Frostwave The Resonator

This is an analogue low and high pass filter. Apparently its a clone of the filter section of a Korg MS20 analogue synth. It can be a little perplexing for a first timer who has no prior experience with an analogue filter, and Frostwave's 'no training wheels' policy means your pretty much dropped in the deep end from the get go (they give you a one page manual that doesn't really tell you all the much). It will take you a few days to come to terms with all the controls. There a frequency and resonance controls for both the high pass and low pass filters, and overall level control and a blend control. Both frequency knobs and resonance knobs are CV pedal controllable. Be careful turning the resonance controls past 3 o'clock or the unit will begin to self oscillate, potentially deafening your dog and shredding your speaker in a matter of seconds. This is definately not a pedal a first timer can come to terms with in an hour.

I have to deduct a point for no 'effect on' LED. The unit has an LED, but it only tells you if the unit is receiveing power. I've never really understood when people have compained about distortion pedals having no LED, but when your not sweeping in real time its very easy to be confused as to whether the unit is on or not. The exotic power supply (16vAC) warrants another deduction, as you need to carry around another wall wart. Frostwave supply an adapter but I couldn't get my unit to stop buzzing with it. I bought a $25 AC supply from Dick Smith and it still buzzes, but by twisting the power supply input connector in the adapter socket you can 'dial out' the buzz. This can sometimes take a minute or more, and frustratingly, it can comes back, so you have to go through the whole process again.

Learning to control the unit gets a 5, minus 2 points for lack of LED and adapter/buzz.

I have it in my guitar effects set up, just before my delay. My unit buzzes horribly (like electrical interference) if I plug my guitar straight into it (accoring to Paul the builder this may be because the unit is expecting a larger signal than an electric guitar provides), but this noise goes away if I plug into another effect before the Resonator. The unit is true bypass so is dead silent when the effect is bypassed. When activated the low pass filter is quite hissy when the resosnance is rolled past 9 o'clock, which warrants the deduction of a mark.

Sound wise, this thing is fantastic. You can get huge filter sweeps with this thing, as well as bizzare blicks and bwops. It's great for ambient, space rock type music, especially when combined with delay. You can, as a reference, mimic a lot of the sounds heard on The Flaming Lips 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots' album (even the bizarre feedback in the chorus of the title track, though it's pretty hard to control consistantly manually). You can also coax some regular envelope filter type sounds out of it, though of course there's no evelope. I've found that for a guitar the unit sounds best with a CV pedal plugged into both filter frenquency inputs with the aid of a Y-splitter plug, so you're manupulating both at the same time.

I should stess that this rating is based on being able to tweak the filter frequencies in real time with a CV pedal. You can't get any of the sweeps or crazy sounds whilst playing without one. Without real time control this pedal would just be a pretty ordinary equaliser for a guitarist (unless in self-oscillation mode, where you can play the unit as an instrument by itself).

Nothing's perfect, and a mark off for the hiss. So an 8 with a CV pedal.

Comes with a lifetime warranty, so if it ever did break down you'd be fine. It seems sturdy enough.

I picked this up from Paul's workshop. Paul was very friendly and was willing to chat about all his Frostwave effects, other instrument effects, or anything else for that matter. He also gave me a little black CV convertor box he'd made, so I could turn my expression pedal into a CV pedal, and a Y splitter plug for free :). Very responsive to my subsequent emails.

This unit is a little pricey, but there's not a lot of like it (if anything) in the price range. The Sherman filterbank is over $1k, a real MS20 will cost you over $1k, the Moog is only a low pass filter. It's become an integral part of my playing, and if you're into ambient, spacey rock type music (OK Computer onwards Radiohead, Doves, Flaming Lips etc) I think you'll really dig it. It has a few quirks that make it frustrating at times, and when I can't get it to stop buzzing I feel like hurling it through the window, but i'd replace it in a heartbeat if it got lost or stolen. My desert island pedal.

The Frostwave resonator is fundementally a simple peice of equipment, being a high-low pass filter with resonance on each filter. There's a gain knob, in addition to saturation, which comes in handy when controlling this beast. Operation is completely hands on, offering all the quirks only real analogue can provide. Recent versions of the Frostwave offer improved knobs, though the knobs are still fairly small offering a more responsive tweak then the original MS20. Moreover the unit self-osculates when the resonance filters are pushed to the full, as she tends to scream at anyone that dos'nt tweak her in the right way!

