VST3 / AU · Windows & macOS
The French Touch filter by Loddj. Free demo with a 7-day trial.
The plugin
The French Touch sound in your hands.
French Squash Filter is a dynamic, envelope-driven filter with an analog character, inspired by the classic "mutant" filters. It combines a zero-delay-feedback state-variable filter with an envelope follower, a syncable LFO and a multi-mode saturator.
It is one of the essential building blocks of the French Touch sound: a musical filtering with that "squashed", filtered and compressed character typical of French House and Disco House. Designed for builds, risers and to add color to loops and buses, it ranges from the classic sweep to an aggressive, saturated filter in just a few simple controls.
Architecture and controls
The signal flows through a precise processing chain: the input drives the modulation modules, passes through the filter, is saturated and finally handled in terms of stereo space and final balance. The controls are split into five main sections:
1Filter Section
- MODE
- Selects the filter type between Lowpass, Bandpass, Highpass or Notch.
- CUTOFF
- Sets the base cutoff frequency of the filter (from 20 Hz to 20 kHz), to which the envelope and LFO modulation is added.
- RESO
- Adjusts the resonance and emphasis at the cutoff frequency, ideal for a vocal, "squelchy" character.
- DRIVE
- Controls the pre-filter gain feeding the saturator, adding harmonics and grit to the signal.
2Envelope (Envelope Follower)
- ENV AMT
- Sets how strongly the signal's envelope opens or closes the filter. Negative values invert the sweep, closing the filter as the signal grows.
- ATTACK
- Adjusts how quickly the envelope reacts as the level rises.
- RELEASE
- Sets how quickly the envelope returns to its minimum as the signal falls.
3LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator)
- RATE
- Sets the LFO speed in Hz when running in free mode.
- DEPTH
- Specifies the amount of cyclic modulation applied to the cutoff.
- SHAPE
- Lets you choose the oscillation waveform (sine, triangle, sawtooth, square, etc.).
- SYNC
- When enabled, locks the LFO to the DAW tempo; the RATE control is replaced by musical values like 1/4, 1/8, 1/16.
4Output and Tone
- SAT TYPE
- Chooses the saturator curve between Tanh (soft), Tube (asymmetric warmth), Tape (gentle compression) or Fold (aggressive wavefolding).
- MIX
- Adjusts the wet/dry balance between the filtered and clean signal.
- WIDTH
- Controls the stereo width via M/S processing (0% = mono, 100% = original, above 100% widens the image).
- OUTPUT
- Adjusts the final output volume gain.
5Advanced Features
- OVERSAMPLE
- Enables internal oversampling (Off/2x/4x) to reduce the aliasing generated by drive and saturation, at the cost of higher CPU usage.
- SIDECHAIN
- When enabled, the envelope follower analyzes an external sidechain input instead of the main signal, allowing rhythmic gating effects driven by other tracks (e.g. the kick).
Visual Interface and Display
The plugin gives immediate visual feedback through a real-time graphic display:
- Shows the filter's response curve plotted on a logarithmic frequency axis.
- A moving marker constantly tracks the current modulated cutoff, letting you visually check the combined impact of the envelope and LFO.
- Provides the exact instantaneous cutoff value in Hz.
Free demo
Try it free
Download the free demo of French Squash Filter: it's the full plugin with a 7-day trial.
Whenever you like, unlock the full version by buying the license.
Full license
French Squash Filter
19,90 €
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