Also... having each 3 notes of the polyphony having different waves and other behaviors... that is BETTER than most polyphonic synths... something few can even do. So I love that. That's a feature I've long wanted actually. Thanks for letting me know about this! Didn't even know.
Suggestion for the final video in this series: a demo of a few of your own patches (with or without explanations).. In any event, your series is going to go down in synth users' history as the coolest and most in depth. Thx!
coool! now i understand this function of which i love doing on my pro 2, but i was very confused as to how each oscillator was triggered but your explanation makes sense now! awesome :)
@AutomaticGainsay THIS is why you need to demo the Vermona Perfourmer MKII that synth EXCELS at the polyphonic control you’re describing but with four VCOs, four Low Pass Filters, four ADSRs, four LFOs, the same FM madness, etc, etc. But with ONE twist, you can snap it do UNISON mode which is going to change everything. I’m telling you Marc, you’ve got to get behind this thing! I love the Matrix Brute but the Vermona is a 1,500 dollar Four-Voce that you can pack in your carry-on luggage (yes I’ve done it).
If you don't like that outcome, the synthesizer always directs osc1 to the first note, osc 2 to the second, etc. Therefore, you can make sure the notes stay where you want them to. But that's what all polysynths do... if that's what you want, you can just get a normal polysynth!
Another analogue synth that can do "this type of polyphony" is the Studio Electronics Omega (CODE) in "prepared" mode. Fun fact: if you have both extra filter slots filled and you count the 4 modes of the OB filter as "filters", you can have 8 voice polyphony with 7 different filters :)
Question: In "paraphonic" mode can the filter that is assigned to a specific oscillator's output be configured to track the keyboard using the keyboard CV that is controlling that same oscillator, or will the keyboard CV go round robin / rotate independently for the VCF and VCO?
If it cannot, and is assigned a CV via the normal voice assignment scheme, then that could lead to some interesting tonal overlaps as there are 2 filters and 3 VCOs
what happens if you use the matrix to make env 2 affect the vca negatively 100%? does that work? or use eg. the modwheel to affect the vca so that it is always open? is it possible to bypass the vca problem with one of these methods (assuming you don't have oscillating filters)? then you should have 3 independently articulated voices, at least in dynamics. obviously there's no going round the 2 filter problem...
I have wondered these things about the VCA, too... I will have to try your ideas. I wondered if when the VCA was patched, it became disconnected to the second envelope... I mean, it would kind of make sense. But I haven't tried it, yet! I should have for this video!
Envelope 2 remains in effect whatever you patch to the VCA. I tried feeding the VCA with negative Envelope 2, but couldn't get it 'phase cancel' in any reliable fashion. It seems like Envelope 2 is applied after the VCA column, so to speak, always acting in full (except the strange -v application). The rules of that changes in Duo Split mode - but I guess that's an episode in itself! Oh, and Duo Split rules!! -:)
You can use the LFO in 1-shot mode as another envelope, admittedly its not super flexible, but use instead of env2. Then set env2 to instant attack, decay, max sustain and max release.
Does it actually make much difference in reality whether each note has it's own filter and amp or not as long as you gain stage it correctly? On traditional polys all of the oscillators and the amps will all share the same settings anyway so would you really hear any difference? (although they may introduce slight variations in calibration which could create a nice sound)?
If you play a synth like a piano, it makes a huge difference that each voice doesn't have its own articulation... but at the same time, you should never play a synth like a piano. :D
Please could you elaborate a bit. I'm not really sure how it works differently in practice. For example if you only had one envelope and played a chord and then some later notes the envelope would already be open so you wouldn't get a new envelope trigger per note? Or is it to do with aftertouch not being per not or velocity?
On the "traditional" polyphonics, you have, for example, an envelope that controls your amp... one set of envelope controls... but what is really happening is that there are six or eight envelopes controlling six or eight amps based on the single envelope settings. In other words, you actually have envelopes and amps per oscillator, but they are all controlled by single controls. On paraphonic synths, you can simulate that outcome, as long as you play all of the notes at once. But if you, say, hold three notes and then play more notes on top of that, the amp or filter envelope may have arrived at a point where you don't hear the later notes you play... because there is only one envelope. Some paraphonic synths were designed to retrigger every time a note was played, but that also retriggers all of the notes you're holding. It's kind of a catch 22.
Hahaha! This series' intro has Summertime smeared all over it! It makes me happy!!! Are you almost done? I want to binge watch this when it's finished.
