Polyphonic subpatch: Filter inside or outside

#1

I have a Question: Do I place the filter inside the subpatch or outside? Now I have only the VCA inside the subpatch. What's the best way of doing it in therms of soundquality? Thanks.

#3

if you want a polyphonic synth with one filter per voice you place it inside the subpatch, if you want a paraphonic synth, place it outside. the filter will then be monophonic, but you can of course still play chords through it. soundquality (in terms of noiselevel etc) is equal on both, but they will sound completely different. it is just a different concept really.

#4

Inside the subpatch it will result in increased cpu usage, with higher expressiveness and articulation per voice though.
If you decide to put the filter outside instead you'll have made a paraphonic synthesizer (which has a distinct sound, not necessarily bad) that uses less cpu.
Be careful with the second configuration, because the dynamic range of a polyphonic synthesizer is greater and it may clip inside a filter. Remember to put an attenuator (*c) before the filter and do a correct gain staging.

Also: try putting some saturation after the filter. I find saturated paraphonics to be especially sweet

#5

You can place static filter - ie without envelope modulation nor pitch tracking - outside.

If you place a dynamic filter - with an envelope and/or pitch tracking - it will react to the last note you played and all the other notes will be filtered by it. It is why @Sputnki calls this mode "paraphonic".
Many vintage hybrid synth/organs worked this way.. ARP Omni, Korg Delta or Poly-800, Roland RS-505...

#6

The Poly-800 was my first synth, and I've always found the single (paraphonic) filter more of a feature than a limitation. It's especially cool that the filter cutoff tracks the last note played, so if you hold a low note, then play a higher note, while still holding the first note, the filter will open up on both notes. It can be a nice effect.

a|x

#7

The Poly-800 was the odd-one-out in that list, in the sense that is wasn't a dedicated string synth.

A single-filter design was common in string synths, but the P-800 was one of the few fully programmable polyphonic synthesisers with only one filter.

The Poly-800 also shared the divide-down oscillator architecture of many string synths and electronic organs.

Both design choices were cost-saving measures, as the Poly-800 was relatively cheap when it was released in the mid 1980s.

a|x

#8

Do not forget the Polymoog and the Korg Mono/Poly. They where both critized for being paraphonics at the time but are by now still seen as classics.