For rectangular-prism values of “square”
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I mean as it stands there are 6 VCO’s (not counting the cymbal circuit) split between 3 tracks. Each track has an analog filter so polyphony would be limited to 3 unless you wanted 6 VCO’s running through a single tracks filter. Not even sure that’s possible given the layout of the individual circuits.
It’s just software though. Why limit a VCO to one note? Seems stingy
The digital oscillators are just software. The analog oscillators are hardware. Digitally-controlled, but the sound is coming from dedicated circuits.
Analog polyphony is expensive in any number of ways.
Now, if you are asking why there’s no digital machine that does polyphony, I think their answer would be: it’s primarily a drum synth. And it sounds as if the beta testers did ask.
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This, but also for OT, DT and DN!
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The analog VCOs are literally physical collections of components on the circuit board. They will only ever produce one note at a time. The only thing that could be changed in a software update is to introduce a poly mode, like in the Analog Four. This would allow one track to access multiple analog voices, to create polyphony. But this would still be limited to 3 notes of analog polyphony on the Syntakt.
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that’s exactly my point. it’s all just components
Adding components has a cost in space, power draw, heat generated, and probably other factors as well. Users are already being surprised by how warm Syntakt gets on their laps.
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what about firmware components / the firmware inside the components
Each added hardware feature also will require additional space in the ROM holding the firmware and the RAM used by the processor, additional processing demands which may have a knock-on effect on completely different features, more complexity in the user interface, more cognitive load for users. All of this is true for features that don’t require additional hardware. It’s easy to ask for things. It’s not so easy to deliver them. I think that, historically, Elektron has done pretty well on this score.
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…some people just can’t stay real…or just can’t imagine what’s posssible within the given concept and technical structure of such a device, and what’s not…
while others ask for stuff that’s totally possible already, if they only would start to make their mind up…or would be aware of it’s already existing skillset and options…
this never ending complaints about the missing songmode…my goodness…if it would be such an easy fix in the digi architecture, we would had it long time ago already…
same goes with polyphony and kits…all hardware inner architecture has clear boundries, need most efficiency as possible…and end of the day…this is “nothing” but a groovebox…
while arturia never opened or teamed up with other developers…they just “borrowed” already developed ideas, since quite some are open source…
so let’s be real with a whishlist…
we can defenitly whish for further improovements on it’s modifier concept…
we might ask for arp implementation…how about arpmodifiers… 
hit a modifier button and instead of various sets of retrigs we get arp motives…
we can ask for more digital filter models…
we might ask for some neighbour track bridge solution, so that next new engines could “only” effect their input…which would lead to a new section in digital machine selction options…fx…
and we can ask for more all in all sound/synth machines…
in analog a little in digital endlessly…while all these must work within “small” possebilties…
so any further make it sample requests are senseless and nope, there’s no room for a truu wavetable synth, nor a granular synth, or full fledged physical modeling…
but enless room for clever gimmicks and little wonders…
always keep in mind…whatever u whish for…the whole thing still must be capable of doing ALL what it’s doing already AT THE SAME TIME…a goovebox remains a groovebox…
and no company can afford an endless array of developers and coders…
so, i have no doubts, we’ll see quite some further variations of the chord machine…
and sure there will be toys2 and bitz2…
and personally, i would love to see vowel and spelling/talk machines…
and if this neighbour/add further through fx machines is technically possible within it’s limited dsp ressources…bring some comb filters to the st…and let them harvest from the chord scale sheets…
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Perhaps I’m misunderstanding what you’re asking… But if you’re suggesting a firmware update to add polyphony to the analog VCOs:
Analog circuits don’t have firmware. They are just a bunch of resistors, capacitors, and transistors, which create changing analog voltages. An analog VCO can only possibly create one note. They could have included more analog VCO circuits on the circuit board for more polyphony. But that would involve an increase in complexity, cost, heat and power requirements.
As @plragde said, it would be possible to add polyphony to the digital oscillators via a firmware update. Whether Elektron will do that is another question.
Anyway, like I say, I feel like we might be speaking at cross-purposes. Maybe you’re asking something different.
it was a simple joke that went too far and i apologise
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They probably will, I mean, it would help convince Model:Cycles users after all… including me
With the risk of getting a mob chasing me, I feel like it’s a bit problematic that certain feature requests are violently shut down and labeled as “greedy” etc. It’s like you’re either with us or without us.
A common counter-argument for many suggestions seems to be that “it’s mainly a drum synthesizer”. Alright, then why are all the big influencers describing it as a groovebox? And why are all the Elektron official demos more like song sketches/ideas rather than drum loops? It feels more like the “it’s just a drum synthesizer” argument is something that is used when it’s convenient to describe the obvious limitations of this device. I don’t get why an arp or some rudimentary polyphony to support chords outside of the chord synth machine would be such a strange thing when literally every other grooveboxes out there support chords except Elektron devices (minus the DN). Not trying to be Mr negative here, I just think it’s problematic that the community is so violently defending arbitrary design decisions when it’s pretty clear that Elektron wants this to be much more than “just a drum machine”.
…well, it IS more than just a drummachine…it IS a groovebox that can sing…
and we have quite some polyphony right in front of us…8 digital independant voices…and everbody who’s willing to work with just one digital synth instead of 8 individual hyper felxible ones can go on and ask for standard polyphony beyond the very clever layed out chord machine shortcut/alternative…
and just as a little reminder…limitations can do wonders…
whenever i need no limitations at all, i don’t go for a hardware music instrument…
i always prefer serious one trick ponies, made to do one thing for REAL, instead of one size fits and covers all…
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