XILS PolyM
The PolyM plug-in is a painstakingly accurate emulation of Moog’s legendary 70’s-era Polymoog Synth.
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Make History… By Embracing History
The 1960’s was a great decade in terms of the history of the analog synthesizer. Though the term “synthesizer” was already decades old by that point, the technology, it seemed, was finally starting to make certain ideas possible in terms of the marketability and portability of synthesizer technology.
Robert Moog was an American engineer and pioneer of electronic music, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest contributors to the worldwide adoption of analog synthesizers in popular music. This first company initially produced theremins, electronic musical instruments controlled by a performer without any physical contact. The device consisted of two metal antennas that were able to assess the proximity of the performers hands, in order to control different oscillators, one for frequency and one for volume. Moog’s knowledge and understanding of theremin technology, along with a Ph.D in engineering that he received in 1965, led to the creation of the Moog synthesizer, a pivotal moment in synthesizer history, that would help take popular music in unimaginable new directions.
After the introduction of several modular synthesizers between 1964 and 1975, including the Micromoog and Minitmoog, the now-legendary Polymoog polyphonic analog synthesizer was born. Based on divide-down oscillator technology, which was being used on electronic organs and string synthesizers of that era, it included a 71-note weighted Pratt & Reed touch-sensitive keyboard, a resonant 3-band graphic EQ, 8 pre-programmed voices, LFO modulation, several different envelope controls, and much more. Although designed by Moog engineer David Luce, the Polymoog’s well known 24 db ladder filter was invented and patented by Bob Moog himself. And when released, it was a bold and exciting step forward into the future of music. Perhaps one of the best examples of the Polymoog being used in Popular music is the unmistakable electronic string sound on Gary Numan’s classic “Cars”, which went on to become Numan’s signature sound in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
However, due to the technological restrictions of the era, even the now-classic Polymoog had its limitations. For example, you could not store user-programmed sounds, nor create different voices from individual oscillators. The Polymoog was also quite large and significantly expensive for its time. Add in the fact that it could, at times, be a little temperamental, and it’s easy to see why production ceased in 1980. Nevertheless, it has remained one Moog’s most unique and interesting analog synthesizers. And that is why XILS has created an incredible emulation of the legendary Polymoog, that takes the functionality and sonic character of the original unit, and adds to it a host of exciting new features made possible through the incredible power of today’s digital signal processing and recall technology.
Introducing The XILS PolyM
XILS-lab is beginning to really stand out in the world of classic hardware emulators. While the Polymoog was not one of Moog’s most widely known instruments, it was incredibly useful for its ability to impart a certain sonic character when used effectively. Artists like Gary Numan had great success using the classic Vox Humana patch. It took more than two years of analyzing, measuring, and testing until the PolyM plugin was finished, and now it stands as one of the best virtual divided-down based virtual synthesizer out there.
How Does The XILS PolyM Work?
The PolyM is rich in character-giving features. The secret of this monster is its hybrid design from an organ-like synthesiser and three filter banks, including a 24db ladder filter, driven by a monophonic envelope. The slightly detuned Top Octave Divider oscillators are incredibly effective at creating unique phasing effects. And the keyboard drives the 24db self-oscillating filter, which can be used to play huge basses or leads as no other synthesiser can. Add to this an Acoustic filter bank, a Resonator bank, a Delay, Phaser, Reverb and plenty of modulation possibilities, and you can understand why the PolyM gives you so much pleasure when playing it!
Why The XILS PolyM Is Such A Big Deal...
- 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.
- Three Vintage effects (delay, Phaser, Reverb)
- 9 modulation slots for endless sound possibilities.
- 3 monophonic, tempo sync-able, LFO
