Polyend Medusa Hybrid Synth - SonicLAB Review

Take two independent manufacturers at the top of their game 0 Dreadbox and Polyend, mash them together and out comes Medusa!
A 6 oscillator hybrid synthesizer with 3 analog, 3 digital oscillators and sequencer with 64 note grid.
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[@muitosabao]

Message from the future: there is velocity, now.

[@muitosabao]

Second message from the future: Live recording is possible now.

[@azariahdenver3450]

InstaBlaster...

[@Tilakmusic84]

Thanks I was asking myself ! 🙏🏽

[@MrMonky1919]

Why are comments so negative, This seems like one of the few new synths bringing in new ideas and doing something interesting!

[@HotStrange]

MrMonky1919 Its weird some videos have nothing but (mostly) positive comments, and some have nothing but (mostly) negatives.

[@lukebogacik2793]

Haters hate bro,,,, this tech is dope ❤️✌🏼🙏🏻

[@nautzero]

they lack vision

[@ohstirfry]

They are trolls or undercover competitors

[@MathHammer]

It is a bit of a “Franken-synth” perhaps? It will be interesting to see how it evolves.

[@LogicBomb34]

Apex Twin said "It is literally the most exciting equipment I ever had! And Looks fucking excellent!”

[@ummagumma33]

he was talking about the Perc. Still...the Medusa is great

[@Genshi]

Nice review. It made me pick up the Medusa yesterday. But one thing you may not have known Nick, you can turn the Medusa into a 3 Part Monophonic + 1 Part (three note) Polyphonic Synth at the same time, with the help of the Conductive Labs NDLR Arpeggiator (as shown in my latest video.) You should do a review of the NDLR. Incredibly simple to use, but also deep! You would love it!

[@frankstetka7206]

This is turning out to be one of the best investments into musical creativity for me. You really have to think of this thing as a sonic painters pallet. Polyend folks are responsive to clear up my issues in the menu diving. I do think the analog end was not as juicy as I had hoped for however this is what effects are for and the sum is so much greater than its parts and I am going to make a lot of music with this thing. I may be hooked on the Polyend side of this unit enough to get the monster sequencer they dished out. The firmware is upgraded faster than I keep up with. This thing just gets better and better. It’s perhaps the most exciting thing for deep creativity per sonic dollar that I stumbled upon. Yes there are simpler units out there but this almost forces you to try new ideas and therefore bolsters creativity and the grid is so rock’n that I don’t want to play guitar and bass so much now.

[@wegmore1]

Interesting how different reviewers/presenters bring out such varying workflows and sounds for this instrument. I thought this particular demo was the best I'd seen so far. Good job, Nick!

[@Nomo_Popo]

Takes alotta balls to call Medusa a fella

[@CommunityGuidelines]

Good review, Nick. 3 analogue oscillators, 3 digital oscillators, 5 LFO's, 5 envelopes, wavetables... what massive sound design potential. The complex grid looks like a lot of fun for expressive sequencing and happy accidents. I certainly want one.

[@skrapadelix]

At last we get to hear some of the sweet spots lurking in that synth engine, coaxed out by the ears & fingers of a master.

[@solaryzer]

Lovely bit of music at the beginning and end !! Fab combination of synth and sequencer ,, and great review as always !

[@ScottWozniak]

4:04 Every time I hear pulse width modulation, it reminds me of classic Commodore 64 games and the SID chip.

[@Stakkeroid]

The SID filter is analog, but the waves are basically wavetables (just with no space on the chip for tables, so they’re generated). But there’s so much instability and noise and other funkiness in the SID/C64 that it still sounds very analog even without the filter :-)

[@BS1_Industries]

Stak Ker the waveforms on a sid are generated by digital oscillators. They are not wavetables. One of the charactistics of the sid is the ability to switch waveforms very fast and create something like wavetables. One of the composers that used that technique in the 80s was Rob Hubbard.

[@slipknotboy555]

@@BS1_Industries Yep, not wavetables. As has pretty much been mentioned, the SID is a hybrid (nothing wrong with that, hybrids are great). 3 digital osc, 4 waves each (including noise), through a 2 pole (I believe) analog multimode filter. Each osc has its own volume envelope (ADSR). Inarguably the best computer sound solution of its time. There are two versions, MOS 6581 and 8580. The 8580 fixed some little "problems," but many people actually prefer the somewhat rougher sound of the 6581.

