What is "Human Touch" and how does it work?

With PolySWAM you have an entire ensemble under your fingertips. Human Touch lets you decide how precise, or how intentionally imprecise, the performance of that ensemble is: from a perfectly tight, razor-sharp section to a natural group of individual players.

You find the HUMAN TOUCH group in the Conductor, at the bottom of the screen (collapsed layout). It has two knobs:

• Pitch: the intonation of the players. At minimum, all the instruments are perfectly in tune, with the tuning set by Master Tune (MORE → TUNING). As you raise the knob, each instrument moves slightly away from the reference pitch, some a little flat and some a little sharp, as in a real section. The readout below the knob shows the deviation in cents (+/- N c).
• Time: the synchronization of the players. At minimum, the instruments play together. As you raise the knob, the instruments start their notes with small random delays, even when you press the keys at exactly the same time. The readout below the knob shows the range of the delays in milliseconds.

Both knobs can be assigned to hardware controllers in the MIDI Controller Mapping (default: CC 21 for Pitch, CC 22 for Time), so you can change the character of the ensemble in real time while you play.

Deep dive: how Time works

Time uses a stochastic (probabilistic) algorithm: every instrument receives its own independent delay, so the ensemble sounds like a group of real players and not like a rigid layer of identical engines. The algorithm is designed to keep your timing intact:

• The first note is always on time. The first note of a chord or of a phrase that PolySWAM detects is always played with no added delay. The random delays apply only to the other notes, so your rhythm and your groove are preserved.
• Note durations are preserved. The release of each note receives the same delay as its attack, so every note keeps the length that you played.
• Legato lines stay connected. When an instrument plays legato, it keeps the same delay from note to note, so the transitions stay smooth. A new delay is chosen only when the instrument starts a new, detached note.
• Each preset has its own range. The sound designer sets the typical delays for each ensemble. The Time knob scales this range up or down: the default value gives the range chosen by the sound designer.

The parameter Random Spread (MORE → ADVANCED) changes how the random delays are distributed inside this range.

Individual expression response

There is one more layer of realism, which is built into every preset. The sound designer gives each instrument of the ensemble its own, slightly different response to Expression. When you move your Expression pedal or wheel, the virtual players do not respond in a perfectly synchronized, robotic way: each one reacts with its own small nuances, like the independent bowing or breath of the players of a real section.

The individual expression response is part of the preset and is always active. It does not depend on the HUMAN TOUCH knobs, which act only on intonation (Pitch) and timing (Time).

In summary

Human Touch, together with the individual expression response of each preset, turns your polyphonic input into a living performance. Keep Pitch and Time low for a tight, precise ensemble, or raise them for a bigger, more natural and beautifully imperfect section, and change them in real time with your controllers.