This is a very important piece of gear in my studio, offering REAL warmth to everything put through it, making my crappy tube pre redundant. Moreover it's a great alternative for EQ'ing tracks, considering the resonator can lock in very specific frequencies, and use harmonics to fill in the gaps in the mix. Filter and EQ sweeps are nothing short of amazing for those into electronic music, however the benefits of this unit really do transcend all music types. I use this as a DI box for my guitar, as the gain turn to full brings a certain crunch similar to real tubes, slap on Amplitude or Ampfarm, and it's guitar heaven!

Sometimes the knobs can be pulled straight off...but otherwise this unit is rock solid, being much like a guitar pedal. I've actually seen where these things are put together, as it's completely hand made stuff.

THE BEST! I actually live in Melbourne, the city where Paul constructs these wonderful toys, and had the pleasure of meeting him personally. Paul gave me a few ideas about how to use the unit, as well as helping me replace the DC adapter (get the company president of Roland to do that!). Paul's a great guy; just don't mention you like TV...(He's writing a book critiquing its evils...hmm think I'll stick to the gear!)

I love this thing...if you know anything about how great analogue filters are, then this things a must! Although not having as many features as the Sherman filterbank, it's remarkably cheaper, offering great value. If it where stolen I would buy two replacements, keeping them in separate non-disclosed locations. Unfortunately I wish it could assign the filters to a LFO, allowing more hands free operation, although those with the cash might think about teaming this up with the moogerfooger CP-251 for the complete MS20 set up.

Most likely if you bought this pedal, you had at least some idea what you were getting. I received it in the mail today and was able to get a good hold on it after a few hours of fiddling around with it. If you do have any problmes, Paul Perry would be more than willing to help.

This thing is incredible. I have never played an analog MS20 synth, but from what people say it is almost exact in sound. As for the pedal by itself I am amazed. You can make some of the coolest sounds with this thing. When the pedal starts to Self-Osscilate (basically play itself, and create notes) watch out!
On top of the sounds this pedal plays by itself, I have a pretty big setup (about 13 pedals in all) and the combination is fantastic. (Boss Tu-2 Tuner - Resonator - Boss Sd-1 Super Overdrive - Digitech Whammy - Dunlop 135Q - Boss PH-2 Super Phaser - Maxon Phasetone - Boss DD-3 Digital Delay - Boss RV-3 Digital Delay/Reverb - DOD FX25B Envelope Filter - Maxon OD-9 Overdrive - Boss DD-20 Gigadelay > early 90's Fender Twin Reverb (and the footswitch for the amp))

It's like a mini blue tank. Of course I have only had it a day but you can tell a poorly made pedal from a hand built one.

Paul Perry is incredible. I ordered it on a Tuesday, he immediately e-mailed me letting me know he got the order. Then on Wednesday e-mailed me telling me he shipped it and that it would come within a week, and then I got it on the following Monday. Then I e-mailed him letting me know I had received and had fallen in love, within an hour he had e-mailed me back. He's in Melbourne, Austrailia in case some of you don't know. I later e-mailed him with a question, and again received a repsonse within an hour.

I am extremely impressed by the crafstmanship and felxibility of this pedal. It definetly goes beyond limits. It is a little over $300 with shipping and such (I live in Chicago, IL) but find me a cheaper hand made pedal that can produce anywhere near the amount of sounds this one can. (Did I mention the CV inputs? I haven't tested them out yet, but tomorrow is another day).

Totally easy to use.

I use it during mixing. Kicks butt on everything I have tried it on.

Great quality, looks cool and simple and perfectly so...

Totally dependable.
There doesnt seem to be anything that COULD even break anyway.

I record and mix professionally, and this box meets my requirements and more in a studio environment.

I work on all kinds of stuff, and this little guy has been seeing some use on rock, electronic, singer songwirter stuff, and R&B records!

Everyone likes a good sounding box!

Pretty straightforward really, the controls do just what they say. If you are a complete novice, you might have a problem with accidentally closing off the filter, but the manual warns you about that.

Sounds great, very little noise out of it, although as with any filter, cranking the resonance at the high end accentuates any noise in your input signal. There is a pretty amazing variety of tones you can get going with it. I use it for cheesy filter sweeps sometimes. If you are into filtered disco house you will be in heaven. High-hats and cymbals sound marvellous running through it in this way. Any squarepusher fans will recognise that sort of toothbrushing effect that you hear on his remix of Scratch Yer Hed by DJ Food.
It also gives a lovely boxy bandpass effect if you set the two frequency knobs to similar settings. This has basically replaced my GRM Tools bandpass filter plugin that I was using within Logic Audio. Not only does it sound much nicer, it has adjustable resonance at both ends. The resonance is great for giving bass sounds extra welly .
Overdrive the input and you get a nice warmth too. And the self oscillation gives you fab theremin sounds, digeridoo, tons more..