[@Stakkeroid]

@Roland van Oorschot Yes, I'm very familiar with the SID :-) They are indeed digital oscillators for all practical purposes, but if you want to go into technical detail, they were originally designed as wavetables (as far as I understand). Quotes from Bob Yannes, the designer of the SID: ”The SID chip was my first attempt at a phase-accumulating oscillator, which is the heart of all wavetable synthesis systems.” ”As I recall, the Oscillator is a 24-bit phase-accumulating design of which the lower 16-bits are programmable for pitch control. The output of the accumulator goes directly to a D/A converter through a waveform selector. Normally, the output of a phase-accumulating oscillator would be used as an address into memory which contained a wavetable, but SID had to be entirely self-contained and there was no room at all for a wavetable on the chip.” Here’s the whole interview if you’re interested in more details: sid.kubarth.com/articles/interview_bob_yannes.html

[@brainbox9219]

Selling my analog mono synth to get this, it’s a win win because it will save me space and add more usability to every aspect for my workflow, just being patient now

[@GrootsieTheDog]

Hey nick, Technical question you may know the answer to: The sine waves on the Medusa(both digital and analog sides) seems to sound different than sine waves on my other synths. On my other synths (mostly Korg and Roland), the sine waves have a consistent mellow sine wave sound with a completely open filter. On the Medusa, the filter needs to be closed to about a 45 setting (11o'clock position) to achieve this. When the filter is open beyond that, it almost seems as if harmonics are being added giving it a more textured quality.

[@roccoharris]

that's such a lovely piece you've crafted up there at the beginning of this vid. bravo!! I'm loving your vids so much. I'm learning both hardware & about synthesis itself from watching your vids. so thanks so much for that!! ps... I just received the medusa in the mail yesterday!! I'm scared. but, like, climbing up to the top of a rollercoaster kinda scared. ;-) very excited!!

[@TomCasey]

Does the synth respond to velocity if you use a different controller?

[@sonicstate]

No

[@Kkidzz]

Bummer.... :(

[@Nervejam]

£611 at Thomann UK. Starting to look affordable..

[@MarctheDarc]

The direct comparison between the analogue and digital oscillators was somewhat discouraging. I think, considering how far digital has come, the difference between the two is a bit much. Also a bit bummed the filter doesn't seem to have BandPass. But it's an interesting take on paraphony with the oscillators having individual amp envelopes pre-filter, makes it far more flexible and useful. Only keytracking on the filter is a weak point then, and if they implemented a sort of portamento on that, it could make for some very interesting effects, instead of the jarring jumps usually experienced when keytracking the filter on paraphonic synths. The overall workflow seems to have a lot of options, with real creative depth, but at the same time held back by some strange implementation in places. I guess that's the kind of split personality you risk when splicing two different halves together. Hope these things can be fixed in firmware updates. Would have loved to hear the sequencer, parameter recording and envelopes implemented to create a rhythmic patch with both drum and synth sounds. Seems to me like there's a vast creative potential there. It's more money than I've got to spend, but some of the workflow stuff improved, and this could very much be a product for me. Kudos to Nick for a good, balanced review, covering both good and bad 👏

[@tsuobachi]

I love the sound of the analog oscillators and the filter. Take that part of the synth and 2 LFOs and 2 envelopes and put it in a little paraphonic DIY desktop module for Christmas this year at $300 or so and you'll have a hit.

[@visisydandthevoid]

This looks really cool,.. but think I'm definitely going with the nymphes.

[@impurfekt]

It would be nice if Nick could demo this again in a year or so; once the firmware has had time to mature. Reviewing it now doesn't feel like a fair shake. MPE alone will drastically change how impressive this synth is.

[@RobLocksley]

MPE will make an interesting addition; my purchase of Rise49 was inspired.

[@impurfekt]

I have a Linnstrument myself. I'm eager for more MPE synths to come out (until I can afford a Deckard's Dream).

[@RobLocksley]

I go back and forth on Deckard's Dream. It is a nice synth but since it base so much on integrated chips I kinda think I'd rather have something else. Was looking at the Kit but seems like they don't use SMD for the resistors; I really don't want to solder thousands of resistors, that seem like the perfect SMD part. I am somewhat flabbergasted that Omnisphere is not MPE!!!?

