We’ll be answering questions about Drums and showing you the analog side of the Drum Machine on Friday, August 21st via YouTube. If you have a question about Drums, please post it here before Tuesday, August 18th. We’ll answer as many questions as we can!
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is there a performance mode like a polyend play?
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future drums owner here (november batch!) 
love what you guys are doing. I’m very curious to know more about the following:
- what the session/file management is like when you connect to a computer
- whether there’ll be some type of export settings and specifically to what exact file extensions
- whether you can record your live sets on the unit itself
- any kind of ableton integration?
- please explain specifics of using samples. how long can they be? can you warp them? chop them? timestretching? etc
thank you so much! will be tuning in to this 
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- Can it be powered by battery?
- Can the analog circuitry be turned off?
- Can you explain any details of the analog circuitry?
- What items are compatible with Play, Tracker, Mess, etc. ?
- Any updates on if it for sure can accept Mess effects?
- Can effects be anywhere in the track order? So could I have 3 analog voices scattered and then effects in the rest of the tracks?
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Five Questions About the X0Y facility
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Could you explain exactly what X, 0 and Y represent? Are there two stored states or three independently stored states?
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What information can X0Y morph? Does it interpolate sound parameters only, or can it also morph sequencer/pattern information, effects, mixer settings, probability and parameter locks?
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How do you create the X0Y states, and can you choose which tracks and parameters participate in the morph?
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How does X0Y handle parameters that cannot be continuously interpolated, such as instrument/sample selection, oscillator type, effect type or sequencer triggers?
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Can an X0Y performance be recorded or automated within a pattern or song, and can the fader position be controlled over MIDI?
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Additional questions
Track and Resource Architecture
- Beyond insert effects, which functions consume one of the eight tracks? In particular, does sequencing an external MIDI instrument use one of the eight?
Analog Voice Architecture
- Are all four analog voices physically identical synthesis architectures?
Digital Voice Architecture
- Can an individual digital/sample track play multiple simultaneous notes, or is each track monophonic?
Individual Outputs and Routing
- When a track uses its individual output, does it remain in the stereo main mix as well?
- Are the eight individual outputs balanced or unbalanced?
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I was a part of the first pre-order batch on the day you announced. Is this still targeted for August / September launch? Are we locked into our color choice?
More broadly can you speak to where you are in the manufacturing process? I’m curious to know what goes into launching a project like this!
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Thanks for the support! For this one, at some point you will be locked in unless you want to wait for another batch because the original number of each color created is based on the preorder color selected. I don’t know if it is too late to change, but I would recommend emailing support to ask.
Hi Guys!
The PolyEnd Drums looks like the dream drum machine, I love the full hands-on workflow and the amount of creative possibilities.
However there is only a few informations and demos available at the moment ; releasing the manual would awesome.
Here are a few questions I don’t have answers to yet :
RANDOMISE FUNCTIONS
- How does the random function works
- Can we lock gates to get only Notes / Octaves randomized ?
- Can we random on a specific pattern lenght ?
- Can we have a specific note / octave / note lenght range ?
SEQUENCER
- Can we save patterns in a “bank” ?
MIDI IN
- Can each channel be controlled externally using CC:
KICK DRUM
- What are the parameters available ? I would be looking for pitch and amp envelope, saturation, noise..
HATS
- Can we define the attack ? Most of the time we are stuck with decay while it would be usefull to move to a shaker effortlessly
GLOBAL
- Can velocity modulate at least one parameter for each layer (out of volume) ?
SYNTHESIS
- Physical Modeling : What objects are emulated ? What are the functions associated ?
- FM : what settings are available
Thanks a lot, I really hope the PolyEnd Drums would be a game changer!
Marina // Mana Mind
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Will you be able to use one of the 16 “steps” lanes as a chromatic keyboard for incoming midi and for itself? And if that is a yes, could the other lanes act as octaves?
Hi, thanks for this opportunity, much appreciated 
- Is the master eq parametric? If no, what are the frequencies of the eight bands?
- Are the digital synth engines the same as in Polyend Synth?
- How many voices of polyphony for digital synth are available?
- Can you show how to record chords? Do chords take up multiple tracks?
- Can I play in melodies with a MIDI keyboard?