Bloody solid. I would trust it on a gig without hesitation, with no backup.

Really nice guys, and incredibly fast shipping. I ordered it from the website on a Thursday night, and it was on my doorstep the following Monday (ie: 4 days later). I live in NYC, so that is almost supernaturally fast!

Kicks massive amounts of arse. Really gives character and warmth to sounds that otherwise sound a bit cold (Nord synths, for example). Great fun to tweak and make it scream!

Once you understand how this box works, it's incredibly easy. It will take about a week of playing around to fully get the hang of it, but once you get past that it really is very simple.

To help out I've designed this manual. The product does not come with a manual.

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The unit works by generating 2 waveforms of sound. These can do two things:
1. emmit a sound of their own
2. filter sounds that come through the input

There are two knobs on the far left that generate the first waveform (High Pass resonance, High Pass frequency), and two on the far right that generate the second (Low Pass resonance, Low Pass frequency.)

You can think of them as two seperate ingredients in a recipe. They sound one way used on their own, but when you mix them together you get something completely different.

HP freq / LP freq
These are used to control the pitch of each waveform. Turn them to the right and you will get a high-pitched squeal, to left and you will get a low drone.
HP Res / LP Res
These control the volume of each waveform. When their turned anywhere up to 3 o clock the unit will boost the frequency of the sound being input equal to the value on the Frequency dials. So if the frequency dials are turned up very high, you'll get a very trebley sound. The fact that there are two Res knobs means you can accentuate two frequencies at once.
However, past the 3 o clock mark the unit will start to generate it's own sound, this is the fun part. By mixing together the waves from both sides of the unit you can get a range of sound that resembles:

rapid bleeping,
a vibrato cello sound,
a digeredoo sound,
a deep engine sound,
a guitar feedback sound,
a bandsaw cutting wood sound,
a LW radio tuning sound, plus everything in between.

While your making these sounds you can modify the pitch, and tonality with the two knobs...there is a great deal of scope for creativity, and the box becomes a musical instrument of it's own.

Level:
This knob controls the strength of the input signal, for example if your filtering a drum loop and you want to make it quite. You would use this knob.

Balance:
This controls the saturation of the filteration/waveform you are making. If you are using no input, and merely generating your own sounds then this knob acts as a volume control. If you are using input then it controls how strong an effect your filter has. Turning it to the left means your signal will remain totally unchanged, turning all the way to the right means that your signal will be heavily changed.

CV inputs:
These can basically be used to replace any of the knobs on the unit with another control device such as a footpedal. Useful, but not worth worrying about.

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When you start playing with the resonator you will have a big smile on your face, it's easy to sound like a pro with this thing and you will soon find some sounds that you like and can use, especially if your a fan of electronic music.

Small gripe: the led does not acctually show whether the unit is activated or not...just whether it's getting any power.

The sound quality is really quite amazing. The sound it generates is crisp and clear. This is because it all comes from transistors and circuits, with no interfering factors. When you use it as a filter you can quite easily get bad sounds out of it, but this is more a mistake of the user than the unit, it's a question of fiddling with the knobs until you get something good.
One word of advice, if you use this instrument to make sounds (rather than as a filter) try using a standard Hi-Fi amp instead of a guitar one. Hi-Fi amps are better at coping with big ranges of pitch- which is what this unit does.

As frostwave like to say, this unit is a clone of the MS-20 filter which has been used in literally hundreds of thousands of famous artists. If you listen to the radio you will find that about 1 in 4 songs contain sounds which could have been generated by this unit.

The box is very solid. The only weak point it the knobs which look slightly weak. I would carry it around in some sort of box. It seems dependable, although I can't jump to conclusions. I can't really afford a backup, but I am fairly confident that I wouldn't need one.

Frostwave are very helpful and friendly. It's run by a guy who you can speak to directly. The company has the feel of a local bussiness. I am pretty sure that if something went wrong- frostwave would be helpful. Although nothing has happened yet (touch wood!)

This really is an essential item for anyone who does anything remotely synthy, samply, or drum-loopy with their music. Buying one of these is a bit like getting your first car. Once you have it there's just so much more you can do. This product also has a very strong commercial appeal. It's something that you will find being used in the music on the radio, and on Dance Producer's music.

Currently I own a Fender Fat Strat, which I run through a laney amp. My other pedal is an Akai Headrush which I use for looping.
What I do is make loops with the headrush which I then filter around with the Resonator. It works really well. I also use the resonator as a solo instrument when my band is playing, which is also great! I think using the resonator solo is the best thing about it, the range of sound is so insane that you can find practically anything to fit into any situation.