[@Wagoo]

You only save about $1000 on DD getting the kit after you factor in all the component costs. I have a kit and a prebuilt.. the prebuilt is lovely.. the kit is still.. uh a work in progress XD

[@impurfekt]

I will definitely be getting the built version. I have the impression there's quite a lot of soldering involved in the kit. I've never soldered anything in my life.

[@smalltown4855]

Does mayonnaise go off?

[@sonicstate]

Eventually

[@kevinbirge2130]

A lot of people hated this, but I think it’s a great concept. In my top five synths in my want list. If the money dropped into my lap, this would be ordered over the top of just about anything else in the price range.

[@Darthmanio21]

8:39

[@rza9524]

wowwwww im about to be f*cking broke fml

[@SebastianBeyer]

8:45 wtf .this got me instant

[@northerncatto]

Not even remotely interested in this product, I just wanted to hear Nick talk about a synthesizer. Is that wrong?

[@querydelacroix2919]

7:43 - Saving for future deconstruction.

[@MaxDissent]

Did they fix that tuning problem with a firmware update?

[@prasannanag6195]

This thing sounds god awful to me, really cheap, gritty, thin sounding synth with terrible built in effects.

[@kierenmoore3236]

Sep 2023: Does the Medusa synth engine respond to MPE now … ?!! I understand the grid/controller puts out MPE control … but does the synth engine respond to MPE, yet … ?!

[@goodboid]

Even Nick couldn't convince me to get one of these. Impossiburu!

[@moralrevulsionLive]

Non alcoholics will call it arpeggio

[@dimdim8821]

Assume that the interstellar soundtrack was made with this synth ;)

[@jonneville2287]

8:38 is even better.

[@peterkadarmusic9728]

I think this could pair nicely with a Matrixbrute, particularly with its paraphonic functionality.

[@DFunct905]

Peter Kadar Music That’s one too many matricies for my taste. Trying to memorize a performance using both while tweaking settings would be a nightmare.

[@mpmi7588]

Yeah I think this along with an MPC One and a dope midi keyboard like the Kestep Pro will do some wonders

[@TimShoebridge]

Good review and great compositions, but like others have said, maybe in hindsight a bit premature. Must admit I bought one of these, it looks so good on paper and has loads of potential. But in reality it is very much an unfinished product and sorry but I don’t expect to pay £900 to then basically be a beta tester. I regrettably sent mine back :(

[@RobLocksley]

Yeah, but in there defence I feel there was a push just to get it out there for the people. I got mine and scratched my head for a bit, no manual, some funky behaviour with v.1 of the firmware. But since I don't own Ableton push or Novation bit of kit I kinda saw the grid as a bonus, or the synth engine as a bonus - I feel alright with my purchase, it fits easy in a suitcase and can be a nice traveling companion as well as part of mine musicianship.

[@GB3770]

RobLocksley its obviously a total piece of shit and only a numpty would ever buy one...lolol...

[@RobLocksley]

It will be on my card from now on then, 'Professional numpty'. It probably is true because I got SoftPop too and I can only guess what you think of that :D

[@SPAZZOID100]

RobLocksley “their”

[@RobLocksley]

That is right James, never mix typing and Rum... :D

[@marcocelis2104]

Watching this video right now, and buying this beast right away!

[@ProfessorSynth]

At last a review that does the thing justice. Should be quite nice when it’s finished.

[@LouisSerieusement]

awesome synth

[@New_Zealand_Music]

My my gosh dreadbox make some awesome gear. Quite unique in some areas I think. I just wish they had agent in New Zealand. I had to import my dreadbox typhon. Hey do you guys happen to know or anyone watching this thread. If dreadbox have an official KZbin channel. I've been looking but haven't had much luck so far

[@50Martinmarkus]

This will get you stoned ;)

[@HazeAnderson]

5:49 talking 🤖🤖🤖🤖

[@michael7018]

You always complaint you never gave anything positive to say…. 👎🏻

[@sonicstate]

It's a review. But in it's defence, firmware has improved things a lot

[@claytonlevibrown]

It's like a modern pad take on the original monomachine with the connected keyboard,. sound quality is digital,.

[@PaulVonZeppelin]

Clayton Brown if you go back even further, some of the original Roland SH boxes from the 70s have their keyboards off to the side like the OG monomachines. If you look at the dotted Monomachine logo too it reminds me a bit of the SH-101 logo too. Incredible legacy all around.

