Analogue Solutions Polymath - Manual (Page 3)

Polymath
Analogue Solutions | Polymath, what is it? 3
PARAPHONIC
Paraphonic is half way between a traditional monophonic and full polyphonic synth (though
closer to the second).
Up to four note chords can be played, since it has four separate oscillators. However, it only
has one filter and one amplifier section. Polyphonic synths usually have a filter/vca/envelope
per voice/oscillator.
Traditionally this kind of polyphony was used to save money, since instead of four filters, four
envelopes and four amplifiers (for a four note polyphonic synth), you only need one set
share between the four VCOs. It would also save space as a much smaller PCB can be
used and ultimately the reason was also to save cost.
However, this isn’t really the full reason we have chosen this implementation.
It is true money has been saved, but this saving has been used instead to invest in other
extra features like the analogue sequencer and spring reverb.
The main reason is we chose paraphonic is we wanted this synth to be mostly modular. A
fully patchable polyphonic modular synth is an absolute nightmare and a sea of patch
cables. We know, because we have tried this! The patching is significantly reduced using the
paraphonic method.
With paraphonic, you get the best of all worlds but still remaining practical. With a small
number of patch leads you can set up a simple paraphonic patch and still be able to see the
controls through the cables.
Also paraphonic implementation offers its own creative advantages over monophonic or
polyphonic systems in the way voices can be cross-patched to cross-modulate. A
paraphonic synth also has a different ‘sound’ to a full polyphonic synth, and being different is
always good!
MODULAR
There are several terms like modular and semi-modular that are bandied about in the synth
world. There is no standard in their meaning, and often they are used incorrectly (you only
have to look at descriptions of old and new synths on forums, manufacturer web sites and
places such as ebay). People have different opnions about how patchable a synth must be
before it can be called modular.
There are many synths now that have a handful of sockets and get called modular. The term
seems to be applied to synths that have ‘fixed’ circuits and those where sections can be
swapped out. Some people think modular means that the circuits like VCOs must be able to