Sherman FILTERBANK Owner's Manual
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BEFORE USING THE SHERMAN FILTERBANK, READ THE FOLLOWING
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
USE ONLY THE ORIGINAL ADAPTOR (OUTPUT 15V AC, 500mA) SUPPLIED WITH THIS MACHINE.
ALWAYS GRASP ONLY THE ADAPTOR WHEN PLUGGING INTO, OR UNPLUGGING FROM, AN OUTLET OR THIS UNIT.
TRY TO PREVENT CORDS AND CABLES FROM BECOMING ENTANGLED.
ALSO, ALL CORDS AND CABLES SHOULD BE PLACED SO THAT THEY ARE OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN AND ANIMALS.
NEVER CLIMB ON TOP OF, NOR PLACE HEAVY OBJECTS ON THE UNIT.
NEVER HANDLE THE ADAPTOR OR ITS PLUGS WITH WET HANDS WHEN PLUGGING INTO, OR UNPLUGGING FROM, AN OUTLET OR THIS UNIT.
BEFORE MOVING THE UNIT, DISCONNECT THE ADAPTOR FROM THE OUTLET, AND PULL OUT ALL CORDS FROM EXTERNAL DEVICES.
BEFORE CLEANING THE UNIT, TURN OFF THE POWER AND UNPLUG THE ADAPTOR FROM THE OUTLET.
WHENEVER YOU SUSPECT THE POSSIBILITY OF LIGHTNING IN YOUR AREA, PULL THE PLUG ON THE ADAPTOR OUT OF THE OUTLET.
BEFORE USING THIS UNIT, MAKE SURE TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, AND THE USER’S MANUAL.
DO NOT OPEN OR PERFORM ANY INTERNAL MODIFICATIONS ON THE UNIT. (THE ONLY EXCEPTION WOULD BE WHERE THIS MANUAL
PROVIDES SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS WHICH SHOULD BE FOLLOWED IN ORDER TO MAKE INTERNAL ADJUSTMENTS.)
WHEN USING THE UNIT WITH A RACK OR STAND, THE RACK OR STAND MUST BE CAREFULLY PLACED SO IT IS LEVEL AND SURE TO REMAIN
STABLE. IF NOT USING A RACK OR STAND, YOU STILL NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY LOCATION YOU CHOOSE FOR PLACING THE UNIT
PROVIDES A LEVEL SURFACE THAT WILL PROPERLY SUPPORT THE UNIT, AND KEEP IT FROM WOBBLING.
AVOID DAMAGING THE ADAPTOR CORD. DO NOT BEND IT EXCESSIVELY, STEP ON IT, PLACE HEAVY OBJECTS ON IT, ECT. A DAMAGED CORD
CAN EASILY BECOME A SHOCK OR FIRE HAZARD. NEVER USE AN ADAPTOR AFTER IT HAS BEEN DAMAGED, REPLACE IT.
WITH SMALL CHILDREN : AN ADULT SHOULD PROVIDE SUPERVISION UNTIL THE CHILD IS CAPABLE OF FOLLOWING ALL THE RULES
ESSENTIAL FOR THE SAFE OPERATION OF THE UNIT.
PROTECT THE UNIT FROM STRONG IMPACT. (DO NOT DROP IT!)
DO NOT FORCE THE UNIT’S ADAPTOR TO SHARE AN OUTLET WITH AN UNREASONABLE NUMBER OF OTHER DEVICES. BE ESPECIALLY
CAREFUL WHEN USING EXTENSION CORDS - THE TOTAL POWER USED BY ALL DEVICES YOU HAVE CONNECTED TO THE EXTENSION CORD’S
OUTLET MUST NEVER EXCEED THE POWER RATING (WATTS / AMPERES) FOR THE EXTENSION CORD. EXCESSIVE LOADS CAN CAUSE THE
INSULATION ON THE CORD TO HEAT UP AND EVENTUALLY MELT THROUGH.
BEFORE USING THE UNIT IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY, CONSULT WITH YOUR DEALER, OR QUALIFIED SHERMAN PERSONNEL.
