MUTRONICS MUTATOR: THAT 90s FILTER
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- Опубликовано: 7 авг 2024
- A look at the Mutronics Mutator released in 1996.
As discussed in the video, this unit was used by many famous artists, producers and engineers in the late 90s and early 00s across a broad range of styles.
The Mutator is a stereo pair of analogue, resonant low pass filters (SSM 2045s) and voltage controlled amplifiers that are contoured by envelope followers and/or LFOs. In a nutshell, that allows for all sorts of stereo filtering, sweeping and tremolo FX on an open-ended number of audio sources. There is further functionality such as additional attack and release times, external inputs for creating alternate envelopes, external CV ins, LFO linking/inverting, MIDI control and MIDI LFO reset etc. Most (but not all) of this was used at some point in the video.
0:00 Intro Jam
0:59 The Mutronics Mutator
2:04 Demo 1: Borrowed Filters
2:46 Radiohead and More
4:01 Demo 2: Crutator
5:06 Envelope Followers
6:03 Demo 3: Beat Guitar
6:45 Across a mix
7:01 Demo 4: Daft Filtering
8:14 What happened to the Mutator?
9:04 Demo 5: Does It Funk Though?
9:55 How do we get the sound now?
11:10 Summary 
Видеоклипы
After bumping into Nigel Bradbury in a Facebook group, there's a correction to make in the backstory. Nigel actually worked at Mark's studio, rather than being brought in my James:
_Your infomation is pretty accurate apart from....James was/is one of Mark's long-standing associates and used to visit the studio a lot which is where I met him too. Us three went into business together as I had the design, Mark had the studio and music biz contacts and James had an electronics workshop in west London where we could make them. James also did the PCB layouts and organised getting them made._
_Another engineer and friend of Mark and James who used to visit the studio and workshop quite a bit was the late Vic Keary - I worked with him quite a bit on valve compressor prototypes which eventually evolved into his Thermionic Culture designs._
I went to see Mark to talk about becoming an in-house engineer at his studio, he had a DDA AMR24 console that I knew inside out. I didn't fancy the hours and no time off that i enjoyed being freelance. I did however agree to take a Mutator to show Neil Davidge in Bristol at the time he was producing Massive Attack (who i'd previously done a few sessions with.) My salesperson skills were so bad he wasn't particulary interested at the time, but then got one a year or two later. Would have been 96 maybe....
How'd you get italics in a RUclips comment?
Dude, the little throwaway examples you're showing off are absolutely fire this week. Fantastic stuff.
100% agree, I usually find examples in these kinds of videos a bit of a let down...yours are on point, very convincing.
@@qbaseden wish he would do whole tracks out of this
Totally agree!
I still go back just to listen again to the theme song from “S2400 Video Manual 2.0” 😂
I'd still like to buy Demo 4 on 12"
Thanks so much for the mention! Thought I'd been forgotten. Nigel's Jonny Greenwood model had a custom rocker pedal input & Custom pedal, it was the only one with that mod made. We used to listen to XFM in the workshop and final test was run the radio through it, after a year or so it became difficult to tell if it was the Mutator on the track on the radio or the Mutator on the bench. I still have mine but also have the plugin which I feel does a pretty good job of it. Other users, all-round legend Andrew Wetherall & Keith Tenniswood had 2, The Orb, loads of units were sold through Sabresonic Studios & Rotters Golf Club studios. Theres actually a Two Lone Swordsman track called "We Love Mutronics".
Hi Phil I was just about to comment that I knew the dude who built these!! I hope you are keeping well? Are you still in touch with Gary?
Alex, you continue to underline why you have one of the best channels on The Tubes with stellar content like this. Bravo!
Thanks Hayden, much appreciated.
Yes, and making us all desire to have all of that cool gear!!! 🤩😅
Agree
I absolutely love it how Alex reviews some piece of gear and composes, like, three or four legit bangers along with it just to show how it works.
Thanks!
how is it your music so consistently better then all other gear demos? legend!
Thanks!
Demo's in this episode are on another level; demo 2 is just 👌👌👌👌😍
Totally agree - in fact, i wanna here a record full of his stuff 🙂
@@mogilnyfirefly check out alex' band camp, quite a few albums full of fun RUclips and other demos 🤣.
Personally I liked the daft filtering demo quite a lot too.
@@MeriaDuck ThanX man 🙂👍
Thanks all!
@@mogilnyfirefly Just about any Two Lone Swordsmen track
That daft filtering section and demo 5 were awesome, great video!
that funk jam at the end as a whole with or without the mutator was smokin'!!
