A reminder that you do not have to choose between classic filters and modern ideas.
KORG have introduced Filter Ark, a software tool that takes familiar filter designs from their history and places them into a single environment built for exploration.
Rather than presenting one fixed sound, the plugin feels like an open space where filtering becomes part of the creative process rather than a final step.
At the heart of Filter Ark is a collection of filters drawn from KORG’s past, including designs associated with instruments like the MS 20, Polysix and early mono synths.
These are voices many producers already recognise, but here they are given room to interact in ways that hardware never allowed.
You can combine multiple filters at once, letting them shape each other instead of acting alone.
The modern side of Filter Ark shows up in how those filters are routed and controlled.
They can be arranged in different signal paths, blended together, or pushed into more animated behaviour using built in modulation.
Movement can come from slow evolving shapes or more rhythmic patterns, depending on how you set things up.
It is easy to nudge a static sound into something that shifts and breathes without losing its core character.
There are also elements that let Filter Ark stand on its own.
Noise sources and internal modulation mean it can act almost like an instrument as much as an effect, especially when used for textures, transitions or percussive ideas.
It works just as well on synths and samples as it does on more unexpected sources.
Filter Ark does not try to recreate a single piece of gear or a specific moment in time.
Instead, it brings together parts of KORG’s filter history and gives them a modern context, where experimentation feels natural and mistakes often lead somewhere interesting.
Try it for free here.
