Antresol

Loaded with features way beyond the original

Antresol's users can also enjoy absolute freedom of control over every aspect of the BBD-based delay line (including such nuances as calibration of the linearity of the clocking system or the number of analog memory cells constituting the backbone of the BBD). Fashioning a flanger sound that is uniquely you yet retains all the richness and warmth afforded by the original, classic circuit design has never been easier!

In addition to the standard parameter knobs found on the face of the original unit, there is also a wide range of deeper parameters available to tweak, such the on-PCB trimpots which would normally be inaccessible without taking the stompbox apart. Some even go far beyond those you could find in common flanger-type effects: a fully controllable LFO (with adjustable phase and rate sync to a host application’s tempo); the ability to delink the stereo channels and control the most important parameters independently for left and right (or mid/side, depending on selected mode), and more. Try the demo today and see where your imagination takes you!

Spectrum Comparison

Frequency responses comparison of Electric Mistress stomp box and Antresol for whole variety feedback values. All tests were performed using white noise as source signal and calibrated spectral analysing software.

Low feedback values

Medium feedback values

Maximum feedback values

No feedback response

The figure below shows how faithful the emulation is by comparing the upper range of the spectrum, where usually all emulations fail. Look how both responses matche even at the highest frequencies. The analysis was done for frequencies from 6 kHz up to bit above 18 kHz.

Maximum feedback values

True BBD emulation with total control

An exceptionally accurate emulation of an impulse-controlled, solid-state analog delay line (a Bucket Brigade Device) is responsible for the impeccable sonic characteristics found in Antresol. Effects based on high-quality BBD emulations stand out with remarkable, even seductive warmth, and we have no doubt that the tremendous success of D16’s first foray into BBD delay line emulation, the chorus plugin Syntorus, has been directly attributable to this approach.

The key element around which Antresol is designed, an analog BBD integrated circuit, proved to offer some unique challenges for a digital emulation of this type. In particular, the feedback parameter showed some weaknesses in the form of improper shapes of emerging peaks and notches in the frequency response, forcing us back to the drawing board. After much R&D, our Eureka moment came in the form of a much-refined BBD emulation using quasi-analog signal representation throughout, guaranteeing behavior much more akin to the original, physical circuit. While a bit chaotic, it includes all the benefits and subtleties the analog domain can offer—unlike a deterministic, classically digital algorithm—and all this without any unwanted artifacts such as aliasing (something we always take great pains to minimize)… and all with the rock-solid stability only digital can offer!