Filter controls

The filter controls below the filter display provide precise control over the currently selected filters. Most of the filter parameters (drive, frequency, peak, filter panning, delay, level/pan), can be modulated, which allows for a wide range of creative possibilities.

From left to right, the following settings are available:

• The large routing button at the left determines how the filters are connected to each other, either in serial or parallel. The number of routing options depends on the current number of filters and the current routing mode.
• The routing mode button, next to the routing button, determines whether filters are used in stereo, per-channel or mid/side mode. In normal stereo mode, every filter is applied to both plug-in channels (in the stereo version of the plug-in of course). In L/R or M/S modes, half of the filters are applied to the left or mid channel, and the other half to the right or side channel. Note: in L/R or M/S modes, filter panning is disabled.
• The enabled button at the left top of the filter controls enables or bypasses the currently selected filters.

The small previous and next buttons let you step through the filters in the display, from left to right. In between, the current filter number is shown to help you to identify it in the host when automating parameters.

• The drive knob controls the overall input drive of the filters, changing how clean or gritty the filters will sound.
• The frequency knob sets the frequency of the selected band. If multiple bands are selected, they are adjusted in parallel.
• The pan ring around the frequency knob lets you filter the left and right channels differently. It works as a stereo balance setting for the center frequency of the filter. For example, when you turn the pan knob to the left, the left channel will be filtered with a lower center frequency, and the right channel will be filtered with a higher center frequency. You can use this to create various stereo filtering effects, especially in combination with modulation. Note: panning is only available in the stereo version of the plug-ins, using the default stereo routing mode
• The peak knob adjusts the resonance of the active filter. A little resonance will cause the filter to create warmer and more characteristic tones. For most filter styles, the filter will start to self-oscillate at the highest peak settings. (The Auto Mute Self-Osc option in the bottom bar will help to keep this manageable. See Input/output options.) For bell and shelf filters, the peak controls both the gain and the resonance of the filter, so it can be negative as well as positive.
• The shape of each filter can be set to low/high pass, band pass, bell, low/high shelf, notch or all pass. Unlike normal EQ shapes, the filters in Volcano 3 (even the bell and shelf filters) are highly non-linear and follow the unique character of the selected filter style.
• The slope switch sets the steepness of the filter, which controls how aggressively the frequencies around the center frequency are filtered. You can choose between 6 dB/oct, 12 dB/oct, 24 dB/oct or 48 dB/oct settings. For bell and shelf filters, this makes the filter wider or narrower. The 6 dB/oct option is not supported for band pass and notch filters.
  
• The style button lets you choose between eleven different filter styles, all with a unique character:
  1. Classic, the original filter style taken from our award-winning FabFilter One synthesizer
  2. Smooth, like the cream in your coffee
  3. Raw, a filter with lots of overdrive and exhibits a character of its own. Great for distortion guitar sounds
  4. Hard, moderately distorting filter, with a nice clean whistle
  5. Hollow, juicy moderate distortion with fairly much low-end self-oscillation
  6. Extreme, for more wild sonic ideas
  7. Gentle, a more smooth and clean general purpose style
  8. Tube, with a warmer sound and nice overdrive, great for synth sounds
  9. Metal, with a rough, sharper sound and distortion
  10. Easy Going, a softer version of the Tube filter
  11. Clean, linear behavior with no drive or clipping at all
• The delay knob set a small delay on the filter output of up to 50 ms. Combine this with parallel filtering, the mix slider and modulation to create comb-filtering, Haas, chorus and flanging effects.
• The output level/pan knobs controls the output level of each filter separately. This is mainly useful when filters are routed in parallel or per-channel (L/R or M/S). Of course, filter level and pan controls are modulation targets as well. Note: panning is only available in the stereo version of the plug-ins, using the default stereo routing mode.
• The delete button at the right top of the filter controls removes the selected filters. If you have accidentally deleted some filters, you can easily restore them using the Undo button at the top of the plug-in interface.

Next: Modulation

See Also
Filter display
Modulation visualization