ELTA Music reveals POLIVOKS PF-3 stereo filter in a box
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ELTA Polivoks PF-3 · Source: ELTA
ELTA Polivoks PF-3 · Source: ELTA
ELTA Polivoks PF-3 · Source: ELTA
ELTA Polivoks PF-3 · Source: ELTA
The PF-3 is a desktop unit pumped full of Polivoks-based filtering badness. Could this bring some Soviet sound to your tabletop synths without having to resort to modular?
POLIVOKS PF-3
The Polivoks is a classic Soviet-era synthesizer built in Russia in the early 1980s. You could see it as the USSR’s answer to the Minimoog, but the Polivoks has carved out its own place in synthesizer history for its edgy tone, playful oscillators and imposing physical presence. But it’s the filter that we seem to keep coming back to. There’s something about it that’s different to other filters; it has a character unlike the usual ladders, state variables or creamy Rolands.
The PF-3 builds on Elta’s guitar pedal-sized Polivoks filter and the Eurorack module version and brings that tone shaping to a desktop box. It’s in stereo, which essentially means you get two full filter paths which you can use totally independently or linked together.
ELTA Polivoks PF-3 · Source: ELTA
Modes and Cutoffs
It has four modes, including Lowpass, Bandpass, Hi-pass and Notch. These are selectable for each channel rather than having individual outputs for every mode. You then have a cutoff frequency knob, resonance knob, level and a very welcome wet/dry mix knob. The cutoff can be controlled via CV and has an attenuator for that. You can link the CV to control the cutoff from a single input. Or link the cutoff to control both channels from one knob and adjust the response between hard and soft.
In the middle is a noise generator with pink or white noise that you can mix into the signal and balance between the two channels.
ELTA Polivoks PF-3 · Source: ELTA
Filter everything
It’s a smart-looking box and is going to have no trouble muscling its way into your dawless synth setup. But you could use it anywhere. You could stick it on the master output of anything, or put it on a mixer bus, strap it to your favourite well-behaved synth or run a string quartet through it.
POLIVOKS PF-3 will be available in September for €350 in grey, black or white. Although black is surely the only colour. You can preorder directly with ELTA.
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6 responses to “ELTA Music reveals POLIVOKS PF-3 stereo filter in a box”
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Where is Behringer Polivoks model?Didn’t Mr. “Replica” Uli took on-board Mr. “Polivoks” Kuzmin last summer?
Indeed – simple answer is that there are not the chips in the quantity or price Behringer needs them to be.
Can you have mono in – stereo out?
I do not know – from the looks of it I would say no, but we’ll have to wait for the full specs and demo videos.
Since there are two independant INs as well as 2 independant signal paths I am sure that there is a Mono-IN and Stereo-OUT mode; it just requires a specific cable (TS to 2 x TS) … and then slight or sharp differences in the settings of the two filter path.
Acidbox from Erica Synths has been available for many years (currently on v3). Stereo, controls for both combined, plus LFO (w/sync) and envelope follower.
Nice to see another desktop unit from another company.