The Ladder by Moog!

Moog Music has released a 500 series Ladder Filter for modular synthesizers and hot damn is it pretty! Here's the press release:

Moog Music Debuts The Ladder, a Dynamic Transistor Ladder Filter

– First 500 Series Module from Moog Music-

AES • NEW YORK CITY • October 20, 2011—Moog Music, a North Carolina-based electronic musical instrument manufacturer, today announced the release of The Ladder, a Professional 500 Series Dynamic Ladder Filter based on Bob Moog's original ladder filter design. The Ladder is Moog Music’s first 500 series module for the Pro Audio market and is designed to add depth, flexibility and classic Moog vibe to sound sources.

“There have been a lot of firsts for Moog this year." said Mike Adams, President/CEO of Moog Music Inc. "The release of Animoog, the first professional synthesizer for the iPad has introduced us to whole new segment of customers. Now The Ladder will reacquaint Moog with the Pro Audio community that embraced Moog Modular Synthesizers in the 1960's. We are very happy to see the market utilizing this exciting format and we look forward to developing other modules.”

The Ladder packs all the punch, fullness and analog euphoria of the original Moog Filter, but adds key component and feature upgrades required for professional studio use. From classic Moog filtering and vibe to modern sweetening and wild, exciting behavior; The Ladder is a powerful, articulate sound sculpting tool.

The Ladder features include:

Low Pass and High Pass: The Ladder has inherited the smoothest all analog filter section possible. Choose between LP and HP at the flick of a switch.

Cutoff: Simply adjust this knob to determine where The Ladder begins to sculpt the sound.

Attack and Release: These variable controls allow you to perfectly dial in the timing behavior of The Ladder's envelope section. Use them to open and close the envelope as fast as lightning, or slow as molasses.

Amount: Use in Positive or Negative mode for mild to extreme sound shaping and manipulation. The amount determines how much signal is sent to the envelope section of The Ladder. From slight timbral excitement and voicing to extreme compression-like behavior and even reversed filtering is achievable.

Resonance: Controls the amount of harmonic bump at the cutoff frequency. This is the voice of The Ladder. Create sweet, dynamic or extreme speech like behavior and beyond. Accentuate specific frequencies to excite a sound or create completely new and unique ones.

NOTE: The Ladder's Resonance control can push the unit into self-oscillation. This can be used for effect if desired.

2Pole/4Pole: Select how aggressive the filter slope is. 2 pole is equal to 12db per octave, which is smooth and sweet, while 4 pole is 24db per octave, which is hard, aggressive and most similar to a Classic Moog filter.

Bypass: Totally transparent relay bypass for routing and A/B comparison

Availability and pricing: The Ladder will be available at Moog Dealers worldwide in December 2011 for MSRP US$769.00.