Audio Modeling PolySWAM Makes SWAM Modeling Polyphonic
Audio Modeling PolySWAM brings SWAM-style physical modeling to polyphonic ensembles. Preorder $279 / €279 from $399 MSRP, desktop beta, mid-September 2026.
Audio Modeling opened PolySWAM for preorder on 13 August 2026. It is a new polyphonic instrument built on SWAM physical modeling, aimed at orchestral sketching and live ensembles rather than one expressive solo line. Preorder at Audio Modeling is $279 / €279, against a $399 / €399 MSRP. The desktop public beta is already running on macOS and Windows, and release lands mid-September 2026. This is a first look ahead of hands-on time. We have not used it in a session.
At a glance: $279 / €279 preorder against a $399 / €399 MSRP, held until official release. Mid-September 2026 launch. Desktop only for now, with iOS coming later. Not a sampler. Buy it from Audio Modeling.
What PolySWAM is, and what it is not
SWAM instruments have stayed monophonic on purpose. Audio Modeling's reasoning is that realism and expressive control came first, and stacking voices the usual way would have broken that bargain. PolySWAM is a separate instrument, not a polyphonic switch added to an existing solo. It keeps the SWAM idea — calculate physical behavior in real time instead of firing recordings — and adds voice allocation so chords and sections can move like a group of players.
The workflow follows from that. You are not loading a multi-gig orchestra and keyswitching through articulations. You pick a preset, play, and the instrument assigns voices to virtual players. Legato, staccato, and portamento sit in the playing, not in a keyswitch list. Emanuele Ruffinengo, a Latin GRAMMY-winning producer and arranger, developed the approach with Audio Modeling.
It sits next to two familiar tools and is neither of them. Pianoteq 9 is physical modeling for piano and related keys. BBC Symphony Orchestra is a sampled orchestra with a real disk budget. PolySWAM wants the job in between: acoustic color under your fingers while you sketch, plus ensembles you can take on stage without a sample-library template.
How the polyphonic SWAM idea works
Not a sampler
PolySWAM does not trigger static recordings. The engine calculates physical behavior as you play, which is why Audio Modeling keeps using the phrase plug-and-play. Articulations are built into the response. You are not hunting a folder of longs, shorts, and swells to mock up a cue.
The trade is the usual modeling trade: you get continuous control and a small, living instrument. You do not get the locked-in hall, mic positions, and section noise of a library like Hollywood Orchestra Opus. If your mockups live or die on a specific recorded room, stay with samples.
Voice allocation and polyphonic gestures
The new work is the voicing. Proprietary allocation assigns notes to individual virtual players, and transitions react to how you move between notes and chords. Audio Modeling's claim is that legato, staccato, and realistic portamento fall out of that allocation instead of sitting on a separate switch.
That matters for two jobs. In a sketch, a held chord can feel like a section instead of a stacked synth pad. Live, you can play an arrangement without pre-baking every line into clips. It will still take practice. The official knowledge base treats voicing, playing techniques, and presets as things you learn, not a one-knob orchestra.
Presets for sketching and the stage
The published use cases are specific. Intimate chamber layers. Symphonic stacks. Punchy brass. Funk big band. Cinematic combinations. The point is to stop parking a generic piano under a cue because the real colors take too long to load.
Live, the same preset library is what you play from. SWAM solo instruments already have a following for saxophone, violin, and woodwind on stage, and PolySWAM is the ensemble version of that idea: dynamic groups that respond as you play, not a backing track.
Public beta, then the mid-September release
The public beta is a desktop program for macOS and Windows. Testers install a dedicated beta build of the Audio Modeling Software Center, then download and activate PolySWAM from there. The current focus is host compatibility, stability, and performance. The beta ships a reduced preset library on purpose, so testers stay on the mechanics, and that library expands in later updates.
Preorder customers can join that beta and start working before release. Audio Modeling is blunt about the state of the build: features, presets, behavior, compatibility, and performance can change, and beta sessions are not guaranteed to open cleanly in the final version. If you preorder to write a score this week, treat the beta as a technical preview.
PolySWAM specifications
| Spec | Official detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Audio Modeling |
| Product | PolySWAM |
| Type | Polyphonic physical-modeling instrument (not a sampler) |
| Engine | SWAM-based modeling with proprietary voice allocation |
| Developed with | Emanuele Ruffinengo |
| Platforms (current) | Desktop macOS and Windows |
| Mac | Apple Silicon required. Intel is not supported. M1 minimum, M3 recommended |
| Windows | High-performance CPU, in the same class as Apple Silicon |
| Mobile | iOS / iPadOS later. Not in the current beta or desktop preorder |
| Delivery | Audio Modeling Software Center (dedicated beta build for testers) |
| Beta focus | Host compatibility, stability, performance. Reduced preset library |
| Preorder | $279 / €279 |
| MSRP | $399 / €399 |
| Offer window | Until official release. Lowest guaranteed 2026 price. Not in the 2026 Black Friday promotion |
| Release | Mid-September 2026 |
| Buy | Audio Modeling |
PolySWAM vs SWAM Solo Strings vs BBCSO
PolySWAM is new, so the honest comparisons are the rest of Audio Modeling's catalog and the sampled orchestra you would otherwise sketch into. Prices in the last two columns come from those plugin cards.