- Are the deeper parameters of the effects (e. g. reverb room type) editable?
- What are the min and max values for the speed of the LFOs?
- What is the max sample length?
- Are samples in stereo possible?
- Can I import a long break sample and play different chops?
- Can you automatically trigger kit changes within a song?
- Can it drone
?
Sorry, quite a lot of questions 
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(Sept Batch)
1. Any plans for a case?
- How does it appear/present in low light environments? if Im bringing this to a club and have little light, am I relying on muscle memory (which is fine) or is the lighting from the device enough (like an elektron box)
- stutter?
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- How many seconds per sample?
- Can it sample via USB?
- Can it sample on threshold to fixed number of bars?
First batch orderer here - also interested in knowing how the timeline is progressing, not least because I’ll have to free up a substantial chunk of change when the invoice comes through!
Also some clarity on how the insert effects work. It seems that they take up one of the 8 channels - does that then replace an instrument on that channel? Can you then run an insert effect channel through another insert effect channel?
Can we get a list of all the Instruments, Effects and mutations that will be available on release? The manual would be even better!
Are the 8 LFOs one per channel or can you use them however you want?
Thanks!
Case is a good one. And can I request that it can at least hold the power cable. My biggest complaint with Polyend cases is that they just hold the device.
Follow?
Can one Drums track be linked to another so that it follows that track’s sequence progression, length, or timing, similar to the Follow functionality on Polyend Synth?
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Instead of doing work I really should be doing ( ), I took all the questions in this thread and asked ChatGPT a question:
“Hey, from the point of view of a set of buyers - today, and when the DRUMS device is released - what is the best grouping of information into potential separate training / explainer videos that helps people understand this device better?”
Here is the reply ChatGPT provided:
"
1. Understanding the Drums Architecture
This should probably be the foundational explainer.
Cover:
- What the eight tracks are
- Four analog voices versus digital/sample voices
- Whether analog voices are fixed or assignable
- What consumes a track
- How insert effects use track resources
- Whether MIDI sequencing uses a track
- Digital polyphony
- What can run simultaneously
The buyer question this video answers is:
“What am I really getting when Polyend says ‘eight-track hybrid drum machine’?”
This is the video I would watch before any deep feature demonstration.
2. Analog and Digital Sound Engines
Then explain what creates sound.
Cover:
- Analog voice architecture
- Whether all four analog voices are identical
- VCOs, filters, envelopes, noise, FM
- Kick, hats and other analog applications
- Digital synthesis engines
- Physical modeling
- Relationship, if any, to Polyend Synth
- Digital polyphony
- Tonal, melodic and drone applications
- Velocity and modulation of synthesis parameters
This lets a buyer answer:
“What kinds of sounds can I make, and how far beyond conventional drums does this go?”
I would keep sample playback out of this video except where needed to explain the distinction between a digital synth instrument and a sample instrument.
3. Samples and Sample-Based Instruments
Cover:
- User sample import
- Mono/stereo support
- Maximum sample length
- Chopping/slicing
- Break manipulation
- Time stretching/warping
- Sample pitch
- Polyphony
- Storage
- What Drums can and cannot sample directly
- USB workflow
The buyer question is:
“Can Drums replace or reduce my need for a separate sampler?”
That is commercially meaningful.
4. Sequencing, Patterns and Generative Tools
This should focus specifically on composition.
Cover:
- Pattern length
- Per-track length and time scaling
- Randomization
- Probability
- Microtiming
- Parameter locks
- Generative tools
- Pattern banks
- Kit changes within songs
- Melodic sequencing
- Chord sequencing
- Follow, if supported
- Pattern chaining and songs
The question becomes:
“How sophisticated is Drums as a composition and sequencing environment?”
I would keep Performance Mode and X0Y out of here. They deserve a separate performance video.
5. X0Y and Live Performance
Cover:
- What X, 0 and Y are
- How states are created
- What can morph
- What cannot morph
- Per-track or global scope
- Handling of discrete parameters
- Recording/automation
- MIDI control of X0Y
- Fills
- Stutter
- Performance Mode
- Live pattern and kit changes
- Transitions during performance
The buyer question:
“What makes Drums an instrument I perform with rather than simply program?”
