Filter

In the desktop app. Filter is a device of the desktop app, arriving in its beta; the web studio does not have it. The examples on this page are made with a reference version of the effect, applied to sound from the studio’s engine: they show what each control does, and the device itself may differ a little in character.

What it is for

A filter removes part of a sound’s range: everything above a frequency, everything below it, or everything except a band around it. Where an EQ is for careful correction, a filter is for character and for movement. Closing it makes a sound dark and distant; opening it brings the sound forward, and doing that slowly over a few bars is one of the oldest ways to build tension in a song.

Reach for it when a part should sit behind the others, when a whole section should sound as if heard through a wall, or when a sound should change while it plays. The synth has a filter of its own, the cutoff; this device does the same to any track.

Shape

Which part of the sound is kept:

• Low-pass: keeps the low part, removes the top. Darker, further away.
• High-pass: keeps the top, removes the low part. Thinner, lighter.
• Band-pass: keeps a band around one frequency and removes both sides. Small, like a telephone or an old radio.

Frequency

Where the filter cuts, in hertz. This is the control you move: with automation, it is how a filter opens and closes over time.

Resonance

A boost right at the cutting frequency. A little adds a whistling, vocal edge that makes the filter’s movement easy to hear. A lot rings like a note of its own.