If your recording you could make some great ambient sounds with this, it could be a great tool for giving music more atmosphere.

I looked briefly for simmilar products, I couldn't afford an MS-20, and the price was good what with the Australian exchange rate (frostwave is Australian) so I went for this. I am not dissapointed in the slightest. Despite a couple of little flaws I still rate this a 10

Finally, When I bought my resonator, my name was placed into a draw and I ended up winning another frostwave product called the "spacebeam" Frostwave do a lot of money off and prize promotions, I was lucky to win but their stuff is still great value.

As we all know, this box is a faithful reproduction of the Korg MS-20 filter section. It sounds great and is extremely easy to use. Just plug whatever into it, turn the knobs, and have a blast. Follow the manual's instructions for the starting setup so that you don't have it feeding back and self-oscillating right away.

Now THIS is what I'm talking about, analog-filter style. The best one I have played to be sure. I am using it with both guitar and keyboards and it's all good.

I haven't had it long enough to know about reliability, but it's very durably constructed. In short, you won't break it if you drop it, and it certainly wouldn't lose a fight with an Ernie Ball volume in your pedalbag.

Paul Perry is a good man and knows his babies very well. Any question I have had he's been gracious enough to answer, and very quick in doing so.

I play eclectic rock, ambient music, quirky studio stuff, etc. Where has this thing been all my life? It's a moot question now. Anyone who wants tomes from the smooth to the squelchy should get one. If you're going to use it for guitar, make sure that you either have a MIDI-CV converter or homemade voltage control pedals, which Paul Perry can tell you how to make. I wouldn't trade this box for anything, not even the Moogerfooger.

It's easy to get rolling with this, but its' range of uses are pretty deep. I've only just begun to figure out how to use CV inputs properly, which have opened up an entirely different level of crazy FM-style sounds. It's not a difficult device to use, but there are many, many ways to use this thing.
They don't provide much of a manual with it, but I don't think that's a big issue. It's not hard to use if you know what it is, but I could see figuring out how to use and misuse it in interesting ways even if you don't understand analog filters. I guess the one I have is the second edition of it.

I've used this with just about every electric instrument I own: guitars, basses, keyboards, drum machines and other electronic devices. There are so many ways that it can be used: as a filter pedal to boost or cut certain frequencies, as bandpass filter (with a CV pedal) to get more wah-like sounds, with the levels turned up high, as a sort of quasi-distortion box or exciter, as a direct box into a DAW. It's pretty amazing for drums as a way to get really pounding kicks, that, if you mess around with the frequency knobs, can turn into bass lines. I've used it to track instruments in a busy mix so that they sit within a very small frequency range and don't get in the way of everything else. I've used it in a cheapo modular synth setup. I've used it as an instrument in itself, because both filters self-oscillate past a certain level, creating a very pleasing, warm synth tone. Combine it with some effects, and it can be completely hypnotic. There are other uses that I've forgotten about, or haven't run across yet.
I've never used a real MS-20, so I can't compare, but the filter is warm, but can be biting or shrill if you so desire. I'm sure you could destroy speakers with these, if so inclined.

I've only gigged with it a little, but it's very sturdy. It appears to be built to last.

Paul Perry is a really nice guy who's always been very responsive to any of the dumb questions I've asked him. He's responded by the next day, which is all I can ask from a person who lives on the other side of the world. I'm not the most technically savvy person by a longshot, and he's helped me to understand a few of the ins and outs of the box. He obviously is very enthusiastic about what he does for a living.
In addition, you get a three-year warranty, I believe.

I mess around with everything from straight-ahead rock to experimental electronic stuff. I'm mainly a bassist/guitarist (a little over ten years), but I try to mess around with other instruments too. I've had a little more success with synths and samples with The Resonator, but that's because I haven't really focused on using it with guitars. This will most definitely change. Once I'm able to get a slightly better home studio happening, it's going to be even more indispensible as a tool and instrument. Not only would I get another one if stolen, I could see getting another so I could have two for different uses at the same time. As a realtime effects processor or instrument, it's amazing, and more importantly, inspirational. There have been more than a few times where I've dreamt up new ways to use it, or where it's inspired me to create something new.
I've tried the Big Briar Lowpass Filter, and, while it's very good too, The Resonator has better options for me: HP and LP, a smaller, more durable size and build, and a hell of a lot ($140-150)cheaper. Still, I could see why one would choose the Big Briar if they absolutely HAD to have particular sound the 24db filter makes.
The only gripe I can think of is that it uses an AC wall-wart.
If you make music and do any home recording, you can find a use for this.

