Intellijel Polaris
Multimode resonant filter with serial/parallel routing
10 HP Eurorack module
Polaris by Intellijel is a state-variable multimode filter offering low-pass, band-pass, high-pass, notch, and all-pass responses in a single module. Its key distinction is a serial/parallel routing switch that changes the filter topology, yielding different tonal characters from the same controls. Polaris tracks 1V/Oct accurately enough to be used as a sine oscillator, and its FM input enables through-zero frequency modulation for complex timbres. The built-in drive circuit adds saturation before the filter core, fattening the sound or pushing it into aggressive overdrive.
Features
- State-variable filter design
- 5 filter modes (LP, BP, HP, Notch, AP)
- Serial/parallel topology switch
- Accurate 1V/Oct tracking
- Through-zero FM input
- Built-in drive/saturation
- Resonance up to self-oscillation
Controls & Jacks (25)
- CLIP — Soft clipping / drive. Adds saturation and harmonic distortion to the signal before filtering. Useful for aggressive tones.
- CUTOFF — Filter cutoff frequency. Controls the center/corner frequency for all filter modes. Full audio range with 1V/oct tracking.
- FM 1 — Frequency modulation depth for FM 1 CV input. Attenuverter — center is zero, CW adds, CCW inverts.
- FM 2 CV — CV input for frequency modulation 2. Scaled by FM 2 knob.
- Q — Resonance/Q control. Increases emphasis at the cutoff frequency. High values self-oscillate in LP and BP modes.
- LP Out — Dedicated low-pass filter output. Always outputs the LP-filtered signal regardless of mode selection.
- FM 2 — Frequency modulation depth for FM 2 CV input. Attenuverter — center is zero.
- Filter Mode — Selects the discrete filter mode. Cycles through: LP (low-pass), BP (band-pass), HP (high-pass), Notch, Allpass, Phaser. Affects the LP and
- IN — Audio input. Accepts any signal level — the CLIP knob adds drive before filtering.
- Q CV — CV input for resonance/Q modulation. Voltage-controls the resonance amount.
- HP Out — Dedicated high-pass filter output. Always outputs the HP-filtered signal regardless of mode selection.
- Multi Out — Multi-mode output. Signal reflects the Multi knob position — continuously morphs between filter types.
- Mode Button 1 — Selects filter mode preset. Cycles through available discrete modes indicated by the LEDs.
- Multi — Continuous morph between filter types. Blends from LP through BP, HP, Notch, Allpass, and Phaser modes. The Multi Out reflects this blend.
- 1V/OCT — 1V/octave pitch tracking input. Allows the filter to track pitch for self-oscillation melodies or precise filter tracking.
- FM 1 CV — CV input for frequency modulation 1. Scaled by FM 1 knob. Use for envelopes, LFOs, or audio-rate FM.
- AP — Indicates All-Pass filter mode is active.
- Notch — Indicates Notch filter mode is selected.
- PHASER — Indicates Phaser filter mode is active.
- Mode Button 2 — Secondary mode control. Fine-tunes or accesses additional filter configurations.
- HP — Indicates High-Pass filter mode is active.
- LP LED 1 — Indicates Low-Pass filter mode is active.
- BP — Indicates Band-Pass filter mode is active.
- LP LED 2 — Indicates Low-Pass filter mode (secondary indicator).
- N — Indicates Notch filter mode is active.
Explore the interactive Polaris panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.