[@chedhead3278]

Cheers for the review Nick. Can't quite get my head around how I'd use it tho.....

[@Kirk-Monteux-Production]

why do you record this beautiful reverb in mono??

[@amillionorangedolphins9663]

Does it speak MPE in anyway?

[@alanshewitt]

The fact that you can’t hear what you’re doing while parameter recording is a little problematic, no? Seems like a lot of going back and forth between guess-tweaking and auditioning.

[@sonicstate]

You can hear while recording, but you cant tweak while Playing in Grid mode, to hear moves you need to be in Grid record ready, or just not in Grid mode.

[@ericpeters0n]

(Also, no way of seeing which parameters are tweaked for a particular pad/step... It's it's own buried "preset" once it's recorded/assigned)

[@thesearethesuns]

Nice review Nick!

[@scottharris7222]

Very nice playing Mr. Batt.

[@thesearethesuns]

The potential of this instrument seems limitless... It really seems like you have the best of both worlds, and the integration of those two sides with the control area seems like a natural fit.

[@Jkeane1337]

I laugh like a child everytime nick says girth.

[@angelaferkel5614]

When do you guys going to review the synthstrom deluge ? Ist out about 2 years now ? 🤔

[@WxkR]

I don’t think Nick would do it. He reviews synths more than groove boxes. I don’t remember him reviewing one, but I remember him inviting people to talk about those

[@angelaferkel5614]

(WxkR) would be nice 👌🏼

[@Wagoo]

I think Gaz caught up with Synthstrom at SuperBooth this year (there's a vid).. so maybe he'd be more into that

[@RichardOlpin]

Myself and Gaz also got a private demo from Ian at Synthstrom a couple of months ago. Really interesting bit of kit, I'm quite tempted to get the Deluge as a result.

[@def4425]

BOMB ONE 😎👌

[@444levels9]

would have definitely preferred an in depth, unfiltered, without external Effects review Nick but still appreciate it.

[@HotStrange]

444 Levels unfiltered? That’s a pivotal part of the synth lol and no one played or records synths dry.

[@444levels9]

wasn't referring to the synths filter, and many people demo synths without external fx.

[@HotStrange]

444 Levels I don’t see it happen that often. Not as often as people demo synths with effects. No one buys a synth to play it dry that’s why everyone uses effects 🙄

[@444levels9]

@@HotStrange of course but everyone I know wants to know what the actual raw sound is, and use their own fx. I don't know anyone who makes a buying decision based on the sound with fx applied first, they are always secondary. People demo new synths with fx more often because there are short comings in the raw sound......just like mentioned in this video and other medusa videos 🙄

[@HotStrange]

444 Levels lmao yeah okay pal. That’s the same reason people demo the Rev2, OB6, Prologue, Minilogue, Model D, ARP Odyssey, MS20, etc all with effects right? Also, he played the raw sound through the whole review section of the video. The only time he used effects was during the pre and post review jams which makes total sense because he’s playing it in a MUSICAL CONTEXT 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@Atomicunderware]

Pity it's the wrong way around - the pads should be on the right, synth engine on the left.

[@JKC40]

So, X, Y and AT? is the AT poly? Also, are the knobs pots? what's the build quality like?

[@uirehuigedkahds]

The only thing I really liked was the sound of the analog osc. The digital ones were rather poor, especially considering whats already available in that realm. This coming from someone who almost exclusively uses digital synths, so it's not as if my opinion is slanted analog.

[@johnpenguin9188]

Wook Sound you’re not wrong, I haven’t heard digital aliasing like that since Dubya was president!

[@Kkidzz]

@Polyend: Is it possible to address the External controller/Velocity issue with the unit via a firmware upgrade?

[@nectariosm]

I feel the review came too early, i.e. I would have liked to see what Nick suggested so that the control side of things, could have been more "complete". Also, there is something different from the Dreadbox stuff I know and own and its not the digital additions...but again this a different synth as well.. In any case, I will wait until this synth is "finished" and then play with it again (I played with it at my local shop) as the potential for sound creation and sequencing fun, is all over this. A grand is not cheap, but bespoke hardware from small companies and yet this still runs circles around the Grandmother, in every way (no, I don't find the *modern* Moog sound to be anything more than most modern analog synths) that costs the same amount of money. Keeping an eye on the updates and how this very interesting and actually innovative box, pans out...I want to buy one, but after I see the things Nick mentioned, addressed.

