I think the title says it all.
How usable is the monomachine in polymode as a standalone polysynth?
What kind of sound can it handle and does it sound good? Is it good for stuff like pads or (snappy and dry: think Prince in the 80s) brass sounds?
Or should I look into a dedicated polysynth?
Iâve briefly tried using my MnM in poly mode, but never really stuck with it. The boxâs strength lies in its multi-timbrality, and sequencing. If you take that away, it can come across as a rather cold and lifeless synthesizer when compared to other dedicated poly synths offered by the likes of Nord, Access, DSI, etc.
I will say though that of all my synthesizers, the MnM is my absolute favourite, again due to its power as a sequencing machine, but largely due to its character when you start mixing and matching machine types. You start getting into really complex and interesting sonic and textural territory that you simply canât touch when in poly mode.
Itâs pretty awesome as a polysynth actually. Something I noticed by accident is say you have it set to track 1 in poly mode, but you have some FX tracks set to receive as neighbor on 2 and 3, it still routes it through the track 2 and 3 FX. Taking advantage of this you can put a chorus or phaser on track 2 and have that going into a reverb on track 3 and you are getting into pretty nice pad territory. Take advantage of the LFOâs for subtle modulations on various parameters to give it some movement and you are looking pretty good.
I guess you could actually put you synth on track 1 and fill all of the other tracks with FX tracks set to receive from neighbor and get pretty crazy fast.
I found the FM engine particularly good using this setup, get some really nice evolving pads.
[quote=ââInfinity Curveââ]
Something I noticed by accident is say you have it set to track 1 in poly mode, but you have some FX tracks set to receive as neighbor on 2 and 3, it still routes it through the track 2 and 3 FX.
[/quote]
WHOA! Iâve never heard this before, and if itâs true you just made my day. Canât wait to get home and try it.
I agree completely with what others have already stated; that the MNM is best as a multi timbrel synth. You can make cool stuff using each track individually, for sure. But when you start layering the sounds and running them through an FX track, the magic really happens. Even though that isnât poly, it definitely makes the MNM a highly usable monster!
The MNM is very unique in every way, including workflow and terminology. There is certainly a steep learning curve (if youâre not familiar with Elektron gear already), and it requires that you forget all preconceived notions as to how you expect a synth to operate. Expect lots of time being frustrated and digging through the manual. BUT once you âget itâ, youâll be amazed at how limitless the MNM really is.
If youâre a keyboardist and just want to play and not get bogged down in tweaking and making far out abstract sounds, then Iâd pass on the MNM. But if you like crazy routings and sonic surprises, youâll love the MNM.
WHOA! Iâve never heard this before, and if itâs true you just made my day. Canât wait to get home and try it. [/quote]
Double Whoa!
SPAM ALERT : Seen as though you asked, this vid of mine of the monos poly mode seems to get a lot of love:
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what a nice vid!
neighboring FX in PolyâŚreally?!!..thatâs awesome!
gonna try this morning !!
thx for sharing
Hmmm, I actually found the Monomachine extremely easy to jump right into, the menu layout is pretty simple. If you are familiar with synthesis, itâs very straight forward once you know whatâs what. I had honestly avoided Elektron gear for a long time due to people going on about how complicated and convoluted they were to use, but once I actually got my hands on the MM, I was quite surprised how easy it actually was.
[quote=ââInfinity Curveââ]
say you have it set to track 1 in poly mode, but you have some FX tracks set to receive as neighbor on 2 and 3, it still routes it through the track 2 and 3 FX.
[/quote]
PMâd you.
Maybe i will be seen like a goat minded person, but i didnât succeed in trying to play polymod with fx on MnM.
Is any saint soul here to give me some advice ? 
Well this is horribly embarrassing, but I spent a couple hours last night trying to replicate this again and no luck, so apparently I was completely wrong.
Itâs weird though, I distinctly remember doing this, and going âWhoa, thatâs coolâ, but could not get it to work at all after trying everything I could think of last night.
Sorry for the mis-information gents. Itâs still awesome in Poly mode with external effects.
Well, Iâm off to try and un-wedge my foot from my mouth
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may i suggest you use this technique that i use often for making patches with evolving chords.
long story short, make a cool sounds. copy it to maybe 3 or 4 or 5 other slots.
now you have 4-6 of the same sound. set up a trig chain so they all trig off each other. set up a quick transpose on each track so your getting chords now. then start tweaking the seperate tracks to taste. i like to set arps and change the effects routings. add seperate delays to the different tracks so its an evolving chord with each note having similar but seperate qualities
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May try using a thru machine instead of a neighbor?
@Infinity Curve
Thanks for reply, i try a lot of time and finished by thinking that i was completly stupid.
I know very well the MnM, and i would have been verry happy to discover such a possibility
For the other way to create chords, thank, i allready useâm
[quote=ââInfinity Curveââ]
but once I actually got my hands on the MM, I was quite surprised how easy it actually was.
[/quote]
not having a dig at you,
Iâve made plenty of mistakes/misinterpretations/misunderstandings with it
just when I read that I thought hmmm âdonât think youâve grasped all the permutations yetâ
its a constant phrase I use: âeasy to use, hard to masterâ
its a great journey though, 8 yrs an still counting, pretty good life span for a synth for me!
cheers
[quote=ââInfinity Curveââ]
Well this is horribly embarrassing, but I spent a couple hours last night trying to replicate this again and no luck, so apparently I was completely wrong.
Itâs weird though, I distinctly remember doing this, and going âWhoa, thatâs coolâ, but could not get it to work at all after trying everything I could think of last night.
Sorry for the mis-information gents. Itâs still awesome in Poly mode with external effects.
Well, Iâm off to try and un-wedge my foot from my mouth
[/quote]
maybe you were doing something like multi-trig + multi-env mode?
or just having tracks trigger each other in a chain? i find i use that + transposing individual tracks for fake poly more often than polymode because itâs more likely i donât need 6 notes.
iâve had some good/weird glitches with poly mode though, i think a lot had to do with turning it on and off and switching track focus while the sequencer was running.
and tracks can behave oddly when you switch the machine/routing and they havenât been (re)activated with a trig too, i think.
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Hi, I canât make this work on my machine. When youâre in poly mode, you canât actually assign neighbor to the fx tracks 2 and 3, and if you go to mono mode and assign them, then switch to poly they show as blank. Iâm using a SFX60+ MKII.
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Guessing you didnât check down the thread, but that poster was mistaken. Sorry 
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2 Likes