Polyend & Dreadbox Medusa

Dreadbox & Polyend Medusa at a glance:

• Hybrid synthesizer and hardware sequencer in desktop format
• Cooperation between Polyend and Dreadbox
• Three analog oscillators with sawtooth, square, triangle and sine waveforms
• Three digital wavetable oscillators
• 24 dB filter with three different filter types: 2-pin low-pass, 4-pin low-pass and high-pass filters
• Five independent LFOs
• Five independent DADSR envelopes
• 256 independent memories for sequences and sound presets
• Three different game modes: monophonic, triple paraphonic and six paraphonic

Summary from Sound on Sound magazine April 2019

PROS

• A versatile blend of analogue and digital synthesis.
• Paraphonic, capable of up to six-note chords.
• A different type of synth playing surface.
• Grid storage of parameter modifications is wonderful.
• Step sequencer includes parameter recording.
• Solidly made.

CONS

• The sequencer is basic and rather menu-bound.
• The pads are small and not the most responsive.
• MIDI spec could be improved.
• Some aspects feel unpolished; the divide of duties between Notes and Grid modes feels awkward.
• Shared controls, so less immediate than it might be.

SUMMARY

The Medusa is a powerful and often subtle hybrid synth whose killer feature is the ability to store up to 64 complete sets of parameter tweaks in every patch. Also acts as a control surface and sequencer.

CONCLUSION

Unless you’re Perseus, there are multiple ways you can approach the Medusa. It could be a MIDI controller transmitting notes and performance data into a DAW environment, or perhaps a stand-alone pad-based synthesizer that breaks the usual keyboard conventions. Some will find built-in sequencer perfectly suitable for melodies, bass lines and chords, especially given the power of Grid mode, where you can sequence what amounts to a different patch on every step if it takes your fancy.

Even if you forget the sequencer and work exclusively in Grid mode, the Medusa offers a rare degree of choice. You can prepare and trigger up to 64 notes or chords, each with specific synth settings, which can inspire genuinely different performance techniques. If you have recorded only parameters into the pads, the notes can be supplied by an external MIDI source as you introduce modifications dynamically.

By itself the Medusa synth engine is capable of a good range of analogue and digital tones. It’s ready to deliver percussion, sound effects, rip-roaring solos, snappy basses and even pads. It’s aided considerably by various voicing modes, the six notes of paraphony and the Dreadbox filter.

At the price, it might struggle to make a huge impact unless its quirky feature set appeals. Each firmware update has bought the Medusa closer to completion and more are scheduled. It would be nice if Polyend addressed the general matters of visibility and accessibility, the lack of names for patches and wavetables, the under-developed MIDI spec and inability to dump and restore patches in SysEx format. Then again, it might already tick enough boxes for some; it’s certainly a fresh take on the concept of synth, sequencer and controller.

- Paul Nagle, SOS April 2019