Make Noise PoliMATHS

PoliMATHS is here: the supercharged version of the classic Make Noise Maths, primed and ready for function generation within the New Universal Synthesizer System. Truly, how does one expand upon what has become one of the most ubiquitous Eurorack modules of all time? The answer lies in evaluating and expanding upon the things that the original Maths can do that would excel within NUSS patching philosophies. Specifically, PoliMATHS focuses upon triggered or cycling rise/fall envelopes, paired with a secondary Oscillation section that optionally imparts undulations or audio events into each function. And, of course, PoliMATHS packs eight of these complex function generators into one module.

PoliMATHS utilizes a variety of shared panel controls and inputs to manage its eight channels. Familiar controls like Rise, Fall, Curve, and Cycle affect the timing, shape, and behavior of all eight channels. But rather than clutter up the panel with individual trigger inputs, PoliMATHS offers a single Activate input with a Span control (which has a dedicated CV input) to manually or dynamically target channels to be triggered. This channel selection is also represented as a signal, available from the top right-most jack for cascading PoliMATHS or other NUSS modules.

Additional flexibility is available through different activation modes, like Channel Index, Round, and Parallel, to provide more variation in the ways that PoliMATHS channels are triggered. Of course, the exact behaviors of these different modes translate through external Activation or self-cycling, as well as combinations of the two! You can also use the Accumulate input as a way to lock channels. Once a trigger is received to Accumulate, channels are released for a single activation or cycle until the next time a trigger arrives.

Beyond simple function generation, PoliMATHS also boasts some tricks to produce more complex signals at its many outputs. By turning up the OSC control on the right, secondary oscillations are introduced into the channels. Of course, the level of these signals is controlled by their channel's primary rise/fall function, as if you had a pre-patched oscillator into a VCA controlled by a Maths. These oscillations are variably skewed from ramp through triangle to sawtooth, with a wide-ranging Rate control that extends from LFO speeds up to audio-rate. To that end, set the Rate attenuverter up to its maximum, and the CV input will track 1V/Oct and turn your PoliMATHS into Poly(synth)MATHS!

We've tossed around this NUSS term throughout this sprawling product listing text, but what does this actually mean in the context of PoliMATHS? A core concept of the New Universal Synthesizer System, as described by Make Noise, is a "one-to-many" scheme for control or patching. At a basic level, this already holds true in the sense that the various controls and CV inputs on PoliMATHS will affect all channels. However, the final knob and input, Spread, applies channel weighting to parameters with golden labeling around their attenuverters. In other words, with no external signals patched in and attenuverters set as desired, increasing Spread will skew the value of the Rise, Fall, Strength, Rate, and OSC parameters across the eight PoliMATHS channels. This offers you everything from a bank of envelopes or LFOs that increase in frequency from left to right, strummed chord effects, and so much more. Spread is, of course, a bipolar control, so turning it left or right will skew the weighting in one direction or the other.

For those invested or, at the very least, interested in the NUSS ecosystem, PoliMATHS facilitates some rear-panel connections to other NUSS modules. Chain two QXG modules to PoliMATHS via the included ribbon cables for patch cable-free normalization into the audio or CV inputs, or stay tuned for future NUSS developments. But whether you're into NUSS or not, PoliMATHS has plenty to offer for modular systems of all shapes and sizes. While its set of tricks is fairly different from the original Maths, PoliMATHS is sure to be another patch programmable powerhouse to explore for years to come.

PoliMATHS Features

• 8-channel rise/fall function generator
• Based on the beloved original Maths module
• Channels addressed with single Activate input and Span control
• Span modes for alternative channel addresing schemes: Channel Index, Round, Parallel
• channel selection CV output
• Controls for function Rise and Fall times
• Curve control for exponential, linear, and logarithmic ramps
• Cycle button and external gate input for self-triggering activation
• Accumulate input suppresses channel cycles until a trigger is received
• Strength control scales output signals up towards 5V or down towards -5V
• Reset input
• Secondary Oscillation available for generating complex functions from the source
• OSC controls increases level of oscillators
• Shape control skews triangles into ramps/sawtooths
• Rate control extends from LFO speeds up to audio-rate
• Set Rate attenuverter to max for 1V/Oct tracking
• Spread control skews gold-labeled attenuverter settings (when unpatched)
• Rear panel connections for chaining QXG and future modules