Unfiltered Audio has a great track record of making unique and creative audio plugins. Contributor Wayne Taylor shares his thoughts on its recent virtual drum instrument Battalion.
Introduction
I’ve always primarily written and produced in the way you’d expect to hear a band perform: guitars, a bass, a vocal or three, and maybe some keys. And drums. Analogue drums. Now, these would mostly be actualised using BFD or a Kontakt set, so despite being played on a midi kit, they were samples of an analogue kit instead of an actual recorded kit. But the point is, I would write with analogue in mind.
Then, about 12 years ago, FXpansion Tremor came along. It was the first purely electronic-sounding rhythm generator/drum machine, which jumped out at me as something I could use. And since I was using FXpansion’s BFD anyway, I knew it would sound excellent. And it did. It still does. It’s great fun and added a whole different dimension to what and how I wrote. But it’s also discontinued. So, sometime soon, I’ll allow some updates to my Mac or to Studio One Pro, and Tremor will call time; that will be that.
FXpansion appears to be gone overall (with their remaining products managed by other companies); however, Unfiltered Audio is most certainly still here. I think the first of their products I purchased was their amazing distortion (and more) plugin, Dent, and they are now one of those brands whose products I feel I need to own. They create forward-thinking, useful, musical, original effects. And now instruments.
Given this back story, you can imagine how I felt when Battalion appeared on the Plugin Alliance website. It is a rhythm plugin that purports to be aimed at “music producers, drum programmers, and performers.” I thought I had found a replacement for Tremor! So, have I? The short answer is yes, but with the caveat that Battalion is much more than I expected. For a longer answer alongside a product overview, keep reading.
Battalion is a beast. It offers many options for sound design, modulation, Randomization, sequencing, and performance. I’ve seen much of this in other rhythm plugins, but not many with the sheer depth and originality found in Batallion. For this reason, my review won’t cover every control but will instead be a well-rounded overview alongside my own views. If you want more, that’s where their 80-page manual comes in!
Oh, and the built-in tooltips are great. Hovering over nearly any control will give you a pretty decent description of that control’s underlying purpose.
Installation
There’s really not much to say here. Installation is as expected. Download and run the installer file, register the product using your Plugin Boutique credentials, and start playing! The manual is available on the Battalion webpage or directly from the lower right of the plugin GUI.
AAX Native, AU, VST2 and VST3 formats are available for macOS 11-14 or Windows 10-11.
The interface
I’ve included a series of screenshots to support the descriptions and thoughts below. I’ll refer to the screenshot areas I have blocked out using yellow boxes with the relevant number in brackets from the screenshot. Yellow. Nice.
The VOICE page
The transport control (1) is on every page and offers three options. By default, the sequencer follows the playback of the parent DAW. Pressing the play button with the mouse will begin the sequencer’s playback without the DAW playing. The stop button stops sequencer playback, as expected. Pressing play again will arm playback to follow the DAW again.
You’ll find the voice selector (2) on every page too. Most settings on the voice page are relevant to the currently selected voice in the voice selector. On other pages, settings either affect all voices or make voice-specific settings available for each voice. The voice selector strip also allows for triggering, soloing, and muting each voice and shows a visual indicator of the synth and sample engines used by that voice.
Although the page initially seems a little overwhelming, it’s broken into logical sections, which should be recognisable to sampler/synth users with some experience.
The synth (3) and sampler (4) sections are the foundation of Battalion and can be mixed using a cross-fader. Either or both can be enabled for each voice, and one of the 24 synth engines and 4 sampler engines is then selected. Battalion’s installer also installs 1000+ high-quality samples; the installer size is 736Mb, the majority of which is likely to be the samples. The parameters available for the synth and sampler engines are based on the chosen engine. By default, both are controlled by envelope 1.
The tone section (5) houses a relatively straightforward filter section. I liked the sound but found it most useful when modulating it using the modulation section (6).
Modulation types are Random, (Note) Velocity, and 2 Macros, where the macro knobs can be assigned to multiple parameters.
Modulation sources (modulation, envelopes, and LFOs) all show a modulation assign button (13). This button places Battalion into a mode which assigns the related modulation source to one or more parameters. As shown in the image above, when the button is active, the level of modulation can be assigned to each knob, the extent of which is represented by a curve around the outside of the knob. After de-selecting the assign button, the chosen modulation will affect those parameters on playback.
The envelopes (7) are relatively standard and easy to use. Both can be used as modulation sources. By default, envelope 2 controls the attack/hold/decay envelope for the synth and sampler; however, envelope 2 is also selectable. The same can be said of the LFOs (8). These are relatively standard but can be used to good effect and come shipped with several interesting LFO shapes/algorithms.
The sends and mixer section (9) contains the global reverb and delay send levels. The settings for these global effects are on the mix/fx page. Alongside the sends are the pan and gain for the current voice.
The generator knob (10) is very interesting and can make for some unexpected changes to the voice sound! This control adds randomisation to nearly every option on the voice page. At lower levels, this adds some artefacts and makes some subtle differences. At high levels, it makes things a little crazy!