[@cjk-28-JockeK]

I agree with you nektar, but hopefully Nick will make a follow up part 2 later on, that also shows how the filter section sounds? That part is missing in this first review.

[@WxkR]

This is a great-sounding synth, but it’s funny that many keep pointing out at how awesome the “matrix” is and no one shows how is it different from a regular sequencer interface. It does not appear any more functional than the regular sixteen pads/buttons. It does take a lot more space, though.

[@valdiskrebs566]

Sounds great... but only O N E sequence? Even the Circuits have 2, or more. This machine, with 2 or 3 sequences going at once, would be a m a z i n g !

[@dinogoldie9716]

Request: Please review the Teenage engineering OP-Z and please explain why the OP1 and OP-Z are soooooo expensive (double the price of the Electribe or Circuit).

[@Wagoo]

Because Teenage Engineering like to park 80's/90's supercars in their office for "inspiration" ;)

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Should be stereo out for the price.

[@HazeAnderson]

It is. Amazing how 6 people so far don't pay attention. 3:15 "Headphone output on STEREO quarter inch"

[@uhldev]

Haze Anderson that’s not the same as balanced stereo out

[@alanshewitt]

What would the stereo image consist of? If there were onboard effects such as reverb, chorus, delay, I would expect stereo out, but without any pan/spread function for the oscillators, I don’t see how a stereo out would differ from mono.

[@angstrom]

Haze Anderson I think Nick might be wrong about that output being stereo. The Medusa manual says "There is also a 1/4 inch jack for the main output (mono), a 1/4 inch jack for headphones..."

[@HazeAnderson]

Fair enough angstrom. It's probably just dual mono, yeah?

[@jacco1967]

Good review. I miss the “drone setting” where the VCA is always open. I hope there will be a way to do this, maybe in a future firmware.

[@Romanowitch]

I just hope Polyend are going to release the controller/sequencer part by itself, for playability's sake! A launchpad with continuous aftertouch and X/Y axis sounds too dope !

[@tedstahl3794]

Medusa + Ventris FTW! Your intro and outro playing and sonic design is divine, Nick. Wonderful demonstration of this combo's ambient chops!

[@ThatJerseyBloke]

You've managed to peak my interest in this unit Nick. It's weird but it sounds lovely IMO. The Erabus 3 also looks and sounds good. I hope they make the Erabus 3 rack mount capable .

[@user82938]

Seems like a very unique instrument.

[@Mumbojumbo20]

Love dreadbox stuff, however this is a bit of a mess. Give me that synth with a proper keyboard for £600 and I’d be on it. This is nowhere near showroom ready.

[@uhldev]

Kevin Wyers why is it a mess?

[@MadelnMachines]

Very disappointed by the quality of the digital oscillators. I wouldn't even want to use them next to that great analog sound. I don't think it's just because their digital though. There are much better sounding vst ones. The wavetables also lack any smoothing algorithm for morphing. The sequencer, analog sound and depth of modulation seems great though. A reverb / echo would have been nice.

[@smashsystem]

Totally underwhelmed by this. For some reason I'm much more interested in Erebus 3.

[@DeadlyCornbread]

smashsystem right there with you.

[@jojojiles]

@@DeadlyCornbread I could see it being really cool once they have all the kinks worked out, but for just a bit more money, I'd rather have the Erebus 3 + a Digitone and you have pretty much the same thing, only better, minus the polyend grid of course...but most people interested in this prob already have a sequencer of some kind anyway. Digitone can already be found used in mint conditiin for around 600 USD so I don't think the two would be that much more expensive. That's the route I think I'm gonna go. Some interesting potential for Medusa tho.

[@DeadlyCornbread]

Jojo Giles I was intrigued by the Medusa when I saw it. I don’t feel this will fill any gaps in my studio. I’m not writing this off, but I just am not excited about it. I actually have a Digitone and really enjoy it, but I find I noodle around with it more than I actually use it for songs. But it is powerful and a lot of fun!

[@jojojiles]

@@DeadlyCornbread I feel very similiar. I'm not writing it off and I wanna see where the updates go in the next year or so. But its off my immediate wish list...just curious why you say you use the digitone more for noodling and also what you use in its place when you are composing and want FM/digital type of sounds. Only asking cause as I said I'm considering the digitone so I'd be interested in any info from an owner/user.

