Creating Layers

Brute PolyBrute
#1

Hi
Ive watched many videos on layering on the Polybrute.
What I want to do is typical layering, i.e. layer patch 1 with 9,
layer patch 3 with patch 33. is this possible?
Thanks
Derm

#2

The PB only ever plays a single patch, but every patch has an A and B sound, as you probably know.

Layer mode in the PB means that the patch plays in its A version in one layer and a version morphed between A and B according to the Morph setting in the other layer. Thus you can hear both sound A and a morph between A and B simultaneously.

You can read more about the Split mode in the Manual chapter ā€œ5.4.2. Timbralityā€.

If you want to layer sounds from two different patches, you need to enter the Morph Mode by pressing the Morph button near the matrix. In this mode you can perform a ā€œPick Bā€ operation that imports the A or B sound from another patch into the B sound for the current patch. When doing this, the effects settings from the current patch will be retained. If more than 64 different mod slots were used in total for the current A sound and the imported A or B sound, the Pick B function does ā€œthe best it canā€ when merging the mod slots (patches donā€™t usually use that many mod slots, so thatā€™s not normally an issue).

You can read more about the Pick B function in the Manual chapter ā€œ10.5.2.1. Pick Bā€.

3 Likes
#3

Thank you for that Dr. Justice. Thatā€™s certainly what I was trying to do and couldnt find under any discusion or video on layers.
Iā€™m delighted to have this powerful option. Im not yet sure however, if the 12o clock position on the morph knob is a blend of two sounds or a layer of them.
I think its a blend.

#4

Yes, for a normal patch (non layer or split) the Morph knob is a blend between sound A and B (still a single sound, but every parameter is interpolated between their A and B settings), and the extreme left and right is the pure A and B sounds.

#5

Are there any video tutorials we can find on this exact option for Splits and Layers on Polybrute 12 ? When you say pick a new preset, does this mean we could actually use two different presets in a bi timbral mode ?

#6

I donā€™t know of any video tutorials specifically for this. Hereā€™s an example of something you can do to get two timbres:

  1. Select a patch you want for the A timbre (ref. point 3 if you actually want the B timbre). Letā€™s call this patch ā€œXā€ for referencing.
  2. Select Layer or Split mode, depending on what you want.
  3. Press the Morph button by the matrix to enter the ā€œMorph modeā€ that lets you manage the A and B sounds (BTW, this is how you set switched parameters differently for a an B, by selecting Edit A or Edit B. Here you can also swap the A and B sounds if you need to).
  4. Select ā€œPick Bā€ and browse to the patch, letā€™s call it ā€œYā€, you want the A or B sound from and select that.
  5. Exit ā€œMorphā€ by pressing e.g. ā€œModā€.
  6. Set the Morph knob all the way to B so that the upper part or second layer is fully morphed to the B sound.
  7. Now patch ā€œXā€ plays in the lower half or the first layer and the A or B that you picked from patch ā€œYā€ plays in the upper half or the second layer.

It may seem a little fiddly at first, but when youā€™ve gone through it itā€™ll hopefully make more sense. The A and B sounds go through the same FX, so be aware of that.

1 Like
#7

Hi DrJustice,
Many thanks to you, Iā€™ll give this a go. Cheers

#8

I had to give up, Arturia could have and should make this so much easier just to pick two sounds is a huge pain.

I wonder if Arturia could make this a more simple option for layering/splits etc.

#9

I think you shouldnā€™t give up. Learning how to handle it may be really frustrating first but once you get used to it it reveals to be very handy.

Also it may produce incredibly exciting sounds thanks to XY morphing.

Maybe you could first bypass the FX section and select a split point before proceeding. It may ease your learning curve.

Also, keep in mind when using the ā€œPick Bā€ function that you can toggle between A and B parts you want to import by pressing the selected patch repeatedly.

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#10

Hi and thanks for your replies , I learn by ā€˜visualsā€™ , and this is a complex understanding on how Arturia chose to implement layering and splits in the polybrute, which do not make much sense to me. I canā€™t seem to find any decent videos explaining this, so this makes it even more frustrating.

Thanks for your voice of confidence. Iā€™m very familiar with layering,subtractive synthesis, and splits,building sounds etc, but arturia here should offer more visual,video tutorials to explain their thought process behind this layering and split aspect, the way they see it :wink:

When I think of layering I think of two separate streams of audio. their morphing is something Iā€™m trying to make sense of and having a hard time understanding that we canā€™t layer patches in the typical way most synths do layers / splits.

thanks

#11

Maybe having morphing in the mix is throwing you a little, so just donā€™t think about that for a moment.

We just start with one presetā€™s A layer that we like, then do a pick-B from another. Then turn the morph knob fully clockwise to the right to get a pure layer-B copy of that sound mixed in as a 2nd layer.

This seems to be working for me. I only use the morph knob from there to positionally edit the sounds within this new patch.

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#12

https://support.arturia.com/hc/en-us/articles/14546876906780-PolyBrute-12-Split-and-Layers

Iā€™ve watched this over and over, but Iā€™m not seeing a simple option to just pick two separate sounds.

It would be very helpful, if we could see a visual video tutorial on how to pick two presets ,for A and Bā€¦