New Chance action to reverse sample playback

What is the problem?

On the Play, currently there is no intuitive and quick way to play a sample in reverse.

What do you want to achieve?

Play a sample backwards (e.g. the crash cymbal in reverse to add to a build-up pattern). Ideally the sample should be kept normal and play would play it backwards on a step basis, when flagged to do so.

Maybe the “reverse” playback option for the sample could be added as an additional option menu under the Chance/Action menu.

Are there any workarounds?

There is a supported process to reverse samples, but it’s a bit tedious. From the manual:

Reverse sample – Set the sample endpoint before its start point to reverse its playback.

It got a short video explaining how to do it:

Any links to related discussions?

Any references to other products?

Tracker has a much simpler and direct way to reverse a sample. When editing the sample, there is a “reverse” playback option. Given the Play does not have a sampler editor option, the reverse playback option could be added as part of a step and not a sample edit (destructive) option.

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@scerifforosso Welcome to Backstage and thank you very much for contributing to the community wishlist.

By deduction, you are referring to the Polyend Play, right? Let’s mention this somewhere explicity to avoid confusion.

Given the sample reverse playback is possible with the Play, what about this title:

Easier sample revers playback on the Play

Any suggestions about how users would set this flag?

It would be useful to explain how it is done on the Tracker.

Thanks for the suggestions, i’ve edited my post according to your tips!

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@scerifforosso I have quoted the manual and also made some cosmetic changes. What do you think?

Let’s wait a couple of days for any feedback. If there are no blockers, I will move this wish to the #wishlist.

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Hi @scerifforosso , do you expect this to also work as “chance” by percentage?

As an example:
Chance = 50%
Action = Reverse Sample

This would reverse half of the selected steps.

Thanks for your contribution :slight_smile:
Miro

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Hi @miro! I think this would work perfectly for the use case, since putting 100% will always reverse the sample in every step… and having the option as chance % would even enhance the creativity possibilities!

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OK. Thank you @scerifforosso
Just a quick note: this workflow doesn’t seem to be “easier” than the current implementation. You still have to select the steps and change two parameters to achieve the same result = reverse sample :wink: It’s just two different parameters: Chance+Action instead of Sample Start+End. Or am I missing something?

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indeed the number of “steps” is the same, yes, but the way it is today is much less intuitive. Also imagine that you have a 10 sec sample: currently to reverse it you need to select start point, and turn the selection knob all the way to the right multiple times to reach the 10 sec mark, then switch to the end sample setting and turn the selection knob all the way left until you reach 0 from the 10 seconds value… not as straightforward as a boolean value “fwd/rev” value selection in the chance function (or anywhere else you think it may be located, tho having this as an additional chance option seems a nice to have as well).

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In my opinion it is not “less intuitive” and for me personally turning Start/End points is faster than finding a specific option in the Chance/Action menu. Of course it will differ between users. But to “turn the selection knob all the way to the right” takes a blink of an eye: our knobs react very fast when turned faster. Try it.

I agree that “having this as an additional chance option” might be nice to have, but we will most likely have to prioritize this “wishlist” of nice to haves… according to votes :slight_smile:

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You are absolutely right: this differs between users. For example i find myself using the top left know more often then the single “touch reactive knob” (what’s its name?) since it’s way more precise for small increments, so getting used to use my left hand on that knob i find myself less comfortable to switch to the faster dedicated knob… again, it’s just habit of course. One question tho: if you add this into the Chance options keeping the start/end setting instead of creating a new one, would you still be able to randomize start and end points while keeping those reversed when chance is selected? In other words: would we then be able to randomize the end/start points of a reversed sample?

@scerifforosso You are only able to use one Chance action at a time. If the sample is reversed via Start/End parameters, you can still randomize those using the appropriate action. Anyway, I’ll approve this, and let’s put it to voting :slight_smile:

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I will rename the wish to “New Chance action to reverse sample playback” so it reflects better what was discussed.

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Just a thought but would one route around this be to have a folder with your sample both forwards and reversed, then use the random option for “sample in folder”?

That way you’d get the random reverse happening as you describe.

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this would be a workaround that also requires external editing, the feature request is to enable achieve the goal solely relying on the Play…

while it does seem like a useful feature, having this implemented also would allow having a chance for a sample reverse:

by making a variation with manually tweaked steps, including reverse and more.