Hey,

At Lambda Synthetics we build physical tools for the creation of electronic music. With our instruments, we try to offer you a new approach to live electronics.

On the 23rd of October 2023 the PolyPulse launched on Kickstarter and with help of 34 backers production started in 2024. You can now pre-order the PolyPulse below.

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The PolyPulse

The PolyPulse is an algorithmic performance workstation which combines the playfulness and performability of physical instruments with the precision and sonic detail of digital music production techniques into a single package!

manual / forum / updates

Its 5 tracks each have an algorithmic sequencer, a polyphonic sound engine of your choice, customizable audio effects chain and morphing touchpad. The algorithmic sequencer allows you to easily create long evolving rhythms and melodies. With the touchpads you can fluently morph between four presets per track to create expressive and dynamic changes in sound and texture.

The PolyPulse has four audio inputs which can be sampled, and has eight audio outputs allowing for various routings including individual outputs per track or spatialized multi-speaker setups. It can be synced using MIDI, sample accurate clock signals and it even talks Open Sound Control. MIDI can be used to sequence external synthesizers and with CC messages you can morph sounds on your favorite synthesizer module!

Algorithmic sequencer

With the PolyPulse you create rhythms using an algorithmic sequencer controlled by a set of parameters. This allows you to quickly create a variation on a groove by turning just a single knob. Melodies are created using 'note lists'. When a note is triggered by the sequencer, it picks a pitch from the note list and sends that to the sound engine. Due to the separation between rhythms and melodies you can mix and match to try out new combinations and to discover wonderful sequences.

The algorithmic sequencer is free from conventional limitations like the number of steps a sequence can have, specific time signatures and can use custom tuning systems. Each pattern can have its own length and patterns on different tracks can shift against each other creating constantly evolving melodies.

While the sequencer is capable of a lot of things, it does so without menu diving and is as knob-per-function as possible with 16 encoders always accessible for direct manipulation!

Read more about sequencing in the manual.

Morphing and mixing

With the touchpads you have expressive control over all sound engine and audio effects parameters. On each corner of a touchpad a sound can be stored. These sounds can be modified on-the-fly, or prepared beforehand and stored in the project.

Each track also has a dedicated volume knob and effects sends knob. The effects send can be routed internally, or you can send signal to your favorite external effects processor!

Read more about morphing in the manual.

Sound engines

On each track you can select a sound engine with up to eight voices of polyphony:

• A configurable drumkit with synthesized drums and sample players that plays sequences of samples so you can quickly create complex drum patterns on a single track.
• A subtractive synthesizer with four oscillators, noise source, harmonic ring modulation, and a 24dB lowpass filter or 12dB morphing filter.
• A four operator FM synthesizer with modulation matrix so you can create custom FM algorithms, and even morph between different algorithms!
• An additive synthesizer with up to 32 sine waves per voice, for those complex digital sounds and glitchy textures!
• A granular synthesizer that with a unique approach to handling large amounts of samples.
• A physical modelling synthesizer with noise and samples as excitation source and two feedback loops to blend between positive and negative feedback.

Read more about sound engines in the manual.

Audio effects

You can add up to four audio effects per track. Additionally four effects can be added to the master bus. The PolyPulse has a multichannel audio effects system. This means you have the freedom to apply audio effects to a mix of the sound engines voices, but also to the individual voices of a sound engine. The user chooses when (and how) channels are summed, so the PolyPulse can also be used in spatial audio setups with up to eight speakers.

Currently, the following audio effects are included in the PolyPulse software:

• Amplitude modulator is a multichannel tremolo effect.
• Compressor can be used to constrain the dynamic range, increase the punchiness of a sound or slam a drum bus.
• Delay can be tempo synced, has a multichannel ping-pong mode and has several algorithms with unique characters.
• Drive has several distortion algorithms so you can add a bit (or a lot) of crunchiness!
• Equalizer has a low-shelf, bell and high-shelf filter with frequency and gain controls.
• Fade delay is a granular delay effect with pitch shifter and feedback sustainer to create long and heavenly drones from simple sounds.
• Filter is a 12dB resonant filter than can morph from lowpass ➝ bandpass ➝ highpass ➝ notch ➝ lowpass.
• Limiter can be used to prevent clipping or to as creative tool to smash signals.
• Mono mixes the incoming signals to a single output.
• Multiband splits audio up into multiple frequency bands, so you can apply effects to different frequency bands.
• Reroute connects individual synth voices to various audio outputs and can be used as spatial panner during multispeaker performances.
• Reverb allows you to add space to your sound.
• Stereo spreads and pans signals over a stereo spectrum. Each new note starts in a random position and can slowly move around in the stereo field.

Read more about audio effects in the manual.

Assignable modulators

In addition to the amplitude envelopes of the sound engines the PolyPulse offers a per voice/channel assignable modulation system. Modulators can be assigned to most sound engine and audio effect parameters and can even be assigned to other modulators.

• LFO is an oscillator with different waveshapes that can run free or synced to the main clock.
• AD env is an envelope generator with attack and decay phase than can also run inverted or with a random peak value.
• Random generates random numbers when triggered and can deviate over time from those value.
• Offset can be used to make each voice/channel sound slightly different.

Read more about assignable modulators in the manual.

Specifications

• 5 tracks with algorithmic sequencer, polyphonic sound engine and up to 4 audio effects
• 6 synthesis/sampling engines: subtractive, FM, additive, resonator, quad engine and granular
• 13 audio effects: amplitude modulator, compressor, delay, drive, equalizer, fade delay, filter, limiter, mono, multiband, reroute, reverb, stereo
• 5 morphing touchpads and dedicated mixer controls for expressive and tactile control
• Assignable modulation system with per voice/channel modulation.
• Hands-on interface:
  • 32 high resolution encoders, with coarse and fine-tune control
  • 5 capacitive touchpads
  • 13 metal-shaft potentiometers
  • 65 key switches
  • OLED display with excellent viewing angles
• 26GB of storage for samples and projects
• 1GHz processor: 8 to 16 voices of polyphony*
• 512MB RAM: 10+ minutes of stereo samples loadable in memory
• High quality, low noise balanced audio:
  • 2 balanced line inputs
  • 2 microphone inputs with pad and gain controls
  • 8 balanced line outputs
  • Stereo headphone amplifier with volume control
• MIDI IN/OUT
• Trigger in/out
  • 2 sample accurate trigger inputs (48 kHz)
  • 2 sample accurate trigger outputs (48 kHz)
  • 3 trigger outputs (750 Hz)
• RJ45 ethernet connection:
  • File manager to upload samples, update firmware and backup projects
  • Send/receive Open Sound Control
• Solid metal enclosure
  • 40.5cm x 43cm x 7cm
  • 5 kg

* varies depending on what sound engines and audio effects are used.

Workflow

Convinced? Pre-order your PolyPulse now!

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