KVR Audio

be · Post by be » Tue Jan 10, 2017 3:34 pm

I guess it´s not possible to upgrade from polykb II Player CM...?

Lotuzia · Post by **Lotuzia** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:12 am

sfd wrote:For the records: I own this amazing synth !

Thanks

Lotuzia · Post by **Lotuzia** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:16 am

be wrote:I guess it´s not possible to upgrade from polykb II Player CM...?

Hmmm iirc there was once an offer for CM PKB II Players to upgrade for an appealing price. If a coupon is still valid for that, you should see it in your account. Anyway, I don't think it would be more affordable than buying it directly with the current intro price offer ( 119€). Anyway, I'll ask Xils for more information about that.

Lotuzia · Post by **Lotuzia** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:19 am

Superb track by Mr Paul Barrett ( Only PolyKB III and StiX)

https://soundcloud.com/pianoireland/polly-put-the-kb-on

JerGoertz · Post by **JerGoertz** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:35 am

Gotta confess, I upgraded to PolyKB III but I'm so busy using and enjoying the wonderful sound of PolyKB II that I haven't availed myself of the new features yet.

JohnnyA · Post by **JohnnyA** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 6:10 pm

As someone who bought polyKB II in December of 2009 and haven't used it since... Can someone give some good reasons why I should upgrade and now start using it? I don't even remember the features of PolyKB II so I don't know what's new except the 3rd oscillator people are mentioning. What does PolyKB III offer compared to other modern emulations I am using like ACE and Diva?

PS: The reason I even bought PolyKB II was because of the sound being impressively smooth at the time, and I was impressed with the morphing waveforms (but wavetables can do that trick too). Now, every synth on the list above is smooth (especially Diva).

So either I cut my losses and let my old, unused PolyKB II license continue to stagnate. Or I throw another 25 euros on the pile and try to find an actual use for PolyKB III.

But since I have other wonderful, analog-sounding synth emulations, I just don't see the point. What would PolyKB III bring to the table sound-wise, if anything?

tbritton · Post by **tbritton** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 7:34 pm

Some very unique tools besides the third oscillator, I assure you.

I'm not doing a features list for you since that is easy for you to look at. It is only 25 Euros to upgrade - get it together and work this thing!

Terry

JohnnyA · Post by **JohnnyA** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:27 pm

@tbritton: Okay, so it's totally a worthwhile upgrade with lots of new features for any PolyKB II user who is already enjoying the synth.

Then the question instead becomes: Disregarding the fun GUI/workflow with morphing osc -- Is PolyKB III bringing any new sounds compared to ACE, Diva, Omnisphere 2?

Something I found these days is most analog-modeled synths are pretty samey sound-wise. They're all very good and analog now.

So I try to get things that will add new sounds. Not just "a different workflow/GUI that sounds the same as my other synths in the mix".

mcbpete · Post by **mcbpete** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:57 pm

JohnnyA wrote:Disregarding the fun GUI/workflow with morphing osc -- Is PolyKB III bringing any new sounds compared to ACE, Diva, Omnisphere 2?

For me personally (also owning ACE and Diva but not Omnisphere) it's closest to what you can get from Diva but definitely has its own character.

Difficult to express in words exactly what I mean but when I first demo'd PolyKB and tried some of the low bass lead patches there was a real hardware-esque bite to the sound that I've not managed to get from Diva. I absolutely love Diva to bits (probably my most used uhe product) but there's a certain softness to the waveforms - that's absolutely brilliant for soft pads, but for gritty-ness PolyKB just has the edge

Lotuzia · Post by **Lotuzia** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:13 pm

JohnnyA wrote:@tbritton: Okay, so it's totally a worthwhile upgrade with lots of new features for any PolyKB II user who is already enjoying the synth.

Then the question instead becomes: Disregarding the fun GUI/workflow with morphing osc -- Is PolyKB III bringing any new sounds compared to ACE, Diva, Omnisphere 2?

Something I found these days is most analog-modeled synths are pretty samey sound-wise. They're all very good and analog now.

