STAGE MAGAZINE TEST (Belgium) February 1997 SHERMAN FILTERBANK : Back to the future
	Hey!...fwiet piejoew, toektoektoek swieeeppp...tsjiieuuuw woeb woeb... Maybe you think that I am nuts, but whoever wanted to approach me these days had to talk to me in these terms. I hung up a note at my door "Do not disturb, I am testing for Stage", but my room-mates began to show signs of worriness. However, the last couple of years they had to cope with a lot, but when I saw their pale faces, I could read in their eyes the question if I would survive it this time. But I survived... and how ! This was to be sent immediately to the headquarters. The story of a short, intense relationship with the Sherman Filterbank.
	VIEW ON THE FUTURE
	About 10 to 15 years ago, I was the proud owner of a Roland 100 M modular analog system and a few Korgs from the MS-series (MS10, MS20, MS50 and SQ10). Those were the real analog synths which looked like antic telephone plants, with lots of patch cords and a whole bunch of knobs and switches. The principle of those synths was very simple: you had a series of modules, one is an oscillator, the other one a VC filter, or a VCA, or EQ or ADSR, ringmodulation, FM modulator, etc... Those were apart boxes and areas on the frontpanel and all you had to do was to chain those units with patch cords, first an oscillator, then a filter, then a VCA which was being controlled by e.g. an ADSR and that output again in a ringmodulator... In this way, you brewed your own "music from the cosmos" while watching the stars. At that time, experimenting was really it, and sometimes you did weird things such as replacing the oscillator with the output of a record player, with for instance a drumtrack on it. The result was certainly a distorted and overdriven "drumtrack on speed", that amazed you by their uglyness.
	Nowadays, you can hear those drumtracks blowing your ears at 130dB from the bassbins in house- and techno-temples. This just to say that there's nothing really new under the sun. The Sherman Filterbank is actually a set of filters and modulators from those old modular synths. The simple idea of replacing the oscillator by another sound source has been appraised to a new standard. And how ! Depeche Mode is using it, and David Bowie would have hung one above his aquarium, and somewhat the whole British studio-scene is drown with it by now (Sherman prefers to talk about a hype, but actually this is the same). And ladies and gentlemen, this is a pure Belgian product !!!
	It would take me too far to describe all possibilities of the filters, and their settings, and the modulators, and the internal patch-possibilities, and the external controller-possibilities, and the MIDI-possibilities, and the ... No, for this purpose you have the excellent manual called "Abusers Manual". This manual is easy to review, fun, and everything is being explained in detail, with the necessary warnings for safety of "ears and legs". Because caution is to be taken into account with this module. You are perfectly able to generate frequencies by which you can win the gulf-war. This module would also look nice in a weapon store and it's also ideal to cut off the difficult neighbours. My assigned 100 lines would certainly not be enough for this. But I can not leave you without explaining the basics.
	In principle you have 1 Input and 1 Output and in between you have room to add as much filters and oscillators as you want. You also have some extra inputs in which you can, depending on the circumstances, put in external sound sources or control voltages, and by doing this, you can control or influence things "real time". There is also an extra output taken from Filter 1, via an extra VCA (which you can of course add afterwards on your mixing console with the original input signal or the main output of the Filterbank itself). What tricks do you have in the box ?
	FILTERS
	There are two basic filters foreseen, Filter 1 and Filter 2. Each of these filters is equiped with a frequency-control, the resonance, choice between Low Pass, Band Pass and High Pass and an extra -BP/0/-BP+LPHP - knob that works as a second correction after the first LP/BP/HP. Let's be clear: you have a lot of combination possibilities. Even more: you can switch those 2 filters in parallel or serial, whether or not in "sync". With the frequency-controls of both filters, you can make extra harmonics, providing you let them resonate (like microphone feedback, but differently). By making combinations with the output jacks (main out and out 1 of filter 1) you can even go one step further and sending filtered signals back as e.g. controller for one of the modulators, etcetera... (100 lines, sorry guys).
	THE MODULATIONS
	With the Sherman Filterbank, you can modulate in different ways. You can control the curve or the triggering of the ADSR (Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release) or the AR (Attack/Release) on the VCA. FM (Frequency Modulation) can be applied as well. In this case, an external sound source controls the frequencies of both filters, however you can also use standard CV/GATE signals like those used in (old) synths, or from the CV/GAT pedal. Same story for AM (Amplitude Modulation). Here, you are going to influence or trigger the volume curve of the VCA. There is also an LFO.
	MIDI
	You wouldn't expect it, but this boy is completely MIDI-controlable: every important function also has a real time controller. To my opinion, this makes the real power of this module. In combination with a MIDI sequencer, running along with some audio sync, you can generate the most amazing filtereffects, and reproduce them exactly. You could have replied that they could have add eventually some memory patches, but in combination with a MIDI sequencer this is even not necessary. You simply make a controller track where you send on controller value and here you have your memories.
	EXTRAS
	As this as apparently not yet enough, you can link more Filterbanks in a master-slave configuration to make e.g. a stereo set-up, from which the frequence knob of the first FB controls all the next FB's in the chain. In this way, you can even make e.g. -48 dB or -72 dB notch filters (extremely interesting) and even control this with MIDI. And you can mount them in four different ways in a 19" rack.
	CONCLUSION
	There is only one conclusion: take it and run ! The sound quality is suberb, the possibilities are endless and the price is a seduction. Additionally, your knowledge of filter-works is being multiplied by ten in just one hour. It's not really a new principle, but one only has to come up with the idea of putting this in a separate box. Therefore, I think this box will not only remain a hype on the other side of the channel. The world is ready for the Sherman Filterbank, and with reason.