More intel on the PP

PolyPulse
1

hello,
i’d like more intel on this machine
the (online) manual is a good start but not conclusive - is there a more in-depth (maybe offline?) version?

for starters:
you have 4 nice inputs but no sample player / engine ? Is that correct?

JW

2

Hey,

I’m afraid there is no more in-depth resource than the manual, but I’m happy to answer additional questions here!

The inputs can be used for sampling or you can route the inputs to the FX chains.

Although there is no dedicated ‘sample’ sound engine, several sound engines can play samples (including samples you’ve recorded using the audio inputs):

  • granular: the samples are cut up into short snippets and played to create new sounds
  • quad engine can play sample lists (a sequence of samples, on each note it plays the next sample from the list). Quad engine lends itself nicely for more percussive/beat sampling with one-shots / drumhits.
  • subtractive can also play sample lists and can be used to layer sounds with oscillators. If you just want to play the samples, you can disable the oscillators
  • resonator also plays sample lists and then samples are routed through the resonator section
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3

I have to concur with the topic. And although Ward ambition to answer any questions is present, I would suggest a full on very structured Video manual (not time-consuming, just focused and informative)

As someone that has worked in marketing I find it puzzling how little effort Labada is putting into marketing. IMO this is the most exotic groove box around and it be an easy pleasure to build a promotional campaign around it. There’s a huge market of users applicable yet this thing is flying under the radar.

Even those who have seen it and are interested fade out as customers as its just not continuously highlighted through any promotion.

I dont know what your sales volume is but Im sure we could tipple that with a simple campaign. And likely greatly add to your sales volume in a more extensive branding crusade. I do DOP work , Im a sound designer and do marketing managing.

Feel free to PM me if you want some suggestion.

Best Regards

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4

thx for the intel

what is the max length of those samples?
bitrate/frequency?
what is the max polyphony you’ll have when triggering/playing a few of those (long) samples ?

mainly interested to trigger loops, 2/4/8/16/32 bars
can the Polypulse do time stretching on those longer samples ?
what are the modulation possibilities when working with samples?
the same as the other engines?
e.g. can you modulate the start time or loop length ?

does it have a looper ?

is there a MIDI implementation chart ?

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5

You can load most sample types (expect mp3) and the bitrate only affects how much storage space it uses (there is 26GB free space). The sample rate however does affect how much samples can be loaded.

Expect to be able to load at least 10 minutes of sample(s) at 44.1kHz, don’t worry about having to convert samples to specific sample rates or bit depths.

If you’re playing just samples you should be able to go up to 16 voices. However you’ll likely want to add some effects so then I would say around 8-12 voices.

So modulators can be assigned to most sound engine parameters. Specifically for samples that means you can modulate the amp envelope attack/hold/decay and the pitch. When using granular you can also modulate the start position.

Some sample related parameters are not edited in the sound engine but inside a sample list. There you can set start/end positions, pitch, loop, volume and pitchtracking. The sample list parameters you cannot modulate however. Its probably a good idea to see/hear this in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLTyluYgbcM

If you have rhythmical/percussive loops you can also slice them up in a sample list (there is a function that automatically slices a sample into 4/8/16 slices). Then you can rearrange the loop or play it slower/faster or in different rhythms.

There is no live input looper

There is no MIDI chart because there are no default mappings from MIDI inputs to parameters. You can do this with MIDI though:

MIDI input (MIDI - PolyPulse manual)

  • follow MIDI sync clock
  • route notes to any track to trigger sounds
  • MIDI learn parameters to CC’s
  • trigger cues (that can be used to switch patterns/note lists)

MIDI out:

  • send MIDI clock
  • sequence and control other synths (External - PolyPulse manual)
    • trigger notes on any channel, with MPE support so you can do polyphonic slides and microtuning with pitch bend
    • control/morph/modulate up to 12 parameters using CC’s
6

Wait , what, it can slice… thats superb. Can you adjust the slice grid in any way? Extract slices to new samples?
and can it: loop or adjust pitch per slice ?

7

Yeah so if you want to slice a break beat for example you would do:

  • load the sample into a list
  • (optional) adjust start and end times of sample so it is a bar/measure/loop long.
  • slice into 2/4/8/16

Then it copies that sample x times in the list and adjusts the start/end times of each sample into equal length slices. This assumes the breakbeat is (somewhat) quantized. If the breakbeat is very offgrid/unquantized might need to manually adjust the start times of some slices. Then you can also change the playback speed (or pitch) and the volume of each slice. See also Sample lists - PolyPulse manual

Here is an example of a bit of music where I use slices of a breakbeat https://youtu.be/le7TT2yUk7E?feature=shared&t=1640

3 Likes
8

Ok Superb! Did not see this in any online notes, I look forward to seeing this in practice … Ive yet to cheek out Opernolan huge video manual

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