[@DeadlyCornbread]

Jojo Giles to be clear, the Digitone is great. My biggest issue is getting my head around producing a sound I want with it. I find that I will sit and just make some strange sounds rather than sit and make what I intended to. I’m really happy I own it, but I just rarely hit the mark with a sound I want. And primarily that’s my fault.

[@kellymerrill5294]

I test drove this at a local store, unfortunately I found it to sound quite thin and the work flow to not be fun but clunky. I really want to like it but it’s just not inspiring. I guess I prefer modular these days.

[@robertsyrett1992]

To those have tasted the corrupting ambrosia of modular 3 voice paraphony with an overloaded computer sequencer will always seem clunky. I would really like to see more design partnerships though. Like what if Winter modular collaborated with Intellijel, or if Orthogonal Devices with Mutable Instruments? I'd say getting to try those combinations out is one of the main reasons to go with modular.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Robert Syrett I would like to see major corporations do collabs, like Roland and Yamahs collab on an analog polysynth......or Korg and Novation collab and make an poly analog vector synth

[@dairylandbogurt]

Robert Syrett man can you imagine if 2 companies like that did a semi-modular together.. Game over

[@Temporalmixproductions]

Fuck a review, I want a Friday Fun episode with this bad boy!

[@tomk6613]

Just confirming (I think the answer is “yes“ based on what you said at the end, but I want to confirm, because dreadbox was not clear on this): you can save the actual synth patches, too, correct? Not just the sequencer settings? It was a bit frustrating… I read all of the descriptions I could find a couple times over, and (unless it’s changed more recently) couldn’t find any verbiage that specifically said, “the synth patches can be stored” (it does come out and say that the sequencer patches can be stored). It looks like a really amazing instrument, but there was no way I was going to buy it if it could not store those crazy patches I would be creating.

[@sonicstate]

yes you can 2x 64 banks

[@tomk6613]

sonicstate awesome! This thing sounds pretty perfect to me, then! I love grids for note input (like my Launchpad)

[@ericpeters0n]

Tom K The patches and sequencer programs are bundled, so each patch slot has a sequencer/pad config as well

[@ProckGnosis]

The concept is you can save a whole program (64 in the A bank, and 64 in the B bank) and contained within that program you can have 3 components: 1) the base patch, 2) the sequencer data (the notes in the sequence) and 3) patch modifying data (the "patch within a patch" settings) that can be associated with each of the 64 Grid pads.

[@justindrakecroft]

Beautiful sounds Nick.

[@skyreadersociety6183]

Thanks, it made a possible decision much clearer.

[@jonneville2287]

8:18 sounds bloody marvelous.

[@env4n3]

:( i want one

[@MattGreerMusic]

Yeah, I'm not feeling this one. For about the same money you can get an Elektron A4.

[@brakeer7310]

Seventh! 7 I never get to be first on these...☹️

[@brakeer7310]

@Seventh Anubis Precious Anu...😍

[@RothmanHarv]

I find Dreadbox strays further from what makes them unique with each successive product.

[@Alaska1925]

..really? Seems to me like medusa is the only big departure from classic Dreadbox synths (and understandably so, given that Dreadbox made only half of this synth). The rest of their catalog has some sort of cohesion and unity.. the old murmuxes, the Erebus and Nyx and Hades, even the abyss. They all clearly share something, even with their differences in voice count, filters and effects used.

[@waveshello4051]

I would agree with @Alaska1925 at least regarding the basic Dreadbox sound. I like the sound on this good enough, but it's the first Dreadbox product, and so far the only one, I've heard that doesn't immediately sound like it's part of the Dreadbox family.

[@RothmanHarv]

True (especially the Nyx's nice sound), although part of what I like about the Erebus is its switches and pots are the kind you could easily source and replace, guaranteeing a long life span. With ancient SH-101s and such, you'd be hard pressed to find an affordable slider that matches the same dimensions etc. But once Dreadbox gets into menus, stored patches, and tiny LCD displays, I might as well go back to working in the box.

[@dairylandbogurt]

Hey those buttons are the same as the Make Noise Tempi

[@verbenamusic]

screens still too small

[@WxkR]

Yes. If they wanted to justify the grid, they should’ve get rid of the screen and make of the grid a feedback display too (like in a Circuit). That would’ve justified a bit better the many pads. However, grids exist because of multitrack capabilities and that’s not the case here.