So I try to get things that will add new sounds. Not just "a different workflow/GUI that sounds the same as my other synths in the mix".

PolyKB III has 2 (two) analog modelled multimode Filters (LP, HP, BP), that can also be cascaded in any order. Each oscillator can feed any of the two filters. Or both.

As Oscillators have morphing capabilities, this just means hundreds of different waveforms. That can morph dynamically using plethora of modulators. And, yes, there are 3 (three) oscillators...

Due to all the different modulators, it can produce modulated sounds, stereo scenes, and live tweaking that some other synths can't (especially because some of the modulations are exclusive)

Simply put, the PolyKB III, if only considering the above topology, can do thousands of thousands of different patches that Diva & Ace can't.

The reverse is equally true, Ace, beeing semi modular can certainly produce sounds that the PKB III can't. And Diva have recently got a digital oscillator iirc

With similar patches (typical basic 2osc, 1 filter, 1 lfo etc) they will still sound different. But will belong to a similar 'sound family' ( maybe the one you think about)

Omnisphere belonging to a different category of synths, I wont even compare it. (yes, I know it also have oscillators, but still)

In short : PolyKB III can produce some patches that the trio you mentioned cannot. To see if these sounds could interest you, you might want to try the demo version.

Lotuzia · Post by **Lotuzia** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:16 pm

JerGoertz wrote:Gotta confess, I upgraded to PolyKB III but I'm so busy using and enjoying the wonderful sound of PolyKB II that I haven't availed myself of the new features yet.

Thanks. I hope you'll enjoy the PolyKB III even more thant it's predecessor. ( Note : PKB III is btw 100% compatible with PKB II patches)

JerGoertz · Post by **JerGoertz** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:20 pm

mcbpete wrote:
JohnnyA wrote:Disregarding the fun GUI/workflow with morphing osc -- Is PolyKB III bringing any new sounds compared to ACE, Diva, Omnisphere 2?
For me personally (also owning ACE and Diva but not Omnisphere) it's closest to what you can get from Diva but definitely has its own character.

Difficult to express in words exactly what I mean but when I first demo'd PolyKB and tried some of the low bass lead patches there was a real hardware-esque bite to the sound that I've not managed to get from Diva. I absolutely love Diva to bits (probably my most used uhe product) but there's a certain softness to the waveforms - that's absolutely brilliant for soft pads, but for gritty-ness PolyKB just has the edge

I concur. Both PolyKB and Diva sound "analog", but have distinctive timbral qualities. PolyKB seems somehow "livelier", grungier, and more aggressive. (Not to say it can't do "smooth" as well.)

JerGoertz · Post by **JerGoertz** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:20 pm

Double post.

JohnnyA · Post by **JohnnyA** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 10:31 pm

Thanks a lot everyone for your replies! Opinions from people who have both and have compared has been invaluable since I'm short on time!

I can definitely hear the more aggressive basses you speak of. Good observation! Other than the sharper basses it sounds a bit too similar to Diva, and those gritty basses are easily made in ACE. So it is definitely redundant for me.

That being said, PolyKB III greatly impressed me with its range of sounds (I listened to some preset demo videos on YouTube) in a single synth. Much more than I expected. This is definitely a good recommendation for someone's first "all in one" analog emulation. Good enough (and similar enough to Diva's sound) that I would probably be comfortable telling people "Buy Diva or PolyKB III". That's very impressive.

I've sent a question to Xils-Labs' support which will determine whether I upgrade or sell it or let it stagnate. All three paths depends on whether I can get it off of my eLicenser. There's no way I want it to remain licensed there. It's iLok or nothing for me these days. One less dongle to worry about.

And I HATE the eLicenser with its lack of online account and ZDT (so if you lose the eLicenser, you've lost everything, yuck).

c_voltage · Post by **c_voltage** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:01 pm

Laurent, in PKBIII the same...

(I'm just now registered trial of III to ilok, and tested).

Xils-Lab PolyKB III -Official Thread- [v3.5]