PoliMATHS

Make Noise 20HP

fw 1.6.0

Eight-channel CV and audio event generator for the N.U.S.S. Generates complex Rise-Fall functions with variable-shape oscillations at eight independent outputs using Spread and Modulation Dissemination.

Patch Ideas · 3

8-voice polyphony with MultiWAVE and QXG

Pick voices with Span, fire an envelope per note, and hand the channel assignment off to MultiWAVE so each gate plays a different voice.

Walkthrough

Press the Mode button until the Span Activity Window is WHITE (Channel Index mode).
Turn Cycle OFF (lightning bolt unlit).
Set Span to 12:00 and the Span CV Input attenuverter fully CW — this lets incoming Channel Index CV pick voices.
Set Rise short, Fall to taste, Curve at 12:00, Strength full CW, Osc fully CCW (pure envelope).
Patch your keyboard/sequencer Gate out → PoliMATHS Activate input.
Patch your keyboard/sequencer 1V/oct → MultiWAVE's pitch input (all voices follow pitch).
Patch PoliMATHS Channel Index Output → MultiWAVE Span CV input to route each note to a new voice.
Connect the PoliMATHS → QXG envelope header and MultiWAVE → QXG signal header on the back of the modules.
Turn up the QXG channel mixers and play — each gate fires a fresh voice with its own envelope.

Signal out QXG mix output — 8-voice polyphonic synth bus, line level.

Listen for Chords and held notes stack instead of stealing each other; each new key press lands on a fresh voice and rings out on its own envelope. Turn Span CV attenuverter back from full CW to mask some voices with a stuck cursor.

▸ Show diagram

Polyrhythmic 8-channel modulation bus

One clock, eight different divisions, each channel with its own envelope length via Spread.

Walkthrough

Press the Mode button until the Span Activity Window is BLUE (Parallel mode).
Turn Cycle OFF.
Patch a steady clock (e.g. 1/16 notes) → PoliMATHS Activate input.
Turn Span to the right of 12:00 — the further CW, the bigger the spread of divisions (see panel Ch1=×1 up to Ch8=×16).
Set Rise short, Fall medium, Curve at 12:00, Osc fully CCW (envelope only), Strength full CW.
Turn the Spread Combo Pot to about 2 o'clock.
Set the Fall attenuverter slightly positive so rightmost channels ring out longer; set the Strength attenuverter slightly negative so they fade quieter.
Patch Channel Outputs 1–8 into eight modulation destinations (filter cutoffs, VCAs, pans, wavefolders…).

Signal out Channel Outputs 1–8 — eight polyrhythmic unipolar envelopes, 0 to +9V.

Listen for A single clock blossoms into eight interlocking pulses — Ch1 ticks every clock, Ch8 only every 16 clocks, and the envelopes get longer and softer as you move right. Turn Span back toward 12:00 to collapse everyone onto ×1 and resync.

▸ Show diagram

Audio-rate 8-oscillator drone bank

Push the oscillator into audio range, tune with 1V/oct, stack all eight channels into one voice.

Walkthrough

Long-press the Mode button until the Mode LED is ORANGE (Bipolar Oscillation).
Press the Mode button (short press) until the Span Activity Window is WHITE (Channel Index).
Hold Cycle button for 1 second until it turns PURPLE (Cycle ALL) so every channel keeps sounding.
Turn Osc panel control fully CW (full oscillation, no envelope shaping).
Turn Rate to about 3 o'clock and Rate attenuverter fully CW — this enables 1V/oct tracking on Rate CV.
Set Shape to 12:00 (triangle), Strength to about 2 o'clock.
Patch a 1V/oct source → Rate CV input.
Turn Spread slightly right — since Rate's attenuverter is full CW (tracking), Spread instead fans out across Strength/Osc/Fall/Shape so each channel sits differently in the mix.
Patch Channel Outputs 1–8 → 8-channel mixer (or a few submixes).
Hold Cycle + Mode for 1 second to toggle SubMixing ON if you want to collapse groups onto fewer outputs.

Signal out Mixer output of Channels 1–8 — stacked audio-rate oscillator bank, bipolar around 0V up to ±9V per channel.

Listen for A thick drone with eight detuned-ish voices. Change Shape for timbre (saw/triangle/ramp, push CV for noise), play the 1V/oct input for chords, and open Spread to scatter Strength or Rate so each channel has its own character.

▸ Show diagram

Behaviors

Channel Index Mode Span knob / Span CV

Span selects channel to Activate. Patching Activate input requires gate to fire; unpatched means channel Activates on selection. Used for N.U.S.S. module-to-module communication.

Round Mode trigger → Activate

Each trigger advances by Span channels. Span=1 is sequential round-robin through all 8. Reset returns to Channel 1. Lefthand Span values cause leftward motion.

Parallel Mode clock → Activate

Each channel Activates at a clock division of the Activate input. Divisions set by Span. Reset resets all clock division counters.

Cycle ALL Cycle button (Purple)

Each channel re-Activates when its own Fall stage completes. Equivalent to patching MATHS EOR → Trig per channel.

Follow the Leader Cycle Cycle button (Pink)

When a channel's Fall finishes, the channel immediately to its right is Activated, creating a chain through to Channel 8 which loops back to Channel 1.

