beginner questions about poly synths

[n8tron]

I've just delved into actually using Max to make my own synth. I'm terrible with this stuff. I've viewed a few tutorials online, particularly the 1min synth series on youtube, and I've got a mono synth built and working. I'm trying to turn it poly and I feel like I'm close, but I have no idea why it's not working. Is this a good forum to get help troubleshooting basic Max stuff?

[oluf]

This is a great tutorial about using poly in max to build a simple synth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0mcWhrFrEY

Regards,
Oluf

[n8tron]

this is very helpful, thank you!

I'm trying to expand my synth by adding a selector with a few different osc shapes but when I do I lose polyphony. Same if I add a simple filter after the osc. In the video he explains at the end that the saw osc he is using can be replaced by a more substantial sound generating patch, but whatever I do it sort of works but just monophonically.

[justin]

The poly~ object is the way to go, but it is impossible to provide a clear answer to your question without seeing a patch (easiest) or some kind of schematic. I would also suggest posting your question on the max forums.

As a general pointer, poly~ loads up a patcher and the number of voices defines how many times that patch is duplicated, which in turn creates the polyphony required. Its important to remember that you will also need to include any modulators within the voice patch, such as envelopes modulating VCA / VCF / VCO... If you only have one envelope outside the voice patch, your synth will only be mono!

[n8tron]

thanks Justin!

I wasn't sure if they needed to be in the poly~ patch or not so that helps out a ton. Is there a good place to learn these sorts of steps and limitations? I don't have an engineer brain so this stuff is very hard for me to figure out but I'm excited to try. I'll check out the Max forums.

[justin]

You don't really need an engineer brain, but it is helpful to do some research on the type of synth you want to build. A lot of synth designs are based on having voices (think all objects inside a poly~) which can contain everything such as VCO (osc) > VCF (filter) > VCA (amp), as well as the respective polyphonic EG / LFO for modulating filter / pitch. Then you might have a few mono LFO to control the pitch of all VCO to create a vibrato effect (these would remain outside poly~ with a connection to a poly~ input). These are just examples, but hopefully you get the idea. I usually start off by drawing it out on paper. It can just be a bunch of boxes with labels for each component and its connections to get an idea of what my patch might look like.

In terms of how to get it working, you will need to learn basic synthesis stuff with MSP and some Max logic to handle the MIDI and synth user interface. It's quite a bit to figure out, but there are decent help patches for each object and the tutorials are also worth a read. If in doubt ask in the forums, although it sounds like you probably know some of this already...

It's probably going to be easier to keep the first poly synth relatively simple, so you can use it as a prototype to build on.

[n8tron]

I browsed the max forums and found a solution (adding "@target 0" argument to poly~)

Here is the thread if anyone else comes across this!

http://cycling74.com/forums/topic/poly-headache/