Filter + VCA console saturation + adaptive comp, for guitars that need to tear.
A pair of state-variable filters in series. Two poles each, corner-to-corner. Resonance is set to a fixed ~1 dB peak — enough to feel the corner, not enough to whistle. High-pass first, then low-pass. Set the window your guitar should live in.
A differential VCA pair run single-ended — the SSL 4K-mode trick. One half of the complementary transistor pair saturates earlier than the other, so positive and negative excursions get pushed by slightly different gains. Almost purely 2nd-harmonic. 8x oversampled, half-band IIR — clean on fuzz, no Nyquist garbage.
One knob drives threshold, ratio, knee, and makeup. Release is program-dependent: a fast and slow envelope are tracked in parallel, the slower one wins. Releases quickly after isolated picks. Stays clamped through sustained chords. Soft knee widens as you push it.
IN ──▶ HP ──▶ LP ──▶ VCA SAT ──▶ ADAPTIVE COMP ──▶ OUT
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ └─ program-dependent release
│ │ └─ asymmetric · 8x oversampled
│ └─ 12 dB/oct · ~1 dB peak
└─ 12 dB/oct · ~1 dB peak
Five knobs. HP, LP, Drive, Comp, Out. No menus.
Audio examples land with the public release. Single-coil through a cranked amp, humbucker through a fuzz, baritone through nothing.
Resonanger is in beta. Drop your email and we'll send a build when the first public version is signed and notarised.