AN-157 min read

Filter Lab

Draw filter moves, play them on the XY pad and place them in the Track Manager’s filter lane.

A filter lets some frequencies through and attenuates others. A low-pass lets the lows through — the sound gets darker, as if coming from the next room. A high-pass lets the highs through — the bass disappears, tension rises. Move the filter over time and you get dramaturgy: that is exactly what the Filter Lab makes easy.

0/6 done

Choose a sourceYour own audio from the library, via drag and drop, or the built-in test loop.
PlayDrag on the XY pad: to the right the filter opens (cutoff), upwards resonance rises.
Record or use a templateRecord the pad movement over the loop length — it becomes a curve. Or choose a template by track moment.
ShapeDrag curve points (double-click adds, right-click deletes), set curve shape, length 1–64 bars, LFO from 1/1 to 1/32 and slope (12/24 dB), compare with A/B.
Place it in the trackPut it at the right phase in the Track Manager’s filter lane; the move fits itself to the phase length.
Take it with youInto the DAW as automation (MIDI CC, e.g. CC74 for cutoff), as a processed WAV or as a text recipe.

Filters for track moments

Parameter	Range	What for
Build-up	high-pass 30 Hz → 900 Hz	Over 8–16 bars, resonance rising — the bass recedes, tension grows
Drop	low-pass 300 Hz → open	Tear open on the one — the contrast makes the drop
Breakdown	low-pass closes to ~400 Hz	Over 4 bars at the end of the drop: “next room”
Intro/outro	low-pass opens/closes	Gentle fade in and out over 16–32 bars
Effect	band-pass 1–3 kHz, LFO	Telephone sound, wobble at 1/8 (dubstep)

Space: Play/stop
V: A/B: filtered or dry (with loudness matching)
R: Record the XY pad (punch-in into the curves)
Entf: Delete a curve point
1…6: Preset group: intro, build-up, drop, breakdown, outro, effect
←→: Filter lane: move a filter move
Enter: Filter lane: open in the Filter Lab

The Filter Lab: presets by track moment on the left, curves for cutoff, resonance and dry/wet on the right.

Try it yourself · AN-15

Drag the XY pad or start a template — the loop runs through a real filter.

Device page →

Quick check

Which filter makes the bass disappear in the build-up?

To the device page AN-15 →

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