Video
Story
Greats like Gary Numan made the typical sound in the form of the pad sound in "Cars" a historical milestone. Kraftwerk also showed up with the Polymoog, preferably under the fingers of Ralf Hütter. Karl Bartos (Electric Music) is not the only one who later even used the heart of the Polymoog as an independent device, the resonators. The Moog Polymoog of course includes the classic Moog filter with a slope of 24 dB per octave. It is assigned an ADS envelope and an LFO with a fixed waveform. The filter LFO has a sample and hold control that continuously mixes in the randomness instead of serving with another waveform that is common today.
The sound is generally different from other Moog synthesizers and certainly not to be compared with them. The Polymoog definitely doesn't come close to the smaller classics like Prodigy in their full width. To a certain extent this is not a problem, because even a cascade of several Moog Little/Slim Phatty synthesizers is already too fat for most applications. However, due to its filter combination and in particular the resonator, it is so independent that the creamy-soft "phaser-like" areas such as in Numan's "Cars" are only possible on the Polymoog in such an authentic way. With other synthesizers, a resonator bank would have to be added or a cascade of equalizers would have to be used to simulate them.
The emphasis of the three frequency ranges can sometimes be like a phaser, work a little more inconspicuously like thickening the bass range. It's a completely different concept and basic sound. Many of the "organ" sounds are reminiscent of Kraftwerk once some chords are played and filters are animated. One is often reminded that this instrument has its limits, it is a specialist that shines with full polyphony and a special vintage charm. One is often reminded that this instrument has its limits, it is a specialist that shines with full polyphony and a special vintage charm.
Specifications
Specifications:
Preset Sounds - 203a: Strings, Piano, Organ, Harpsichord, Funk, Clavi, Vibes, and Brass.
Polyphony - 71 notes
Oscillators - 2 VCO’s with sawtooth and pulse/square waveforms and pulse-width modulation
LFO - Rate, Amount Attack
Filter - Highpass, Lowpass (203a model only), 3-band EQ
Memory - Model 203a: 8 Preset + 1 User
Model 280a: 14 presets
Keyboard - 71 keys (velocity sensitive)
Control - CV/Gate
Weight - 82 pounds (37 Kg)
Date Produced - 1975-80
Manual
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