The SSM is a Filter, mixer and VCA on a chip! It is also found Suzuki SX-50, Korg and Siel made the same synth with a different name.
Ah cheers. So the discontinuation of it was basically the end of the entire audio path of the Mutator! Bit of a game over situation then!
The Emulator II uses it also, even though it was over a decade earlier.
Holy moly, _every single demo_ in this video is an absolute banger. Beatiful work.
Thanks!
@@AlexBallMusic No... REALLY... I could sit around and listen to your demos all day!!
I KNOW!!!!! :) So good! :)
Chill out. He’s playing with knobs.
I've been a subscriber for many years, and I have to say, you have really gotten your groove on and honed your style. Crisp, breezy, efficient, lots of demos, and great information. I do miss some of your earlier stuff (especially movie-related - Terminator, John Carpenter) and also that Light Music series, but I always look forward to your posts. The jams in this one were especially cool. Play that funky music, white boy. Play that funky music...
Hey Wing. It's been an evolving journey, thanks for sticking around.
Got some more virtual orchestral stuff coming soon actually, for a specific reason. 🙂
I really enjoyed your funky music in this video. Great stuff and I learned about a unit I have never heard of before.
i absolutely bloody love watching your documentry/ shows / videos of all things musical, especially electronic. many thanks .
Cheers for tuning in.
love that french house jam, pretty cool that moloko used this, theyve got some great songs, a great live performance too where the vocalist gets a bit too enthusiastic and accidentally knocks the mic over
Oh, man! I watched this video today and said "That's a cool box. I have to build that in VCV!" So I did. Downloaded the manual, studied the block diagram. Almost done. I still have two bits left -- the gate mode and routing LFO 1 (optionally inverted) to channel 2. But otherwise, it's all working and sounds pretty much like that. I even built a UI for it with all the controls. I'll ping back when I post a video of it.
Video already there?
now do it in pure data 😈
Exceptional as always. Goosebumps from those demos, especially #2 Crutator & #4 Daft Filtering.
I had one for many years, it was the most musical analog filter I ever used.
The Mutator is to Filter Disco as the 303 is to Acid House.
P.S. Another piece of hardware worth a look is the DSI Evolver.
Yeah, perfect for filtering funky dance stuff.
Evolver - turned down one for an amazing price many years ago. Kick myself a bit. Maybe one day I'll get to do a video.
@@AlexBallMusicI'll sell you mine! £50,000! 😅
That Crutator riff was awesome!
I wanted one of these so badly in the late '90s and early '00s, but I couldn't afford one in the '90s, and as they went off the market new, the price just went up. I did end up with an Electrix Filter Factory, but I wanted one of these more. I really associated it with part of that Daft Punk sound. So great to hear about the history. Thanks for another great video!
Yeah, supposedly all over their stuff. There's a lot of filter sweeps, so makes sense. Works a treat on that kind of music.
Am I the only one who thinks Daft Punk gives electronic music a bad name (around the world is so annoying makes me want to blow my brains out)
@@fortheloveofnoise I didn't have the same love for Daft Punk with Homework. I didn't start to appreciate them until Discovery. I also found Around the World too repetitive when it was being played to death. Looking back I'm not so bothered by the 1 bar loops and filter sweeps. It's not for everyone.
Your videos bring the joy for people in 2 ways at once. Firstly it's the knowledge on music gear you share with us. Secondly the great tunes you create.
Thank you Alex.
Thanks Left Toe. I hope it makes up for your next inevitable stubbing on a radiator.
Don't forget the humor and the guest artists like that German fellow from the 70s
@@evilscientistrecords sure I won't :)
@@AlexBallMusic well, that hit was HUGE, so please don't even suggest that another one comes some day :P
I just love the music you compose to demonstrate these products. Fantastic work!
This channel and Loopop are great ways to start my mornings if I’m in the mood for synth/effect binging
Your 303 sounds superb through the Mutator. More squelch.
Yeah, who knew the 303 could be even more 303?!
Stellar as usual, Alex. Thanks for the glimpse into your 96' glory 👍
I used one of these at Mute Studios years ago on a dance track I produced. Great fun. 👌🏼 Another great vid. 🤩
Nice! Confirms my info that Mute had one then!
What was the track btw?
@@AlexBallMusic It was ‘You’re my number one’ Candy Apple featuring Jon Banfield (Original mix) 2006. My friend Kevin Paul who was an engineer there, and also part of (Candy Apple Production) was doing the filtering for the musical loop while we were recording to tape, and he didn’t turn the dials up enough by the time the chorus kicked it. I told him he has now lost his filter licence 😂.
