Analogue Solutions Polymath - Manual (Page 8)

Polymath
8 Safety Instructions | Analogue Solutions
MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS
Any cleaning of the Polymath case should be done with a clean lint-free cloth. DO NOT USE
SOLVENTS OR CLEANERS, as this will deteriorate the exterior appearance of the
equipment.
MOUNTING
Mounting does not mean 'place on the wall' or 'to make love to' in this instance. Place
Polymath soundly on any stable surface so he cannot fall off or over, causing it or yourself
injury.
POWER
The unit must be connected to the mains using an earthed and fused IEC power lead.
Ensure the voltage indicated on the rear panel matches your mains outlet. It will be factory
set to either 115V (USA) or 230V (Europe). There is a Voltage select switch inside, but it is
advised this is only changed but a qualified electronics engineer.
SIGNAL TO NOISE / PITCH SCALING
Polymath uses analogue circuits, 1970s designs, and components such as op-amps that
were originally designed in the 1970s.
Some background noise and odd little noises and crackles can be heard in some instances if
you turn down the VCO levels and really crank up the levels!
This synth was designed using old circuits intentionally to get an old vintage sounds.
With normal use, any background noise will be completely masked and should not prove to
be a problem.
To get the best signal to noise ratio do what you should naturally do with any audio/music
system that is use the highest signal level you can through out the signal chain.
So keep VCO output levels, Filter input and output, etc at maximum.
Also another odd but desireable consequence of using vintage circuits is you will find the
pitch tracking subtley drift a little up the scale. This gives a great warm chorusing effect when
using more than one VCO. Again another reason why this synth sounds so much more
‘analogue’ than some modern analogue contemporary synths.