Audio Filterstation User Manual

Filterstation User’s Guide

Audio Damage, Inc.

Release 1.0

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on
the part of Audio Damage, Inc. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement
and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this
publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior
written permission by Audio Damage, Inc.

VST is a trademark and software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. Other product names used herein
are trademarks of their respective owners.

© 2011 Audio Damage, Inc. All rights reserved.

Credits

Software Design and Construction, Documentation

Chris Randall
Adam Schabtach

Field Testing

Jens Ågren
Steve Hamann
Jeff Laity

Made Possible By

Elle
Tracie

Fuzzy Logic

Alfred
Chica
Edwin
Garrus
Madeline
Pablo
Tali
Zed

License Agreement

BY INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT
AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, THEN RETURN THE PRODUCT TO THE PLACE OF
PURCHASE FOR A FULL REFUND.

Single User License Grant: Audio Damage, Inc. ("Audio Damage") and its suppliers grant to Customer
("Customer") a nonexclusive and nontransferable license to use the Audio Damage software ("Software") in
object code form solely on a single central processing unit owned or leased by Customer.

Customer may make one (1) archival copy of the Software provided Customer affixes to such copy all
copyright, confidentiality, and proprietary notices that appear on the original.

EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZED ABOVE, CUSTOMER SHALL NOT: COPY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION; MODIFY THE SOFTWARE; REVERSE COMPILE OR REVERSE ASSEMBLE ALL
OR ANY PORTION OF THE SOFTWARE; OR RENT, LEASE, DISTRIBUTE, SELL, OR CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS
OF THE SOFTWARE.

Customer agrees that aspects of the licensed materials, including the specific design and structure of
individual programs, constitute trade secrets and/or copyrighted material of Audio Damage. Customer agrees
not to disclose, provide, or otherwise make available such trade secrets or copyrighted material in any form to
any third party without the prior written consent of Audio Damage. Customer agrees to implement reasonable
security measures to protect such trade secrets and copyrighted material. Title to Software and
documentation shall remain solely with Audio Damage.

LIMITED WARRANTY. Audio Damage warrants that for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of shipment
from Audio Damage: (i) the media on which the Software is furnished will be free of defects in materials and
workmanship under normal use; and (ii) the Software substantially conforms to its published specifications.
Except for the foregoing, the Software is provided AS IS. This limited warranty extends only to Customer as
the original licensee. Customer's exclusive remedy and the entire liability of Audio Damage and its suppliers
under this limited warranty will be, at Audio Damage or its service center's option, repair, replacement, or
refund of the Software if reported (or, upon request, returned) to the party supplying the Software to
Customer. In no event does Audio Damage warrant that the Software is error free or that Customer will be
able to operate the Software without problems or interruptions.

This warranty does not apply if the software (a) has been altered, except by Audio Damage, (b) has not been
installed, operated, repaired, or maintained in accordance with instructions supplied by Audio Damage, (c) has

been subjected to abnormal physical or electrical stress, misuse, negligence, or accident, or (d) is used in
ultrahazardous activities.

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REPRESENTATIONS, AND WARRANTIES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF
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COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY
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DATA, OR FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES HOWEVER
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contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, exceed the price paid by Customer. The foregoing
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ALLOW LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES.

The above warranty DOES NOT apply to any beta software, any software made available for testing or
demonstration purposes, any temporary software modules or any software for which Audio Damage does not
receive a license fee. All such software products are provided AS IS without any warranty whatsoever.

This License is effective until terminated. Customer may terminate this License at any time by destroying all
copies of Software including any documentation. This License will terminate immediately without notice from
Audio Damage if Customer fails to comply with any provision of this License. Upon termination, Customer
must destroy all copies of Software.

Software, including technical data, is subject to U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export
Administration Act and its associated regulations, and may be subject to export or import regulations in other
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responsibility to obtain licenses to export, re-export, or import Software.

This License shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado, United
States of America, as if performed wholly within the state and without giving effect to the principles of conflict
of law. If any portion hereof is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this License
shall remain in full force and effect. This License constitutes the entire License between the parties with
respect to the use of the Software.

