QUASAR-106 is a standalone Juno-inspired filter, drive, and BBD chorus effect built on MNTRA’s Anima Circuits analog-modeling engine, with a reactive Perform View for playable control.
Purpose and Signal Path
QUASAR-106 rebuilds the classic Juno-106 signal path—filter, drive, and BBD chorus—using Anima Circuits physics-based modeling. It is a standalone effect within MNTRA’s FX line, sharing the same engine as FLTRS, BOREALIS, and BRUITAGE, and works as an insert for synths, drums, vocals, or buses.
The plug-in offers a 24 dB four-pole filter with Juno-style bite and a smoother 12 dB two-pole mode that the original hardware lacked. A vintage-style drive adds warmth before the filter, and three chorus modes (slow, fast, or combined) create width up to 2.5 times at maximum. No other MNTRA products are required.
Key Capabilities
A single Vintage knob ages the entire circuit, increasing chorus drift, darkening highs, raising the noise floor, and adding resonance wobble. An OSC control includes Safe Mode to prevent self-oscillation from becoming harsh on stage. The reactive Perform View uses an iris for cutoff and resonance, a field for chorus depth and width, and a center circle to toggle filter slope.
Every parameter is automatable in your DAW. The Advanced panel exposes surgical controls for Cut, Res, Drive, Vintage, Filter, and Chorus. The interface visualizations respond to audio, with a color-blending output meter. Anima Circuits models real component behavior, avoiding digital harshness when pushed hard.
Workflow and Playability
The Perform View is designed for playing rather than automating. The iris reacts to audio, the particle field breathes with chorus, and you can adjust parameters with one gesture that affects multiple controls. Safe Mode ensures self-oscillation stays musical, making it safe for live sets. The plug-in is meant to be performed by ear, not tweaked with a mouse.
For precise sessions, the Advanced panel provides full parameter control. The reactive engine makes the plug-in feel alive in a mix, with a meter that color-blends to show chorus, vintage, and drive activity. It can be automated, stacked, or played, and is suitable for both studio and stage.
Practical Applications
QUASAR-106 suits sweetening soft synths, gluing drum buses, widening pads, or sweeping into drops. It handles an 808, Rhodes, vocal bus, or master chain. Use fast shimmer for a pad, slow ocean for width, or push drive for harmonic grit. The Vintage knob adds character to overly clean takes.
It is ideal for sound designers wanting circuit-like motion, and mix engineers needing a flexible filter. The two filter slopes cover bite or breath, and Safe Mode supports confident resonant sweeps. As a standalone, it integrates with MNTRA’s FX ecosystem if you already use other circuits.
Key features
- 24 dB four-pole and 12 dB two-pole filters
- Three BBD chorus modes with stereo width up to 2.5x
- Vintage-style drive stage
- Single Vintage knob for circuit aging
- Reactive Perform View with iris and particle field
- OSC Safe Mode for self-oscillation control
Best for
Producers and sound designers seeking a playable, reactive Juno-inspired filter-drive effect with chorus for synths, drums, or buses, where touchable performance and analog warmth are preferred over static automation.