From what I understand of my Play, all samples are treated as simple one-shots. A sample plays from start to end and that’s it. There is no support for sample looping even if the sample has loop points defined.
The Tracker series supports sample looping and came before the Play. From a programming perspective, playing a sample back with a looped tail does not require any significant increase in CPU utilization. It’s just extra playback position pointer manipulation and that’s all integer processing which is lightweight. So why doesn’t the Play/Play+ support looped samples? That would be a huge upgrade, allowing Play users to get far more versatility out of shorter looped samples and even single-cycle waves.
I’m kind of amazed that I can’t find any discussion on this already which makes me think I’m missing something. Am I?
IIRC I opened up a ticket wishlist (under another alias)… and the answer was it didn’t fit with the instrument direction…
On the + modules single cycle samples aren’t as attractive as you have synths with waveform generation.
I guess the limited sample/file number might be a factor, rendering folders with 100s of single cycles samples unpractical…
I use small loops often as groove/sound design fx … but I guess one could set up a separate sequence in a desired resolution and retrigger and AD envelope becomes like crossfading…
Im kind of hoping that PE just realese a hybird of the Play with the Tracker Sampler with modelled filters and envelopes at this point with solid OS …
That was a strange decision IMO. It’s a relatively simple change from one-shot playback and it’s been employed, in likely the majority of sample playback synths, for decades. It would have made a big difference in the flexibility of the Play.
The exception to this is drum machines that have no need of sustained notes. The Play though was never supposed to be just a drum machine.
Clearly they could have done it even on the original Play. As you pointed out, the existence of Synths on the Play+ make this less consequential. For the original Play though the only way to get sustained tones is by importing LONG samples into an already limited sample pool.
I guess it all comes down to product differentiation. They don’t want the Play to cannibalize the Tracker market but that seems unlikely in any case. They are two completely different workflows for different customers.
The Play is still a great machine but it could have been that much better with even basic support for sustained notes through sample looping.
Agreed. Simply supporting pre-looped samples is what I was asking about. Adding all the code and UI elements to allow looping user samples is much more of an undertaking as you note. That’s the kind of support expected in a full sampler.
My understanding is that sample looping is problematical when a large range of pitches are made by a single sample at different playback speeds. I have one device that does play loops, but for a range of pitches you need a set of samples at different pitches each with their own loop points defined to make it work well, and even then it doesn’t always work. I have tried making looping presets for this device (it’s not supported by the manufacturer), because I’m like that - but when they don’t work well I blame myself. I suspect others might unfairly blame the system. (Even some of their own stock presets are not good.)
I’m not convinced that samples available that include loop points would actually work well on the Synth. Some may, but there’s no guarantee of that, I think.
Since Polyend have said they won’t do it anyway it’s all moot.
That’s a problem regardless of looping. Stretching the pitch of a sample, looped or not, begins to sound unnatural rather quickly, especially when pitching up. That’s the reason huge multi-samples exist. Looped samples would have the same range limitations that un-looped samples do on the Play.
IMO, Polyend could make the pairing of the Tracker and Play an even stronger purchase if the Tracker could edit and export looped samples that the Play could consume and use.
I was referring only to the moment when the playback goes back to the loop start point and the glitches that can appear especially when the pitch is not the root. The other issues I take for granted. But as I said, it’s all moot.