” The instrument excels in warm, wide modulated sounds en fat basses en and has powerful and versatile filters. For fans of this Moog instrument, the PolyM is probably the only chance to get hold of these sounds en it’s more dynamic than a set of samples of the Polymoog. “
PolyM distinguishes itself from other synths by having extraordinary features and a unique sound.
A few factors were key to the creation of the iconic sound of the PolyM’s glorious ancestor, the Polymoog synthesizer. First was replicating the two T.O.D (Top Octave dividers) Oscillators, each with PER NOTE Pulse Width Modulation, initially used to get a big polyphony (unique at the time). Secondly was that iconic gritty Moog designed 24dB Ladder Filter, the essential acoustic Filter Bank and, finally, a rich full of character Resonator Bank.
More than two years were spent analyzing the Polymoogsynthesizer. It convinced XILS-Lab that the most important part in recreating the true character of the sound was the Top Octave Divider Oscillators. So, during several months, they worked on modeling the Polymoog’s oscillators in a way no one else had before. They successfully developed a Divide Down algorithm that brings out the true sound of the Polymoog.
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Interesting Facts
The legendary Vox Humana sound, popularized by Gary Numan in his song Cars, can now be played by anyone with Xils PolyM. It is now possible to deliver that authentic vintage sound you would never have found without using the original classic synth itself.
FEATURES
- Two aliasing-free Top Octave Divider oscillators: One for the Sawtooth, the other for the Square.
- 71 emulated chips offering Mixer, VCA, envelope, 12dB filter and Pulse Width Modulation for each of the available notes.
- Gorgeous 24dB ladder filter, using the acclaimed XILS-lab zero-delay algorithm.
- 9 dedicated acoustic filters (Strings, Piano, Organ, Harps…) carefully reproduced from the original model.
- 1 resonator filter bank using 3 parametric filters (6 and 12dB) matching the original model.
- Four Vintage effects (Delay, Phaser, Reverb, Chorus).
- 9 modulation slots for endless sound possibilities.
- 1 monophonic envelope.
- 3 monophonic, tempo sync-able LFOs.
- 1 Advanced Arpeggiator.
- All parameters are MIDI controllable.
- More than 440 presets.
HIGHLIGHTS
Top Octave Divider Oscillators :
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One hight frequency oscillator which is divided down to each available notes.
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This behavior implies that there is no phasing effect when a new note one octave above is played.
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The two Top Octave Divider Oscillators can run independently in the FREE mode, for subtle to huge phasing effects. In LOCK mode, the two oscillators are almost phase locked, resulting in a phase modulation, instead of frequency modulation, when the Square waveform gets its pitch modulated by an LFO, or any other source.
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The pitch of two T.O.D oscillators can be modulated by a tempo-syncable LFO. The Square oscillator has its Pulse Width modulated by its own LFO (also tempo sync-able).
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The Keyboard is divided into two parts, Lower and Upper. PWM, Oscillator mix and the VCA Envelope decay can be tweaked independently for each part.
More than a paraphonic synthesizer :
71 chips…: To take up the emulation gauntlet, more than two years were necessary to closely, patiently, model these 71 components to finally come up with the best and most versatile Divided-down synthesizer ever made.
And beyond: We were able to expose parameters that were not accessible on the original instrument, allowing you to dive into the machinery and mod it without a screwdriver, a soldering iron and electronic components. We also added a more traditional analog VCA ADSR, a plethora of LFOs to modulate almost everything, and a trio of vintage sounding effects among others things.
Using divide-down technology offers a particular sound for Chords, Strings and Pads you won’t find in any other synthesizer.
MacOS
Latest Version: 1.5.3 BETA
Windows
Latest Version: 1.5.3 BETA
Request a Time Limited full license
The Time limited DEMO license:
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Time limited to 15 days
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Allowing running the full version with all its features
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Only iLok protection allowed
Request your TIME LIMITED DEMO License
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Mac OSX 10.13 and later (64 bits only, including Apple Silicon based computer): VST2.4, VST3, Audio Unit, AAX (native).