I've been wondering if someone was going to do this kind of thing. Why should the ability to change each voice in a chord be limited to early Oberheim polyphonic owners? Glad to see that the Matrixbrute can. Also glad to see you didn't finish playing Jump - any more and they'd have to confiscate your hands, as per intergalactic law.
This is really awesome. Love it! It kind of makes traditional polyphonic synths seem boring. There really isn't much this synth can't do. I can't wait to see your video on polyphonic sequencing. What's the step limit? It would be so cool if they would give you 3 mono sequencers - one per oscillator. That can't be done can it externally or internally?
The sequencer can't do independent voltages for all three oscillators, so you have to figure out tricks. By setting all of the oscillator frequencies to a chord, you're a step in the right direction, but of course, then the sequencer would merely play that chord formation and quality on every note you had sequenced. The trick is then to modify the individual oscillator frequencies using voltage control from the modulation matrix as controlled by the sequencer mod. There are undoubtedly MANY ways this can be applied to force the oscillators into different frequencies with each step of the sequence. Some complex configurations might even result in pretty extreme chord formation changes... I haven't dug very deeply into it... and digging deep is certainly possible! Not quite as easy as just playing chords each step, but also not impossible...
Thank you for *not* playing "Jump" lol. There are some songs that, while great, have inadvertently bastardized synthesizers. Usually, they're songs that feature the simplest, least creative patches...... like two VCOs on the OB-Xa with the filter wide open and nothing else going on. 😁
Sorry - with all the tweaking you are doing, it is still paraphonic because each key press still triggers all the envelopes. If you hold down two keys, pressing a third key will always affect the rwo notes being held. The oscillator configuration is polyphonic, the instrument as a whole can never be more than paraphonic.
I have a Behringer Neutron which can be two-note paraphonic and a Korg Volca Keys which can be three-note paraphonic. The Neutron has a Poly Chain mode which sends excess key presses to the MIDI Thru. If I connect the two synths, I will have a 5-note synth with two paraphonic articulation paths. If I hold down two keys the Neutron will sound two notes using its single articulation path, and pressing a third key will trigger the envelopes of the Volca and sound that note, without affecting the Neutron's own sound or articulation at all. This is still not polyphony.
Simon: The word "paraphonic," as it had been used for several decades, usually described a top-octave-divide synthesizer with a single filter, single amp, and often a single envelope. In that architecture, amplitude and timbre articulation is limited to a single envelope event, and even if there was an individual envelope for the amp and the filter, it still had the opportunity for only one envelope articulation shape for each of them per event. That truth resulted in certain recognizable paraphonic outcomes, like where each new key pressed activated the envelopes for all keys depressed, etc. In the case of the MatrixBrute, though, each note of polyphony can have its own digital amplifier AND envelope. So, as such, there is the possibility of each note having a unique amplitude envelope. While there are only two filters, at least one note could have its own independent filter articulation, and then two notes would share a filter articulation. Those distinctions are absolutely nothing like what has typically been described as "paraphonic." Any sort of independent articulation makes a synth NOT paraphonic, as paraphonic essentially means "only one articulative structure for multiple notes." All envelopes being activated by key events is definitely not a fully-independent articulation scheme like on a multiphonic synthesizer, to be sure... and that behavior COULD result in an outcome that sounds just like a paraphonic synth would... but the moment you set all of those envelopes to different values (or, have single notes activated by something other than the envelopes), that illusion is destroyed. That can never happen in a paraphonic synth by definition. So, bottom line... polyphonic synth with a unique articulative structure that I describe as "variophonic." Not paraphonic, but not multiphonic either... a structure that has some aspects of both... a weird combination of limited articulation.
@@simonbeck7446 "Polyphony" is the possibility of multiple notes in a single instrument when keys are depressed, irrespective of articulation. "Polyphony" is a term that describes whether a single instrument is capable of multiple notes. So, if you chained together a bunch of MIDI monophonics with poly chaining, you'll get polyphony, but you wouldn't call those synths a "polyphonic" synth. The term specifically tells a person that an independent instrument is capable of playing multiple notes when you press the keys. Second, I always insist that a synth that plays two notes at a time is "duophonic," irrespective of articulation. Articulated duophony is awfully rare, but when it exists, it can be distinguished by calling it "articulated duophony." But in general, calling a duophonic synth "paraphonic" is super misleading for those of us who remember when ALL "paraphonic" synths played more than two notes, and were usually fully polyphonic. The trend to describe duophonics as "paraphonic" is very new, and started when Moog Music felt uncomfortable with the fact that their audience might be confused about why their new duophonic synth didn't have independent articulation. That started in 2014... whereas the term "paraphonic" had been used to describe fully-polyphonic divide-down single-articulation synths since at least the mid-1990s. Lastly, "polyphony" is note count, "paraphonic," etc., is how polyphonic notes are articulated. They are separate. Any synth that plays three or more notes simultaneously is "polyphonic" irrespective of how those notes are articulated. If you'd like to know the historical basis for all of these articulation and polyphony concepts, I'd urge you to watch my series on polyphony. I explain and justify all of them in it.
