I am on the edge of pulling the trigger on a Play. But before I do, I would like to clear up a few more things:
I won’t be getting a Play+ because in its current state the synths and few other upgrades aren’t relevant for the way I make music.
I would like to know however, wether both devices will get equal firmware updates in the future regarding possible new features.
Besides the current new features on the Play+ due to the upgraded hardware ofcourse, which I assume will be expanded on in the future. (For example more synth engines, parameters, …)
Are there any new firmware features planned other than new synth engines, that won’t be compatible with the Play due to internal hardware limitations?
Reason being is that I don’t want to end up getting a Play, when there is a chance that there will be a significant firmware update which might only be supported on the Play+.
EDIT
Couple of additional questions:
Does the Play offer some kind of mixer view to set global levels per track?
I would be using the Play to sequence a couple of external synths, one of which is a dedicated kick drum designer.
I noticed that the Play has 2 different pages for muting tracks. One for its internal audio and one for its MIDI tracks.
For ease of use I would like to be able to mute the MIDI kick drum track at the same time with other drum parts sequenced on the Play itself.
Is it somehow possible to rearrange this track view, so that I have acces to both the MIDI kick drum and the rest of the sequences on the play on the same page? (Without having to switch back and forth between audio and MIDI patterns)
Is it possible to chain variations, as you would with patterns?
Hey @Loeter , welcome to backstage!
I’ll try to answer as many of your questions as possible:
Polyend has stated before that the Play+ does not mean the end of Play, so you can expect further Firmware Updates for it. As you said, obviously not all the new features will make it to the Play due to hardware limitations and at this point it is unknown what that will entail.
But what i am certain of… is if the hardware can handle it, Polyend will not gatekeep features from the old Play. For an overview what people are wishing for, check out the Play Wishlist.
Polyend hasn’t stated anything specific as of yet, so we don’t know.
Another thing to keep in mind for you. Getting a Play essentially gives you the ability to upgrade to the Play+ at a later time, if you feel like it. Polyend has stated that the Upgrade Path is not a timelimited offer.
It does not.
Currently it is not possible no. There is however a wish awaiting votes, that Polyend has approved, specifically for this.
Variations are not chainable no.
If you got anymore questions let us know. Maybe if you add or describe the context on how you are planning of using it, we can give you some more details.
No* when you create multiple variations and select play chain, it does not in the way you do patterns. However, if you play another variation, it will loop back to the first variation played.
To your overall question, Polyend as mentioned several times here, plans for future enhancements via firmware. Understandably, all details are not for us to find out before they happen. A rule of thumb for any piece of tech. Do not buy something based on the promise of a future enhancement. What are you needs today. Does said gear meet that? If so, pull the trigger. If not, stand down.
Awesome!
Would this allow me to map and control every single parameter of each of the different synths with a Midi controller? Or are there certain limitations of what can be translated through Midi CC?
One of the main reasons I’m not convinced to get the Play+ is because I like to tweak my synths very hands on.
Scrolling through menus in order to acces different parameters is not something I vibe with personally.
Edit
Also, one last thing came to mind.
If I would end up getting Play+, I would like to work with mono samples to prevent the memory filling up too quickly.
I have no idea however how my sample library is divided between mono and stereo samples.
If I want to make sure I upload only mono samples to the SD card, do I need to convert all my samples beforehand on my computer? Or is there some kind of workaround so the Play can convert everything to mono?
That is unclear as of now. Wishes are a way for Polyend to see what people want in their devices. How the implementation looks like, we do not know yet
That is something you can do with Synth Macros. Here’s a small outtake from the manual:
A synth patch has 6 macros that are configured for direct control of synth parameters by using these defined knobs.
The macro’s are something you can configure yourself and each macro can control multiple internal parameters. So that gives you quite a bit of flexibility.
One thing that i personally am missing is a bit more control for live performances across an entire song, which is why i created the following wish:
I’ll use this outtake from the manual:
Play+ will accept WAV samples in a variety of formats. The internal audio engine will operate with uncompressed 16bit stereo PCM Files at various sample rates. The conversion will be performed automatically to match the internal audio engine. The sample pool capacity will depend on the type
files stored but is typically 6 Mins with 16-Bit, 44.1kHz Mono WAV’s and 3 mins for Stereo. Lower sample rates will occupy less memory but will also have lower sound quality. A project holds a maximum of 255 samples.
So ideally you’ll have to prepare your samples externally, so that they are loaded the way you want them to.
