Eurorack Formant Filter Comparison

video upload by John Schussler

"I now find myself with 3 separate filters that do "formant" filtering, so clearly it's time for a comparison. I'm literally getting my ya-yas out. And my yi-yis, and sometimes my wa-was. Just depends on where you turn the knob....

There are other formant filters out there, this isn't all of them, but it's all the ones I have, so don't assume this is the exhaustive comparison.

Formants are fun. And though I don't get into it much in this video, using formant filters for "regular" duties with only mild formant effects can be quite interesting.

Actually, using formants sparingly should probably be the rule. There's definitely too much of a good thing possible here....

00:00 Intro
00:20 Gyrinx VCF
08:00 Morphing Filter Bank
18:10 Formantic"

FORMANTIC VCF

video upload by

"Formantic is the latest module from Noise Lab Sweden; a formant filter designed to be versatile, easy to use, and to spark your creativity! This video shows some interesting examples of how you can use it."

You can find additional posts on the FORMANTIC VCF here.

Formants - Noise Lab Formantic and Mannequins Mangrove

video upload by John Schussler

"Noise Lab has recently released their latest module, the Formantic [see this post]. It's a "formant filter," which in this case means it's really three filters in one: a low pass filter plus two band pass filters. The cutoffs and resonances of all three can be set independently, as well as be controlled through a common cutoff knob.

I was curious both about its sound when driven by a standard VCO (e.g. Dixie) and how it would sound with the Mangrove, an oscillator designed to produce formants on its own. If one formant module is good, surely two is better, yes?

You be the judge.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Mangrove
07:20 Formantic w/sawtooth
12:20 Formantic w/distorted saw
22:09 Formantic w/Mangrove
26:46 Now with reverb and delay!"

FORMANTIC (Voltage controlled formant filter for eurorack)

video upload by Noise Lab Sweden

"Here's Formant - our brand-new analog formant filter! With a joystick to control the dual 12dB bandpass filters, an audio path selector for the 24dB lowpass filter, a master cutoff knob and four CV inputs, you are all set for some serious sound shaping! Excellent for creating vowel-like sounds and when you want to “carve out” specific bands of frequencies. Self-oscillating at full resonance. Dual ins and outs. This filter really speaks for itself!
For more information about this module and our other products, please visit https://www.noiselab.se"

FORMANTIC IS HERE!
Our brand-new analogue filter offers a fresh take on sound shaping and will make an excellent addition to your subtractive synthesis toolset.

With two peak filters (bandpass) and a 24 dB lowpass filter at your disposal, you can carve out specific frequencies to mimic voice-like sounds (vowels) or just turn any bass sound into something gnarly and wicked! Thanks to its joystick and master cutoff knob, you also get a better tactile control over your sound which is great for live performances.

You can even make it sing in tune because all three filters can self-oscillate at full resonance and produce three perfect sine waves, all controllable via external CV. Check out all the details and video below. Keep on patching!