The number of different timbres (instruments) a synthesizer can play at a time. Some synthesizers are polyphonic but only monotimbral - ie they can play several sounds but only in the same instrument....
Electrocomp 500
The Electrocomp 500 is a 2-VCO, monophonic, analog synthesizer with a 3 1/2-octave,
44-note (F-C) keyboard. It was designed to compete with the Minimoog and the ARP
Odyssey. The 500 is more of a keyboard instrument, as opposed to its predesessor, the
semi-modular 101, using switches and sliders as opposed to knobs and patch cords. Its
voice structure is basically a simplified 101 design, with VCO1 outputting only a
sawtooth or square wave. The 500 features a resonant multimode VCF (switchable
between low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass) a single ADS envelope generator,
sample-and-hold, ring modulation, a mic preamp, noise, and an LFO (with six available
waveforms). The back panel featured both hi and low outputs, as well as a headphone
jack, a pitch selector (switching between one octave above or one octave below
normal), sustain pedal input, and interface connections (S1 and S2 sockets).