Haven't heard it yet with the Brute, but I'm sure someone will figure out a way to do it. Many say synths shouldn't be played like pianos, but I think a synth with the ability to get played like one definitely sets itself apart from other synths. But with the supreme articulation of a single frequency, is what I think makes a monosynth such a beastial powerhouse. Monos are kind of made specifically for this purpose.
Also... having each 3 notes of the polyphony having different waves and other behaviors... that is BETTER than most polyphonic synths... something few can even do. So I love that. That's a feature I've long wanted actually. Thanks for letting me know about this! Didn't even know.
Suggestion for the final video in this series: a demo of a few of your own patches (with or without explanations).. In any event, your series is going to go down in synth users' history as the coolest and most in depth. Thx!
I've been wanting to make a video like that! I'm sure it will happen!
Thank you very much!
I've said it before and i'll say it again....This series should be mentioned in the Matrix Brute's manual ;)
Thank you! :D
Your enthusiasm is infectious, Mr. Doty. Thank you for making such great videos!
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Hopefully we will see a PolyBrute next.
well....
I actually started laughing when you started Ju.. "I'm not going to do it".
:D
Mine arrives today! I'm so fucking stoked!
That "Jump" fakeout. Would've subscribed for that, if I wasn't already ;-)
:D
coool! now i understand this function of which i love doing on my pro 2, but i was very confused as to how each oscillator was triggered but your explanation makes sense now! awesome :)
Excellent!
Wow... killer secret weapon insights on this vid. Thanks so much for this on day one of having a MatrixBrute. GREAT tutorials!
@AutomaticGainsay THIS is why you need to demo the Vermona Perfourmer MKII that synth EXCELS at the polyphonic control you’re describing but with four VCOs, four Low Pass Filters, four ADSRs, four LFOs, the same FM madness, etc, etc. But with ONE twist, you can snap it do UNISON mode which is going to change everything. I’m telling you Marc, you’ve got to get behind this thing! I love the Matrix Brute but the Vermona is a 1,500 dollar Four-Voce that you can pack in your carry-on luggage (yes I’ve done it).
The note jumping around somtimes gets on my nerves if I dont want that. does it only do that if the OSC's arnt in tune with each other?
If you don't like that outcome, the synthesizer always directs osc1 to the first note, osc 2 to the second, etc. Therefore, you can make sure the notes stay where you want them to.
But that's what all polysynths do... if that's what you want, you can just get a normal polysynth!
AutomaticGainsay thank you :) only had it 2 weeks. Lots to learn. Your videos are great.
I wanted a complicated/simple/complicated simple synth. and thats what I got haha! I love mine!
This thing apparently can sound like a CS series, and I like that.
This thing can sound like so many other synths, and yet, is capable of doing things other synths can't.
Companies that manufacture electronics should hire you because you make the best 'visual manuals'.
Feel free to tell Arturia that! :D
And thank you!
Another analogue synth that can do "this type of polyphony" is the Studio Electronics Omega (CODE) in "prepared" mode. Fun fact: if you have both extra filter slots filled and you count the 4 modes of the OB filter as "filters", you can have 8 voice polyphony with 7 different filters :)
Wow, cool!
Also, through CV you could route an OSC. to another external filter or envelope ,Then it would be fully articulated polyphony correct?
Question: In "paraphonic" mode can the filter that is assigned to a specific oscillator's output be configured to track the keyboard using the keyboard CV that is controlling that same oscillator, or will the keyboard CV go round robin / rotate independently for the VCF and VCO?
That is a fascinating question.
