The Flame Black filterbank at a glance
The Black Filterbank from Flame is an analog, sequencable fixed filterbank with 12 bands. The module is based on the Flame Curves and dispenses with the individual outputs and VCA inputs for each frequency band, resulting in a much more compact format. The signal path is built entirely in Stereo , but mono signals are also accepted on the input side.
The first eleven of the twelve bands are 24dB bandpass filters, the twelfth band is a highpass filter. Under the hood, each band is equipped with an envelope follower, which is controlled for all bands with the ENV/SMOOTH control. A small highlight is the overdrive function, which is realized with germanium diodes. These diodes have the property of adding a certain hardness to the signal and tightening the transients. In addition, the Overdrive can be placed before or after the filter bank, so you also get a good-sounding stereo distortion!
The filter bands can not only be animated manually and via control voltage; there is even an integrated sequencer with 99 patterns that can be synchronized to the MIDI-Clock or 16th note analog clock. You can create your own patterns using the free Curves Editor software (Win & Mac). Furthermore, the bands can be played via MIDI. In combination with a DAW or a master sequencer, you can sequence longer filter sequences and fast step-related changes. If the Black filter bank is running in manual mode without a sequencer, various filter types such as lowpass, bandpass, Highpass and even allpass are available.
In musical terms, Fixed Filterbank is a specialty. It can be used to emphasize or attenuate frequency ranges of the supplied signal and e.g. to emphasize subliminal modulation processes or to isolate parts of the signal. If, as here with the Black filter bank, sophisticated modulation options are added, organic-sounding filter sounds beyond the familiar Cutoff and resonance filtering are a result worth listening to.