| PolySWAM | SWAM Solo Strings bundle | BBCSO Core | Pianoteq 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Polyphonic modeled ensembles | Expressive monophonic solos | Sampled symphony orchestra | Modeled piano / keys |
| Street / list | $279 preorder / $399 | $339 / €339 at Audio Modeling | £399 on our BBCSO card | €139–€399 on our Pianoteq 9 card |
| Engine | Physical modeling + voice allocation | Physical modeling, one line per instance | Recorded BBC Symphony Orchestra | Physical modeling |
| Polyphony | Built for chords and sections | Monophonic by design | Sampled section sizes | Keyboard polyphony |
| Disk / load | Desktop modeled instrument | Same ecosystem, small installs | About 28 GB for Core | About 50 MB class |
| Best for | Fast acoustic sketches and live groups | A violin, viola, cello, or bass that plays | Finished orchestral mockups | Playable piano without a huge library |
Which to pick. Choose PolySWAM when the first move is a chord or a section and you want SWAM-style response under it. Choose the SWAM Solo Strings bundle when the line is a single player and you already know how to drive a monophonic SWAM instrument. Choose BBCSO when the cue has to sound like a recorded orchestra with mics and a hall. Choose Pianoteq when the sketching instrument is a piano, not a winds-and-strings ensemble.
If you want a host that voices one keyboard performance across many plugins you already own, that is a different product: Forma Labs Filament. Filament does not model the instruments. It routes them. The rest of the modeled-instrument field sits on our best physical modeling instruments hub.
A single SWAM Violin is $99 in Audio Modeling's current catalog. String Sections are $499. The Orchestra bundle, which covers all solo instruments plus sections, is $1,699. PolySWAM's $399 MSRP therefore sits near a solo-strings bundle, not near a full sampled orchestra.
Who PolySWAM is for
Consider it if you write to picture or to a DAW piano and you want acoustic color in the first pass. The official brief is "no more generic drafts."
Consider it if you already play SWAM solos live and you want sections that respond the same way. Plug-and-play presets are the live argument, and there is no template to load first.
Consider it if you will run the public beta on a recent Apple Silicon Mac or a similarly strong Windows machine and you can live with a changing preset library until mid-September.
Skip it if you are on an Intel Mac. The beta requires Apple Silicon, with M1 as the floor and M3 as the recommendation.
Skip it if you need iOS now. The current preorder covers the desktop version only, and the iOS build is still being finished.
Skip it if your mockups need a specific recorded room, mic tree, and section noise. Buy a sampled library instead, because PolySWAM is a modeled instrument rather than a replacement for BBCSO or Hollywood Orchestra.
Skip it if you expected this to be a polyphonic mode inside an existing SWAM solo. It is a new instrument.
How much PolySWAM costs
$279 / €279 on preorder at Audio Modeling, then $399 / €399 after release. Audio Modeling is holding the preorder price until the official launch and calling it the lowest guaranteed price for PolySWAM in 2026. It will not be in the 2026 Black Friday promotion, so waiting for November does not save money here.
That desktop preorder does not include iOS. Buy it from Audio Modeling. The plugin card lives at /plugins/audio-modeling-polyswam.
FAQ
Is PolySWAM a sampler?
No. It calculates physical behavior in real time and assigns voices to virtual players. There is no sample-triggering workflow in the official description.
When does PolySWAM release?
Mid-September 2026. Preorders are open now, and the public beta is already available for desktop testers.
Does the preorder include iOS?
No. The current preorder is the desktop version, and the iOS build is still in testing.
Can I try it before release?
Yes. The public beta is open, and preorder customers can join it. Install the beta Software Center, then download PolySWAM from there. Treat the build as unfinished.
What are the system requirements?
Desktop only in this phase. Macs need Apple Silicon, with M1 the minimum and M3 the recommendation, and Intel Macs are not supported. Windows needs a high-performance CPU in that same class. Physical modeling plus multi-voice allocation is the reason.
PolySWAM vs a SWAM solo instrument?
A SWAM solo is one expressive player. PolySWAM is the polyphonic instrument Audio Modeling built so chords and ensembles can use the same modeling idea. If you write single lines, stay with the solos; if you think in sections, this is the new instrument.
The bottom line
PolySWAM is Audio Modeling's first polyphonic SWAM instrument: modeled ensembles for sketching and the stage, not another sample library. $279 / €279 is the preorder and $399 / €399 is the MSRP. Desktop beta now, mid-September release, iOS later.
This is a first look, not a scored review. We have not voiced a cue or taken it to a gig. If you already live in SWAM and you want chords, the preorder is the lowest price it carries this year. If you need a recorded orchestra, keep the library. The live storefront is audiomodeling.com/polyswam.
