What are the differences between PolySWAM and standard SWAM instruments?

Modified on Thu, 9 Jul at 2:10 PM

Understanding how PolySWAM differs from standard solo SWAM instruments or SWAM String Sections helps you choose the right tool for your specific musical task. While both are built on Audio Modeling’s powerful physical modeling technology, they serve completely different workflows.

Here is a side-by-side breakdown of the core differences:

Feature	Standard SWAM Instruments	PolySWAM Ensembles
Performance Mode	Strictly Monophonic (Solo instruments) or Section Polyphony (arranged specifically for divisi string sections).	True Polyphonic Ensembles (Allows playing full multi-instrument orchestral arrangements with chords).
Primary Focus	Deep, note-by-note realistic solo expression, articulation tweaking, and fine-grained phrasing control.	Fast-paced creative workflow, orchestral sketching, intuitive layout management, and real-time live performance.
Voice Allocation	One note triggers one physical engine modeling a single acoustic player.	Advanced internal algorithms dynamically distribute your polyphonic chord notes across multiple distinct instruments.
Control Layout	Independent, hyper-detailed control over every physical parameter of that single solo instrument (e.g., bow pressure, breath control).	Unified global control via the Conductor section, using macros to affect the behavior, response, and humanization of the entire ensemble at once.
Audio Routing	Individual discrete mono/stereo audio tracks in your DAW for each instrument instance.	A single, unified stereo master track presenting a cohesive virtual room where all instruments are positioned in a 3D soundstage.
Keyboards & Ranges	Plays the exact natural register of the emulated physical instrument.	Preset-Driven Ranges: Layering, instrumentation, and split zones are intelligently pre-configured within the factory preset architecture (with upcoming features letting you fine-tune these ranges within specified instrument boundaries).

How to Choose Between Them

Choose Standard SWAM Solo/Sections if: You are producing a final arrangement where you need to carefully detail every individual solo part (e.g., a solo violin line, a specific flute melody), adjust precise note-by-note articulations via keyswitches, or mix every instrument into its own track in your DAW.
Choose PolySWAM if: You want to play a full orchestral section or complex arrangement live using a single controller, write immediate sketches without getting bogged down by technical adjustments, or have the software intelligently distribute your performance across an entire ensemble on the fly.