What Is a Voltage-Controlled Amplifier?

A voltage controlled filter (VCF) is a processor, a filter whose operating characteristics (mainly the cutoff frequency) can be controlled by a control voltage applied to the control input. It can be thought of as a frequency dependent amplifier. Although generally known for their use in analog music synthesizers, they have other applications in military and industrial electronics. [1]

VCF allows its cut-off frequency and Q factor (resonance at the cut-off frequency) to be continuously changed; the signal output can include low-pass response, high-pass response, band-pass response and notch response. The filter can provide a variable slope that determines the rate of attenuation outside the bandpass, typically 6dB / octave, 12dB / octave ('2-pole' filter) or 24dB / octave ('4-pole' filter) Device). This also varies by Q.
In a modular analog synthesizer, a filter receives signal inputs from a signal source, including oscillators and noise, or outputs from other processors. By changing the cutoff frequency, the instrument passes or attenuates the part.
"Filter scan" has become a common effect in some popular electronic music styles. These scans are created by changing the cutoff frequency of the VCF (sometimes very slow). Cut-off is controlled by transient voltage control (such as an envelope generator), especially with relatively fast attack settings that can simulate attack transients from natural or acoustic instruments.
Historically, VCF includes variable
Introduced
  • Electronic filter
  • Nonlinear filter
  • Self-oscillation
  • Subtraction synthesis
  • Voltage controlled amplifier
  • Voltage controlled oscillator

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