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BEFORE YOU START
- MAKE SURE THE ADAPTER VOLTAGE COMPLIES WITH THE VOLTAGE OF YOUR AC POWER SUPPLY.
- AVOID EXCESSIVE FORCE ON THE JACK CONNECTIONS OR KNOBS.
- BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR SPEAKERS AT HIGH VOLUMES;
THE FILTERBANK CAN PRODUCE EXTREMELY LOW FREQUENCIES.
- READ THE SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS.
FCC WARNING
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy, and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions
manual, may cause interference to radio communications. It has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class A computing device
persuant to Subpart J of Part 15 FCC Rules, (according to EN 55103-1 standard ) which are designed to provide reasonable protection against
such interference when operated in a commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference,
in which case the user at his own expence will be required to take whatever measures may be required to correct the interference.
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INTRODUCTION
This is a crash course for all you musicians who hate wasting time reading manuals. However, it's a good idea to understand the actual function
of a certain knob in order to produce a sound that you have total control over. It is easier than it looks, don't worry. The sherman filterbank (FB
from now on) is a musical instrument you need to practice with if you want to release its full potential. Soon you will find the FB an excellent
and reliable live instrument.
The 11 lessons in this booklet must be performed one by one, only skipping to the next one if you feel fully familiarized with it. But in fact,
lesson 1 to 8 is all you need to start working.
As a beginner it's better to skip the b parts. Note there is no power-on switch. The FB consumes less power than an average answering
machine, and most music set-ups & studios have a general power switch.
WHAT IS THE FILTERBANK
AND WHAT CAN YOU USE IT FOR?
It is a versitale filter effect box with tube sound overdrive, 12 parameters of it are MIDI controllable.
Any sound source, live or in studio can be used, but it’s obvious that you won’t get far without an external sound source.
It's a smart decision to buy this thing, because it is not based on processor calculation speed, it will keep it's value for many years.
APPLICATIONS INCLUDE :
- Live performance of music & dj's.
- Expansion module for modular synthesizer systems.
- Mix effect or specialised equalisation in studio.
- Enhancement of dull sounding digital gear.
- Guitar overdrive effect box...
ALL SOUND SOURCES ARE USABLE ON THE INPUT, E.G.:
Synth / Sampler / Guitar / Bass Guitar / Microphone / CD Player / Any headphone output
Drummachine / Effect Send / Rhodes Piano / Hammond Organ / Saxophone.....
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0 START ........................................................ 6
1 BASICS - EXPLORING FILTER 1 .............. 8
2 SYNC MODE - FILTER 2 .......................... 12
3 OUT 1 - COMBINING THE TWO FILTERS 14
4 LFO - LOW FREQUENCY OSCILLATOR ...... 20
5 AR - VOLUME MODULATION GENERATOR 22
6 ADSR - ENVELOPE FOLLOWER ................ 24
TABLE OF CONTENTS
7 FM - FREQUENCY MODULATION 36
8 AM - AMPLITUDE MODULATION 38
9 EXTERNAL INPUTS ................... 40
10 MIDI ........................................ 42
11 LINKING MORE FILTERBANKS 50
- HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY .......... 52
- MEMORY NOTATION SHEET ...... 55
TipFB Caution
Repeat
Idea Trick
Important
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START
ABOUT THE KNOB COLOURS...
COLOUR RELATES TO
blue Filter frequency
yellow ADSR generator
green Volume
orange Resonance/Power
white Balance
red Anti-phase correction
ABOUT THESE LESSONS...
Make yourself comfortable with this manual in front of you, your
setup and the FB powered on. Set all knobs as indicated on the
front panel drawings whenever it is required in a lesson. Feed a
signal source to the input, e.g. a synth or a sampler. Connect the
main output to your sound system. Notice the knob in the right top
corner called BYP <> EFF, it sets the balance between the
incoming signal and the processed signal. Using this knob you can
always compare the original signal with the processed signal. Turn
it completely clockwise during the lessons.
