Filterscape

On your way to becoming an electronic music producer, you learn about filters quite quickly. They work by removing certain frequencies, or rather by blocking them and allowing others to pass. Low-pass and high-pass filters are probably the most common tools of this kind, and their names are self-explanatory; a low-pass filter will block the higher frequencies while letting the lows pass, and a high-pass filter will do exactly the opposite.

These tools are very useful when you want to add more liveliness to your music. Although filters are now present in most DAWs, synths, and even DJing apps, you may want to use dedicated plugins if you really want to sculpt your music with these effects. Filterscape seems like a piece of software that’s more than capable of doing that.

A bundle that’s worth your interest

First off, Filterscape doesn’t come just as a single filter plugin. Apart from the main piece of software, you also get FilterscapeVA – a virtual analog synth – and FilterscapeQ6 – a 6-band EQ. That’s really not a bad deal since this mini-bundle allows you to generate, reshape, and equalize your sounds.

Of course, you don’t have to use them all at once, especially since many features transition from one plugin to another. For example, both the filter and the synth already come with powerful 4-band EQs, so not many will feel the need to add another 6-band EQ into the equation. Nevertheless, it’s important to note that each plugin is quite powerful on its own; just don’t expect FilterscapeVA to compete with Diva or any other beloved u-he synth.

At the core of the main plugin are two multimode filters, each with a mixable low-pass, high-pass, band-pass and notch. You can also use two step sequencers, two LFOs, and four envelope followers to make your sound design really dynamic. However, one of my favorite features is the snapshot wheel which allows to loop between eight instances of the EQ; you can also find this feature in the two companion-plugins.

While there are plenty of other features to explore, I’m running a bit low on space with this review, so I’ll just end it abruptly by saying that Filterscape is a really powerful set of tools for those who like to push the limits of sound design.