One of my favourite things about Battalion is the level of movement you can apply to so much, not just with the modulation, envelopes, and LFOs but also with the variation control on the voice page and its counterpart on the performance page, the depth controller. And then things can get even crazier and more happyaccidenty (which is definitely a word) when you assign modulation, etc, to the variation controller! There is a mind-melting amount of fun and sonic possibilities to be had!
Voice presets (11) are a really nice feature. The main presets (selectable from the top of every page) store the performance, sequencing, and other configuration options, as well as the voice settings. If you want to save only the voice settings as a preset, your luck is in! Handy!
Finally, the master output (12) contains a nice little channel strip for the master output containing a maximiser (custom loudness effect), 3-band EQ, a master fader, and some nice options for how Battalion should deal with clipping (post-fader).
The MIX/FX page
The mix/fx page is Battalion’s mixing desk. With each voice represented to the left and taking up much of the page, the send effects, pan, and gain are duplicated from the voice page; however, every voice is visible on this page for a global view. I have highlighted these options for voice 2 (14).
Each voice also has trigger and choke options (15), which allow it to trigger other voices, choke (stop) other voices (or themselves), or even choke the global delay/reverb.
Routing options (16) are also made available for all voices here. By default, all voices are routed to the Master channel, 1+2. However, Battalion also makes 8 additional output channels available, which must be enabled/configured in your DAW. See how this appears in Studio One in the image below. Note that stereo outputs 3+4 through 17+18 bypass the master output strip (12) and, instead, will be processed directly by your DAW.
This page also contains the controls for the global “shatter” delay and “headspace” reverb. I’m partial to a delay or 200, and I love this one. There’s also a glitch control that affects the delay time control. This adds some nice, random glitchiness to the delay (as the name would suggest) and creates some lovely artefacts. Stereo and (Ping-)Pong options are also available. As well as voices being sent directly to the reverb, the output of the delay can also be variably sent directly to the reverb.
I’m no reverb aficionado, but the reverb sounds pleasing to me. The delay includes controls I would expect on most reverbs: pre-delay, decay, gain, and a low/high-pass filter. Additionally, the S(ample).RATE control is rather lovely. Lowering this value causes the reverb to become artefacted.
Side note: I’ve just spent much more time than I should have enjoying the delay glitch control, the delay output sent to the reverb, and the reverb sample rate, all with only one voice soloed. I’m really beginning to see the power in this instrument, as what I came up with is more like an atmosphere/soundscape than anything I’d expect from a drum machine. This level of flexibility can only be a good thing.
The SEQ(uencer) page
The sequencer page is mostly what would be expected for a step sequencer but with some lovely additional features and a well-thought-through layout. This was no surprise, given my experience with Unfiltered Audio products. As with the voice page, most controls on the sequencer page relate to the selected voice.
The sequencer settings (18) appear across the top:
- The generate section uses an Euclidean Generator algorithm for pattern generation and other options.
- The modify section affects the generated pattern with controls like swing, and density (which affects the likelihood of a step triggering.
- The settings section contains the basic grid setup, such as the speed and length of the pattern.
- The humanise setting adds more of a human feeling to the sequence.
Section (19) contains the step editor, the circular dots at the top, with one colour for off, one colour for manually set and a third meaning set by the generator. Directly below the dots sits the modulation editor for the currently selected modulation type (chosen on the right of the modulation visual overview (20)). There can be anywhere between 1 and 64 steps in a sequence (set in the settings area above). These steps can be generated by the generator in the section above (19), by manually clicking the dots, or by a combination of both methods.
As if there isn’t enough modulation already, there is more here! Beneath the dots live a bipolar slider for each step. My screenshot shows that the VEL(ocity) track from the options is currently being edited. Increasing the fader value above zero will increase the velocity of a step, whereas… wait for it… moving below zero will reduce it. The further you move the slider, the greater the effect.
When the colour changes above the velocity fader, Battalion gradually increases the distortion on that voice step. Lovely!
Other step modulators include nudging the step lightly forward or backwards, pitch, ratchet (immediate retriggering), and others. These are great and can add a natural feeling to your beat or just cause a bit of chaos. Who doesn’t like a bit of controlled chaos?
The ALL page
The ‘all’ page (21) is a handy alternate view of the step sequencer for all voices and their sequencer settings. At the cost of the modulation overview and smaller sequencer steps, you gain the ability to see the sequencer steps and controls for all voices simultaneously. I found myself setting up the sequence on the sequence page for each voice before jumping to the all page to tweak it.
The PERFORM page
The perform page is where to head when you are happy with your beat! An enable and a flip button (22) is beside each voice on the voice selector. With the enable button engaged, every parameter on the perform page will vary its relevant parameter elsewhere in the plugin by the amount selected on the control. With the flip button toggled, the controls will have the opposite effect than the value set for that voice.
For example, changes to the envelope controls (23) will vary the attack, hold, decay, and curve for all enabled voices by up to the selected amounts. Likewise, similar variance can be set for the synth, sampler, sequencer (24), and tone settings.
