Polymode Synthesizer

Name: Polymode Synthesizer
Price: 39 USD
Author: Cherry Audio

by Cherry Audio · Synth · Moog Polymoog inspired paraphonic synth

Not rated yet

Polymode Synthesizer is inspired by the Moog Polymoog, recreating its paraphonic architecture with 32 voices.

It has two oscillator banks, the Polymoog's mode filters, a ladder filter and an expanded resonator section, with over 150 presets, for $39.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Pop, Electronic & EDM, Ambient & Cinematic.

Keywords: paraphonic, polyphonic, ensemble, preset-driven, analog, classic, hardware emulation, organ, pads, tempo-synced, vintage, 70s, choir, inspired by, sound design, steep learning curve, subtractive, surgical.

What it does

Polymode is Cherry Audio's recreation of the Moog Polymoog, "A Goliath of Sound" for string, pad and choral tones. It keeps the paraphonic design and mode filters, and adds a ladder filter, extra LFOs and wide modulation routing.

Oscillators: two oscillator ranks, each with sawtooth and pulse available at the same time.
Mode filters: recreations of the Polymoog's preset-style 'mode' filters.
Ladder filter: a classic 24 dB ladder filter alongside the mode filters.
Resonators: an expanded resonator section with its own LFO, 12 or 24 dB slopes and a notch mode.
Modulation: routings for almost every parameter from sources such as velocity, pressure and noise, plus two bonus LFOs with five waveforms and tempo sync.
Polyphony: up to 32 voices.
Effects: ensemble with a Solina-style tri-chorus mode, phaser, tempo-synced echo and reverb.

It ships with over 150 presets. A free 30-day demo plays white noise periodically but is otherwise unlimited.

Source: Cherry Audio product page

When to use it

Polymode is the pick for thick, organ-like Polymoog pads and strings. Compared with Arturia's Solina V, it goes further than a string machine, with resonators, a ladder filter and deep modulation. Compared with Diva or Omnisphere 3 it is narrower: its paraphonic design shares filtering across voices, and it has no onboard drive, but it gets this specific vintage sound quickly and costs far less. Cherry Audio's DCO-106 is the easier, more general alternative from the same developer.

Best for: string-machine pads, organ-like chords, slow filter sweeps and big ensemble sounds.
Genres: synth-pop, new wave, ambient, shoegaze, lo-fi and soundtrack.
Look elsewhere if: you want per-voice filtering and brighter brass (Mercury-6 or Diva) or built-in saturation and modern sound design (Pigments 7).

What producers say

Reviewers like its unusual filtering and effects for the price, but find it intimidating and less convincing on bright sounds.

Producer Hive (MGF Audio) rated it 8.7 out of 10 (9.5 for value), praising the Resonators, Mode Filter and VCF sections and saying the effects "sound particularly good".
Criticisms: Producer Hive found it "intimidating for beginners", missing onboard distortion, and a bit harsh on brassy tones; filter types can't be mixed across resonators.

Producer Hive review

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

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