Polyphrase is a stereo echo and looping device inspired by early proto-digital delays of the 1970’s like the Lexicon Prime Time. As sophisticated as it is easy-to-use, Polyphrase is capable of everything from rich, dubby rhythmic repeats, to metallic resonant flanges. It is unique in being able to generate loops as long as 22 seconds, opening up a new palette of sonic possibilities for the avant-garde, ambient, or adventurous musician.
Polyphrase features two independent sliders for left and right delay times that can be locked into an infinite feedback loop which will produce an ever-changing sample of audio as each channel overlaps with another. This makes Polyphrase a tool for exploration capable of achieving the same kind of harmonic oscillation found on Steve Reich’s seminal tape piece “Piano Phase”.
The Time knob interacts with the left and right faders by providing nine different maximum delay times starting at 85 milliseconds, and doubling in value as the parameter is increased up to 22 seconds. Each new delay section is cross faded into the signal path, an important design consideration that avoids any pitch shifting artifacts and is useful for creating new and often unexpected musical phrases when used with high repeat settings.
Three echo styles are available, and each style configures its own dedicated routing for the delay feedback path. “Dual stereo” provides two independent echos, and they can either be stacked in mono, or routed out of each stereo channel. In “ping pong” mode, each delay feeds back into the other, creating either a classic stereo ping pong sound (with each repeat bouncing between the left and right channel), or a multi-tap delay effect (when used in mono). The last mode is a mono delay - it routes the feedback path to the IN R, OUT R jacks so that you can use external effects in the echo’s feedback path.
The Tone control is a bipolar equalizer (EQ) situated in the feedback path of the echo. At 12 o’clock, the EQ has no effect on the audio. Turning the knob clockwise cuts low end - making each repeat brighter than the previous. Turning the tone knob in the counter-clockwise direction cuts high frequencies - it creates darker repeats, which- makes Polyphrase capable of achieving similar timbre to the storied analog, bucket-brigade delays.
The echo signal can be pitch modulated with the Rate and Depth controls for a sine wave style chorus / vibrato, or with a random wave for detuning effects similar to aging tape echos.
Finally, Polyphrase has a fully featured MIDI input that provides tempo sync, full remote control of all parameters on the faceplate, and access to 9 onboard user preset slots.
Features
- Delay times from 5 milliseconds to 22 seconds
- Two delay lines that can be used in stereo or stacked in mono
- Infinite feedback
- External feedback path
- Tone control in the feedback path
- Echo pitch modulation with sine or random style waveform
- Tap tempo
- MIDI tempo sync
- 9 onboard user presets accessible via midi program change (PC) messages
- Remote control of all parameters on the faceplate via midi continuous controller (CC) messages
- 3 gain configurations for line level, instrument level, or low instrument level
- Housed in a single block of walnut, CNC routed, hand sanded & polished
Specifications
- 165mm x 140mm x 45mm
- 1/4” mono jacks
- Input impedance: 1MΩ
- Output impedance: <1kΩ
- Current draw: 200mA
- Soft-touch foot switches
- Buffered bypass
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Shipping times
Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Saturday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
Product Overview
Polyphrase is a stereo echo and looping device inspired by early proto-digital delays of the 1970’s like the Lexicon Prime Time. As sophisticated as it is easy-to-use, Polyphrase is capable of everything from rich, dubby rhythmic repeats, to metallic resonant flanges. It is unique in being able to generate loops as long as 22 seconds, opening up a new palette of sonic possibilities for the avant-garde, ambient, or adventurous musician.
Polyphrase features two independent sliders for left and right delay times that can be locked into an infinite feedback loop which will produce an ever-changing sample of audio as each channel overlaps with another. This makes Polyphrase a tool for exploration capable of achieving the same kind of harmonic oscillation found on Steve Reich’s seminal tape piece “Piano Phase”.
The Time knob interacts with the left and right faders by providing nine different maximum delay times starting at 85 milliseconds, and doubling in value as the parameter is increased up to 22 seconds. Each new delay section is cross faded into the signal path, an important design consideration that avoids any pitch shifting artifacts and is useful for creating new and often unexpected musical phrases when used with high repeat settings.
Three echo styles are available, and each style configures its own dedicated routing for the delay feedback path. “Dual stereo” provides two independent echos, and they can either be stacked in mono, or routed out of each stereo channel. In “ping pong” mode, each delay feeds back into the other, creating either a classic stereo ping pong sound (with each repeat bouncing between the left and right channel), or a multi-tap delay effect (when used in mono). The last mode is a mono delay - it routes the feedback path to the IN R, OUT R jacks so that you can use external effects in the echo’s feedback path.
The Tone control is a bipolar equalizer (EQ) situated in the feedback path of the echo. At 12 o’clock, the EQ has no effect on the audio. Turning the knob clockwise cuts low end - making each repeat brighter than the previous. Turning the tone knob in the counter-clockwise direction cuts high frequencies - it creates darker repeats, which- makes Polyphrase capable of achieving similar timbre to the storied analog, bucket-brigade delays.
The echo signal can be pitch modulated with the Rate and Depth controls for a sine wave style chorus / vibrato, or with a random wave for detuning effects similar to aging tape echos.
Finally, Polyphrase has a fully featured MIDI input that provides tempo sync, full remote control of all parameters on the faceplate, and access to 9 onboard user preset slots.
Features
- Delay times from 5 milliseconds to 22 seconds
- Two delay lines that can be used in stereo or stacked in mono
- Infinite feedback
- External feedback path
- Tone control in the feedback path
- Echo pitch modulation with sine or random style waveform
- Tap tempo
- MIDI tempo sync
- 9 onboard user presets accessible via midi program change (PC) messages
- Remote control of all parameters on the faceplate via midi continuous controller (CC) messages
- 3 gain configurations for line level, instrument level, or low instrument level
- Housed in a single block of walnut, CNC routed, hand sanded & polished
Specifications
- 165mm x 140mm x 45mm
- 1/4” mono jacks
- Input impedance: 1MΩ
- Output impedance: <1kΩ
- Current draw: 200mA
- Soft-touch foot switches
- Buffered bypass
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Shipping times
Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Saturday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
