Dreadbox Medusa

I just updated, and it is truly a different beast! Connecting my OT as well to control the analog synth (I think I’m doing it right, on channel 9) adds even more depth to the sound. I can do both the dreaming soundscape with a bass line or melody at the same time really easily.

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great record! Maybe you want to share some infos on the creative and composition process?

Anyone experience freezes when controlling analog OSCs with ext midi sequencer in FM mode?

Mine is freezing constantly and when controlling it with Digitankt. DT sending notes on midi ch9 as well as clock / transport to play FM engine with internal sequencer.

Freezing means no reaction to knobs and constant droning high pitched note … Will investigate it a bit further before sending bug report to Polyend …

I somehow missed this earlier. Beautiful work. Are you using the internal sequencer much here or is it mostly live playing?

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Thanks you very much. For the first track (Medusa part 1) for example i use the internal sequenceur, but most of time i play live with the drone mode. This synth is amazing.

looks like the used market prices are goin up now on reverb

Here’s some noodling I did on the FM side of the Medusa. It shows off the ability to have extended modulation independently per voice with polyphonic play. FX are a must! :grinning:

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Hey there everyone !

Here is a new video about the Medusa new FM mode and its friend the Tracker as a midi sequencer. Premiere is this evening at 18:30 UTC+1, feel free to show up up in the chatroom if you have any questions:

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Just wanted to chime in and say how much I enjoyed the video (and a couple others that I watched) - a nice blend of sounds and information. I don’t have either a Medusa or Polyend Tracker but that does make them seem tempting (even tho I already have an M8)…

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Thanks :wink: There is probably some idea you can use in any machines / software anyway.

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That FM engines news (+ discontinuation) pushed me over the fence and I finally bought one, and I must say, I LOVE it !

There is (almost) a constant in synth design which is : the most features a synth has, the more compromise has to be done sound-wise (or it’s very expensive), and this is far from the case, it just sound great.

I guess getting this machine being already at version 4, it had the time to mature, but everything feels well-thought, I haven’t had to open the manual except for understanding the oscilator modes.

The ability to decouple the controller part and the synth engine is genius and makes integration with a DAW (& other synths) a breeze.

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The only thing I don’t like about the synth is the refresh rate of the displays coupled with the sensitivity of the menu knobs, it makes it feel unresponsive, but this is a minor complaint. It is otherwise very versatile and excellent sounding. I make patches on this which I don’t get elsewhere.

I was looking to buy a linnstrument 128 to control the DN mpe-style, treating each track like a synth voice with a different midi channel.
Now I stumbled upon the Medusa, which is cheaper, can appearantly do what I want, and has a complete synth built in.
Can somebody owning the Medusa already help me out with some info on the midi implementation? The manual is very unspecific in this regard.
Can I configure the Medusa to cycle its midi output through 4 channels? Are the x, y and z axis CC values sent for each played note separately (meaning on different midi channels)?

Polyend has updated the Medusa to firmware 4.0.1, fixing a few additional bugs… Most notably for me is the held note that was happening on the Medusa when pressing stop on the Rytm when a Tie was programmed on the 2nd step of the Medusa sequencer. From a performance perspective, this is a big deal. Also, you can now toggle on and off the held note in drone mode when using Play Mode M.

To celebrate, you all can zone out to this 18+ minute generative jam of the Medusa and Rytm hanging out making sounds together. :space_invader::alien:

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Since nobody bothered to answer, I’ll answer myself, which might help future elektronauts with the same problem.
I bought the limited edition Medusa, mainly to use it as a midi controller for the DN. I wanted to cycle through the DNs tracks with each note on a different midi channel, as does the linnstrument for example. This is not possible with the Medusa in MPE mode (or maybe I was too stupid to get it working). Using Medusas grid to play the DN on a single channel was also disappointing. Velocity values are very inconsistent, aftertouch is way too sensitive and the midi implementation is a generally too bothersome for me.
I explored the synth engine for a bit, even though that wasn’t the main reason I bought the Medusa. It can sound pretty good, especially through the DNs effects. But it wasn’t enough to keep it, so I returned it.

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This is all very sad info as I’ve always kept my eye on the Medusa as it matured. Thank you for your update.

I’m very interested in the Medusa, not least because of Benn Jordan’s YT video about it but also because I like ‘underdog’ synths and the Medusa is insanely affordable considering what it can do. I’m not too drawn to the sounds I’ve heard but I’m still gonna grab one second hand at some point.

just out of curiosity what was your impression of the sounds you heard?

Just got my Medua and I’m going to share my impressions here since it migth be useful for other potential customers. First off, I think the sound is very good. There’s lots of possibilities and using the interface is quite straightforward. You can go from very raw bass and drums to FM leads. That said, the built quality is mediocre (at best) in my opinion. For example, the small black buttons make a really strange noise if you don’t hit them completely centered (which is almost impossible). Polyend says that this is how it’s supposed to be. Besides, they had to admit that they misinformed me about the accessoires shipped with the gear. Definitely a minus 1 on customer support. For me (personally), this is not a company I’ll buy stuff from in the near future. My feeling is that this gear won’t last very long due to the quality of the buttons. It’s a bit of a shame since this synth is very promising and combines interesting features.

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Having developed the FM engine for Medusa, I’m in a somewhat unique position to demonstrate what it’s capable of. I produced an ambient EP where all sound is Medusa, and most of the patches are in the example FM presets shipping with the 4.0 firmware.

Have a listen to see what sounds you can get out of it:

places-1000x1000

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