Frostwave Resonant Filter

If you are familiar with synth filters, this is as simple as it gets. If you are not, it is not difficult to learn.

I own a Korg MS-20 and this filter is VERY close in sound to it. The main difference seems to be the lack of noise when turning the frequency knobs. These don't crackle like my old MS-20. Oh well, it still sounds great. Maybe in a few more years, these controls will crackle too.

It is heavy and seems to be built like a tank.

Paul Perry (the maker in Australia) is the best. He kindly answered my silly questions. The US dealer was very helpful too.

I love this pedal! If it cost more it would still be a great value.

Simple to use. But given it's feature set -- dual filters w/ no onboard modulation sources -- simplicity is a given.

Not remotely like the MS20, or any other decent analog filter, IMO. Use the 'external in' on one of your anlog synths, and save your cash for something useful.

Not had it long enough to tell.

Don't expect to keep my Frostwave items long enough to find out.

2 diffeerent Frostwave products have left me w/ the opinion that this gear is hobbyist trash. I thought Australia was an English-speaking country - you'd never know it to read the manuals. I know some people like Frostwave products, but IMO they're a total waste of time.

I guess not totally easy (I mean what, there's like 6 knobs!), but pretty intuitive if you've ever used a analogue synth. As has been said before an 'in or 'out' indicator would be nice.

I love this sound! It's immediately helped me get much better sounds out of digital sources. It's great for re-mixes too. I've connected it up to my pulse + and used the cv options which can make for some powerful modulations. Yow! I've gone crazy for this thing. I've never used an MS-20, and I don't know exactly how it compares, but that doesn't matter to me. You can overdrive the filters which can add a lot of character to a sound.
I've also used it as a sound source, with the res cranked in to self osc. into a space echo for sweep effects: sounds great over a big pa.

I've gigged it, tweaked it and stomped it. The shell is thick metal, I think you *could* break the pots, but it would take some doing.

I've not had to try.

It seemed expensive, but it immediately became a part of my sound, helped me enormously getting softsynths/ audio feeds sounding sweet/fat, whatever. It particularly helped with bass sounds, and makes them fatter (add hp res), airy-ier (fizz/ space at the top end - lp add res at the top) and generally put it firmly in its own space.
A control source really helps, synched lfo's etc.
I'd be interested to hear the analogue solutions version (rackmount + lfo's + env follower) that retails for 190 GBP. But whatever. This is a great box.

I've been making electronic music for about 7 years, I have a juno 6, pulse plus, akai n' emu samplers, oberheim matrix 6, jv 1080 etc. This is the most fun I've had with a filter, and it's easy to carry around to toss into the mix on collaborations. Hm, I'd get another if I lost this one

the pedal i'm using is "the resonator" pedal which is by all evidence the second version of this pedal. but as for ease of use, it depends on you're familiarity with analog synth type filters. as mentioned below, there's one setting whereby no signal gets through, but this is warned against in the manual. but if you have a good idea what resonance is, it's not too difficult. it's no one knob wonder, though.

okay, the noise thing. there's two different things you want to look at here. sure, with the resonance cranked up, and the pitch set certain ways, it's going to be a little noisy. but the thing is that this noise is inherent in filters in general, and i would imagine was in the design of the original MS20 filter. but the line noise using the included supply is absolutely non-existent. in my opinion, it's one of the least noisy pedals i've ever owned.

as far as sound, i can't say enough good things about it. it gives whatever you send through it this analog warmth and sounds great on just about everything. with the resonance up a little bit and the pedal mixed kind of in the background, you wouldn't really notice what it was doing for your signal until you turned it off and all the harmonic richness went away. i ran a guitar into it and it acted as a great direct box since the resonance sounds a lot like the way a cranked up amp overdrives your ear drum. i know that sounds kind of stupid, but that's the only way i can describe it.

it's kind of like a very active EQ. tune the filters to that special spot that you want to boost and notch up the resonance. it's hard to describe what the sound is except that i like it a lot. i found that putting it at the end of my effects chain is the most useful. just take whatever signal you're already going with and dial in a little throb. it's like taking your signal and wrapping it a warm blanket.

it's really made very solidly. i open all the pedals i get and look inside to see what's going on and the build quality on this one just looks exceptionally clean. just holding it in your hands feels very substantial. nice case too. great spacing on the knobs and the slope of the pedal is perfect.