Introduction

Filterstation exists because of a simple premise: everyone needs some good filters. While filters used to be
permanent parts of analog synthesizers, they‘re now used on just about everything in modern music
production: vocals, drums, guitar, cello, whatever. Anything that makes noise can make more interesting
noise if you add a filter. A static filter can gently or radically shape the tone of an instrument, while a filter
modulated by an LFO can create anything from subtle animation to wild, screeching sweeps.

Filterstation satisfies this need by providing two filters in one plug-in, each able to operate in twelve different
modes. A simple but flexible low-frequency oscillator, with optional tempo sync, and an envelope follower set
Filterstation‘s filters in motion. Filterstation‘s clean, direct user interface won‘t get in the way of applying
exciting filter effects to your music.

System Requirements

To use Filterstation, you'll need a Steinberg VST-compatible host application which conforms to the VST 2.4 or

3.0 specifications, and a computer capable of running it. For the Audio Unit version of Filterstation, you‘ll need
an application capable of hosting Audio Unit plug-ins, and an Apple computer with an Intel CPU capable of
running it.

We support the use of Filterstation under Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7; and Apple OS X version

10.5 or newer. All formats of Filterstation are available as both 32- and 64-bit binaries.

Installation

Double-click the Filterstation Installer icon, and follow the instructions. During the installation process the
installer will ask you to enter your registration code. Your registration code uniquely identifies your purchase,
and you will need it if you need to reinstall your plug-in (for example, after upgrading to a new computer).

Keep a copy of the code in a safe location and please don‘t share it with your friends. We‘re delighted if you

like our products so much that you want to share them, but please ask your friends to buy their own copy so
that we can keep making new products.

On OS X, the installer installs the Audio Unit, VST2.4 and VST3 versions of Filterstation by default. If you click
the Customize button you can choose to not install one or more of these formats. There‘s no need to install
formats that you don‘t use, but on the other hand they don‘t take up much space if you do install them. The
OS X versions are combined 32/64-bit binaries.

On Windows, the installer installs VST2.4 and VST3 versions of Filterstation by default. You can choose not to
install one or the other format if you so desire. If you‘re running a 64-bit version of Windows, you can also
choose to install either 32- or 64-bit versions of Filterstation, or both. (There is no reason to install 64-bit
plug-ins on a 32-bit version of Windows, and there are good reasons to not do so.)

Filters: The Basics

If you‘re reading this manual you probably already have at least a basic understanding of what filters do and
why you need them. We‘re going to cover the basics here anyway, just to make sure that we have a common
vocabulary. We won‘t be offended if you skip this section altogether.

Most filters, at their core, have just two simple controls: frequency and resonance. The frequency control
usually sets the frequency at which the filter starts to change the tone or timbre of the signal. If you hear a

filter effect that you might describe as making the sound ―move up and down‖, you're probably hearing the

filter's frequency control increasing and decreasing. The exact effect of the frequency control depends on the
filter type, which we'll get to shortly.

The resonance control usually makes the filter's overall effect more dramatic, sharper, and/or more electronic­sounding. A high resonance setting usually makes the filter boost the level of frequencies near the filter's
frequency value, creating distinct overtones and sometimes a whistling-like sound. Some filters will oscillate,
generating an output with no input signal, at their highest resonance settings.

Filters come in several different types which differ in how they respond to different audio frequencies. The
low-pass filter is the filter type most commonly found in analog synthesizers. A low-pass filter attenuates or
reduces signal frequencies greater than its cutoff frequency and passes signal frequencies below its cutoff
frequency without alteration.

A high-pass filter works in a manner opposite to that of a low-pass filter: it reduces signal frequencies less
than its cutoff frequency and passes signal frequencies above its cutoff frequency without alteration.

A band-pass filter allows a range of frequencies centered on the cutoff frequency to pass and attenuates
higher and lower frequencies. The width of the band of frequencies is controlled by the Resonance control. A
higher resonance setting narrows the width of the band, letting through a narrower range of frequencies.

A notch filter, sometimes called a band-reject filter, is the opposite of a band-pass filter. It attenuates a range
of frequencies centered on the cutoff frequency, and allows higher and lower frequencies to pass unaltered. In
other words, the filter cuts a notch in the frequencies of the signals that pass through it. The width of the