If it cannot, and is assigned a CV via the normal voice assignment scheme, then that could lead to some interesting tonal overlaps as there are 2 filters and 3 VCOs
what happens if you use the matrix to make env 2 affect the vca negatively 100%? does that work?
or use eg. the modwheel to affect the vca so that it is always open? is it possible to bypass the vca problem with one of these methods (assuming you don't have oscillating filters)?
then you should have 3 independently articulated voices, at least in dynamics. obviously there's no going round the 2 filter problem...
I have wondered these things about the VCA, too... I will have to try your ideas. I wondered if when the VCA was patched, it became disconnected to the second envelope... I mean, it would kind of make sense. But I haven't tried it, yet! I should have for this video!
Envelope 2 remains in effect whatever you patch to the VCA. I tried feeding the VCA with negative Envelope 2, but couldn't get it 'phase cancel' in any reliable fashion. It seems like Envelope 2 is applied after the VCA column, so to speak, always acting in full (except the strange -v application). The rules of that changes in Duo Split mode - but I guess that's an episode in itself! Oh, and Duo Split rules!! -:)
You can use the LFO in 1-shot mode as another envelope, admittedly its not super flexible, but use instead of env2. Then set env2 to instant attack, decay, max sustain and max release.
Does it actually make much difference in reality whether each note has it's own filter and amp or not as long as you gain stage it correctly? On traditional polys all of the oscillators and the amps will all share the same settings anyway so would you really hear any difference? (although they may introduce slight variations in calibration which could create a nice sound)?
If you play a synth like a piano, it makes a huge difference that each voice doesn't have its own articulation... but at the same time, you should never play a synth like a piano. :D
Please could you elaborate a bit. I'm not really sure how it works differently in practice. For example if you only had one envelope and played a chord and then some later notes the envelope would already be open so you wouldn't get a new envelope trigger per note? Or is it to do with aftertouch not being per not or velocity?
On the "traditional" polyphonics, you have, for example, an envelope that controls your amp... one set of envelope controls... but what is really happening is that there are six or eight envelopes controlling six or eight amps based on the single envelope settings. In other words, you actually have envelopes and amps per oscillator, but they are all controlled by single controls.
On paraphonic synths, you can simulate that outcome, as long as you play all of the notes at once. But if you, say, hold three notes and then play more notes on top of that, the amp or filter envelope may have arrived at a point where you don't hear the later notes you play... because there is only one envelope. Some paraphonic synths were designed to retrigger every time a note was played, but that also retriggers all of the notes you're holding. It's kind of a catch 22.
Hahaha! This series' intro has Summertime smeared all over it! It makes me happy!!!
Are you almost done? I want to binge watch this when it's finished.
I've been wondering if someone was going to do this kind of thing. Why should the ability to change each voice in a chord be limited to early Oberheim polyphonic owners? Glad to see that the Matrixbrute can. Also glad to see you didn't finish playing Jump - any more and they'd have to confiscate your hands, as per intergalactic law.
:D
If you're into this style of polyphony, you REALLY need to check out the Vermona perFOURmer. I'd love to see you put it through the paces.
You are not the first person to tell me that! I really would like to check that unit out.
For your next synth, can you do the deepmind 12?
Just got the Deepmind 12 to complement my MXB and they fit so perfectly together when combined.
This is really awesome. Love it! It kind of makes traditional polyphonic synths seem boring. There really isn't much this synth can't do. I can't wait to see your video on polyphonic sequencing. What's the step limit? It would be so cool if they would give you 3 mono sequencers - one per oscillator. That can't be done can it externally or internally?
The sequencer can't do independent voltages for all three oscillators, so you have to figure out tricks. By setting all of the oscillator frequencies to a chord, you're a step in the right direction, but of course, then the sequencer would merely play that chord formation and quality on every note you had sequenced. The trick is then to modify the individual oscillator frequencies using voltage control from the modulation matrix as controlled by the sequencer mod.
There are undoubtedly MANY ways this can be applied to force the oscillators into different frequencies with each step of the sequence. Some complex configurations might even result in pretty extreme chord formation changes... I haven't dug very deeply into it... and digging deep is certainly possible!
Not quite as easy as just playing chords each step, but also not impossible...
Thank you for *not* playing "Jump" lol. There are some songs that, while great, have inadvertently bastardized synthesizers. Usually, they're songs that feature the simplest, least creative patches...... like two VCOs on the OB-Xa with the filter wide open and nothing else going on. 😁
Sorry - with all the tweaking you are doing, it is still paraphonic because each key press still triggers all the envelopes. If you hold down two keys, pressing a third key will always affect the rwo notes being held. The oscillator configuration is polyphonic, the instrument as a whole can never be more than paraphonic.