paul is a member of the analog heaven newsgroup which i was subbed to for some time so i've read his posts and dealt with him on a couple occasions before purchasing one of his products. it was actually through AH that i saw he was offerring a couple of "factory seconds" for sale and ended up with one. after a huge mess trying to actually get him money (both USPS IMOs and western union failed me), he told me to just send him cash. i did and he got the pedal out to me *quick.* the whole time, he was quick to respond to emails and always pleasant, never seeming like he didn't have enough time to deal with me or answer my questions. i haven't had to return the pedal for any reason (i just got it two days ago) but i'm sure if i did, it would be just like every other interaction i've had with him. paul is an absolute prince of a guy and makes a great product. write to him directly, it's a much better experience than going through musictoyz.com or some other bunch of online nobodys.

i only write these reviews when i'm particularly impressed with a pedal so you know if you're reading this, i'm loving it. the great thing about it is that it's a very useful pedal for recording. you can use it to make things sound just a little better, or you can crank it and fuck shit up. my main thing is that i like pedals i can use more than once. sure, for example, an EH polychorus is a great sounding pedal but how many times am i going to use wigged out chorus/flange? this i can put on any signal and it'll make it sound better. i can run a guitar into it or i can sing through it, synths, bass, etc...

plus, everything on this pedal except for mix and volume is voltage controllable. flexibility is what separates the great pedals from the dirth of crap on the market. well, that and sound. and i've already raved about that. so this pedal wins on both counts.

there's an MOTM module that is also styled after the MS20 filter but i haven't tried it. the differences between the two is that the MOTM module has an onboard mixer, but only one filter that's switchable between HP, BP and LP. personally, i'd rather have this one b/c of the stompbox format and the dual filter design. can't speak to the sound though.

i've talked long enough. go buy it already.

Six knobs means its not simplistic, but the controls are very logical: input level, output mix (dry vs. filtered), plus cutoff frequency and resonance knobs for each of the two filters (highpass, lowpass). By setting the knobs wrong it's possible to get no sound (lowpass cutoff less than highpass cutoff) or only the filter sound without the original signal (resonance on 10, which can also risk shredding your speakers!), but sometimes those things are useful, too. But in general, twisting each knob makes its' function quite apparent. And if you're already familiar with the resonant filters on analog synths (and some samplers), the ease-of-use will be more of a "9" or "10" for you.

One of the great things about a filter box is its versatility. I've used this on just about everything - guitar & bass, synths, vocals, drum machines (mmm ... nice 'n' dubby), in both studio & live settings. It's especially effective used after effects than add harmonic content (fuzz, octave). And with the resonance cranked up, it will self-oscillate even without any audio source plugged it. Since it's modeled after the Korg MS-20 filter, it is a bit noisy (and biting and NEVER weak) to begin with, but in this case, that's part of the charm. I own an MS-20 and this device really does sound like that synth's GREAT filter.

I carried it across the US and back on tour with no problem (my setup was: 3mS Triwave Picogenerator -> Frostwave Filter -> Ibanez AD202 analog delay -> BF Bandmaster -> Ampeg SVT2-10Pro cabinet), so I'd rate it highly on this scale. The metal casing is thick and very solid. I have no need for a backup since I have the same filter in my MS-20 and Synthesis Technology modular (MOTM-420 module).

After I bought it used, I emailed Paul Perry (mr. Frostwave himself) with a few questions; his responses were always quick and polite. I've had no problems with the unit, though, so I'll leave this category empty.

I've been twisting knobs on analog synths since buying a Prophet 600 in 1983, and this is a worthy addition to my gear palette. I've found it useful for a variety of styles, especially space/psych rock and dub reggae, but it would probably also work great for some styles I don't play like techno (run your sampler/drum machine through harsh, biting filter sweeps) or even metal (to give a cocked-wah effect to guitars or make vocals sound extra-satanic); properly-used, it could probably even help make country guitars sound twangier or blues guitars sound deeper and richer - the possibilities are endless.

One of the best things about it is its pedal (rather than module) size. The Triwave Picogenerator + Frostwave Filter combo makes up nearly a full-featured analog synth (without keyboard), yet fits on a square foot tabletop with room to spare.

The only feature that I find lacking is some sort of modulation, CV or expression pedal input (like the Moogerfooger filter pedal has) to control the device, which is why it gets an "8" instead of "9". But I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Frostwave Filter if for some reason I had to replace it; other analog filters out there have more features (the aforementioned Moogerfooger, the Sherman Filterbank which has tons more features, etc.), but they all cost considerably more.