It’s not my best work but you can find it on my Candy Apple Productions YT chan, a collection of all my old house tracks. ✌🏼😊
ruclips.net/video/84gP-ScY4AU/видео.html
Very nice demo of the Mutator, Alex. Glad I got one several years ago before they became $$$. Would love to see a demo of Schippmann’s Ebbe und Flut, although that unit is much more obscure than the Mutator. Cheers!
Just found this channel; your demos are something else! They're full of power, life, emotion, far beyond what's expected for showing off gear!
One of a select group of RUclips makers that I always look forward to watching! So far I have loved every video.
I worked on sessions that we did in his studio… good times and not to forget, his massive 18 inch speakers!
Wow! This channel continues to be a favorite... still THIS episode! Dang! And to have all these wonderful instruments demonstrated by somebody playing good stuff on them! Hats off and kudos! :D
It's not enough that your videos are extremely interesting and informative, you have to make immense tuneage to demonstrate as well. Love your work, look forward to the next offering.
5 amazing demos! Each one left me wanting more!
🙂
That's incredible. I need one of those machines, it is incredibly more powerful than I've ever thought. What you do with it however, is stunning. You're a kind Alex !
Very cool history--and great demos. Thanks!
The amount of effort put into these videos is so inspiring. Always delivering informative videos with great music to go along :)
Thank you Sebastian!
great video all around, highly enjoyable to watch!
My best to you. Great work and I've learned so much. Hope you will continue sharing your knowledge and experiences.
A very enjoyable video! I like this concept of multiple info capsules followed by multiple musical demos. Didn't know anything about this unit, but now I do. Thanks for sharing, Alex.
Hey Alain. Yeah, same here; I knew basically nothing of it, but it was everywhere for a while.
Everything you do Alex, exudes enthusiasm.
Excellent stuff, keep em coming.
Thanks again. Yep, more to come.
Great video! I also have to agree with several of the comments, the musical snippets you put together for this demonstration are really fantastic. Such great and engaging examples to showcase the range of the Mutator. Those things are probably about to jump in price...
You are such a good musician, the range of music you make in these videos is really outstanding. I don't like everything but I love the variety!
Dang you're good! You've made so many demonstration pieces by now, and you pretty much always knock it out of the park with them.
Cheers!
Fantastic and yet delivered with modestly as always. 👏
Thanks again Colin.
You really should release an album with 30 seconds pop songs. This video is another example of your excellent short song composing skills, I love it!
Gotta say you are such a great content producer - I love the history lessons, and your demos are just superb. I tip my hat to you sir!
Thank you Steve.
Great stuff Alex, what a machine that is! Loved all the music btw but that funky tune is insane 🤗
Hey JP. 😃
Amazing video as always Alex…Love the Grooves!
Thanks Mark.
The music demos in this video are even better than normal. Amazing job, Alex!
This video was the perfect balance of interesting history and amazing sound demos.
Great demos - love those negative env sweeps! I was lucky to pick up one of these as one of my very first bits of rack gear about 18 years ago. Best random purchase ever (500NZD, or about 260GBP, which seems like a bargain now) - didn't even know what I was buying, just thought "that looks fun" and it remains one of my absolute favourite bits of kit. It really comes into its own when keyed off external CV, audio or MIDI, and is definitely a box that rewards experimentation. Great for bringing almost subliminal movement to a static part (eg. controlling the filter on the instruments bus with the level of the bass bus) - it can make the elements of a track really mesh well.
The music examples you've created w/ this unit.... are pretty bad ass!!!
Top notch. Never knew these were SSM, always interested to hear these bits of technical info and company history as well as the excellent demo pieces. 🙂
Cheers. Yeah, key to the sound and it's interesting that they felt there wasn't an alternative.
mmmyeeeeah I got one! its damn tasty, I have the midi version, gotta love the stereo filter and envelope response. as we speak I still speak Nigel every now and then and I am pretty amazed of the bloke and he helped me repair the mutator once.
That's pretty sweet, I instantly recognized its use in Daft Punk, very interesting!
Brilliant Alex! That Daft Filtering track rocked!
Oh my god I want full length versions of each of those demos so bad! (Alas, Geert called and said he would like demo 5 back.) Amazing work.
Geert is a lingering presence.
Haha, I can see why Geert wants Demo #5 back, perfect music for a blue movie!
Lovely demo mate . Great delivery and playing.
Cheers!
both of those demos were so good!
Another great demo of what can be done with a piece of kit.
Once again mate, this was fantastic! Takes me back to my Future Music days! Brill! And of course the SH1000 DID sound fantastic through it! :) Cheers!
Hey! Yeah, the extension the SH1000 was always missing. 😀
Great video and great music, Alex. :)
Learned a lot from watching this video.
