Controllers
Poly Keys
A keyboard for chords: up to four notes at once, each on its own voice.
Learn about it in Melody & chance: chords, arps and generative patches
How it works
Every cable carries one signal, so each note needs its own V/OCT and GATE. Each new note goes to a free voice; when they are all busy, the oldest note is taken over. Patch each voice to its own VCO → ADSR → VCA chain and mix them. It plays from the same keys as the Keyboard (A S D F… plus the row above for sharps; Z and X shift the octave), and MIDI works too.
Outputs
| V/OCT 1 | Voice 1 pitch, 1.0 per octave, 0 = C4. |
|---|---|
| GATE 1 | Voice 1 gate — high while its note is held. |
| V/OCT 2 | Voice 2 pitch. |
| GATE 2 | Voice 2 gate. |
| V/OCT 3 | Voice 3 pitch. |
| GATE 3 | Voice 3 gate. |
| V/OCT 4 | Voice 4 pitch. |
| GATE 4 | Voice 4 gate. |
| VEL | How hard the last key was hit (MIDI), 0–1. QWERTY keys send 0.8. |
Knobs and switches
| Oct | Octave shift. |
|---|---|
| Voices | How many voices to use — set it to the number of chains you have patched. |
Patches to try
- Patch only voice 1 and set Voices to 1: it behaves like the mono Keyboard.
- Hold a chord, then add a fifth note — listen for which one drops out.
Lessons that use the Poly Keys
Each one opens as a working patch in the synth.