, it's always efc42 or etch red. Pulveriser is one of this tool in my arsenal i never use & i must be wrong. thanks to this topic i will use it at least one time.

mojo
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17 Feb 2018

I think there's a lot of underestimated stock or RE devices that need to be talked about all their capabilities.

dustmoses
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17 Feb 2018

If I'm gonna need sick resonant sweeps pms-20, medium af-4. Pulverizer is good for Combs and notch+low-pass. I have several more filters I use a little less.

For modulated filters I tend to like synchronous, I have etch but it's deeper than I really need (plus big CPU hit.)

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mbfrancis
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18 Feb 2018

Really appreciate all the responses, everyone. Seems like there's a lot of love for the PMS-20 and AF4. The Synapse never goes on sale but I might grab the Primal Audio right now. Etch Red seems like overkill - I would want something lean in CPU ideally. Thanks again!
Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist. I make indie pop as Port Streets, 90s/shoegaze as Swooner, and Electro as Yours Mine.

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Loque
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18 Feb 2018

mbfrancis wrote:
18 Feb 2018
Really appreciate all the responses, everyone. Seems like there's a lot of love for the PMS-20 and AF4. The Synapse never goes on sale but I might grab the Primal Audio right now. Etch Red seems like overkill - I would want something lean in CPU ideally. Thanks again!
The Synapse fx bundle is on sale from time to time and sometimes they have a big bundle with very good price /value.
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Loque
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19 Feb 2018

Loque wrote:
18 Feb 2018
mbfrancis wrote:
18 Feb 2018
Really appreciate all the responses, everyone. Seems like there's a lot of love for the PMS-20 and AF4. The Synapse never goes on sale but I might grab the Primal Audio right now. Etch Red seems like overkill - I would want something lean in CPU ideally. Thanks again!
The Synapse fx bundle is on sale from time to time and sometimes they have a big bundle with very good price /value.
And...here we go: https://shop.propellerheads.se/bundle/s ... ollection/
Just 200 bucks for all their RE. Only Antidote and Legend are worth that money alone.

If i would not own everything i just would re-buy it :-D
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