It comes with no manual, but anyone with even a passing knowledge of synths or equalisers will know how to work it. Anyone else could figure it out within a few minutes of simple knob tweaking. It has 6 knobs (High pass cutoff frequency and resonance, low pass cutoff and freq, level and a balance for blending between the filtered and dry signal)and a bypass switch.

In one word, incredible. It's a serial 12db highpass -> Lowpass self-oscillating filter based on the filter section of the Korg MS-20. I've never used a real MS-20 so I can't say how accurate a clone it is, but suffice to say that the Resonator definitely holds it's own as a very useful and musical sounding filter. In it's simplest capacity you can use it to do low pass filter sweeps ala Daft Punks 'Musique' or simple eq adjustment, but things can get far more interesting. By adding a little resonance to the high pass and setting the cutoff frequency to match your material, you're capable of adding an incredible amount of bass to the signal. Also, being a serial filter means that the Resonator is equally capable of acting as a very versatile bandpass filter, which can do wonders for strings, especially if you mix the filtered signal with the original and sweep the cutoffs a little. When the filters self-oscillate watch your levels because they can go from ear shattering highs to speaker shredding sub bass.

Another use of mine for the Resonator is as a simple analogue overdrive for samples. By cranking the level up you get a very slight overdrive that is perfect for adding energy, warmth, and a liveliness to any sound.

Solid, heavy, and very nice feeling knobs and pots. I would quite happily take it to a gig without a fear of anything going wrong. I'm pretty sure you could dropkick the thing through a window and it'd still work perfectly.

Frostwave is a small company and has tremendous customer support. Paul Perry emails to tell you when the unit has shipped, gives some hints and ideas on how to use it, and is happy to answer any questions. He even remembered me buying the Resonator when I later ordered a spacebeam from him and gave me some ideas for using the two together.

It's hard not to go on and on about it, it really is one of the most valuable sound shaping tools in my studio. It has so many uses and due to the CV inputs for the frequency and resonance of both filters it's perfectly at home in a modular system and fully midi controllable if you have a midi/cv convertor. This is the sort of device that I would recommend to anyone making music without hesitation.

I do have two minor gripes though, which would knock my rating down to a 9.5 rather than a 10: My Resonator is slightly wobbly when sitting on a flat surface, but it's no big deal because my FS1r that cost far more is just as bad, and it uses a 16v AC wall wart power supply. My problem with that? I have about half a dozen spare DC power supplies of varying voltages, but no AC. I also haven't seen many around in stores here, so it will be a bit of an inconvenience to order one and wait should I need a replacement. Your mileage may be different though.

Those are the only faults I could possibly think of, so all in all a fantastic product that looks good, sounds better, and should be required gear for all electronic musicians and studio boffins.

Don't be fooled by how easy it is to use this - the box is capable of an insane range of sound.

No manual! Unless you count the friendly suggestion to experiment on your own that comes with it. You really don't need one, but some technical specs like in the Big Briar pedals' manuals would be cool.

Chances are you know what you're getting into if you've bought one. It's an extremely faithful clone of the Korg MS-20 filter section, i.e., a voltage controlled resonant High Pass Filter in series with a VC resonant Low Pass Filter. Actually, both the resonant and cutoff controls are VC. I don't want to sound too gushing in this review, so suffice to say its sound is simply amazing. The audio demos on the website don't even come close to doing justice.

Built Aussie tough in a tank-like and beautiful blue case. You could probably run it over with your car and it would still work.

Paul Perry, who makes the Frostwave line, is extremely knowledgeable and helpful and always gave a speedy response to my emails.

With the current exchange rate between Austrailian and US dollars, I seriously can't believe Frostwave isn't selling these by the truckload. I create a variety of electronic music styles, and can find a use for this baby anywhere. I'm a big fan of the Korg MS series, and the Resonator integraes perfectly into my setup. The filters, although not the killer Moog-style 24 db/oct (its 12), have an amazing and unique sound unto themselves. You can get anything from subtle high or low end damping (and boosting)to vocal formants and feedback-like screaming. Definitely more flexible sound-wise and built much togher than the MoogerFooger filter. Sometimes I'll even plug it into my SQ-10 and use it like another oscillator!

Just a note to say I have seen an updated version of the Frostwave resonant filter. The new model is called The Resonator. It is in a larger casing (~8x12cm) and includes CV input for both frequency control and resonace level on the high and low pass filters.
I have owned both the first and second revision of the original Frostwave resonant filter and, going on the quality of these units, I can recommend checking out the new Resonator, particularly if you're after a modular style filter. This one is based on the Korg MS-20 filter system.