Tiptop Audio Forbidden Planet User manual

www.tiptopaudio.com
BP INHP IN LP IN
VOLUME

Forbidden Planet User Manual
The Tiptop Audio Forbidden Planet is a voltage controlled resonant multi mode lter in Eurorack
format. There are 3 modes: High Pass (HP), Band Pass (BP) and Low Pass (LP). Each mode has its
own audio input that can be used simultaneously. The lter frequency cuto has two voltage
control inputs, one attenuated and one full scaled. The lter also has a resonance control knob
and an output master volume knob.
Lets get started:
Begin with the RESO all the way OFF (counterclockwise).
Plug a saw wave into the LP IN jack, set the RESO knob all the way down counter
clockwise, set the Volume knob to about 3 o’clock and plug the OUT jack to your audio
system.
Rotate the FREQUENCY knob full scale, you are now hearing the lter in Low Pass mode.
Connect the output of an envelope generator into the un-attenuated CV input, turn the
frequency knob to around 9 o'clock and trigger the envelope now you can hear the
envelope modulating the cuto frequency of the lter. Adjust the envelope attenuator to
vary the modulation amount.
Plug an LFO into the attenuated CV input, adjust the attenuator to increase and decrease
the amount of LFO modulation. Now you can hear the lter being modulated by an
envelope and an LFO at the same time with full control over modulation amounts.
Manually play with the lter frequency and slowly turn the RESO knob clockwise, listen to
how it starts emphasizing the cuto harmonics and as it increases the lter starts to self
oscillate creating a sine wave tone whose pitch is controlled by the lter cuto frequency,
essentially turning the lter into a sine wave oscillator. As the resonance knob reaches its
maximum position the circuit starts to saturate and becomes unstable and confused,
making it sounding aggressive and scattered. Forbidden Planet can go from smooth and
crisp all the way up to aggressive and chaotic plus anything in between. The resonance is
impacted by the gain of the input signal, a lower gain will make the resonance appear
strongly.
Turn o the RESO knob, unplug the LP in jack and plug the audio signal into the HP IN.
Follow the steps above to get a feeling of the beautiful quality of Forbidden Planet's
highpass mode. Note that the frequency control and and CV inputs will now work in
reversedirection to the low pass mode, set them opposite to what described above.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

To get a feel of the Band Pass mode plug in a harmonically rich sound like a chord or a
drum submix (a drum loop), listen to how the band pass lets you emphasize a narrow
band of frequencies from the sound source while cutting out the others.
Increasing the resonance eectively narrows the frequency band and increases its gain
(volume). The Band Pass can also be very useful on single sounds and it is essential in
synthesizing drum sounds. The sounds in the classic analog drum machines of the past
are synthesized using noise sources, oscillators, envelopes but most importantly, yes
you guessed it right, band pass lters!
We hope you enjoy your stay on Tiptop Audio’s Forbidden Planet.
BP INHP IN LP IN
VOLUME
Audio Inputs:
plug audio into one or more inputs
Filter:
Frequency Cuto
Attenuates the CV input jack
Cuto CV control input:
Don't be shy, try plugging audio
into this jack too
Audio Out
Additional CV control
with no attenuation
Resonance Control:
Watch out this one can get
aggressive
Output Volume
8.
9.
http://tiptopaudio.com/forbidden-planet-analog-lter/