[@verbenamusic]

I can't fault the grid, it turns this seemingly innocent sound moule into an incredible, unique and expressive instrument. I think the screens should be bigger as the thing is so capable and I want to be able to see more clear and consice information about whats happening and what I'm playing.

[@Stadsjaap]

What a horrible Frankensynth form factor... but the SOUND! 🤤

[@meneerjansen00]

I don't see the added value of the matrix. Sorry, maybe it's me.

[@WxkR]

Not only you. The Polyend people hate me bc since the launch of this synth, I’ve been saying that the matrix only adds bulk (and cost). I’ve not seen a demo showing how the matrix woks as other than a clumsy keyboard or the steps of a sequencer (basically, a groovebox interface).

[@GarryLarryBarry]

If It had some kind of fast parameter/patch switching assignable to each pad, I can see some interesting ideas occurring, but I don't think this synth has that.

[@GarryLarryBarry]

I should have watched the end of video first, but it seems a bit clumsy .

[@jimmyfrigginpage]

(WxkR) the Polyend people are really confrontational on social media apparently. I made a comment about MPE and they deleted my comment and sent me a message calling me a crybaby.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Dave Mauch The most confrontational people are so because they have the most to be ashamed about themselves.

[@motoboy6666]

Hoped this would be multitimbral, still sound beautiful.

[@jumpingman8160]

A lot of money? 8k is a lot of money

[@janminor1172]

David not if you consider the price per oscillator voice: Medusa $1200/6=200, that 8k-synth: $8000/48=166. Or the price per filter: $1200 for the Medusa, $250 for the one. So the one might actually be the better deal for what you get. Absolutely speaking it is quite some money, true.

[@johnpenguin9188]

If you have $1200 to spend on a synth you are spoilt for choices. In that class this is a unique and interesting offering.

[@MUNRO13]

Hmmm.... na.

[@PaulJBurns]

Exactly.

[@HOLODECK-MUSIC-PROJECT]

no real-time recording; no effects, mono output - no buy! (1000 €? - poah!)

[@jeffkent6886]

Fantastic review thanks Nick! Ruined though by the awfully abrasive Jacek from Polyend in these comments and online. And that's their PR guy... Polyend obviously don't get it, the product seems to be missing a few really needed features giving it a shaky start in the marketplace to begin with... and then they respond with snarky little man syndrome replies. I'll be spending my money elsewhere now. But I seriously hope Polyend survives to make a new product but gives the PR department a little more quality control in future.

[@jimmyfrigginpage]

Disappointed with the lack of MPE; Polyend have said publicly that they don’t plan to implement it at all so that they can sell more grids later. They’ve also been aggressively deleting comments on their social media and, when I complained about MPE, messaged me to call me a crybaby. Not a great look.

[@Polyend]

MPE is already implemented and tested by the users in a available beta.

[@jimmyfrigginpage]

Cool. You mad you can't delete all the unfavorable comments on this post? Just curious.

[@321gogogogo]

Well that is some awful PR right there!

[@junglsmor]

Polyend stay sweet

[@impurfekt]

Sweet. Exactly what I was wondering about. The Medusa seems perfectly suited for MPE.

[@SPAZZOID100]

Not on my want list.

[@laurencevanhelsuwe3052]

Very nice.. but cured of GAS, thank you.

[@countvespasian1659]

Don't really like it, dunno why just not feeling it....

[@carl156]

Erebus 3

[@PaulJBurns]

Nope. Bodyswerve. Future collectors item like the Sunihama Jamma.

[@Synthematix]

right, and fl studio has been able to do all this for over 20 years

[@profd65]

Didn't know FL Studio was analog, bud. This news startles me.

[@Synthematix]

@@profd65 lol analog, where the same sounds can never be made twice, piss poor sound quality and pitch drifting. this isnt the 80's we dont need this primitive tech any more, btw this thing is a hybrid

[@Cleefbag71]

@@Synthematix Yeah, because analogue gear hasn't evolved at all in the last 40 years. Stick to playing with your train set, you clearly know fuck all about synths.

[@Synthematix]

@@Cleefbag71 lmao ive built them fella, analog has been done to death, yawn...

[@Cleefbag71]

@@Synthematix Yeah, of course you have, and I've had a lap dance off Mila Kunis.