Downloads

Please read the attached instructions for both the app and appropriate instruments.

Disabling the Windows Defender/custom AV apps may be needed for successful flashing.

Please note: use Polyend Tool 1.2 or newer for this update.

New Features:

– Added a 6-voice 3-operator digital FM synth engine,
– Reworked pitch bend and glide,
– Better “Channel per Voice” mode,
– Added MIDI Program Change,
– LFO Synchronization with MIDI Clock,
– Added a per-preset option to “Skip muted voices” during voice selection in P1 and P2 mode.

4.0 Fixes:

– Fixed digital clicking at note start,
– Improved analog AMP envelope release handling (no clicking on the release of the last held note),
– Long note releases are no longer cut short when no notes are held,
– When a second held note is released in Mono mode, the first one returns with the last one’s volume instead of full volume,
– When a note is pressed when no voices are available in Next voice priority, the least recently used voice is taken over (note that in the First voice priority Medusa will not play another note if all voices are used, this is deliberate),
– Auto-calibration now uses a smart timer that increases intervals as the device warms up,
– Increased responsiveness when a lot of USB MIDI data is incoming,
– Incoming “all notes off” and “all sound off” MIDI CC messages are now respected; Sustain pedal (CC64) is now supported in all play modes (MIDI hold mode),
– Changing Pads Root Note, Layout, Scale, or MIDI Middle C while notes are held no longer causes hanging notes,
– MIDI aftertouch no longer causes hanging notes in Mono mode,
– Amp envelope in all polyphonic modes is now updating on the screen.

4.0.1 Fixes:

– Allowed skipping muted voices in P1 and P2 modes,
– Allowed unselecting the only playing note in Hold mode in M play mode,
– Fixed sequence playback in Grid mode always using First note priority in P1 and P2,
– Fixed held note continuation in M mode being interrupted after Sustain pedal was released,
– Made held legato note continuation in M mode work when both MIDI input and pads are used,
– Made the Channel 9 mono synth in DFM mode ignore the Sustain pedal (it’s only used by the polyphonic FM voices, just like Hold mode),
– Fixed a rare freeze when both MIDI IN and internal sequencer were playing many notes at once,
– Fixed hanging notes if Sequencer is started, Note 2 is TIE, and the external clock is not advancing.

– Added LFO random S&H wave (the last position).

– Each synth parameter is now displayed with the assigned CC number.

– Both LFOs and envelopes are now able to send out their native values out as CC (set it up from the MIDI config menu).

– Added MIDI Local Off (as a MIDI config option), you can now use the Medusa MPE pads to play another instrument and play the internal synth engine with an external controller at the same time.

– Config reset added to the flashing process.

– Swing bug eliminated.

– Refined Grid workflow.

– Adjusted Filter Cutoff.

– A new set of 64 wavetables.

– Fixed external MIDI clock sync.

– New more precise DADSR behaviour.

– Enhanced knob noise filtering mechanism.

– New presets from Benn Jordan and Machinedrum.

– Added velocity off also for external MIDI controllers.

– New pads backlit: Note – 2/3, Tie – 1/2, Modulators – 0.

– Voice priority is now a preset value instead of a global setting.

– Record note length in live record mode and in the incremental mode.

– Fixed MIDI behaviour when receiving lots of communicates, won’t crash anymore.

– Now, in order to see the pads with modulators only, press and hold the Clear button.

– Enhanced Drone mode, you can now turn on and off the notes while they’re sustained.

– A repaired issue with playing external controller over MIDI DIN in Monophonic play mode.

– While holding a pad with modulators, they will change the sound as long as you hold them not only per sequenced step time as before.

– When the sequencer is running, pressing other pads in the Grid mode is not taking over the note, just the synth voice parameter modulations.

– When the sequencer is running and you’re editing a single step, you can actually hear the modulations made to this particular step as long as you hold it pressed.

– Note TIE (note length) and RND (change note in a selected scale in a range of two octaves) per step. When in the Grid mode editing notes, click the encoder once to use Tie and twice to use Random.

– Improved USB Host port stability.

