Hey guys. I’m pretty clueless when it comes to modular synths. Closest I’ve come to them is playing semi modulars like my old Doepfer Dark Energy (which I had 2 of) an old MFOS noise synth, and my Analog Four to sequence them. I’ve always wanted to get into proper eurorack modular synths but never took the leap due to lack of funds (when even getting an empty case costs like $300) and an uncertainty of where to start. When you can customize every step in the chain of synthesis it gets daunting on what to choose and where to begin. And at the end of the day it seems like all you’re really doing is making really crazy deep monosynths with modulation options galore. But I’m wrong about that, aren’t I? I think I’ve seen something of a sampler module out there, and there are straight up effect / modulation modules, but is there a decent polyphonic synth module to be had? Again - I’m totally ignorant to all that’s on the market so I’m sure I’m missing something obvious. But is there a cool 3 or 4 voice poly synth module I could check out? The synth voice is clearly the best place to start (after you buy a case of course) and I’m really into the idea of a killer eurorack that’s more than a monosynth. There are already soooo many great monosynths out there, it doesn’t make sense to me to get into modulars just to get more monosynths. But a modular poly… to play rich tones, drones, pads, stabs, and chords… now That sounds like fun. This is where my head is at today, my fellow elektronauts!
The question of polyphonic modular comes up every now and again, and the answer is usually a unanimous “don’t bother”.
There are a few modules out there dedicated to chords. Telharmonic, Qu-Bit Chord, Rings can do it, Chord Organ…
But if you want true polyphony, you’ll need a dedicated VCO, VCF, VCA, envelope, etc etc for every single voice. It’s stupidly expensive, difficult to use, and utterly pointless.
My advice is not to approach modular with the mindset of “how can I make a modular do this thing that I’m used to doing on other synths?”. Modular is limited in many respects, but totally mind-blowingly open-ended and powerful in others. It’s not a beefed up monosynth (although it can be), it’s not a polysynth (although it can be), it’s a modular.
I like poly modular stuff, it sounds different to polyphonic synths, to my ears usually better. It’s true that it’s a pain to set up though.
The common logic is that to do it ‘properly’ you need get all the modules that you might need for a poly synth then buy them all again, and again, and again until you have as many voices as you need. Then you need a way to deal with the voice logic. It starts to make poly synths look quite cheap.
However, if you are doing drones then you can bin all that. Look into paraphony - it’s lot’s of oscillators into a single amp/filter chain. If you are always hitting all the notes at the same time for stabs - or leaving that stuff open so they drone then it’s a good option. A cluster of cross-modulating oscillators is, in theory doable in A4 but I’ve never got it sounding even close to how swarmy it sounds with a pile of vcos.
If you want to go the ‘proper’ route then something like Intelligel Linix gives you enough vcas and a mixer in a small footprint. There are some quad envelopes out there. One area where you can break the get-4-of-everything logic is with modulation, a single quadrature envelope might be nice?
It’s not the easiest task for a modular rig but if you like drones then don’t feel that you have to make a 303 patch and Autechre drums like everyone else does. Make a polysynth, or a strange approximation of one. At worst you can just repatch it if you don’t like how it turns out.
Yea, Digable thats about the general feeling I’ve gotten from modulars, actually. Every time I’ve gotten near one I’ve made crazy noises that I can’t really replicate on other synths. Either that or i’ve made a kiiiiiller monosynth sound, haha. I’ll check out those modules you mentioned as I have no idea what they are.
Something like the Nord Modular is more suited for polyphonic modular stuff than a physical modular setup, imo. You basically create a monophonic patch and set the voice count to as much as you can until the DSP chips reach capacity. The only drawback being that, at least on the G1, the sequencer modules aren’t polyphonic.
Reviving this thread. Times change, and it’s good to have historic perspective on things.
Eurorack modular, has become much more friendly to polyphony. What’s changed among other things are various digital polyphonic modules.
What sparked me to post this is CORAL, the new 8 voice polyphonic, multi-engine, 14HP Eurorack module from OXI Instruments. ( Yes that OXI, innovating again. )
This has a choice of synth engines, VA, FM, wavetable, wave shaping, a drum synth, strings, and swarm, plus a sample playback engine. It also has a low pass filter with drive, resonance and envelope control. All this for 399€ !
You can read this SynthAnatomy article on it and see pictures :
Also relevant to the change are modules like the Poly Cinematic from Knobula, or the Qu-Bit Electronix Chord V2.
Then on the control side there have been improvements. The new Chord Pilot from Knobula ( NDLR-ish ), or the Cre8audio NiftyKEYZ, Eurorack keyboard, are both examples of this.
There is more, i know, for anyone who’d like to add to this.
If you want all 8, you must work with MIDI, which is increasingly finding its way into the Eurorack world.
I mean. Fine. But I feel like these sorts of modules sort of combine the worst of classic hardware synthesis (closed architecture, limited modulation opportunities) with the worst of modular (UI compromises made to fit as much depth as possible into a small package).
If you are already using MIDI with your modular system, go for it, I guess. But I tend to find these “polyphonic” modules feel like they would just as well (or better!) as desktop modules with some CV I/O and more space for controls/feedback.
But I’ll add ZOIA Euroburo to the list.
Here is a patch that implements polyphony in two different ways:
Via MIDI, the four voices are played with a traditional, gated ASR envelope.
Via CV, the four voices achieve “polyphony” by having a fixed AR envelope, triggered by the input. Each time a trigger is received, the frequency input is sampled and held for that voice (this is the Rings approach, and if you are working with a circumstance where fixed envelopes are appropriate, one of the best approaches to polyphony in eurorack, IMO, since you don’t have to worry about bringing MIDI into the mix).
vector wave seems to be another.
I haven’t read the whole thread so apologies if already mentioned; but look at the doepfer poly modules - most cost effective way.
You can get quite far with 4 voice and some sequential switches 
Also the PreemFm eurorack module is an ‘affordable’ (still euro rack priced however!) way to do poly also
I have the doepfer 111-4(?) and quad input SSI filter …. Its a nice mario thumbs up
1V/Oct is showing a new semi-modular system at NAMM 2023 which is built around their year old the Centre module, which allows for Eurorack CV control of a 4 voice wavetable synth.
Antigone from Nanopolis
New and not finished yet, but it is a four voice multitimbral digital module in 26HP.
It sounds pretty good to me.
Plus now a technology set up to do polyphonic Eurorack from Tiptop. They call the communication technic ART. Here’s the thread :