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Product	Poly-850
Developer	Synapse Audio
Primary Type	Synth (Analogue / Subtractive)
Price (MSRP)	$79

Plug-in Formats

Instrument(s)

Operating System Availability

Operating System	Latest Version	Download	Is it Available?
	1.0.1	Demo / Trial
	1.0	Demo / Trial

Miscellaneous Information

Copy Protection	Serial Number
Average User Rating

Compatibility Unknown

The Poly-850 started out as an emulation of a vintage synth, but went beyond that by adding a several improvements and new features over the original.

Additionally, automation and a redesigned user interface with direct access to every parameter, make it much more user friendly and accessible, than the original unit.

The concept of the Poly-850 is simple: 2 oscillators, one filter for all voices, 3 envelopes, a modulation generator and a chorus effect.

What makes the Poly-850 special, is the unique sound of the oscillators, and the quality of the chorus effect.

As a result, the Poly-850 is particularly great for warm backing sounds and atmospheric pad sounds, that fit nicely into the background of a mix. However you'll find all kind of other useful sounds in the preset banks as well.

All KVR Audio news items relating to Poly-850.

Synapse Audio updates Hydra, Scorpion, Plucked String & Poly-850 for Mac	1st November 2007
Synapse Audio releases Hydra, Poly-850, Scorpion & Plucked String Audio Units (incl. Universal Binaries)	7th January 2007
Synapse announces Holiday Specials	22nd December 2006
Synapse Audio updates Poly-850 to v1.0.1 (Win VST)	24th February 2006
Synapse Audio Holiday Offer	15th December 2004
Synapse Poly-850 for OS X released	4th September 2004
Additional presets for Poly-850	26th August 2004
Synapse Audio Poly-850 released	22nd August 2004

User Reviews by KVR Members for Poly-850.

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By bongodrums
On 19th February 2006
Version: 1.0

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To begin with, this is a very unique sounding synth. If you are looking for a softsynth capable of those 80s ambient/bell-like tones then this machine has it covered. Remember "Fade To Gray"? This thing can make all those odd ambient pad sounds (not the lead though).

It can produce wonderful organs, bells, blips and blops, crunchy basses and has a real analog feel to it. It really feels like your playing about with something truly analog, but somehow with a digital edge.

It has a very distinct character and a warm sound. You can get nasal-thin strings, wide warm pads,etc.

The GUI needs an overhaul though I think: while the colour scheme is cool i don't like the flat knobs (much like the hydra).

It has a great chorus effect and is pretty simple to program.

Even if you'll never use those types of sounds, I recommend downloading the demo and checking out its unique glassy/belly/thin/wide/soft/nasal/ringy character.

Probably the best superlative to use to describe it as 'shy and interesting' as opposed to 'in ya face and rude'!

By x_bruce
On 8th December 2004
Version: 1.x

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The Synapse Audio Poly-850 is a teriffic and unique synthesizer. It is a 2 or 3 trick pony and as such is worth it's somewhat high priced synth.

Your purchase is fairly easy to decide. First, there's a demo; download it and try some of the factory patches. They will clue you in on the sound of the Poly-850. If you are new to synthesis this may be a good start although it is slightly different from synths you'd find in similar prices. If you are growing tired of the overused Juno / JX3P sound the Audio Poly-850 will be a welcomed alternative from those 80s style synths still held in high esteem.

Modelled after the Korg Poly 800 synth the Synapse Poly-850 comes very close and is actually a bit more interesting. The oscillators are beautifully reproduced and have the character of a classic synth, the reason why you might want one in your synth arsenal.

The design is simple yet sophisticated; two oscillators with multiple pitch assignments, a feature that is somewhat unique on this synth and plays a big part on not only pitch but timbre as well. The synthesis may be new to those who've worked with traditional analog synths and skipped the digital and mixed analog and digital component based synths.

There are two envelope generators which are more flexible than many of the contemporary synths of it's time and in a historical way, bringing about the envelopes used to create amplitude (volume for the non-technical) as a source of higher controlled capabilities. The six part envelopes help create more complex sounds and with more complex sound comes what was in the day, a unique kind of sound, at once warm and also capable of taking otherwise cold sounds. The result as witnessed in the Audio Poly-850 sound great.

The LFO and filters were also different with partial filter envelopes and modulation. It was and is a synth that demands to be thought of differently.

With simple chorus, chorus/delay, noise and volume used as sources of oscillator change and modulation and filter effects. This is a synth that is still unique and in it's day caused a real sensation as the sounds were often alien and because of DCOs, aka Digitally Controlled Oscillaors, the days of drifting tone generation were solved even if the oscillator sounded different. Similar things were said of the Juno and JX series and their digital oscillator(s) and digitally controlled filters.

Lest you think this foreshadowed FM synthesis or additive this was far from correct. These were simple digitally controlled components interacting with analog circuitry and subtractive synthesis. Still, with the Poly 800 new ground was broken although Synapse has created a better Poly 800 with the Audio Poly-850.

As for Synapse's choice to develop the Poly-850, it may seem out of character and somewhat expensive with today's super-complex synths, however, this has as much charm as the more complex and rarer OSCar and it's virtual transformation by G-Media/Ohm Force into the brilliant impOSCar. The 850's sound is, as a user said to me a few days ago "charming."

