FabFilter Simplon

FabFilter made their name on their incredible FabFilter One synth, which was notable for its (you guessed it) fabulous filter. They now offer just the filter in a few plug-ins. This one, Simplon, is true to its name in that it is a simplified (and cheaper) version of their filter. It has two filters with three different bands and characteristics, which can be controlled intuitively via their handy interface. With the ability to adjust filter peaks and cutoff frequencies, as well as automate them using MIDI (or manually), you have a lot of cool possibilities contained in a relatively small package.

This plug-in is really easy to navigate (due to its sleek design as well as FabFilter’s always-appreciated interactive help hints). The filters are presented on a frequency spectrum and can be clicked and dragged to adjust cutoff and peak levels, which make it easy to dial in a specific filter tone and frequency. Additionally, you can set both filters to work in series (one after another) or parallel (both at the same time). The presets contained within not only sound good, but can illustrate how to get the best sounding filter effects, which is helpful when building your own presets.

With this plug-in, you could just “set it and forget it”, as the filters can be used similarly to an EQ, but with a bit more saturation. But you’ll need to move these parameters around during the session as it plays back to get the most out of this plug-in. One way to do this is to use automation, which is easy enough to do by hand by simply moving the cutoff and peak buttons around while in an automation write mode. But it’s really nice that the plug-in includes MIDI Learn capabilities. This makes it really easy to set multiple automation parameters to your controller. Then when you write automation you can simply use that control surface to move the frequency cutoff and peak controls (or any other control contained in the plug-in). Another option would be to simply do it “live” in a mix, meaning setting all of your parameters to different buttons or knobs on your controller and manipulating them all at once. We liked this method the most, as it makes the controls more intuitive, letting you react in real time to how the filter responds to your adjustments.

This plug-in can work on just about any sound source. It can add movement to a drum bus or synth pad, making a static part come alive. Even lead instruments like vocal or guitar can be processed in really cool ways. Additionally, Simplon features FabFilter’s always-useful help icons to make your experience really easy and fun. And their ubiquitous Smart Parameter Interpolation makes this plug-in adjust parameters smoothly without introducing any aliasing. If you need a really cool filter plug-in for a reasonable price, Simplon is a great place to start.

Features:

• Two state-of-the-art multimode filters with three different characteristics per filter, (including the one originally featured in FabFilter One synth plug-in)
• Lowpass, highpass, and bandpass filter types for each filter
• Control your filter slope steepness with three settings: 12, 24, 48 dB/octave
• Choose between serial (one after another) and parallel (both at same time) filtering modes
• Large interactive filter display, with large controls for flawless live performances
• Undo and redo buttons let you make easy adjustments
• MIDI Learn lets you assign parameter controls to your MIDI controller
• Preset browser lets you choose from up to 22 presets
• Smart Parameter Interpolation allows for smooth parameter changes without creating artifacts
• Sample-accurate automation of all parameters
• Interactive help hints and an extensive help file make for easy navigation of the plug-in
• Available in VST, VST3, Audio Units, AAX Native and AudioSuite formats (all both 64-bit and 32-bit), as well as RTAS (32-bit only)

Controls:

• Intuitive filter display lets you set the cutoff and peak of both filters by simply dragging a mouse over button icons
• Filters contain additional knob controls for cutoff and peak as well as filter type (HP, LP, BP), filter slope, and one of three filter characteristics
• Set filters in series or parallel
• Input, Output, and Dry/Wet Mix Knobs
• MIDI on/off switch and MIDI learn button makes it easy to control parameters with MIDI controller
• Use automation (either by hand or MIDI) to move controls during playback

Requirements

Windows

• 64-bit: Windows 10, 8, 7 or Vista
• 32-bit: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP
• VST 2/3 host or Pro Tools

Mac OS X

• OS X 10.6 or higher
• AU or VST 2/3 host or Pro Tools
• Intel processor