frequency guillotine

Frequency Guillotine is a 16-band filterbank built for deliberate spectral carving, stereo movement, and controlled chaos.

At the simplest level, it is a bank of narrow bands with individual level and pan control. But the point was never just to make a static filterbank. It sits somewhere between a creative EQ, a vocoder-like shaper, and a modulation effect.

Each band has its own level and stereo position, and the input can be driven before the bank for more bite. The whole thing can also be randomized, with controls for range and slew, so it moves into new states instead of just jumping around randomly. That part is a big part of the workflow for me. If there are a lot of parameters, I do not want to bury them. I want it to be fast to explore.

It can be used for:
- rhythmic filter movement on static or sustained material
- stereo spreading and energy placement by band
- formant-like or speech-adjacent movement with sidechain input
- transitions, drops, and more aggressive sound design
- opening holes in dense synth buses.

It is probably not the right plugin if you want:
- transparent corrective EQ
- static spectral shaping
- a simple one-band modulation effect.

I think it works best when it is allowed to move a bit. It can be subtle if needed, but it is generally happier when you lean into the animation, the randomization, and the more uneven spectral behaviour.

There are no hidden panels or extra pages. Everything important is visible from the start.

Highlights
- 16-band stereo filterbank
- dedicated level and pan for each band
- input drive before the bank
- randomization with sync and slew
- sidechain interaction for more formant-like movement
- useful for both controlled shaping and more broken behaviour.

Walkthrough:
{See video at top of page}