Polypulse : New synth from Lambda Synthetics

blipson · 2023-10-27T10:34:35.558Z

Lizard-of-Oz:

I really wish they’d publish the manual before they put up their kickstarter page, so we could find out what is actually on offer here

That’s what I was thinking. There’s a lot being sold on faith here for 2k up front with a minimum 1-year wait (ha!). I can’t even get a sense of the sonic range of the synths, and the drums hardly sound impressive in the demos. We waited 3 years for the Osmose, and I never flinched because I only had to put up 25% with the balance due once ready to ship.

I’d consider putting up 500 for this on an open-ended wait with the option to pull out any time, but perhaps they can’t make those economics work. And I’d need to be able to imagine more of its capabilities, so more info is required. I can’t even tell if that screen UI is awful or perhaps good/efficient for what it needs to show to complement the rest of the physical interface.

ccr · 2023-10-27T11:15:31.597Z

It looks as if they go for a very limited audience. 22 backers (20 machines reserved), and their target has been largely met…

Jeanne · 2023-10-27T11:40:18.825Z

I love the look, but I don’t like that they think their logo and product name is more important than screen size.

ESIS_Labs · 2023-10-27T13:15:27.999Z

people saying UI is bad w/o using it (nor objecting the vids) seem to mistake the UI for the looks

UI is about interactions. and apart from the small display, I think it’s rather fantastic, if not somewhat innovative even. well-spaced knobs in blocks of 16 (!), main controls in the middle, touchpads above, keyboard/additional function below look very playable imo.
buttons may look funny to some, but small companies have to choose from mass-produced details I guess. and tactility+durability play a role, adjusting the overall aesthetics too. the point here was to deliver the most performative box I guess, and it’s just those cheapo touchpads+bland area on top which fails its overall looks, not the style itself

they could use the space better though. a slightly tighter arrangement of knobs + the wasted area on top would allow for something even more hands on — either less height, or more controls. but mainly, use two (instead of five) touchpads with selectable channels they influence which would allow to keep all the functionality. the saved space could be used for a better display.
the actual interactions with it seem quite logical from the videos, but it’s something that can only be tested hands-on, just like responsiveness and overall control quality, so it’s prematurely do discuss that…

yet for all the great UI concept here, the sound lacks imo. and I’ve not heard the sampler in use… which is of my main interest here. I guess the engine would be too simple, and the display too small for comfortable editing.
too bad then. 25% less size, double the screen and you have a winner… alas

xmit · 2023-10-27T13:39:14.514Z

ESIS_Labs:

people saying UI is bad w/o using it (nor objecting the vids) seem to mistake the UI for the looks

that’s fair - you’re right.

This looks absolutely f*cking horrendous. Awful. And how a musical instrument looks to me does actually matter in terms of inspiring me to play it.

YMMV of course, which is cool

rotallytuined · 2023-10-27T15:51:23.781Z

I like the idea of making sounds in a cockpit simulator.
If it were cheaper to back I’d probs by a ticket but I’ll watch this from the lounge instead for now.

Lizard-of-Oz · 2023-10-28T16:04:34.621Z

ESIS_Labs:

seem to mistake the UI for the looks

The design of the unit is part of the user interface, and it is certainly part of the user experience. Although it sometimes is subtle, colors, ornaments, layout and size of things, etc. all influence the interaction.

And one rarely sees a piece of gear that looks like shit but works like a charm.

Claid · 2023-10-28T21:33:33.456Z

I’m really intrigued by this device, looks and sounds really good, love the X/Y pattern manipulation.

DaveMech · 2023-10-28T21:38:26.477Z

Lizard-of-Oz:

Has anyone found out where they are based

Utrecht, The Netherlands

Same as Tasty Chips, alter audio (timetosser), and Data Duo

cane_creek · 2023-10-28T22:05:41.889Z

I love the look, and the workflow is so different, my eyes are old no need for a screen that small on a unit that big, i’d love one just aint got 2 grand to throw about at the moment.

MIDI-IN-Kartel · 2023-10-28T22:48:21.547Z

I used to perform live with one of those early on in my career. When I was on the cutting edge.

Claid · 2023-10-28T23:59:50.353Z

Then you took an arrow to the knee.

rotallytuined · 2023-11-02T18:43:38.429Z

This just happened to YouTube

teodordumi · 2023-11-16T12:17:23.304Z

I actually really really like what the sequencer seems to be doing. Selecting notes from a list and playing them cyclically with 4 polyrhythmic pulses… I wonder if there is a software plugin that could achieve this too? If not I might have to build my own to try this workflow out…

thermionic · 2023-11-22T07:30:43.418Z

I’ll have to see how this goes, perhaps I’ll actually have the money and time by Sept 2024

richie · 2024-05-01T15:15:17.304Z

blipson · 2024-05-17T12:02:11.303Z

Omar · 2024-05-17T14:53:57.951Z

Definitely interesting

thermionic · 2024-05-17T15:23:00.323Z

Spoiler: I will not have the money and time by Sept 2024.

What I want is probably just a sequencer designed tightly around polymetric exploration over something necessarily with tone generation included.

For that I need to just break out the manual for my existing Elektron boxes and do my homework! Effectively free since they’re already in my possession.

FilipNest · 2024-05-17T15:38:18.584Z

teodordumi:

I actually really really like what the sequencer seems to be doing. Selecting notes from a list and playing them cyclically with 4 polyrhythmic pulses… I wonder if there is a software plugin that could achieve this too? If not I might have to build my own to try this workflow out…

Oooh… can’t quite tell how this is working from the videos but I’ve been working on this sort of phase sequencer for a few months in various levels of code / midihub hacking etc as I love the idea and totally missed that someone had built one. Shame it’s not just a sequencer as I would stop building and just buy it.

Off topic on my workings

LFO note triggers was the first attempt. Focused on drums but now realise that melody is even more interesting.

My current version has 4x a list of notes (was originally one, maybe around four) and then 4x four encoders:

Square wave LFO frequency control that triggers a note every cycle.
Volume control for the midi note outs
An encoder for the length of time to pass before a gap between cycles
An encoder for how long this gap lasts

This setup is duplicated the four times so you can get four polyrhythmic beats going.

After playing with the midihub prototype I found the best part of it was tweaking the frequency live to make and adjust patterns.

Was building as a web app but might get that Elektra One scriptable midi controller thing and build it for that.

If anyone wants to collaborate I’d love to as doing this for a free and open source thing.