Soundtoys FilterFreak - Manual (Page 25)

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LFO Mode
The “L LF FO O” mode stands for Low Frequency Oscillator. An LFO creates a repeating
waveform (usually with a selection of various wave shapes) that oscillates at a rate
between 0 and 20Hz. This is why it is referred to as a “Low” frequency oscillator as
20Hz is still considered pretty slow in comparison to an audio signal. However, the
FilterFreak LFO has a slightly wider range and can go as fast as 100 Hz. Modulating
the filter with a repeating LFO can provide the ubiquitous “Auto-Wah” type of effect
as well as many other effects depending on the type of modulation, wave shape,
filter, Poles, Mode, Resonance, etc.
Rate
The “R Ra atte e” knob controls the speed or rate of the LFO’s sweep and is displayed in
Hertz. A sweep rate of “1 Hertz” (1Hz) means that the LFO modulation will repeat
once per second. As we mentioned, the maximum setting of the LFO in FilterFreak is
100 Hertz (100Hz) meaning it will repeat 100 times per second. Modulating the filter
at this speed is pretty darn fast and can create weird “side bands” that are
inharmonic making the sound kind of “clangorous”. This is “kind of” like the sound
created by a Ring Modulator and can be a useful effect. Note that at this speed the
sound of the original signal will often be totally warped out and unrecognizable.
Shape
The “S Sh ha ap pe e” nudge buttons are used to select from the list of available built-in LFO
wave shapes. FilterFreak includes all the “standard” LFO shapes like sine, triangle
and square etc, but also includes a method for you to create you own custom wave
shapes, which greatly increases the sonic modulation abilities of FilterFreak. The
number of possible shapes you can create is virtually limitless.