– Fixed glide in the lowest octaves.

– Fixed contingent momentary voltage present on the CV outputs in particular scenarios.

– Now CCs (1-128) can be assigned to a voice (1-8) or paired with MIDI channel (all, 1-16).

– New play mode – Mono was added with a legato functionality implemented (legato isn’t available in channels mode anymore).

– The Middle C config option was changed to Octave Offset it now allow changing incoming notes in a range of four octaves +/-.

– Fixed smoothing.

– Fixed pitch-bend values.

– Improved aftertouch conversion.

– Minor stability fixes implemented.

– Rebuild and simpler CV/CC menu.

– Improved MPE functionality and added an MPE profile.

– Note On with 0 velocities was able to freeze a voice, not anymore.

– The naming of the pitch bend values is now changed from z +/- notes to +/- semitones.

– Added Glide functionality (now on the main screen instead of the musical scale indicator).

– Added Factory Reset function in the config menu and changed default settings of middle C.

– A large number of MIDI communicates were able to freeze voices over the USB host port, fixed.

New features

– When in sequence mode (clock signal on input) pressing pads do not restart the sequence from that point. It allows modifying the sequence during playback.
– Highlight currently edited and played preset on the pad, also when editing the value.

Fixes

– Encoders react to every single turn properly.
– Performance optimizations.

– Fixed Scales.

– Fixed Microtuning.

– CV input type was not saved to the preset, not anymore.

– Turning the encoder in the Cyan/Notes mode will now automatically play the selected note.

– Simultaneous press of the three function buttons together was sending a gate signal, not anymore.

– Added fourth CV input mode – Sync Automation, where received gate signal reset/retrigger all the recorded automation.

– The MIDI transport was behaving strangely in certain circumstances, not anymore.

– Fixed issue where note offsets (nudges) recorded from external controllers were not working properly.

– Added compatibility with the new Polyend Seq Tool for firmware flashing and pattern dump/load functionality.

– The issue with populating a track with the use of the Roll knob causing that the manually added steps were muted is now fixed.

– Notes incoming from the external controller over MIDI input are being automatically transmitted to all MIDI outputs (DIN, USB).

– Added new roll Velocity Curve – Random.

– The start button resets the cue point for all the tracks.

– All the previous user-reported bugs are now removed.

– The increased refresh rate for the incoming MIDI signals.

– New rolls behaviour, they work on the whole length of a step now.

– Toggle on/off of a step with roll attached won’t lose the roll parameter anymore.

– Unstable behaviour while on an external MIDI clock in the first phrase was fixed.

– Added per track step retrigger – click and hold down the Move knob and indicate the step/s on a track/s you want to retrigger from.

– Added roll Note Curve – each step in the roll’s length will trigger notes in a scale set to the particular track – Flat, Inc, Dec, Inc-Dec, Dec-Inc, Random.

– New Tempo knob functionality. Used with a track button gives access to a per-track tempo divider/multiplier, MIDI channel input, MIDI channel output, MIDI output source (two last positions moved from the Note knob section).

– Added dedicated pad display for beat slice instruments,

– Added a way to exit games selection without rebooting the device,

– Sent MIDI notes were hanging when a sample instrument was used without an explicit Note OFF,

– Sent MIDI notes were hanging on track Mute,

– Real-time microtiming recording was always putting “m02”,

– Deleting unused samples wasn’t working if Sample 1 was unused as well,

– There was high-pitched noise on Medium and Low display brightness settings,

– Held keyboard key speed was too fast,

– Solo labels could get stuck,

– Edits on the Song screen could crash the device when switching to Pattern Editor,

– Undo actions on the Song screen now more predictable with 10 levels of undo,

– Correct stem alignment for tracks beginning with silence,

– Offline song export is now 20% faster and usually faster than wall clock song time,

– Offline stem export now takes around ~2x wall clock song time,

– Drastically improved tempo accuracy in song and stem export,

– Properly reset performance screen after “Continue song” is used,

– Fill mode with a beat slice: lighted pads now correspond to slices,

– Notes played with an external controller in Pattern Editor no longer get stuck,

