KVR Audio

dexters lab · Post by **dexters lab** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 2:43 am

the difference in having 64 note and 128 note polyphony is what?

is only having 64 on a keyboard bad?

silly little question,but a question none the less...

peace

WilliamK · Post by **WilliamK** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 3:04 am

My old Ensoniq-TS10 had only 31 notes max. (when using sample, 32 when using internal sounds) And I could create complete songs with that.

Wk

DevonB · Post by **DevonB** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 3:10 am

I know guys that get by with one note.

Most boards 10 years ago were at 16 to 32 note polyphony. 64 is pretty good, and 128 is even better, but I wouldn't worry too much about poly count at 64 though.

Oh, and just like William, I could write whole songs with 32 note polyphony on my old Yamaha W5, and wrote quite a few of them at that.

Devon

meister eder · Post by **meister eder** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 3:31 am

People tend to forget that one note can take a lot more than one voice, depending on the synth architecture. Even more so with samplers.

Amberience · Post by **Amberience** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 3:36 am

Max you'll ever probably need is 32. I rarely use that much in an Absynth patch, and those sound lush and full and massive!!

zircon · Post by **zircon** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 3:41 am

It seems to me that some companies define "voice" differently. Alesis, for instance, says the Ion/Micron has 8 voices - but they're using the term like you would use the term "note". Each voice can have several oscs behind it. The Roland V-Synth has 24 "voices", but rarely can actually produce 24 notes of polyphony, because a single note can take up 4 voices because of multiple oscs and effects.

intel · Post by **intel** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:33 am

to answer your question, 'polyphony' is the amount of notes that a synth can play simultaneously. obviously if you're performing a live piece, you don't need more than a 10-note polyphony (unless you're also using your feet or penis). if you are using a synth to program multiple sequences, then you have to take into consideration how many you'd want playing simultaneously and buy accordingly. bearing in mind little details such as note sustain and release (which can carry over the next note, doubling the number of notes used). the limit of polyphony is the limit of concurrent notes played at a given time. depending on how you use the synth, I can't imagine a time when a 64 note polyphony will ever fail you, unless its your sole sound generating sequencer in a live performance.

meister eder · Post by **meister eder** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:43 am

intel wrote:obviously if you're performing a live piece, you don't need more than a 10-note polyphony (unless you're also using your feet or penis).

Obviously you have never in your life used a sustain pedal.

Ah, wait, I guess that was the "using your feet" part.

PaulSC · Post by **PaulSC** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:48 am

Or the "using your penis" part!

meister eder · Post by **meister eder** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:52 am

PaulSC wrote:Or the "using your penis" part!

No, that is the sustain pedal!

püRe · Post by **püRe** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:52 am

PaulSC wrote:Or the "using your penis" part!

you play the sustain pedal with your penis?

intel · Post by **intel** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 5:00 pm

dr.wackler wrote:Obviously you have never in your life used a sustain pedal.

my casio didn't come with one.

to have Polyphony Limits is?