I think this deserves its own video because X0Y appears to be one of the genuinely distinctive pieces of Drums’ identity.
6. MIDI, Clock and External Hardware
Cover:
- MIDI input/output/thru
- Per-track MIDI channels
- MIDI CC implementation
- External keyboard input
- Recording melodies and chords
- Sequencing external synths
- Whether MIDI sequencing consumes Drums tracks
- Clock master/slave behavior
- Start/stop/transport
- External synchronization
- MIDI control of performance features
- How Drums fits with Play, Tracker, Synth and third-party gear
The buyer question:
“Can Drums become part of the hardware system I already own?”
For a $2,699 device, this could be one of the highest-value videos in the series.
7. Effects, Modulation and Signal Flow
I would separate this from general architecture.
Cover:
- Send versus insert effects
- How inserts consume tracks
- Insert chaining
- Effect placement
- MESS compatibility
- LFO allocation
- LFO ranges
- Modulation destinations
- Master EQ
- Deeper effect editing
- External audio through effects
- Signal path
The buyer question:
“How much processing can Drums do internally, and when will I still want external effects?”
8. Outputs, Mixing and Studio Integration
I would definitely give this its own video.
Cover:
- Main stereo output
- Eight individual outputs
- Balanced versus unbalanced
- Whether individual outs remove tracks from the main mix
- What stage of the signal path feeds each output
- Effects at individual outputs
- External stereo input
- Integration with mixers and multichannel interfaces
- Multitrack recording
- Headroom/output levels if Polyend publishes them
The buyer question:
“How will Drums connect to my mixer, interface, pedals and studio?”
This is particularly important for experienced buyers because eight individual outs are one of the machine’s significant hardware differentiators.
9. Projects, Files, DAWs and Recording
Cover:
- Project structure
- Kits, patterns and songs
- Computer file management
- Backup
- Export
- Stem export
- File formats
- Recording a complete performance internally
- Ableton integration
- Firmware updates
- Sample transfer
- Compatibility with other Polyend content
Buyer question:
“What happens to my music after I create it?”
That deserves an answer separate from MIDI/hardware integration.
10. Living With Drums
Finally, an ownership/practicalities video.
Cover:
- Power supply and battery possibilities
- Dimensions and weight
- Case
- Low-light visibility
- Boot time
- Heat
- Noise
- Manufacturing/serviceability
- Firmware updating
- Color variants
- What is included in the box
This is less glamorous, though prospective buyers often search for exactly these answers immediately before purchasing.
The structure I would use
- Drums Architecture: Understanding the Eight Tracks
- Analog and Digital Sound Engines
- Samples and Sample-Based Instruments
- Sequencing, Patterns and Generative Tools
- X0Y and Live Performance
- MIDI, Clock and External Hardware
- Effects, Modulation and Signal Flow
- Outputs, Mixing and Studio Integration
- Projects, Files, DAWs and Recording
- Living With Drums: Power, Cases and Practical Use
The sequence is deliberate.
Videos 1–3 answer what it is and what creates sound.
Videos 4–5 answer how music is created and performed.
Videos 6–8 answer how it connects and integrates.
Videos 9–10 answer how it fits into the longer-term production and ownership workflow.
"
It could be some of this is covered in existing Intro videos that have been created. And thee breakouts/groupings aren’t the only way to cover these questions.
For such a powerful and expensive piece of kit, such a series of videos might be a super-helpful “sales enablement” tool. With this information available, it would probably also raise the quality of information in the reviews made by various YouTube gear-celebrities.
Pulling for your success on launch!! This is clearly a signature device for Polyend.
Helping people understand how DRUMS will “operationalize” (technical fit and workflows understanding) is critical to helping buyers feel confident of their success with the new device. Buyers “stall” when they are not confident of their success.
Either way, I hope this is helpful - as this is my primary goal here.
Now, back to my product marketing job. 
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Okay we filmed a QA but it I’m not sure it will be usable, so I’m going to start answering questions here first. Also, some of these are specific enough we didn’t get to in the video so I’ll answer.
Unfortunately, we are looking at October shipping now. Got hit with the memory shortage delays (and price increases but that won’t change the preorder price). We’ll keep you updated on the progress.
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Thanks for the update.