START WITH A SOUND.
SEE WHERE IT GOES.

01 · FIRST SOUND

Start playing

Open PolyRiffs as a standalone instrument, as a VST3 in your Mac host, or as an AUv3 instrument in an iPad host such as AUM. Start with a modest listening level.

1. Open Presets, select a saved preset, and hold Hold to Preview to audition it. Release to return to your previous patch.
2. Choose Load Preset to use it. Full preset loading replaces the live patch, snapshot bank, and song arrangement; save your current work first.
3. For host playback, enable Host Sync and start the host transport. In standalone, use PolyRiffs’ internal transport and tempo.
4. On the Performance tab, adjust the mixer levels and listen. Open Sound & Routing to explore the filters and amplitude/filter envelopes. The two sequencers and their assigned rhythm clocks can move at different rates.

AUM and Ableton control hosted audio/MIDI routing. Standalone uses its own device setup. MIDI sent to an external synth does not bring that synth’s audio back through PolyRiffs.

02 · DISCOVER + SAVE

Capture the good surprises

Set your randomization ranges on the Settings / Random Ranges page before exploring Patch Random. Those limits help guide the results.

On Presets, choose an Auto Capture limit and press Start Auto Capture. Completed whole-patch randomizations are saved as automatically named presets. Arming capture alone does not randomize or save a patch. Stop capture when you have enough ideas, then audition and star your favorites.

Preserve Random Mods controls whether randomization routes remain enabled in captured presets. It does not change the live modulation matrix. Auto Capture saves parameter presets, not audio recordings.

03 · KEEP YOUR FAVORITES

Your favorite patches become named snapshots

1. On Presets, select a saved preset without loading it.
2. Choose Load into Snapshot and a slot from 1–32. Confirm before replacing an occupied slot.
3. Return to Performance and recall that slot. It inherits the source preset’s name while the button stays numbered.
4. On iPad, tap to recall and press-and-hold to save current edits to a slot. On Mac, click to recall and Shift-click to save.
5. Save the enclosing preset, song, or host session to retain your assembled bank.

Load into Snapshot keeps the other slots and the song arrangement. Full Load Preset replaces the bank and song. Snapshot slots are embedded in saved containers, not separate preset files.

04 · COMPOSE + PERFORM

Arrange the variations

Open Song, choose snapshots for the rows you want to use, and set how many bars each should play. Song Mode offers up to 16 rows and can loop the arrangement.

Song playback starts on the next measure. Use Stop Song to return to normal performance. Save the song or enclosing preset/session to preserve the arrangement and snapshot bank.

05 · MAC ↔ IPAD

Take your presets with you

1. Open Presets and use the row checkboxes to select the files you want. Selections span pages.
2. To export favorites, choose Favorites → Select All. The export button shows the checked count.
3. Choose Export ZIP for the selection, or Export Preset for one checked file. Save it somewhere accessible to the destination, such as iCloud Drive.
4. On the destination, open Presets → Import and select the ZIP or .prpreset file.
5. If a preset name already exists, choose Overwrite or Skip. Apply to all conflicts repeats your answer for the remaining conflicts in that import.

Names, creator, comments, collection, parameters, embedded snapshot banks and Favorite flags travel with the presets. Overwrite retains the existing local entry’s identity and restores the incoming Favorite status. Skip leaves the existing entry untouched. Import does not automatically load a preset into your current performance.

Export reads saved presets. Save live changes first if you want them included. Export/import is the transfer step between separate app and plugin libraries; opening the other version does not automatically synchronize them.

06 · HELP SHAPE THE RELEASE

Play it. Push it. Tell us.

Apply for the beta with your platform and host. Access and installation details follow by email. Windows support is planned; Windows applications register interest for future updates.

A useful bug report

Include the PolyRiffs version, device/OS, standalone or plugin, host/version, exact steps, what you expected and what happened. Add the relevant preset or a short recording when useful. Note whether it happens every time.

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