I'm going to build myself something like this with Patcher in FL Studio!
Your videos are always first class.Shouts from Baden Germany
Danke schön!
Nigel has been part of the psychedelic trance group OOOD since the mid 90s. Their music is highly recommended.
Flipping awesome, Alex!
I wasn’t sure I’d recognise this, but as soon as the guitar came in I did. Then the vocals made me extra sure :) thanks!
Man, how many hours have I spent listening to guys tweaking THIS filter, given how much I listen to 90s electronic stuff. The 808 demo at the end was so nostalgic lmao
Another great video, thank you! Brings back many memories. I think I got mine around 2004, so they were produced for quite a while. No mention of Andrew weatherall and Keith tenniswood, who flogged the mutator to death across most of their brilliant albums as two lone swordsmen
Cheers Alex, squelchier than a box of jellied frogs. Loving this set of demos.
These tunes!!! So so good! Great vid as always!🙏🏻
Thank you
Come for the gear, stay for the jams. Crutator just lifted the fog of my Friday morning, thank you Alex!
Thanks once again Chris. 😀
"Here's a throwaway demo of this kit from 1996"
*Perfect Michael Rother from 1976 intensifies*
Wow, bro. This is very eye-opening. What a freaking awesome unit. Wish they still built them. And you're a total funkateer. My word made for funky people like us. Even though I'm nowhere on your level of playing. You're a funky brother 😊
Behringer just announced that they will make the Mutator clone, with collaboration from one of the originators. Might be a couple years 🤷♀️
Love your demo's, great style 👍
Glad you like them!
the stereo filter on the analog heat seems to basically have the same features. i love it
Really cool piece of gear, and a great video.
Glad you enjoyed it
wait ok great video but also i love your lil demo 2! what a tune
Ur a master of ur craft homie. Appreciate what u do
Thank you!
Wow, so many great tracks in one video! 👏😀
Cheers Steven!
I heard "Dunbar" at the start, and was immediately interested. Yet another interesting background story, fleshed out with some cool demos and tasty licks.
I was a dj in the mid 90z .. house trance and other stuff... that first demo was bringing back some long nights.. thanks!!
I have one of these I feed it with sounds from my Ipad and the signal out into Microcosm I met James a couple of months ago when I took my unit back to him for repair. Wonderful guy. He makes these amazing amps for rock stars now
Love the borrowed filters section. i just finished a piece where i used an acid sound from virus ti running through two doepfer Wasp filters being heavily modulated. Mega fun to stack your squelches!
Hey Alex. I hadn't seen this video when it first came out. But thank you for this video. Behringer announced a possible clone of this, so I needed to hear it. I like it and I hope Behringer does come through with it.
Outstanding video and research. Amazing to think this is the sound of Discovery and more.
Yeah, probably on Homework too. Right era.
Wow this thing is awesome. Right up my alley. That would be so cool if Behringer reproduce it.... By the way great video!!
Every single jam is fire again! Keep up the good work!
I've wanted one of these bad boy since back in the OK Computer days. I found an Electrix Filter factory that is no.match but scratches the itch. Ever heard of Electrix? They made some gems.
Those songs were way way to good for a demo. Just make an EP they are that good. Crazy
Thanks!
i immediately thought jamiroquai here, great video - thanks for the content mate
Heads up, Alex. Steve Crow is turning this into a pedal now. He's found a suitable chip and it's being created as we speak. I'm very excided about this new creation from Steve.
The best filter ever made and nothing on Earth compares with this one.
wow your grooves are top notch
These are killer grooves man! damn.
Just pure gold Alex!
There's always one track in your vids that I wish were full tracks. Maybe this time there's two or three. Hell yeah
Thank you. 🙂
Quality content and music mate, made me subscribe for more, enjoy yourself !
It phonk, it gronk, it increase the stonk, and on top of that it make you wanna shake your tronk. Great video as always, Alex, but like everyone's been saying: these are some of your best demo tunes to date, and that's saying something. Great work! Great fun!
Phonkin', gronkin', stonkin', tronkin' fun, yeah!
The 303 part is brilliant! As is the whole video ofcourse, as always!
Cheers. The 303 had to go through it and I wasn't disappointed.
Seriously Alex, release an album already!!
Great stuff 👏
He has released at least one. It’s great. I found it on his channel.
There's three on spotify! I've listened to the most recent, it's good.
Cheers. I've got another album done and it's coming out this year, but I want to sort out a vinyl release for the first time. On the list.
Thanks for the support!
As soon as you mentioned Mezzanine, I knew exactly where it was used. Super neat