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Appendix: Parameter Reference

This appendix is the single-source lookup for every parameter in Poly. Parameters are grouped by category; internal parameter IDs are listed where applicable for preset authors and automation mapping.

Each of the 8 lanes exposes the following parameters. Lane-scoped parameter IDs are computed as lane * 16 + offset (expression parameters) and 800 + lane * 10 + offset (core parameters).

Parameter ID Offset Range Default Description
Steps core 0 1 - 64 4 Cycle length in steps
Subdivision core 1 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 4 (1/4 note) Step grid resolution: 1=whole, 2=half, 4=quarter, 8=eighth, 16=sixteenth
Hits core 2 0 - 64 4 Number of active hits per cycle (Euclidean distribution)
Rotation core 3 0 - 63 0 Pattern rotation offset
MIDI Note core 4 0 - 127 36 GM drum note assignment
Cell Count core 5 0 - 64 0 0 = standard Euclidean; >0 = additive cell mode (aksak)
Timeline core 6 Off / On Off Use fixed pattern instead of Euclidean distribution
Pattern Length core 7 0 - 64 0 0 = use Steps value; >0 = explicit timeline length
Tempo Mult core 8 0.25x - 4.0x 1x Per-lane tempo scaling (Nancarrow-style)
MIDI Channel core 9 -1 to 15 Auto -1 = lane index as channel; 0–15 = explicit MIDI channel
Fill Every N core 10 0 - 64 0
Seed Lock core 11 Off / On Off
Kotekan Mode core 12 nyog cag / telu / empat
Kotekan Overlap core 13 0 - 64 0
Parameter ID Offset Range Default Description
Probability 0 0.0 - 1.0 100% Chance each note triggers per cycle
Base Velocity 1 0 - 127 100 Default MIDI velocity
Emphasis 2 0.0 - 1.0 50% Probability of accented hits
Ghost Floor 3 0 - 127 30 Minimum velocity for ghost notes
Spread 4 0.0 - 1.0 5% Random velocity variation around base velocity
Swing 5 0.0 - 1.0 0% Swing feel (delays alternate steps)
Humanize 6 0 - 50 0 Random timing jitter per note
Duration 7 0 - 4 0 MIDI note-off duration in beats
Active 8 Off / On On Enable or disable the lane
Phrase Len 9 0 - 64 0 Phrase gating period in beats; 0 = no gating
Phrase Gap 10 0 - 64 0 Silence between phrases in beats
Phrase Offset 11 0 - 64 0 Phase offset for this lane’s phrase cycle in beats
Mutation 12 0.0 - 1.0 0% Per-step random pattern variation each cycle
Drift Rate 13 -4.0 to +4.0 steps/bar 0 Phase drift speed (Reich phasing)
Timing Offset 14 -20 to +20 ms 0 Fixed per-lane timing offset (positive = late)
Kotekan Source 15 -1 to 7 Independent -1 = independent; 0–7 = complement source lane

Additive / Timeline (state-only, not VST3 parameters)

Section titled “Additive / Timeline (state-only, not VST3 parameters)”

The Cell Count, Timeline, and Fixed Pattern Length params live in the Core table above. The two entries here are state-only fields (not exposed as VST3 params) that supplement them.

Parameter Range Default Description
Cell Sizes Array of ints [] Subdivision units per cell (e.g., [2,2,3] for 7/8)
Fixed Pattern Array of booleans [] Per-step on/off for timeline mode
Parameter Range Default Description
Syncopation Offset 0.0–1.0 0.0 Push strong-beat steps late
Micro-Timing -20 to +20ms per step 0ms Per-step timing offset array

Each lane supports up to 4 envelope assignments (kMaxEnvelopesPerLane = 4). Envelopes modulate lane parameters over time, phase-locked to transport position.

Parameter Range Default Description
Target Velocity, Density, Probability, AccentBias, NoteLength, TimingLooseness, ActivationWeight, FillLikelihood Velocity Which parameter the envelope modulates
Shape Ramp, Sine, Triangle, Curve, StepList Sine Envelope waveform
Depth 0–100% 100% Modulation depth
Period 0.25–64 bars 4 bars Envelope cycle length in bars
Phase Offset 0–100% 0% Initial phase offset
Curvature -1.0 to 1.0 0.0 Shape curvature bias (Curve shape only)
Step Values Array of floats (max 16) [] Per-step levels (StepList shape only)
Active On / Off On Enable or disable this envelope slot

Macros apply broad-stroke adjustments across all lanes simultaneously.

Parameter ID Range Default Description
Complexity 200 0–100% 50% Rhythmic intricacy across all lanes
Density 201 0–100% 50% Active hit count per cycle
Syncopation 202 0–100% 0% Emphasis shift away from strong beats
Swing 203 0–100% 0% Global swing feel
Tension 204 0–100% 0% Rhythmic unpredictability and conflict
Humanize 205 0–100% 0% Global timing and velocity imperfections
Parameter ID Range Default Description
Scene Select 500 A / B / Morph A Active scene (3-way: 0=A, 1=B, 2=Morph)
Morph Amount 501 0–100% 0% Blend between Scene A and Scene B
Parameter ID Range Default Description
Chain Enable 510 On / Off Off Activate automated scene sequencing
Chain Mode 511 OneShot / Loop / PingPong OneShot Behavior at end of sequence
Chain Length 512 1–16 1 Number of entries in the chain
Entry N Scene 520 + N*2 A / B / Morph A Scene for entry N
Entry N Bars 521 + N*2 1–32 4 Duration of entry N in bars
Parameter ID Range Default Description
Active Lane Count 300 1–8 4 Number of active lanes
Seed 301 0–999999 0 Random seed for pattern generation
Selected Lane 700 0–7 0 Currently selected lane in the UI
Parameter ID Range Description
Export Trigger 600 Button Initiates capture-to-file
Capture Length 601 1–32 bars History window for export
Capture Ready 602 Read-only Indicates export buffer is complete
Capture Event Count 603 Read-only Number of events in the capture buffer

These parameters are written by the engine for UI display; they are not user-editable.

Parameter ID Description
Velocity Output (per lane) 400–407 Last-triggered velocity for lane 0–7
Lane Phase Output (per lane) 420–427 Current cycle phase for lane 0–7
Envelope Value Output (per lane) 430–437 Current envelope modulation value for lane 0–7
Phrase Phase Output (per lane) 440–447 Current phrase cycle phase for lane 0–7
Transport PPQ 450 Current transport position in PPQ

The Note Map is a 128-entry remapping grid at the scene level. Each MIDI note (0–127) maps to a destination note. Default: identity mapping (note N maps to note N). Applied globally to all lane output after channel assignment.


For the musical context and application of each parameter, see the relevant chapters. For factory preset configurations, see the Preset Reference appendix.

Preview audio uses CC0 and CC-BY drum samples. Every sample is credited on theCredits & Licenses page.