– Notes played with an external controller now use constant velocity if “Velocity” is not enabled in Recording Options,

– Notes played with an external controller passed to a MIDI Instrument are now velocity-sensitive,

– Protect against pressing “Backspace” accidentally and resetting very low master volume to 0.0 dB

– MIDI Out messages should not be emitted during offline song export,

– Crashes in Song Mode when using an external MIDI clock,

– Sustained notes were not looping properly,

– Tempo was resetting to 130 BPM after the restart,

– Slices which were already written on pattern shift after changing root note,

– Sample rendering was having an invalid length on pattern change,

– Selection rendering was containing garbled Line In audio,

– Micromove + roll was glitching in certain combinations,

– Samples were getting replaced by white noise after cropping in certain scenarios,

– Pattern selection behavior after releasing and pressing Shift again is now fixed,

– There were errors in scales: melodic minor, blues major, Todi, Gypsy minor, not anymore,

– Auto naming function was not adjusting text selection,

– Panning in Line In stereo was reversed,

– There were duplicated notes in the Fill range,

– Some button labels were stuck when switching back and forth between Instrument Effects and Parameters screens,

– Always select Column first when Shift+Up was used at the top of the pattern,

– Fixed pattern length handling when clearing tracks on 128-step patterns,

– Fixed visual glitch in Song screen when changing active slots in green mode,

– Allow switching between live rec and edit without stopping transport,

– While “Preview Track” was running on the Song screen, the first Stop button didn’t work,

– Fixed unresponsive Instrument Effects parameter editor after hot switching instruments,

– Fixed input of notes via Note button popup,

– Fixed freeze after re-entering Config screen when a config option was changed but not confirmed.

Firmware Release Highlights

New MIDI I/O functionalities:

– Per step MIDI Chords,
– MIDI Microtune step Fx,
– Performance mode is now controllable via MIDI input,
– Master mixer levels are now controllable via MIDI input,
– Tracker can now be configured to send 6 distinct MIDI CCs per MIDI channel,
– Added support for sending MIDI channel aftertouch and polyphonic aftertouch,
– MIDI instruments in Pattern mode can now be present without a note (specify which MIDI channel to send CC),
– MIDI delay compensation for external clock sources in Config,

Overall enhancements and workflow refinements:

– Tune step Fx,
– Track Arm Recording,
– Live Audio Line Input Monitoring is now available during song playback,
– Long Sample Importing,
– Lo-quality Importing (saves sample pool memory time),
– Delete unused samples,
– Timestretch Fx in Sample Editor,
– Bit depth available as step and Performance Fx’s,
– Transpose octaves by turning the Jog-wheel with Shift in note editing,
– Enhanced Pattern Fill command: Euclidean fills, density setting in Random fills,
– Rewritten from scratch rendering mechanism,

New sound sculpting possibilities:

– 5-band master EQ,
– Bass booster,
– Stereo enhancer,
– Updated Limiter with gain reduction meter,
– Line Input can now be a Sidechain source for the Limiter,

Onboard games are now available to catch a breather from a hard day of music-making.

– Polyend Tracker v1.3.0 firmware update is required to run the games,
– Download the games, unzip and copy the “Games” folder directly to the SD card root directory,
– Games will be accessible from the Files menu.
– Use the on/off button to exit a game.

Please save your active project before upgrading firmware.

Features:

– Added pattern Copy/Paste, Undo/Redo, Duplicate, Expand and Shrink actions from the Screen buttons level in the Pattern section
– Hold down the Pattern screen button in the Pattern mode to see the occupied patterns as lit up pads,
– Group step selecting and preview in the Pattern view is now available in the green mode,
– Mute labels in the Pattern view when Shift is pressed,
– Track renaming is now possible,

– Added automatic sample conversion algorithm in the Sample Loader.
– Confirmation popup for instrument replace & delete actions in the Sample Loader section,
– Completely rebuilt Sample Loader section,
– Implemented sample “de-clicking” algorithm.

