Polyverse has announced the release of a new modal filter plugin, Supermodal. Capable of going way beyond the remit of a traditional filter, Supermodal is aimed at achieving creative effects and extraordinary sound design.
When you hear the word filter, you might think of the bread-and-butter filter plugins that come bundled with every DAW. Often offering low-pass, high-pass and band-pass modes with maybe a sprinkle of modulation capabilities, they're essential tools, but not particularly exciting.
Polyverse is hoping to change that with Supermodal, a plugin based around a unique approach to filtering known as the modal filter. Described by Polyverse as a 'meta-filter', the tool is made up of hundreds of resonant bandpass filters that can be organized in various different configurations to produce harmonics, or partials, spread across the frequency spectrum.
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Supermodal is equipped with 27 different resonation behaviour modes - named in the plugin as Variants - grouped into nine filter models that can emulate the sonic characteristics of instruments, objects and sounds we already know (the plugin includes presets for vocal formants, vibraphones, bells, pianos and synth waveforms) or produce experimental sounds unlike anything that a conventional filter might traditionally be capable of.
The modal filter in Supermodal is complemented by a standard state-variable filter, equipped with three filter modes, a fixed slope of 24db per octave, and a built-in saturation algorithm. The standard filter and the modal filter are arranged in parallel so the user can blend the sounds from both.
Supermodal boasts some powerful modulation abilities, thanks to a modulation section borrowed from Polyverse's Manipulator plugin. This features four separate modulation slots, each assignable to one of Supermodal's six modulation sources, which include MIDI/CV input, in addition to an envelope follower, ADSR envelope, sequencer, randomizer, and a 'meta knob'. Almost any parameter in Supermodal can be modulated, and the generators are capable of cross-modulation, too.
Supermodal 1.0.0 is available now for $99.
Find out more on Polyverse's website, or check out the plugin in action below.
