Building on the Colossus, Maximus and TC5000 families of mega-synths, British boutique electronic instruments innovator Analogue Solutions has announced a second run of the Filtopia stereo analogue monosynth.
Filtopia offers five analogue filters wired in parallel, setting it apart from the sound of the (analogue) crowd. Creatively pairing offset filter cut-off frequencies with some high resonance levels means that the filters can mimic the way the human voice works – something that cannot be acieved with a single filter.
As well as its multichannel filter bank allowing some unique and extreme filter sweeps with by complex modulation options, the first two filters are assignable to EG1 for inverted and positive modulation, the third and fourth filters are assignable to EG2 in the same way, while the fifth filter is assignable to both EG1 and EG2; and all five filters are assignable to LFO 2, also with control for inverted and positive modulation. The first three filters are assignable to LFO 1 in the same way, while the fourth and fifth filters feature velocity level control, resulting in a degree of ‘happy accidents’ in sound design.
The synth’s three VCOs are equally flexible. For example, VCO1 can be routed via a Mix control to all the BPFs. Further, a Sub to LPF control indicates that Filtopia’s sub-oscillator can only be routed to filter five’s LPF, while the noise generator, VCO2, and VCO3 can only be routed to the BPFs (filters one through to four). As a result of those audio sources offering slightly different options, users can choose to have some signals being filtered in a different way by a different filter, giving the impression of multiple synthesisers playing in unison.
Further flexibility is found in Filtopia’s dual high-headroom VCAs offering spatial separation and stereo panning.
Like all Analogue Solutions instruments, the audio path and all modulation is entirely analogue, so there is no CPU stabilisation of quantised circuits, no DCOs and no digital EGs. Further features include an integrated step-based CV sequencing section providing per-step pitch customisation and dynamic performance controls; a dedicated input routing matrix capable of running external synths, drum machines, or line-level tracks directly into the filter array; front panel-positioned standard mini-jacks maximising custom CV routing control and seamless interaction with Eurorack hardware units. Hybrid connectivity options facilitate clean communication between classic hardware environments and DAWs.
‘We have given this synth a large and diverse number of controls that, alongside the patch sockets, will give even the best and experienced synthesist endless possibilities,’ says Analogue Solutions Director, Tom Carpenter. ‘It is for use any time you need analogue sound effects, fat basses, screaming leads, beeps, zaps, and all the other crazy sounds associated with analogue synthesis – use in place of boring digital synths and DSP soft synths. Continuously tweak and you will stumble upon endless new and unique sounds. It has such a wide range of modulation routing possibilities that it is almost as versatile as a full modular and can produce the same types of sounds, without the mess and confusion of cables.
‘Even so, it has a large selection of patch sockets that enable you to re-patch itself or connect it to an external modular. It can also be used by Midi and CV at the same time, so you could have an analogue step sequencer playing a little melody, then, using a Midi keyboard or Midi sequencer, transpose the analogue sequence. It has an audio in socket, so you can feed external sounds through the onboard analogue filters for analogue processing. No compromise has been made with the construction of Filtopia; it combines all the often-needed electronic circuitry to make a powerful music synthesiser in one compact module.’