Tinman
by Stillwell Audio · Filter · Pitch-tracking resonator
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Tinman is a resonant filter that detects the pitches in the input in real time and spawns up to four matching resonators.
Each resonator has its own attack and decay, and it costs $59.
Best for: Guitars, Keys & Synths, Vocals, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Ambient & Cinematic.
Keywords: sound design, vocals, electric guitar, keys, synths, tracking, cinematic, creative, eerie, extreme, futuristic, gentle, haunting, mixing, perpetual licence, piano, pads.
What it does
Tinman is an "intelligent resonator": it listens for the pitches in the incoming audio and drives resonant filters at those notes, so the resonance follows the part instead of sweeping blindly. It first appeared in 2008 under Stillwell's Schwa sub-brand.
- Polyphonic pitch tracking: detects and ranks the strongest pitches in the signal in real time.
- One to four resonators: each detected pitch triggers its own resonant filter, which peaks at that frequency even when the note is slightly off-key.
- Per-resonator envelopes: each resonator has its own attack and decay, triggered individually.
- Slides and releases: resonators follow sliding notes and fade out naturally when the pitch ends.
- Main controls: threshold, resonance and mix, plus a frequency range for the detection and a piano-keyboard display showing which notes are active (as described by Sound On Sound).
- Range of sounds: from added motion on a dull part at gentle settings to vocal, "spooky" sci-fi textures at extreme ones, always in the key of the input.
A free evaluation copy is available, and updates are free with no subscription.
Source: Stillwell Audio product page
When to use it
Tinman is the pick when you want resonance that stays in key with the notes being played, without programming anything. Compared with FilterFreak or Volcano 3, it has no LFOs, envelopes or sequencer to move a filter around; its resonators lock to detected pitches instead. Filterverse and WOW2 offer far more creative modulation and filter types, while Tinman does one job. The trade-off is far less hands-on control over how the sound moves.
- Best for: adding tuned resonance and harmonic movement to guitars, synths, pads and other melodic parts, and eerie in-key textures for sound design.
- Genres: electronic, ambient, experimental and cinematic sound design.
- Look elsewhere if: you want classic filter sweeps or rhythmic filter movement; FilterFreak or Volcano 3 do that better.
Where to buy
- Stillwell Audio: $59
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