SubMixing Cycle + Mode long press

When SubMixing is ON, patching into a channel output removes it from all outputs further down the line, creating submix groups.

Controls

Global	Span	Sets Channel Span for Activation per current Span Mode. In Channel Index mode, also Activates channel upon selection if Activate is unpatched. Modes: White=Ch.Index · Yellow=Round · Blue=Parallel · Magenta=Binary Counter
Global	Span CV Input attenuverter	Bipolar attenuator for Span CV Input. Set CW in Channel Index mode to translate Channel Index messages from other N.U.S.S. modules. Bipolar
Global	Mode Button	Selects Span Mode shown by Span Activity Window. Long press switches Oscillation Bias (Unipolar/Bipolar). White=Ch.Index · Yellow=Round · Blue=Parallel · Magenta=Binary Counter
Global	Cycle Button	Enables cycling. Hold to switch cycle mode. Hold Cycle + Mode to toggle SubMixing. Off=no cycle · Purple=Cycle ALL · Pink=Follow the Leader
Global	Spread Combo Pot	Bipolar control for Spread parameter. Sets direction and amount of modulation sent to unpatched Spreadable parameters across 8 channels. Bipolar · When Spread CV patched: operates as attenuverter
Function	Curve Panel Control	Sets the Curve of the Activated functions, from logarithmic to linear to exponential. CCW=log · noon=linear · CW=expo · Unity CV in
Function	Rise Panel Control	Sets the Rise time of Activated functions. Spreadable parameter. Short to long · Gold legend = Spreadable
Function	Rise Attenuverter	Bipolar attenuator for Rise CV Input via Modulation Dissemination, or Spread amount if Rise CV is unpatched. Bipolar · Gold legend
Function	Fall Panel Control	Sets the Fall time of Activated functions. Spreadable parameter. Short to long · Gold legend = Spreadable
Function	Fall Attenuverter	Bipolar attenuator for Fall CV Input via Modulation Dissemination, or Spread amount if Fall CV is unpatched. Bipolar · Gold legend
Oscillation	Shape Panel Control	Sets the Shape of oscillations from falling saw to triangle to rising ramp. Unity CV in for live control. CCW=falling saw · noon=triangle · CW=rising ramp · CV extends to noise
Oscillation	Strength Panel Control	Bipolar control for output amplitude and polarity. CCW=negative, noon=zero, CW=positive. Spreadable. ±9V range · Gold legend = Spreadable
Oscillation	Strength Attenuverter	Bipolar attenuator for Strength CV via Modulation Dissemination, or Spread amount if Strength CV unpatched. Bipolar · Gold legend
Oscillation	Rate Panel Control	Sets the Rate (frequency) of oscillations superimposed on the Activated function. Spreadable parameter. Slow to fast · Gold legend = Spreadable · Tracks 1V/oct when attenuverter full CW
Oscillation	Rate Attenuverter	Bipolar attenuator for Rate CV via Modulation Dissemination, or Spread amount if Rate CV unpatched. Bipolar · Gold legend
Oscillation	Osc Panel Control	Sets oscillation depth mixed into Activated Functions. CCW=no oscillation (pure envelope). Spreadable. CCW=off · CW=full oscillation · Gold legend = Spreadable
Oscillation	Osc Attenuverter	Bipolar attenuator for Osc CV via Modulation Dissemination, or Spread amount if Osc CV unpatched. Bipolar · Gold legend

I/O

IN · 13

Activate gate GATE

Gate input. Rising edge Activates channels per Span and Mode.
Accumulate gate GATE

Gate input. Holds Activation messages until gate received; channels display Orange.
Span CV 0–4V CV

CV input for Span parameter. Also accepts Channel Index output from other N.U.S.S. modules.
Spread CV bipolar CV

CV input for Spread parameter.
Curve CV CV CV

Traditional live CV input for Curve — global, not subject to Spread or Modulation Dissemination.
Rise CV CV CV

CV input for Rise time. Switches to Modulation Dissemination when patched.
Fall CV CV CV

CV input for Fall time. Switches to Modulation Dissemination when patched.
Shape CV CV CV

Traditional live CV input for Shape — global, not subject to Spread or Modulation Dissemination.
Strength CV CV CV

CV input for Strength. Switches to Modulation Dissemination when patched.
Rate CV CV CV

CV input for Rate. Switches to Modulation Dissemination when patched.
Osc CV CV CV

CV input for Osc depth. Switches to Modulation Dissemination when patched.
Cycle Input gate GATE

Gate input. Engages Cycling while gate is high (ignored if Cycle button is on).
Reset Input gate GATE

Gate input. Resets PoliMATHS per current Span Mode.

OUT · 2

Channel Outputs 1–8 ±9V

Individual function/oscillation outputs per channel. When SubMixing ON, patch into outputs to create submixes.
Channel Index Output 0–4V (0.5V/ch) CV

CV indicating currently Activated channel (0.5V/channel, e.g. Ch1=0.5V, Ch2=1V). Patch to N.U.S.S. Span inputs.

Patch Ideas · 3

Behaviors

Controls

I/O

▸ IN · 13

◂ OUT · 2

IN · 13

OUT · 2