Sherman Filterbank 2
Where to begin with this unit? For starters, the Sherman Filterbank 2 is hands-down THE most powerful analog filter on the market. It will be as subtle as you need it or alternately kick the living shit out of any audio that you run through it. The Sherman excels at modulating drums and rhythm type loops, giving the user hours if not days of tweakability and inspiration at their fingertips. It was designed in the mid 90’s (the best decade in music!) by a genius Belgian man by the name of Herman Gillis. His advice is to RTFM–and we can attest to the challenge of mastering the knobs…working with the Sherman tends to be an exploratory process until you stumble across the right sound. It is definitely worth the challenge though, and the Filterbank 2 has been used by countless musicians including Stereolab, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, The Human League, Orbit, and U2. In the studio, we’ve used this filter most notably with Ghost Atlantic.
Specs on Sherman Filterbank 2: The unit excels at creating filter sweeps and damaging sounds beyond recognition! It’s a 12 or 24dB/octave 4-pole dual filter module with one signal input and two audio outputs. The filters can be dual mono or linked, with crossfading from hi-pass to low-pass filtering with LFO and ADSR modulation. The filter is genuine analog circuitry with serious overdrive for the grungiest of sounds! What’s new in the Filterbank 2 are five three-way toggle switches which have been added to the front panel as well as an optional foot controller jack in the back for controlling filter cutoff or bypass switching. The new toggles offer hi-frequency boost/cut for the input, the Sensitrig envelope follower, variable sine or sawtooth LFO shape, and pitch-tracking.
We also recommend you check out the genius behind the design (the documentary below features him and his family and cat Zeppo). Herman is an inspiration to us here at Acadia, and we are so lucky that he is on our side of musical creation! Don’t forget: if you want to get a little crazy and experimental during a session at the studio, we’re definitely ready to see what the Sherman can do to your sound!