Dave Smith Instruments has announced that the Potentiometer Edition of the Poly Evolver Keyboard Synthesizer is now available.
The new version boasts 60 potentiometers among its complement of 78 rotary controls. “The response to the pot edition of the Prophet ’08 has been overwhelmingly positive,” said company founder Dave Smith, “so we decided to extend that functionality to the Poly Evolver, as well.” Unlike endless rotary encoders, potentiometers allow the full range of a knob’s values to be accessed in a single turn of about 300 degrees. That simplifies filter sweeps and other more performance-oriented gestures. A kit with potentiometer-equipped panel boards is available to convert older Poly Evolvers.
There have also been some cosmetic changes. “We needed both lined and unlined knobs to distinguish between the pots and encoders, so we’re using Prophet-style knobs,” said DSI’s Andrew McGowan. “And we’ve updated the panel graphics a bit without changing them significantly.” The wood end panels are now made from bubinga.
Poly Evolver Potentiometer Edition features
- Each voice is a complete Evolver with four oscillators per voice, two analog and two digital.
- True stereo signal path with separate Curtis analog low-pass filters in each channel for each voice. Each voice has its own independent effects (feedback, delay, distortion, high-pass filter, etc.).
- Highly accessible sound control for easy, intuitive operation: 78 knobs (60 of them potentiometers) and 58 switches.
- Clocked, pulsing blue LEDs and hardwood end-panels.
- Each voice has an independent 16 x 4 step sequencer. Everything (sequencer, LFOs, and delay) syncs perfectly to MIDI.
- In Program mode, all four voices play the same sound. In Combo mode, voices can be allocated however desired: stack all 4 for a huge unison sound, split or layer the keyboard in any configuration, and/or play one or all sequences at the same time. Each voice can respond to a different MIDI channel.
- Each voice has its own stereo output in addition to the mix and headphones outputs.
- Stereo audio input that can be routed to any or all of the voices, enabling parallel audio processing of external stereo or mono signals. The output of one voice can be routed to the input of another for interesting double-processing effects.
The Poly Evolver PE Keyboard Synthesizer is available now with an MSRP of $2,899 USD and an MAP of $2,599 USD. The conversion kit requires nothing more than a screwdriver for installation and is available directly from DSI for $399 USD or factory installed for $449 USD.
More information: Dave Smith Instruments / Poly Evolver PE Keyboard Synthesizer