The depth control (25) is set to 100% by default. This determines how much of the selected performance parameters are applied. Reducing this will reduce their effect. Like many controls in Battalion, this control is bipolar. Reducing the depth below zero will have the opposite effect on the related control. It’s incredible just how much modulation, variation and even variation of variation controls there is in this plugin! And yet the GUI design and layout make it all relatively straightforward (after a reasonable amount of practice).
I have not pointed out every randomise option the plugin offers, as one exists for nearly all sections on all pages (they all look like a dice*). However, I’m pointing out the one on the perform page (26), because alongside is a nice extra feature. As on every other page, the randomise button sets most controls around it to a random value. The reset button returns all values to defaults (whether randomised or set manually). However, this time, there is also a commit button. This will carry out the same action as the reset button but will also set the related controls on other pages to the values the performance control set them to. Pretty awesome! Note that an alt-click will also reset controls back to their default value.
There’s also a global enable/disable (27), a handy way to disable or enable all controls on the perform page.
Playability
There are a few options to control how a given kit is played.
1) Design your drums on the voice page, add some modulation, and maybe assign a macro or 2 to an external controller. Any macro changes can be recorded using an automation track in the DAW. Then, record live using a drum pad or digital kit (I use a Presonus Atom or a Roland kit; both work well) or program the drums directly into the DAW’s piano roll.
2) Use the sequencer page to create the pattern and place the transport in follow mode to synchronise playback with the DAW.
3) Batallion has been built with performance in mind, hence the perform page. Assign external controller knobs either directly to specific voice parameters (e.g. filter cutoff), to the voice page macro modulators, which can be used to control several parameters at one time, and/or to the perform page parameters (which affect all voices). Either when playing the kit with a drum pad or on playback from the DAW/sequenced playback, record the performance changes you make with the mapped knobs using a DAW automation track.
Regardless of the chosen method, it’s worth understanding the perform page well. Assigning a few well-chosen knobs on an external controller to these parameters (and recording the results on an automation track) can enhance a track even further!
I connected my Akai LPD8 to map to the perform controllers and to use the pads to solo/unsolo the 8 channels, although this was buggy and did not trigger every time. I’m unsure precisely what stopped this from working well, so I can’t be sure it was Battalion. Using knobs worked better, but I prefer buttons mapping to buttons!
Pros
- Every voice offers a multi-engine sampler and synth, per voice
- A massive amount of modulation and variance options
- The performance page is great fun and very useful
- Many, many, many options
- Use your own samples in the sample engines
- The sound quality is amazing
- Randomisation options exist for nearly everything
- Randomizable and parameters open to the variation knob can be locked to retain the selected value of those parameters
- Can save voice presets as well as entire kit/sequencer settings
- Powerful sequencer
- Amazingly well thought through with well-grouped controls
- Good system performance, no glitching of timeouts
Cons
- No solo clear or mute clear on the mix/fx page
- Quite a high price tag
- A slightly steep learning curve, but only because it’s so powerful (So perhaps not a con)
Summary
I can’t describe how interesting you can make things sound with Batallion. Try the demo yourself to find out. From blending the synth and sampler, optionally with your own samples, to setting variation on the voice pages to modulating those settings, to sequencing even more modulation and then using the perform page to create builds and drops and rolls and chaos on the perform page, it’s all just great. It’s just cemented my view that I need to buy every new Unfiltered Audio plugin, which is great for my creative pallet but maybe not so great for my bank. But that won’t stop me.
Battalion comes at a cost that is not insignificant for a hobbyist, but the plugin offers many sonic opportunities. I personally feel the price is justified. The plugin has clearly been well-thought-out, planned, and developed, and many great samples are included.
It purports to offer “Beats for all genres,” which is quite important to me. It is flexible enough for this to be true, at least for me. I imagine this being used in pop, rock, metal, industrial, electronic and a load of other genres (and sub-genres, and sub-sub-genres).
As a result of the level of flexibility and control, there is a lot to learn. Some of the concepts were new to me. Some features may be known to specific users from other plugins (e.g. a Euclidean Generator is also included with Softube Parallels and FXpansion Strobe 2).
I’m still trying to understand all the little details, but I’m good with that. It’s an enjoyable process. It’s a great instrument that is absolutely now a go-to (I favourited it in Studio One Pro!). It’s well worth investing the time into learning the instrument properly, including reading the manual at least twice. Sorry! But when you do, you can leverage the arsenal that Battalion allows you to unleash!
I have to give it 11/10, spinal tap amplifier style. It’s inspirational, it’s straightforward with practice, it looks good, and it sounds better. It’s fantastic.
Oh, and it’s got GUI themes!
*So, dice is the plural and die is the singular. I know. But let’s face it, dice is a more positive word than die. I’m too young to die, but I’m not too young to dice. Anyway, according to the Oxford Dictionary, dice can be used as a singular and plural form of die. So there. ✌🏼🤘🏼
Thanks for this comprehensive overview, Wayne! I haven’t had a chance to fully check out Battalion myself, but I think it’s safe to say this plugin comes highly recommended. Battalion is available to purchase at Unfiltered Audio and Plugin Alliance, and you can try it for free for 14 days.
W_yne is a songwriter and musician who dabbles in contemporary pop music with some rock on the side and a sprinkling of poetry. Find him at thesmallestmachine.com.
