SUNLESS CITY
III / VI POLE CASCADE FILTER
MODEL : EM-402
Built with discrete analog circuitry and calculated architectural discipline, SUNLESS CITY is a filter of rare, liquid depth. Where standard transistor ladders can collapse into brittle saturation or strip away low-end weight, this circuit blooms. moves with a creamy, effortless gravity, imbuing raw waveforms with organic harmonics, thick body, and a dark, velvet glow that feels alive under the hand.
The EM-402 is not merely a filter; it is an instrument of tonal prestige, engineered to give electronic signals an unmistakable depth and warmth.
Sunless City is a voltage-controlled cascade filter switchable between 18 dB and 36 dB per octave slopes—three and six poles of discrete analog circuitry, each with a genuinely distinct sonic identity. At 18 dB the filter breathes: open, harmonically rich, with a rolloff that preserves body and presence without sacrificing definition. Switch to 36 dB and the character shifts entirely—tighter, denser, more authoritative. A low-pass with real weight behind it.
That range of character is what makes the Sunless City exceptional across material. On leads it tracks and sings, the resonance adding dimension without thinning the sound. On drums and percussive sources the drive and slope combination delivers punch and transient shaping that most filters simply can't—the 36 dB mode in particular capable of transforming a signal into something physical and immediate
Cutoff sweeps from 10 Hz to 35 kHz. Two independent exponential FM inputs—F.M. I with calibrated V/oct attenuation, F.M. II bipolar—provide genuine pitch-tracking capability alongside expressive modulation routing. Resonance is voltage-controllable via CV IN: Q. Drive Level governs input gain into the filter core, where the circuit's natural saturation character begins to emerge.
Self-oscillation is not an edge case here. Pushed to resonance, it becomes a third instrument—stable, pure, and completely its own. Run it through the exponential FM inputs and it tracks pitch with the precision of a dedicated oscillator. Feed it a sequence and it plays. Two slopes, one filter, no ceiling.
Underneath the panel, the circuit balances raw output with refined discipline. Drive it lightly, and the filter maintains a liquid, transparent contour that lets complex chords and dense patches pass through unsmudged. Push the input, and the core saturates with a heavy, musical weight—smoothing harsh digital spikes and gluing the lower registers together with pure analog body.
The result is a module that feels less like a utility and more like an acoustic space. It shapes raw voltage into a focused, three-dimensional tone, giving every sweep, ping, and sequence the physical authority to stand at the very center of a mix.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
MMXXVI
|
©
SONIC
DESIGN
&
ARCHITECTURE
INSTRUMENTS
L.A.
CIRCUITS
CORPORATION
Sunless City is a voltage-controlled cascade filter switchable between 18 dB and 36 dB per octave slopes—three and six poles of discrete analog circuitry, each with a genuinely distinct sonic identity. At 18 dB the filter breathes: open, harmonically rich, with a rolloff that preserves body and presence without sacrificing definition. Switch to 36 dB and the character shifts entirely—tighter, denser, more authoritative. A low-pass with real weight behind it.
That range of character is what makes the Sunless City exceptional across material. On leads it tracks and sings, the resonance adding dimension without thinning the sound. On drums and percussive sources the drive and slope combination delivers punch and transient shaping that most filters simply can't—the 36 dB mode in particular capable of transforming a signal into something physical and immediate
Cutoff sweeps from 10 Hz to 35 kHz. Two independent exponential FM inputs—F.M. I with calibrated V/oct attenuation, F.M. II bipolar—provide genuine pitch-tracking capability alongside expressive modulation routing. Resonance is voltage-controllable via CV IN: Q. Drive Level governs input gain into the filter core, where the circuit's natural saturation character begins to emerge.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
MMXXVI
|
©
CIRCUITS
L.A.
CORPORATION
Built with discrete analog circuitry and calculated architectural discipline, SUNLESS CITY is a filter of rare, liquid depth. Where standard transistor ladders can collapse into brittle saturation or strip away low-end weight, this circuit blooms. moves with a creamy, effortless gravity, imbuing raw waveforms with organic harmonics, thick body, and a dark, velvet glow that feels alive under the hand.
The EM-402 is not merely a filter; it is an instrument of tonal prestige, engineered to give electronic signals an unmistakable depth and warmth.
Self-oscillation is not an edge case here. Pushed to resonance, it becomes a third instrument—stable, pure, and completely its own. Run it through the exponential FM inputs and it tracks pitch with the precision of a dedicated oscillator. Feed it a sequence and it plays. Two slopes, one filter, no ceiling.
Underneath the panel, the circuit balances raw output with refined discipline. Drive it lightly, and the filter maintains a liquid, transparent contour that lets complex chords and dense patches pass through unsmudged. Push the input, and the core saturates with a heavy, musical weight—smoothing harsh digital spikes and gluing the lower registers together with pure analog body.
The result is a module that feels less like a utility and more like an acoustic space. It shapes raw voltage into a focused, three-dimensional tone, giving every sweep, ping, and sequence the physical authority to stand at the very center of a mix.
SUNLESS CITY
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