I have a Behringer Neutron which can be two-note paraphonic and a Korg Volca Keys which can be three-note paraphonic. The Neutron has a Poly Chain mode which sends excess key presses to the MIDI Thru. If I connect the two synths, I will have a 5-note synth with two paraphonic articulation paths. If I hold down two keys the Neutron will sound two notes using its single articulation path, and pressing a third key will trigger the envelopes of the Volca and sound that note, without affecting the Neutron's own sound or articulation at all. This is still not polyphony.
Simon: The word "paraphonic," as it had been used for several decades, usually described a top-octave-divide synthesizer with a single filter, single amp, and often a single envelope. In that architecture, amplitude and timbre articulation is limited to a single envelope event, and even if there was an individual envelope for the amp and the filter, it still had the opportunity for only one envelope articulation shape for each of them per event. That truth resulted in certain recognizable paraphonic outcomes, like where each new key pressed activated the envelopes for all keys depressed, etc.
In the case of the MatrixBrute, though, each note of polyphony can have its own digital amplifier AND envelope. So, as such, there is the possibility of each note having a unique amplitude envelope. While there are only two filters, at least one note could have its own independent filter articulation, and then two notes would share a filter articulation. Those distinctions are absolutely nothing like what has typically been described as "paraphonic." Any sort of independent articulation makes a synth NOT paraphonic, as paraphonic essentially means "only one articulative structure for multiple notes."
All envelopes being activated by key events is definitely not a fully-independent articulation scheme like on a multiphonic synthesizer, to be sure... and that behavior COULD result in an outcome that sounds just like a paraphonic synth would... but the moment you set all of those envelopes to different values (or, have single notes activated by something other than the envelopes), that illusion is destroyed. That can never happen in a paraphonic synth by definition.
So, bottom line... polyphonic synth with a unique articulative structure that I describe as "variophonic." Not paraphonic, but not multiphonic either... a structure that has some aspects of both... a weird combination of limited articulation.
@@simonbeck7446 "Polyphony" is the possibility of multiple notes in a single instrument when keys are depressed, irrespective of articulation. "Polyphony" is a term that describes whether a single instrument is capable of multiple notes. So, if you chained together a bunch of MIDI monophonics with poly chaining, you'll get polyphony, but you wouldn't call those synths a "polyphonic" synth. The term specifically tells a person that an independent instrument is capable of playing multiple notes when you press the keys.
Second, I always insist that a synth that plays two notes at a time is "duophonic," irrespective of articulation. Articulated duophony is awfully rare, but when it exists, it can be distinguished by calling it "articulated duophony." But in general, calling a duophonic synth "paraphonic" is super misleading for those of us who remember when ALL "paraphonic" synths played more than two notes, and were usually fully polyphonic. The trend to describe duophonics as "paraphonic" is very new, and started when Moog Music felt uncomfortable with the fact that their audience might be confused about why their new duophonic synth didn't have independent articulation. That started in 2014... whereas the term "paraphonic" had been used to describe fully-polyphonic divide-down single-articulation synths since at least the mid-1990s.
Lastly, "polyphony" is note count, "paraphonic," etc., is how polyphonic notes are articulated. They are separate. Any synth that plays three or more notes simultaneously is "polyphonic" irrespective of how those notes are articulated.
If you'd like to know the historical basis for all of these articulation and polyphony concepts, I'd urge you to watch my series on polyphony. I explain and justify all of them in it.
Nice when you want to throw a few simple triads in there ..I like that
beast of a machine but it should be at least 4 note polyphonic. too many great alternatives today both software and hardware.
great video!
busywl69 can you name some alternatives? Really hooked on the matrix but want to see what compares
Lit ✨✨✨
Can this thing be made to sound like a PIANO? DOes it have any PIANO sounding presets?
Haven't heard it yet with the Brute, but I'm sure someone will figure out a way to do it. Many say synths shouldn't be played like pianos, but I think a synth with the ability to get played like one definitely sets itself apart from other synths. But with the supreme articulation of a single frequency, is what I think makes a monosynth such a beastial powerhouse. Monos are kind of made specifically for this purpose.
The *Monopoly lol
This thing does so much, too much even. ::Insert Scanners exploding head gif::
Would have been hilarious, if this video had just stated: There is no polyphony. Go somewhere else.