hardware review - vermona daf1 analog filter

[Evil G]

a sherman filterbank it is not. but i am so impressed by my new toy i thought i would share a review.

what it is: an analog dual stereo filter with lfo and cv/envelope follower.
price: $320 USD. (less than half the price of a sherman)

let me start out by saying that this is not the most feature packed piece of equipment ever. but what it does do, it does well.

it is very solid, physically. the white lettering on blue faceplate is the easiest to read of anything in my studio, and the chrome nobs also put all my other gear to shame. they are such a joy to twist that you will never think of this as a set and forget device. it begs to be played like an instrument.

there are only 12 nobs. there are input gain and output level controls to match the unit to other gear.

there are 2 stereo filters, each with resonance and cutoff control. a selector offers 4 modes: band, parallel, notch and serial (with a 48 db/o slope). each filter may be either high or low pass depending on the mode.

the lfo section consists of rate and depth settings, and the lfo can be set to modulate the cutoff frequency of either or both filters. a light blinks in time with the lfo. since the unit does not use midi, there is no way to sync the lfo or trigger it to restart, but the blinking led is fast enough that the unit can be beatmatched visually with a little tweaking of the speed nob.

finally, the cv/ef section consists of an intensity setting, and a modulation destination, which once again offers the cutoff frequencies of either or both filters. the control voltage is either taken from the envelope of the incoming signal, from a cv pedal, or from another piece of analog gear, meaning some remote control is possible despite the lack of midi. for both the lfo and cv sections, when both filters are modulated, they can be moved together, or in opposite directions.

i purchased the filter intending to use it primarily to sweeten up the sound of my virtual analog synths, but now that i have it, i'm finding it a joy to use on whole tracks, and it is currently patched into my dj mixer. there is tons of resonance (it will self oscillate) and it's almost effortless to create a breakdown/build in the middle of a track where there was none before.

like any piece of analog gear, it does emit some thermal noise, but it's well within what i consider an acceptable amount. the sound is quite sweet and full, and the sweeps, either manually or via the lfo, are smooth as silk.

overdriving it doesn't really sound that great. there is a clip indicator, and it comes on before it starts to sound bad, so that's a good thing.

if you want a filter that mangles things beyond recognition, this can do some of that, but it's strong suit is really it's ease of use and sweet sound. it's really a joy to improvise with and get out of the sequencer for a while. gear that puts a smile on your face instead of making you pull your hair out ought to get some recognition i say!

cheers :lol:

[loopdon]

some day i will get my hands on such hardware i hope.

[Scott Kemix]

Sounds like a good buy, but i am not impressed that it cannot be controlled via midi. That is probably why it is quite cheap. Have fun.

[sash]

what does 'self oscillate' mean?

[Evil G]

what does 'self oscillate' mean?

if you turn the resonance up really high it will start to make a sound even if there is no sound coming into the inputs. good for adding frequencies that weren't there in the original sound.

also handy for tuning the cutoff frequency to your sound source. play the note, turn the resonance way up (until it squeals), turn the cutoff nob until it harmonizes, then turn it down again...

[networkacid]

there are input gain and output level controls to match the unit to other gear

Turn input gain up high + output level down low = analogue overdrive, you will probably get some nice fuzzy distortion out of this beast too ;) Let us know how that goes

[dulash]

just went to their site to check it out and must say that the cross filter looks nice too.

[Evil G]

just went to their site to check it out and must say that the cross filter looks nice too.

it's quite a unique device. who would have thought to put a cross fader on a filter? crazy germans! :lol: