Choosing the perfect STEREO desktop FILTER... (from 13 units!)

Hellooo, audio guys out there! I deliver as promised: a vid about looking for a perfect desktop filter. 13 units compared, will I find the perfect one? Let's find out!
0:00 Intro
1:40 Research prerequisites
2:48 Waldorf 2-Pole
4:14 Acidbox III
7:52 Analog Heat I, II and +FX
9:43 Vermona Cross Filter
11:33 MFB FilterBox
12:41 Eowave Filter Bug
13:25 Elta Polivoks PF3
15:43 Sherman Restyler
18:00 Herbs & Stones Solid Felt
20:08 Jomox T-Resonator MkII
21:33 Zerogravity Filter
24:10 A modular filter?!
25:10 Summing tha thingz up!

[@FoliaSound]

Heeey! What do you think about my comparison? Did I miss anything? Lemme know down below!

[@ShermanFilters]

Hi Folia, thanks for the vid, just to clear things up : only 640 Restylers were produced around 2008-2010, sadly out of production today and very collectable, maybe re-released in the future, if I find time for it, need to do some improvements.. There is no LFO, but an envelope follower that is driven by a band detection filter, tune in with the big left knob, the wave shape knob allows soft to sharp transient, sense and the delay knobs can make the rhythm feeling very different, which can be described as 'restyling' the beats. The Filterbank exists since 1996 and is still going very strong.

[@FoliaSound]

Thank you, guys! If you come up with something new, let me know, I'd be more than happy to review it!

[@Monopete_official]

Would buy instantly !!

[@MalcolmHolmesMusic]

Great vid ….. would love to see a modular filter vid as well though ! Look forward to that … top stuff.

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks!

[@mamakuproject]

went to other way, I have a great modular system and lots of filters, but i wanted a simple filter box to run my vermona perfourmer into and found a cheap acidbox3. I can recommend you the bastl ikarie in modular, and also mutable blades. Thanks for the video, i discovered a few there. i'd love that vermona cross, it sounds so smooth!

[@saardean4481]

When an engineer says "I enjoy my Sunday in the studio" which is a place where many times there is not much daylight I think "they are the real thing!" 🙂 Cheers Paul!

[@FoliaSound]

Cheers, Dean! Thanks!

[@jamesrutherford]

very informative show my friend!!!keep up the good work

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, James!

[@benzmobil]

A very interesting and informative video. It doesn't seem like there is much competition in the desktop stereo filter market at the moment. Herbs and Stones one really looks interesting as you can couple it with an inexpensive step sequencer like sq1 and have an interesting playable combo.

[@FoliaSound]

H&S looks really nice and would've been my pick probably If id hadn't gone for a modular filter.

[@jfly237]

that was great. Thinking of grabbing a Elta. I use an Mbase11...always. That RESONii is well worth the asking price. It does get crazy, but the more i used it the easier it was to control. I literally feels like I'm driving a very fast, well built car with balding tires throwing sounds into corners then puking them back out on a rusting tarmac made of glass and nails.

[@FoliaSound]

I've heard Elta recently in a store in Warsaw. Two words: GET IT.

[@voodoozoostudio3084]

I like your video of Acid box and Goliath fighting. I also love passing various sounds through analog filters. I'm a little disappointed that in the end you didn't choose one of these and chose modular. lol However, modular suits your thinking. This is because modules can be changed little by little. However, I will continue to look for a filter the size of a lunch box.

[@bojangprodoktschns5428]

Two others to check out from the "not just filter"-category are the OTO Biscuit and the S-Cat Filter-Phase.

[@mamakuproject]

S-Cat is pretty affordable! do you own one? I have a biscuit and it is one of my fav filter, so creamy!

[@XxChrisxXBedofRazors]

I really like the Polivoks PF-3. Do any desktop filters beef up / fatten up your synths? Really wanna get one just to crank up a Jupiter-X's frequencies, so it stands in well along the analog synths I use. I know the easiest thing to do is to drop their db's, raise the JP-X's, but something about doing that doesn't sound dynamically good. It’s a great synth and all but it is pretty flat compared to everything else in the rig, that I have to load up the good ol' Sausage Fattener vst which does the job. But without it, even a Prophet '08 tops off it's frequencies. An actual Polivoks I have puts it to shame. I've gotten curious of desktop filters for extra features and other possibilities. Would appreciate some recommendations!

