Poly Clocks

Poly Clocks (VST3, CLAP, AUv2)

Poly Clocks is a polyphonic MIDI arpeggiator and generator built around a wall of clock faces, where each hand spins at its own rate and fires a note when it completes a lap or crosses a pulse marker.

Instead of a fixed step grid, rhythm comes from motion. Up to 36 clocks share a transport cycle from 1 to 16 bars, while Spread sets how far their lap speeds diverge — from tight unison to a fan of independent tempos. Phase Offset staggers each face around the dial, Start Random morphs each hand’s origin, and Pulses places 1 to 12 equal-spaced hit markers on every face so a single lap can trigger multiple notes. Quantize locks wraps to None, 1/16, 1/8, or 1/4 so the hand stays musically aligned; Human adds post-grid timing looseness without breaking the continuous motion, and bipolar Swing with selectable resolution warps the musical playhead for shuffle or negative swing.

Mode switches between Arpeggiator and Generator. In Arpeggiator mode, held MIDI notes become the chord tones each clock fires, with register anchored to the lowest held note so nothing sounds below what you are holding. With the DAW transport stopped, held notes still run on a tempo-emulated playhead for free-run auditioning. Generator mode runs on built-in chord tones without live input, for standalone pattern audition and generative clouds. Shared Duration and Velocity shape every hit, while live note labels, hit flares, and expanding tick rings show exactly which face just fired.

Browse 32 preset states from Init Clocks, Held Lattice, and Dense Wall to Pulse Duo, Phase Stair, Generator Choir, Arcade 24, and Polyclock Max. Dice buttons randomize clock count or re-roll per-face origin seeds, with quick sets for 24 and 36 faces when you want a full wall.

Use it for polymetric chord pulses, phase-staggered arpeggios, multi-pulse dial figures, humanized shuffle grooves, generative clock clouds, and performance MIDI driven by spinning hands rather than manually drawn steps.

Beta Offer:

A limited beta-period discount is currently available.

Highlights:

- Polyphonic clock-hand MIDI engine with up to 36 simultaneous faces

- Spread, Phase Offset, and Start Random for speed and phase divergence

- Pulses from 1 to 12 hit markers per lap; cycle length 1–16 bars

- Quantize (None / 1/16 / 1/8 / 1/4), Human, and bipolar Swing with resolution control

- Modes: Arpeggiator (held MIDI) and Generator (built-in chord tones)

- Shared Duration and Velocity with live note labels and hit-flare feedback

- 32 preset states plus dice and 24/36 quick-set for fast experimentation

Formats:

VST3 / CLAP / AUv2

Compatibility:

macOS 14 or later

Windows 11 or later

For problems, questions, or feature requests:

leestrument@gmail.com