Złob VC F3DB, voltage controlled fixed filter bank with distortion and feedback

August 9, 2021 Synth Anatomy Eurorack, Hardware, News 0

VC F3DB is Złob Modular’s unique take on the Moog 914 fixed filter bank module with additional, rich tone-shaping features including distortion & feedback.

The Moog 914 Fixed Filter Bank is the most famous filter bank with 12 bandpass filters and 2 shelf filters (low & high pass). An FFB is a unique tool for changing the color of an audio signal by attenuating certain frequency bands. Even many years after its introduction, the concept is loved by many.

In the last few years, many companies published clones/replicas of the Moog 914 module or inspired filter banks. Złob Modular recently added a fixed filter bank module to its portfolio that brings the concept forward.

Złob VC F3DB

The VC F3DB is an analog 6-band voltage-controlled fixed filter bank with an expanded feature set. The module is based on the Moog 914 filterbank which it borrows the frequency bands from. But it’s not a clone or replica. It uses active filters with opamps inspired by YU Synth instead of passive cells.

Let’s call these extra bits dirty addons as they put the filter bank in a different direction. Besides the independent band controls (88, 250, 750…) it includes manual gain control, clipping & feedback option as well as self-oscillation. Interesting is here that you can individually activate, clip or mute the bands.

These new functions make many interesting sounds possible that cannot be achieved with a classic filter bank. Thus it becomes a much more versatile sound sculpting tool. From graphic equalization over 6 octaves, multi-band distortion, spectral processing, crude vocoding, self-modulation, and more. With no input, you can also use it as a crazy, chaotic “harmonic” feedback oscillator. Thanks to the six envelope followers, you can also achieve multi-frequency envelope following.

On the connection side, you have two audio inputs, a CV input, an envelope follower, and an output per band, CV controllable feedback, and outputs. The latter includes odd & even outputs as well as a sum out.