[@FoliaSound]

Hey! I assembled a modular beast :) You'll find the vid about it on my channel?

[@jluismasedo6235]

I love my Jomox MoonWind 🔥

[@FoliaSound]

Moonwind, what a great unit! V2 is coming soon :)

[@laokoon303]

Check out Retro Mechanical Labs, Touellskouarn and Vermona's Filter Lancet, too!

[@Lyubota]

Hi. How do u rout this analog filter with vst? As I understand, signal from daw (Ableton) must go to 2-pole and then processed signal have to go back to Ableton. How can I do that?

[@FoliaSound]

Using outputs and inputs of your audio interface :)

[@Gilwtt]

Hey buddy, Love your channel... I'm at 01:23' of the vid, I will go till the end but wanna tell you that I own a RME UCXII and a Sherman FilterBank 2.... So I really can understand what you mean ;-) and Thank you btw 🙂

[@FoliaSound]

Ha! You're my man! Thanks!

[@Judasz696]

Sherman is mono

[@Gilwtt]

@@Judasz696 😵‍💫

[@LunaticDandy]

Did you check this one : Old Blood Noise Endeavors Float Dual Moving FIlter I would like these : - *Waldorf Mini Works 4POLE* - Electrix Filter Factory - Vermona Action Filter 4 - Akai Professional MFC 42 - Mutronics Mutator (or wait for the Berhinger copy) - Analog-Lab Xpass Filter - Euterpe Vertice analog filterbank (Very hi-end gear) - Schippmann Ebbe und Flut (same)

[@jonnyidle]

Hey Paul, I was thinking of buying the Sherman Filterbank 2 second hand as my next purchase... any thoughts on it?

[@FoliaSound]

It's absolutely stunning, but it's mono, I believe. If i was stereo, I'd have bought it long time ago...

[@jonnyidle]

@FoliaSound oh, is it? Balls, I thought it was stereo... Will have to double check just to make sure !

[@alvilagialvilagi6098]

They have a stereo version but the price is sky high

[@andresserantes8547]

I would have liked to see the OBNE Gloat filter pedal. Think that is an interesting approach coming from an guitar effects oriented pedal company.

[@FoliaSound]

You mean: OBNE Float? I just learned about it, thanks!

[@cesarsjogren]

I love it. Never selling

[@RyanHarris77]

I can’t find the restyler anywhere for less than msrp

[@ikeaboy_damo]

Check out my Reverb listing put up today, come over and haggle 🙂

[@JamesGiannoni]

Man, your coffee mug placement at the beginning gave me such anxiety...

[@mollyoko]

Jomox MoonWind (II)

[@insidesound]

jomox moonwind mk2

[@tilliinfinity]

if u go modular get a wavefolder like twf

[@FoliaSound]

I won't use it much, I'm more into classic saturation.

[@tilliinfinity]

in this case you could consider some well sounding vcas often they are overlooked when it comes to analog sound but some of them have a lot of coloration and saturation. THAT Chipbased i like a lot but there are also some moog clones if u like even more character@@FoliaSound

[@FoliaSound]

@@tilliinfinity , I'm actually assembling a 500 system with Carnhill trafos, so you got me 110% here :)

[@tilliinfinity]

never tried them but sounds great. so much to explore but i dont want to get stucked in gas@@FoliaSound

[@martin32117]

The waldorf is only mono

[@FoliaSound]

:O Holy cow, you're right! I don't know why I included it, I was genuinely sure it's stereo... Thanks!

[@zerobject]

Would easily be the best one among all these otherwise.

[@zyxyuv1650]

You probably shouldn't use any of these because their automation isn't sample accurate, instead just get a filter module for Eurorack and hook the frequency input up to DC coupled DAC output so you can automate it sample accurately at audio rate. You don't even need an LFO or any modulation on the filter because you can create your own perfect LFO or modulations that groove sync with the song or do more complex stuff, I.e. you could easily output an Envelope-Follower control signal and you don't need to support that functionality using an analog envelope follower. You only need the sound of the actual filter, you don't need to load all the modulation logic into the module.

[@FoliaSound]

That's interesting, I'll definitely think about it, thanks!

[@zackcolbourne6921]

Why is this important?