If no sound appears, check your input signal source, jack
cables, make sure the trigger indicating lights are working, set the
attack on the AR generator to zero and adjust the frequencies.
Didn't you send a MIDI volume message ? It can mute the outputs.
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RACK MOUNTING
The 2 rack mount hooks can be screwed
on the sides of the unit as shown in fig.1.
Leave some space above the unit
in order to reach the connections on the back.
Fit the plastic nuts as shown above.
Vertical front
[ 19 Inch Rack ] [ 19 Inch Rack ] [ 19 Inch Rack ]
45¡ front
Horizontal front
figure 1
THE 6 DIFFERENT WAYS TO MOUNT YOUR FB
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LESSON #1
BASICS EXPLORING FILTER 1
Send a continuous signal from the signal source (e.g. a sawtooth
wave or a similar sound containing enough high harmonics) to the
input jack. Connect only the main output to your sound system.
Don't turn your sound system up to its maximum volume yet.
Turn up the input level just high enough to make both trigger
indicating lights react to the signal source. When a continuous tone
enters the FB, these lights must light up continuously too (fig.2).
Now look at fig. 3 and set the marked knobs to the indicated
positions. Start getting familiar with the following knobs :
1) Frequency
2) Resonance
3) Low pass / Band pass / High pass (fig.4)
4) The correction knob :
- Band pass / 0 / - Band pass +Low pass & High pass (fig.4)
The idea behind this knob was to overcome the limitations of the
Lp/Bp/Hp balance knob. You may ask yourself : why not three
knobs, one for Lp, one for Bp and one for Hp? Simple: suppose you
turn the Lp/Bp/Hp balance knob quickly from left to right and
back. Now imagine trying to achieve the same effect with three
separate knobs...
Beginners can leave this correction knob in the 0 (mid) position.
now set Lp/Bp/Hp on Bp (mid) position. Try to minimize the filter 1
output by turning the correction knob to the left. This way you can
turn down the filter output to almost zero, because a simple
calculation learns that Bp - Bp = 0 !
When you turn the knob to -Bp+HpLp, the same as above happens
with the Bp; it is turned to zero, but now Lp+Hp are present,
making a so called NOTCH filter. Changing the frequency provides
a kind of phasing effect. This notch filter can be used for
suppressing a very small part of the frequency range, e.g. an ugly
harmonic in a snare drum, or even hum.
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Trigger level
Amplitude of trigger (*) input signal
(*) When no jack is plugged in the trigger input, the input signal is used as trigger signal. See figure 24.
Time
Trigger Indicator light
On OnOff OffOff
figure 2
HOW
AUDIO
TRIGGERING
WORKS
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Suppose you want all frequencies to pass (Lp + Bp + Hp): set the
Lp Bp Hp balance on Bp and the correction knob halfway
-Bp+LpHp. This gives following calculation :
Bp + 0.5(-Bp+Lp+Hp)
= Bp - 0.5Bp + 0.5Lp + 0.5Hp
= 0.5Bp + 0.5Lp + 0.5 Hp
= 0.5(Bp + Lp + Hp)
You can make up for the weaker output with more input.
Fiddle around with these knobs
until you know what to expect from them !
By turning the input level up, the sound will start to distort, with
more harmonics being added at the input stage. Always remember
that too much input can push away the resonance peaks, giving you
the impression that the resonance knobs don't work properly. Try it
out, it's one of the features you should be very familiar with; on the
thin line between producing an over-the-top distorted racket and a
noisy sound with low dynamics, the FB works best. It's up to you to
find the right equilibrium.
Keep in mind that you always can adjust the balance between the
processed signal and the original signal, or compare them with the
Bypass-Effect knob.
In some frequency settings, a weak high “eee” sound can occur.
This is perfectly normal and typical for the Filterbank.
Don’t worry, it’s not broken. It’s mainly audible as as crossing over
between both filters. When the harmonics switch is not in the
“free” position, the “eee” sound in filter “1”, caused by freq of
filter “2” can be avoided by increasing the frequency of filter “2” a
bit, as this filter “2” setting is not significant anyway.
