Quasimidi Polymorph

If you don't know anything about analog synths, you'll be lost. All the effects are buried in the menu, which means you don't get that hands on control. You might as well forget the manual, it doesn't help. Everything else is pretty much easy to use(besides the sequencer.) Editing the patches are pretty simple.

Polyphony is good, but not as good as the Supernova. It has the basic reverbs, delays, distortation. All good, but again, they are a pain to get to. The effects aren't the best part. You can't expand it, but you really don't need to. There is no controller, so you will need your own. The "morph" sequencer is tough to figure out. I only had this machine for 2 weeks, and I still couldn't figure it out. I heard it's cool when it works. The polymorph also as a vocoder, but I couldn't figure that out either. The ability to create your own sounds for the sequencer is really cool. Also, the power supply sucks. It comes with this wall wart plug. It needs a internal power supply like most instruments do. Menu screen made me go crazy after trying to figure out how to certain things. They make it complicated.

The Polymorph has a distinctive sound, which I didn't like. I thought it would make very dreamy pad sounds, but it didn't. These sounds are made for electronic music only(Kraftwerk, German techno) I liked the Supernova better for those sounds. If you want trance or dance sounds, you better turn around. Look at the Roland 8080 or Supernova. The sounds are from Germany, what else could I say?

I think wouldn't last too long considering the unit is very lightweight and feels cheap. The outer casing is like nothing. The operating system though is fine, and there are no problems. I probably could depend on it for awhile.

I think the company is poor. If you buy the synth directly from them, you can't return it. Most retail music shops are the same way because they have to order it from them. I like to return something and get my money back if I don't like the thing.

I played with the Polymorph for 1 week, and decided to sell it. I didn't like the unit at all. I'm not just saying this to make people mad, but to simply let people know before they buy this thing. I have owned a Roland JP8080 and a Supernova, and they both top the Polymorph. I guess it's because of what type of music I play(Trance/techno). It's hard to find a dealer with quasimidi products, and you can't even listen to the sounds let alone return it if you don't like it. Unless your for sure that you do want the Polymorph or other Quasimidi products, consider buying a Roland or Novation or Korg. Those have great sounds. I will say that the Polymorph will make your music different and unique. Making music should be easy. You should make sure you listen to the sounds before you buy it. If you can, play with the unit before you buy it. I didn't have that option. Also make sure you can return it wherever you buy it from.

It depends what you mean by ease of use. If you wanta machine that will instantly turn you into a techno god, then the Polymorph isn't for you. If you want a true robust instrument that takes just as long to learn as any other then the polymorph is your ticket.

No, it isn't easy to use. But I wonder just how much would be sacrificed if it were...

It's got what you need. It isn't a stand-alone unit. A polymorph-only gig would sound a little dry. But if you've got other gear... boy o boy are you in business.

So far, this thing has been too expressive. I'm having trouble learning to control it. It can do so much. It's hard to keep yourself in check and stick with one sound for any legnth of time.

It's got RANGE.

Haven't had a problem yet...

Knock on wood.

Only time will tell.

IT sounds as good as synths that cost more than twice as much. Enough said.

I'm happy with my purchase. Yoooooou betchya! :o)

In common with most "tweakable" synths, this box isnt terribly easy to use but it doesnt seem to be any more illogical in its control layout than the JP8080 or the Novation Nova/Supernova. What I really want of a programmable synth is a logical layout of controls left to right across from sound generator on the left through to fx on the right pipeline fashion ( somewhat impossible I guess without making the box much larger than the relatively small case of the Polymorph). My main gripe in the ease of use category is that it is too easy to forget where you are when editing sounds which can be particularly annoying when you end up tweaking the wrong parameter for the wrong voice halfway through laying down a track live (which I quite often do as I cant be arsed with editing on a computer based sequencer)
Basically the Polymorph has 4 essentially monophonic synthesisers which can be controlled using external midi (which I havent really bothered with) or from an internal "analogue style" sequencer which I do use because its a load of fun and is why I bought it in the first place. The controls can be switched to control each of the parts with a single button press. The unit has 64 preprogammed and overwritable patterns and 4x64 voices that these use. These are essentially mono voices. In addition there are another 64 voices some of which are polyphonic. It is relatively easy to switch voices within patterns. Editing sounds is not too difficult although not all parameters have a knob and can only be adjusted through a small screen window. The voices themeselves are OK though not especially breathtaking when played individually. However within the framework of the patterns supplied they are very effective and it is obvious that a lot of time was spent programming the patterns. Some of the polyphonic sounds are vey good (particularly the pads) and make good use of filters etc. Although the unit is supposed to be a modelled analogue box, two of the oscillators use samples for their waveforms. This isnt a problem for me as I think that all this modelled analogue stuff is a bit of a con in any case, what really matters is whether it sounds any good. The manual is fairly nasty but has all the info if you have the patience. The diagram of the synth architecture is very useful once you have learned how to operate the unit.

Polyphony is supposed to be 8 or 16 if you dont use the third oscillator. I have only really used the unit with its internal sequencer which would mean that I would not exceed the max polyphony. I have also used it as a single sound unit laying down pads over the top of a sequence I had programmed and recorded. If want to use this box as a multi voice sound module then I guess you may have problems with note dropout etc.
The unit does have in built effects and they are independent for each voice. Each of the four voices controlled by the internal sequencer has a couple of Fx processors which are of the chorus/delay/flanger type and are syncable. There is not as wide a range of fx as on other synths but what there is is OK and they are independent for each voice which is rather good. There is an expansion box on the bottom of the unit but as far as I am aware there is nothing to go in it. As the unit does not sell by the bucketload (Its just not boring enough for that), I guess there never will be. The midi spec seems ok but I dont think that a box like this is really meant to be used as a tone module. Im not sure whether knob movements are recordable (I dont really care). The onboard sequencer is great fun and is why I bought this thing. I like pattern programming and you can control many parameters and tweak the patterns easily while they are playing. Its not terribly easy to use but then powerful things seldom are.

If you want realistic instruments by them. If you want a saxophone sound I would recommend buying a saxophone or a nasty little box of samples with 128 note polyphony of which there are far too many anyway. This kit makes synthesiser noises. I guess this box makes music like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno if you dont have much imagination and are a serious wannabe. Sadly, I havent got much beyond that stage. I think if I had the time and dint have to work for a living, I could do much much more with it. It does as far as I know respond to velocity, aftertouch.

Its German, ehough said. Im not sure about gigging with it.

No experience of this. I dont anticipate it breaking down.

Ive been mucking about (not very seriously) with synths for about 5 years. This unit is a lot of fun. I would buy another. Nothing is worth what you pay for it. However, the price of this has dropped by 100 quid recently. What I like about it, is that it is great fun and a bit different from all the other stuff out there. You can poke around with the presets for hours if you like repetive patterns. I guess that if you were a bit fan of Tangerine Dream etc (which Im not incidentally) then you would love this box. Tweaking the voices themselves is fun and you can make the thing whistle and scream like a bastard if you really want too. As Im not too serious about what I do and I dont like watching TV you can spend the odd half hour mucking about on this and turn it off at the end feeling rather satisfied with yourself. In comparison, I tried the Supernova which I felt didnt live up to the hype given it by the UK press who I guess want to find a local hero. I also tried the Roland JP8080 which I thought sounded wonderful but seemed to be rather limited when you read the specs (and was rather more expensive)