SMUGI
ISCONIC 1960S
FILTER BANK

EXPLORE ↓

SPECTRAL SCULPTURES

Smugi is a recreation of an iconic filter bank used in the most iconic early electronic music studios of the 50s and 60s. Radically reshape any sound you throw at it. Sculpt your sound with vintage warmth, or push it into wild distortion, thanks to the obsessively modeled saturation. Perform live, thanks to inspiring macros and experimental effect modules.

overview

But most importantly, Smugi invites you to explore. Use its stunning parallel filters to discover abstract textures hidden in your recordings. Or treat it as a highly musical multi-band EQ to instantly add that vintage organic tone to whatever you're working on. Once you've discovered this gem, there's no going back.

In the 1950s, decimated post-war Europe needed change. Composers began experimenting with repurposed laboratory equipment, tape, and innovative recording techniques to find a sound fit for a new world. While each pioneering studio had its sonic philosophy, they had one thing in common: Albiswerk 502 - the ultimate filter bank.

the story

Stockhausen used it. Pierre Schaeffer used it. They had one in RAI in Milan and half at the Radiophonic Workshop because it was too expensive for the studio to afford both filter sets at the time.

Smugi fuses the sound of this iconic filter bank with performance techniques originated at the Polish Radio’s Experimental Studio and presents it as a plugin that will change how you hear things forever.

EXPERIMENTAL
TECHNIQUES

Split your signal into 12 extremely musical bandpass filters, then shape it with a per-band LFO and three experimental effects: movement, flutter, and feedback. The bands and effects react dynamically to your input signal - just like the hardware modeled after.

overview

Explore abstract sonic landscapes hidden in your sounds. Create constantly shifting sequences by using the built-in band sequencer. Get your mad scientist coat out and tweak away.

MOVEMENT

Create granular effects or let the filter modulate itself. Smugi employs a fine-tuned envelope follower on each band for instant creative modulations.

FLUTTER

Let your signal flow chaotically across the stereo field to create stunningly organic abstract textures.

FEEDBACK

Introduce feedback and resonance, or push your signal into pure mayhem and distortion. Approach with caution!

STEP SEQUENCER

Create interesting rhythmical effects with tempo-synced filter sequencer. Each filter runs on its lane with independent control over the number of steps and time division.

LEGACY OF PIONEERS

the ORIGIN

Smugi was born out of a fascination with techniques and tools used at the Polish Radio’s Experimental Studio, where repurposed test equipment clashed with creative tape splicing, ground-breaking sonic explorations, and a belief that paths are to be set rather than followed.

I’m incredibly proud to bring these tools to light and share them with the next generation of music producers. Put your explorer hat on. Dare to change things.

Karlheinz Stockhausen at the WDR studio. photo by Heinz Karnine. East news / AKG images.

Bundle Deal

Discover new sonic grounds with two experimental studio staples.

Try it out

Download the trial to experience Smugi in your own studio.
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  • With great power comes great responsibility. Due to its cutting-edge sound (no pun intended!), the plugin is CPU intensive. If you intend to use multiple instances, you might need to freeze some tracks. Download the demo to try it out before committing to a purchase.

  • Windows (10 or newer) and Mac (10.11 or newer). 8GB of RAM and an i5 or better CPU required. 64-bit only. MPE requires a compatible DAW. The download and setup are handled by Pulse, which makes it easy to manage all your Felt Instruments. The fiels are watermarked to you.

    The plugin works in every major DAW that supports VST3, Audio Unit or AAX plugins, like Ableton Live 10 or newer, Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, FL Studio, Studio One, Reason 12, Reaper etc.

  • There are no sales at Felt because I don’t think they’re fair to people who got the plugins earlier on. And those are the people who I want to support the most, which is why I offer loyalty pricing.

    → Here’s how this works:

    If you own some of the Felt Instruments and are subscribed to the newsletter, you’ll receive a personal discount code every time a new instrument is out. The code will work on this newly released instrument only (not the back catalogue) and it will expire after a time described in the email got the code with. After it’s gone - it’s gone!

    → Speaking of Black Friday:

    Every Black Friday, I donate a part of the November income to charity. You don’t need to do anything extra and it doesn’t cost you anything, and it feels good knowing that a part of your purchase helps to make the world a better place.

  • I offer a 25% edu discount on individual products to students and educators. The discount will be valid for a year since it’s issued and will not work on the bundles as they’re already discounted. If you’re interested in edu pricing, please, send me a copy of your Student or Staff ID or a different proof of your enrolment and I’ll set you up.

    Please, allow a few days for a response - Felt is a one-man company and support needs to get the priority treatment.

PLUGIN specs