The six original LFO waveforms have been joined by a seventh, Slewed Random (smoothed stepping); and the Width knob pushes the two LFOs away from the centre in opposite directions, until at 10 LFO A only modulates the left filter channel and LFO B only modulates right, or vice versa at -10.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

With todays Apollo and UAD 2 systems boasting so much more power than the UAD cards of yesteryear, it makes sense for the company to rebuild its most iconic emulations to take advantage of the increase in DSP grunt available.

Read more: Universal Audio Apollo x6 The original Moog Multimode Filter dates back to 2009, and the headline act in the new Collection is the Moog Multimode Filter XL, which borrows from various incarnations of Moog designs (ie, the envelope from the Ladder 500 and the LFOs from the Sonic Six), but most liberally takes cues from the Sub 37 synth.

All three were developed in conjunction with Moog Music, its worth noting.

Three in one MMF XL represents a major functional step up from its predecessor, with significantly more going on in the knobs department.

Equally if not more importantly, though, the core algorithms have been improved, resulting in smoother cutoff and resonance sweeps (particularly at high frequencies), spikier overdrive, and sharper self-oscillation.

Auditioning new against old, the differences are immediately clear - which isnt necessarily to say that the earlier version is categorically worse.

Contemporary sound design being what it is, it will still have its uses.

XL Junkie MMF looks comically tiny on todays high-resolution displays, so XLs interface has been scaled up considerably, aiding greatly in terms of legibility and mouse control.

Stepping out Moog Multimode Filter XLs awesome four-track step sequencer is revealed with a click of the Edit button.

Synced to host tempo or manually set from 10-300bpm, it enables programmed modulation of any four parameters - selected using the big menu buttons on the left - from Drive, Cutoff and Resonance to Filter Mode and Slope, Envelope Amount, LFO Waveform, and even the LFO Hi and Reset buttons.

Modulation of continuous knobs is bipolar, while selecting a stepped knob or button calls up a graph-style display on that track for switched value entry.

The number of steps (up to 16) is set independently for each track (polyrhythms are go); the Step Length ranges from 164 to 11; six playback Directions are available (Forward, Reverse, two Ping Pongs and two Randoms); and shuffle can be applied via the Swing knob.

The Amount and Glide controls govern the modulation depth and smoothness of step-to-step transitions, the latter moving from sharp jumps fully anticlockwise to smooth slides clockwise - its only a shame theyre not listed as sequencer targets themselves A monumentally inspiring addition, the step sequencer really brings MMF XL to life, particularly when deployed in partnership with the LFOs.

Of course, it helps that it looks absolutely gorgeous, too - enticingly photorealistic.

Operational improvements to the filter itself comprise the addition of a notch option to the existing low-pass, high-pass and band-pass modes, and 1-pole (for low- and high-pass only) and 3-pole options to the established 2- and 4-pole selections.

If MMF XLs improved filter hasnt already got MMF users reaching for their PayPal passwords, the modulation setup surely will.

The jewel in the crown is the four-track step sequencer, discussed in the boxout, but the supercharged new envelope follower and dual LFOs are no slouches either.

The original MMF envelope was a single-knob (Amount) affair based on the MF-101 Moogerfooger, modulating the filter cutoff with a choice of Smooth or Fast response modes.

XLs Envelope section not only offers a choice of target parameters (Cutoff, Resonance, LFO Rate, LFO Amount, or any combination thereof), but also features Attack and Release controls for detailed response-shaping, and a Sensitivity knob for tweaking the envelope triggering threshold.

Where once sat a single low frequency oscillator with phase offset, we now have two of them, working fully independently, their outputs mixed using the Balance knob.

LFOs A and B are identical, running synced from 164 to 161, or unsynced from 0.01-50Hz in regular mode and 0.5-1000Hz in Hi mode, with Tap Tempo buttons on hand for manual timing.

The upper range of Hi mode opens up the potential for all kinds of edgy pseudo-FM-style effects that can get particularly wild when the filter is pushed into self-oscillation.

Moog Multimode Filter Xl Crack Mac