– Added Overdrive real-time effect (both in Instrument Parameres and as a “D” Step Fx),
– Added EQ Fx in Sample Editor section,
– Added Overdrive Fx in Sample Editor section,
– Added Fade In/Out Fx functions in Sample Editor section,
– Added Normalizer Fx in the Sample Editor section got moved to the top of the list,
– New slower LFO speed values (all but Amp): 48, 64, 96, 128 were added,

– Added tempo tap function,
– Change the BPM value in decimal values (0.1) with the Shift key pressed,
– Press and hold the Tempo screen button to edit the BPM (this will prevent accidental tempo changes),
– In the Song mode, it’s now possible to switch between the Play Pattern and Play Song without stopping the sequence,
– Updated Song mode interface. A Green mode was added where the screen scrolls with the timeline and the Red mode for edition.

– Added playback mode icons in the sections top bars (headers),
– Implemented MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) which basically lets you browse the files and folders stored on your SD card from a computer level,
– Limit of 100 files per folder behaviour is changed. The Tracker will automatically divide folders carrying more than 100 files into subfolders.

– Added two new Master screens for per track, reverb & delay, dry mix volume levels with mute & solo in full range,
– Added ability to raise the volume above 0 dB using Gain, both for instruments and mixer,
– Track volume, Reverb and Delay Send Fx values are now displayed in dB,
– Master volume is now global, not per project,

– The notes/instruments used in the pattern sequences can be now visually displayed on the grid of pads (Config function),
– Sequence step enumeration is now available in decimal or hexadecimal values as a Config choice,
– Visual updates in the Config and introductory descriptions for the featured functions,
– New Config setting for Send Fx’s: Post-fader/Pre-fader selection,
– New Config setting for master Limiter Fx: Subtle/Hard selection,
– Added sample anti-aliasing on/off toggle switch in the Config,
– Firmware files are now being sorted by the version number,
– Added Reset Config function in the Firmware section,

– It’s now possible to play pads and use the sequencer over the MIDI output in the Sample Recorder section,
– New external MIDI recording options in Config – only notes/velocity/microtiming/velocity+microtiming,
– Start/Stop live recording without stopping the sequencer,

– Added new Custom Pattern Play mode with ten variations in the Performance section,
– Implemented Green/Red mode in the Performance section,

– High-quality Reverb is now implemented.

– Implemented sample anti-aliasing in all the play modes.

– Sequential/Immediate pattern change actions in the Performance mode unified with the Pattern mode.

– Fixed bug with notes skipping randomly.

– Adjusted precision of the limiter.

– Improved audio rendering and .it files export.

– Track number is now greyed out when muted.

– Increased resolution in the Granular play mode display.

– Added hold and preview for long samples in Sample Loader.

– General user interface and instrument stability improvements.

– Added metronome with a pre-roll function and a choice of time signatures.

– Press of a Play button in the Song mode will trigger the entire composition.

– General MIDI improvements incl. MIDI timecode and ext. clock optimisations.

– Use home in the Song mode for an immediate jump to the top of your composition.

– Fixed bug which was stopping voices when transitioning between Song and Instrument Parameters.

– Fixed bug monophonic step recording produces double notes.

– Fixed bug which froze the Tracker while selection rendering.

– Fixed bug when the step preview was not always working.

– Fixed bug with random audio output artifacts.

– General MIDI improvements and bug fixes.

– General performance improvements.

– Improved text input.

– Random shape S&H LFO type added.

– Normalizer fx added in the Sample Editor.

– Record chords in the horizontal selection.

– Song mode view is now indicating which tracks are muted.

– Improved MIDI instrument recording, editing, and previewing.

– Undo/Redo in pattern mode – undo key + left/right/jog-wheel.

– The Delete key sets the default values of the most available parameters.

– Correct patterns with different lengths in the Performance mode playback.

– Use pads playback in Sample Loader (from SD with base pitch only, from sample pool – pitched).

– Use Length and Step + left/right buttons to change the values with predefined values (1,2,4,8 etc).

– Sample load, delete, copy operations in the Sample Loader are now possible while the sequencer is running,