Series 9000
Key Features
- Sixth-order low-pass filtering gives the plugin a steep 36 dB/octave style response for bold spectral cuts and dramatic sweeps.
- Drive places custom saturation inside the filter stages, moving from clean filtering into more obvious distortion and bite.
- Q control emphasizes the cutoff area for resonant motion without turning the interface into a deep modular filter rack.
- Envelope follower modulation lets the cutoff react to input dynamics, which is useful for drums, percussion, chopped samples, and rhythmic loops.
- The filter behavior intentionally does not close completely, preserving some signal at the lowest cutoff setting for a hardware-inspired texture.
- AAX, AUv2, AUv3, CLAP, and VST3 support covers common desktop DAWs, while the AUv3 build also supports iOS hosts.
Description
Series 9000 is a steep low-pass filter and drive effect from Sketch Audio, built as a focused standalone version of the sixth-order filter from Scissor Hands. It is meant for fast spectral carving, gritty filter movement, and sampler-flavored tone shaping rather than clean corrective EQ.
The core control set is deliberately small: Cutoff sets the low-pass point, Drive pushes custom saturators inside the filter stages, Q adjusts resonance, and Env adds envelope-follower movement to the cutoff. That makes it easy to turn static drums, synths, loops, and resampled phrases into reactive sweeps or darker, more aggressive textures.
The late-1980s rackmount sampler influence matters because the filter is not a polite modern clean-up tool. The official and editorial notes both point out that the cutoff does not fully close, so the lowest setting still leaves some signal passing through instead of muting the source completely.
Sketch Audio lists AAX, AUv2, AUv3, CLAP, and VST3 support for macOS 11+, Windows 10+, and iOS 14+. The product page still presents Series 9000 as completely free, but desktop access goes through the developer's account-based Get for Free flow, so this artifact keeps the download external.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What hardware sound is Series 9000 chasing?
Sketch Audio describes it as a sixth-order low-pass filter made famous by a late-1980s rackmount sampler, and BPB connects that direction to the Akai S900/S950 family. The plugin focuses on the steep filter behavior rather than trying to reproduce a full sampler.
Does the filter fully close?
No. BPB reports that Sketch Audio intentionally keeps the same kind of behavior as the original hardware, where some sound still passes even at the lowest cutoff setting.
How is it different from Scissor Hands?
Series 9000 uses the sixth-order filter DSP from Scissor Hands in a simpler standalone plugin. Scissor Hands is the deeper paid Sketch Audio filter with high-pass filtering, more filter orders, modulation, and additional distortion options.
Why is the download marked external?
The official page exposes a Get for Free product flow rather than direct public installer links. BPB also states that the desktop installers require a free Sketch Audio account, so the artifact points users to the official product page.
