BluMunk Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 . . . aside from the obvious, of course? Given that every synth is its own unique instrument, are there things that a mono synth is designed to do that is generally not possible to do (or to do well) on a poly synth set to mono mode? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 It depends on the polyphonic's interpretation of mono mode. Having the choice of number of voices in mono mode is a key feature. If you want to have the expression and sound of a monophonic, you have to get mono mode on a poly down to one voice. Memorymoogs are one of the few that can do this. Most polyphonics fire every voice in mono mode. Having every voice firing on a poly in mono mode is not the same as a monophonic but has its own sound and effect. For VCO synths like the Memorymoog and legacy Oberheims, it is a huge sound. For DCO synths, mono mode with every voice firing is awful. On a VCO polysynth, all the VCOs are freely independent of tuning and phase. The slight differences in tuning/phase gives it a wonderful moving animation in mono mode. When you fire all the voices on a DCO polysynth in mono mode, the DCOs are all perfectly in tune and in phase. This is irritating and unpleasant, and if there is no way to get it down to one voice it isn't much use. My Oberheim Matrix 6 - with DCOs - was a good polysynth but I could not use mono mode to emulate a monophonic. The other core difference is the voice summing of polyphonics. This is the circuit that mixes the audio of all the voices, and is not needed in a monophonic. In order to have autotune, you have to mute the master output. If you wanted programmable master volume, the mixer had to be voltage controllable. On older polysynths, the core mixer component was an OTA. OTAs were early VCAs and they were not high fidelity devices. OTAs impart some distortion on the original signal; pile multiple voices into that OTA and the distortion increases. This was a big reason why early polysynths like the legacy Oberheims sounds so big and organic - the voice audio was hot enough that multiple voices generated a distorted timbre that was creamy. When Oberheim released the OB-8 they changed the voice summer from an OTA to the squeaky clean CEM3360 VCA, and customers noticed the sound lost something. Oberheim noticed it too. Later OB-8s reverted back to the OTA. I have no idea if virtual or modern polysynths emulated these "imperfections". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 Some polyphonics offer mono mode with selection of number of voices but the mono voice just doesn't have the beef and presence of a monophonic synth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 My favorite shredder mono lead synth is still the Memorymoog with the 18 oscillators in unison. (6 minimoogs) Also in the winter when it is cold those oscillators can heat your house. Old school amplification is best. Quote "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Emm Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 The question seems a bit quaint, now that its so easy to own twelve of anything in hardware or software, large or small. Well, not actual hardware Memorymoogs. There *is* an upward limit, but you get the point. I wonder if twelve instances of Memorymode will 'splode my bass bin? The actual topic is also a bit of a Meh for me because my mono/solo playing consists of either natural solo fare like trumpet & Martenot or unique physical modeling creatures. The latter aren't just about triggering, but also the inner behaviors. Its often far removed from more "conventional" jazz or prog Moog solos. So while some of the core differences are real enough, the range of options puts most of them just three clicks away. Easy for me to say, as a former hardware stacker, but I also scream the loudest when a blip of some sort takes my computers down. Hey, you either skydive or you DON'T! Quote "We're the crash test dummies of the digital age." ~ Kara Swisher, "Burn Book" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Verelst Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 In more detail than most the time, the signal path in a mono-synth doesn't need to accommodate different volume levels resulting from 1 or more than 1 note being played, the phase of a monosynth's oscillator when changing pitch by playing a different note might remain the same, and the polysynth when one note is played at the time wil sound different for each next note as it cycles through it's voices. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 Nice posts. Apart from the fact that some poly"s can sound wimpy because the pre-filter mixers aren"t saturating as much, there are also differences between particular synths in note-priority, envelope shape and filter topology (etc) which can yield a different character. Once you get to a certain level of specificity, each synth is unique. One is not a superset of the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Verelst Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 If the voices have a filter each, the filters aren't going to know how many voices are drive and sound the same for one or more notes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.