Softube Mutronics Mutator

Published on Dec 17, 2014 SoftubeStudios

"Mutronics Mutator creates mind boggling filter sweep effects on any sound source—guitars, vocals, keyboards, drums, etc. The Mutator can clearly be heard on records by artists such as Radiohead, Beck, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and many more. It is now available as a plug-in for VST, AAX and Audio Units, both on Mac and Windows platforms. More info: www.softube.com"

"Mutronics Mutator was an instant success when it came out in the early 1990's, and had an enormous impact of the sound from that decade. The Mutator can clearly be heard on records by artists such as Radiohead, Beck, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and many more.

But the Mutator was short lived. Production ceased abruptly when a vital component was discontinued by the component manufacturer. The original has since then only been available at auction sites, often at prices much higher than the original purchase price. Softube has worked closely with Mutronics to ensure that the plug-in captures every delicate detail of the original hardware.

What is the Mutator?
Mutator has an analog voltage controlled filter (VCF) for each of its two channels, which can create synth-like filter sweeps on any sound source that is fed into the unit. The filter can be controlled from a number of sources, for example the envelope follower, which sweeps the filter in proportion to the amplitude of the sound source. In Gate mode, the filter is either on or off, and the filter can also be controlled by the on-board LFOs. These have four waveforms, which create filter sweeps in our out of time with the music.

Another very cool option is to use the external sidechain input, to have an external sound source control the filter movements. For example, insert the Mutator on a pad track and have the filter move in sync with a drum loop. You can also link or unlink the two channels for trippy stereo effects, use the Width control to extend the stereo field and use the Mix knob to blend in the original sound source with the mutated sound.

To further understand what the Mutator does, we recommend that you check out the product video!

In Short

Mind boggling filter effects
Control filter sweeps by the sound source's amplitude, from the LFOs or from an external sound source
Used on many seminal records from the 1990s
Based on technology developed for analog synthesis from the 1960s
Each and every component carefully modeled
Extremely analog behavior of frequencies, phase, distortion, etc"

See the Mutronics channel below for more.