If you want to work in this sub bass range, the "eeee" can be easily
suppressed by turning down the hi eq on you mixing console.
LOWEST FREQUENCY RANGE
Our motto “Dangerous frequency range” is not a joke. Speaker
coils can actually burn when they move too slow, and have lack of
ventilation. This can happen at high volume and unhearable low
frequency. The FB can easily produce frequencies below 1 Hz. The
bottom frequency can change in different environment
temperatures. This is a disadvantage of this analog system, the
price to be payed for an extreme range. By inside adjustment, this
bottom frequency can be changed. To do this, you must open the
Filterbank and look for the trim holes marked “F1” an “F2”. With
a tiny screwdriver, you can re-adjust the bottom frequency of each
filter to your needs. Please don’t touch any other trim holes !
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SYNC
FREE
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10
INPUT
OFF OVER
NORMAL
FREQUENCYFREQUENCY
RESO
RESO
HARMONICS
FREE
+
-
+
-
-B -B+LH
L
H
0
S R
SENS. RA
R
FM A
A
SPEED DEPTH AM PAR
SERTRIG
TRIG D
BYP EFF
2
1
+
-
B
-B -B+LH
L
H
B
1
3
5
7
9
8
6
4
2
10
HP
HIGH PASS CURVE
BAND PASS CURVE
LOW PASS CURVE
HP -B+LH
BP -B+LH
LP -B+LH
BP
LP
HP -B+LH
-B+LH
BP
LP
-B+LH
figure 3
figure 4
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LESSON #2
SYNC MODE - FILTER 2
Turn down the output of filter 1 (bp-bp). Set the PAR <>
SER knob to par. Set the harmonics rotary switch to
"free". Try out the settings of filter 2 ; it behaves in a
similar way as filter 1. Now set the harmonics rotary
switch to "1". The blue light will light up, indicating that
filter 2 is in sync with filter 1. This means that the full
frequency control of filter 2 is taken over by filter 1. In
“sync” mode the frequency and ADSR amount knob of
filter 2 have no function at all, and it's best to set them at
minimum. (fig.5)
LEARNING HARMONICS:
Set reso filter 2 to maximum, select Bp and tune filter 2
(via the filter 1 frequency knob) so that a high tone
resonance can be heard. Now check the lower harmonics
by turning the rotary switch to the right. In order to get a
better idea of these harmonics, mix filter 1 on too
(correction knob at middle position, bp) with its resonance
setting to maximum as well.
Check the harmonics once again and get familiar with the
typical sound of the different harmonic intervals while
sweeping with the freq 1 knob.
HARMONIC: FREQ 2= MUSICAL: DESCRIPTION:
free freq 2 free independent freq control
1 freq 1 c equal tuning
1.5 f1 / 1.5 f - 1 1 quint down
2 f1 / 2 c - 1 1 octave down
3 f1 / 3 f- 2 2 quints down
4 f1 / 4 c - 2 2 octaves down
5 f1 / 5 g# - 3 minor
6 f1 / 6 f - 3 3 quints down
7 f1 / 7 d - 3 2 semitones above 3 octaves down
8 f1 / 8 c - 3 3 octaves down
9 f1 / 9 a# - 4 2 semitones under 3 octaves down
16 f1 / 16 c - 4 4 octaves down
see fig.6 for comparison with keyboard keys.
2
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1 = equal tune
1.5 = 1 quint down
2 = 1 octave down
3 = 2 quints down
4 = 2 octaves down
5 = minor
6 = 3 quints down
7 = 2 semitones above 3 octaves down
8 = 3 octaves down
9 = 2 semitones under 3 octaves down
16 = 4 octaves down
Freq filter 1 =
th
harmonic of freq filter 2
FREQ 1
FREQ 2
FREQ 1
FREQ 2
GEAR BOX
When the harmonic switch is in the “free” position,
the two filters work independently.
WHAT IS SYNC...