You can get similar sounds from synths like Rob Papen/LinPlug's Albino 2 which is part analog, part digital and in general a big synth with tremendous capability and bigger cost.

Synapse kept the price of Audio Poly-850 to $80 USD which as said before, may find some users asking why such a simple synth would cost this much.

The answer is self-evident. We're not supposed to say it here but the Poly-850 rocks! It has a different etherial sound that can get fairly ballsy. The 850 does beautifully rounded and breathy flute type leads that are nothing like a real flute other than the way flutes sound when played. This is what you are paying for if you like these types of sounds. They sound good and they have that feeling of being "right" when playing. In that respect Synapse has created a synth that is in the top eschelon of design.

Even better for Synapse, they had nothing at all similar to Audio Poly-850 which makes it a great fit in it's all-in-one studio, Orion Platinum and with it's dissimilar sounding VST instruments known more for their bass and lead sounds.

If you use words like etherial or soulful to describe patches you'll like Poly-850. If you want a big sounding synth start with Vanguard or Pentagon or even Synapse's own Scorpion, a wonderfully large sounding lead synth. As for a different take of the 80s, Audio Poly-850 is highly recommended.

The one bone I have to pick with Synapse are the 64 presets included with this great synth. It would not have killed them to offer something closer to 256 at this price point. Should you buy Poly-850 you'll be able to get Kriminal's excellent patch sets for free. Thankfully anyone moderately into synth programming will get the feel for this unique and underappreciated blast from the past.

Get it if you want the alternative to the Roland sound and an extension towards Korgs DW8000.

This will be on a lot of forward thinking studio's computers.

By teomi
On 26th September 2004
Version: 1

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I usually don't comment a lot about synths but afer reading a lot of people opinions here about Synapse's Poly850 I thought I'd give my opinion.

To tell you the truth I bought it cause it just seemed like a too good of a deal to pass at $39 Razz

Also, the truth is that when I played a bit with the default presets I wasn't very thrilled...
However, I read the manual and 5 minutes later I started programming my own patches. Then is when I realized it is a very unique synth.

The way that the OSC sound is very analog to me and it has a certain tube like sound that resembles a lot my good ol' Micromoog. It has a certain hi harmonic edge that is not only tube-like but also very musical and blends extremely well. Talking about blending, for some reason sounds programmed with this synth are so easy to mix in a production. There is no extra information to cut and lacks to add. This is the main reason why I think it is a unique instrument which is very musical.
Moreover, it is very fun to use and extrememly easy to program and get a broad spectrum of sounds with.

I found that it excells at hot bass sounds, and also at pads. I can't say that the sound is lush and deep but that's exactly the reason why it blends good in a production!
In 5 minutes I was able to program great sounding bass lines and atmo pads that I just know will be very easy to put to work.

I also found the filters to be very musical. There's something about the sound that is very analog sounding and very present.
It is definately not a do it all synth and you can't rely on it for an entire production, however, I find it very very usable and unique sounding.

I don't work for Synapse but I really recomend this synth even if you're not a tweaker.

By Modeler
On 20th September 2004
Version: 1.01

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Korg's Poly-800 was a cheap and cheerful analogue synthesiser of the mid 80s, kind of a cut-down version of the DW-8000. So why would anyone want a software version of budget model? It had some unique features and the original was a nightmare to program - a single LED numeric display was all you had to work with.

I owned both the original Poly-850 and the Mark II version and I have to say I was impressed by how well Poly-850 reproduces the Korg sound. Emulations are pointless to me if they are not that accurate, but this is a good one.

However, I have been left feeling a little underwhelmed by this synth. There are numerous 'known bugs' that have gone unfixed for months, for how much the synth cost I would have hoped for a little more attention to fixing them. There are no shortage of Poly-800s on eBay. If Synapse were going to revive a classic, they could have at least revived a rare and expensive one.

GUI
Bland, nothing like the original synth (which was ugly as hell but had character) and a bit buggy. But it is easy to work with (a damn sight easier to program than the original!) so half marks at least. No values are displayed while tweaking the knobs, but that's no big deal.

Sound
This is what matters of course. It sounds just like a Poly-800, so what more could you ask for? The original's sound wasn't worth ten in its own right though.

Features
The built-in delay of the Mark II is present, although was it modelled on the original circuit or proprietary code thrown in as a bonus? Not that it matters that much. If you could dump the Mark II factory bank into Poly-850 it would be easy to tell, but you can't.

Docs
An FAQ would have been nice, more details on what was modelled from what and such. Nice manual though.

Presets
Far too few of them (even taking the free banks into consideration) and many of them weird and detuned. No sysex import function either. The synth brasses that made the original stand out have made it into the factory bank though.

Support
I recently had a question about the behaviour of the plug-in. Rather than register on the support forum I chanced my arm and E-mailed them directly. I received a response that answered my question the same day! 10/10

VFM
Somewhat overpriced for what it does, especially considering the lack of updates. There are cheaper synths that might sound better to you and are updated more regularly so shop around before you buy this one.

Stability
It's never hung on me, dropped notes or made my speakers 'go pop', so top marks here at least.

Last edited by Modeler on 7th July 2007

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