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Windows 7,8,10 & 11 (64 bits): VST2.4, VST3, AAX (native).
Testimonials
More !
With this unit, feeding a monophonic zero-delay 24dB self-oscillating filter, retriggered by keyboard strokes, gives you the possibility of playing huge sounds in a way that no other synthesizer can (PolyPedal behaviour emulated). Original presets, like ‘Vox Humana’, are also on board: Beyond the Pleasure Principal!
For more pleasure playing chords, an Advanced Arpeggiator has been developed and integrated in version 1.5
All these signature effects are available to process any instruments and sounds in your collection as a VST effect.
The PolyM is also NKS compatible. And with the Advanced Preset Manager, you’ll be able to find the right sound in seconds, thanks to its multi-criteria search engine, as well as to easily manage all your sound collections.
VCF and Acoustic Filters:
Each note goes through its own 12dB filter, which can be modulated by its own ADSR envelope. This is an important improvement from the original model, which only offered VCF modulation via its simplified VCA envelope.
Moreover, with the PolyM, you can change the filter type from Low Pass to High Pass or Band Pass.
24db Ladder filter:
The VCF second filter is a Moog designed 24dB Ladder Filter (capable of self-oscillation), created with XILS-Lab 4th generation zero-delay filter algorithms. It has its own envelope, LFO, and Keyboard tracking parameters, and is controlled by the Keyboard in a MONOPHONIC way. What does that mean? You can retrigger its envelope with every new keystroke, and add movement to a Pad or a Strings patch for example. It can also be assigned to the LOWER or UPPER parts, or…both.
The RESONATOR FILTER BANK:
This was responsible for a major part of the specific sound of the original instrument, and offers 3 parametric filters. You can adjust the Frequency, Level, and Resonance of each filter, and choose between LP/BP/HP/6/12dB modes. These filters have a strong character, as you will immediately notice when you tweak them. Furthermore, you can control all of their parameters via the Matrix Modulation to create evolving sounds, which, as you can guess, was impossible on the original model.
Original Preset:
Each Blue keyboard button will engage its own Acoustic Filter preset. They can also load the PolyM with the original settings to produce specific sounds (Strings, Piano, Organ, Harps, Funk, Clav, Vibes, Brass, Vox). When the DOT button is On, only the MODE filter will change. While in the OFF position, all settings of the PolyM will be changed to reflect the presets found in the original instrument.
The Effects:
Four vintage effects for adding space, vibe and life to your sounds:
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Phaser
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Reverb
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Delay
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Chorus
The Advanced Arpeggiator:
A new Extended Arpeggiator has been integrated: Much more than the standard playing up and down the notes of a chord, this arpeggiator added cycled modulations and mute possibilities for sparkling notes that are a full of life.
The Modulation Matrix:
Not only did we expose many internal parameters that were not accessible in the original model and add a lot of new features to increase its versatility, we also made them available as destinations in the Modulation Matrix. Which means you can modulate the PWM, Vibrato or volume of each Oscillator, control the parameters of all Filters, the Mixer individual gains, Envelope segments, and even all the parameters of the Resonator filter bank with many polyphonic, or monophonic sources to create incredibly deep, rich and evolving sounds.
Total Control:
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You can assign any Midi CC to any synthesis parameter to fine tune some midi parts, or achieve the most precise automations.
When combined with the Polyphonic Integrated Sequencer you can build anything from ever-changing patterns to solid bulletproof analog sequences reminiscent of older times. -
You’ll also get some additional parameters that make full sense when playing music, like the possibility of controlling the speed of all Attack parameters with velocity (Found in the Hardwired Matrix Modulation), or the Decay/Release of all envelopes. This is the key to expressive Keys or Brass/Strings patches, but you can use this to design outrageous expressive leads as well.