When the harmonic switch is in “SYNC”, filter 1 controls filter 2 via
the gear box, where you can choose 11 gears.
figure 5
figure 6
ZZZZZE BLUE ZZZLED
ZZZLIGHTS ON...
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LESSON #3
OUT 1 COMBINING
THE TWO FILTERS
The difference between serial and parallel:
There are two fundamental ways to route the signal through the
filters (fig.7):
PARALLEL:
Turn the PAR <> SER knob completely anti-clockwise. The input
signal is fed directly to filter 1 and filter 2. The output of the two
filters is mixed and fed through the main out vca. If you connect a
jack to the out 1 however, the output of filter 1 will disappear from
the main output. In this case, the main out vca only has filter 2 as
input. The output of filter 1 always goes to out 1. This means that
you can separate the output of the two filters completely. Check this
out by connecting out 1 to your sound system as well and by
panning OUT 1 and MAIN OUT vca in stereo.(fig.8) Now set the
harmonics switch to "free" and toy around with the two filter
frequencies. Try different resonance amounts as well as different
harmonic switch settings.
SERIAL:
Turn the PAR <> SER knob completely clockwise. Disconnect the
jack from out 1. The input signal goes to filter 1 only. The output
signal of filter 1 goes to filter 2. Filter 2 goes to the MAIN OUT
vca. Obviously, if one of the filters doesn't pass the signal on,
nothing will appear at the main out. If filter 1 and filter 2 are tuned
equally (this is very easily done by setting filter 2 to sync mode "1")
the filter effect is stronger. Two 12 db filters in series provide a 24
db filter (fig.9). Get familiar with the combination of the outputs of
both filters in serial mode. Start by using identical settings, e.g.
Lp 1 + Lp 2
Bp 1 + Bp 2
Lp 1 + Bp 1 + Lp 2 + Bp 2
Hp 1 + Hp 2
and so on... (fig.9)
Check these settings also with different reso positions. Now repeat
these combinations with sync mode 1.5 (quint down). Try different
reso settings and check the difference with parallel mode. No doubt
you will find combinations giving poor results in serial mode, like
Lp1 + Hp2. see figs 10, 11 and 12. There are so many filter curve
possibilities that it's impossible to list them all, but what you should
understand is why e.g. Hp 1 + Lp 2 in sync and in serial mode
theoretically let no sound through: Because in sync freq 1 >= freq
2. This lesson never finishes, you can only get more experienced.
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15
OUT 1
MAIN
OUT
VCA
VCA
OUT 1
MAIN
OUT
VCA
VCA
MAIN
OUT
MAIN
OUT
MAIN
OUT
PAR SER
SERIAL
OUT
PARALLEL
WHEN A JACK IS PLUGGED IN OUT 1WHEN USING ONLY MAIN JACK
PAR SER
PAR SER
PAR SER
PAR SER
IN
OUT
IN
FILTER 1
FILTER 1
FILTER 2
FILTER 2
F 1
F 2
VCA
OUT 1
MAIN
OUT
F 1
F 2
VCA
VCA
F 1
F 2
VCA
F 1
F 2
F 1
F 2
VCA
F 1
F 2
figure 7
figure 8
16
FILTER 1 BP
FILTER 2 BP
PARALLEL = 12db
SERIAL = 24db
FILTER CURVE, WHEN FREQ 1 = FREQ 2 MAIN OUT CURVE
FILTER 1 HP
FILTER 2 HP
PARALLEL = 12db
SERIAL = 24db
FILTER 2 HP
SERIAL = 24db
FILTER 1 HP PARALLEL = 12db
figure 9
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FILTER 1
LOW PASS
LOW PASS:
Only lets tones
below the
center frequency pass
BAND PASS:
Only lets tones
around the band of
center frequency pass
HIGH PASS:
Only lets tones
above the center
frequency pass
FILTER 2
HIGH PASS
figure 10
IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THIS!
This is an example of a situation where no signal will come out:
in SERIAL, when the PAR<>SER knob is turned completely to SER (see figure 7),
and when freq 2 is equal or higher than freq 1.
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