Play Chain mode resets to Play mode and violates MIDI START rules on a Play using external MIDI clock and transport

Bug
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1

Bug Description

I am working on connecting a Tracker with a Play. The Tracker’s transport and clock are sent to the Play.

Play Chain mode is broken with regard to an external MIDI STOP in two ways.

  1. When receiving a MIDI STOP, Play Chain mode immediately reverts to standard Play mode! That is a serious error. This makes it impossible to restart a song remotely.

  2. When receiving a MIDI START, Play Chain mode does not start at the beginning of the song in Pattern Mode. Nor does it start where the musician had originally selected when MIDI START was received. Instead, it starts right where it had stopped. This is the worst of three options. This violates the MIDI Spec, which stipulates that MIDI START should be treated as a reset to the beginning of a song, as if receiving a MIDI SONG POINTER request of 0, and then a MIDI CONTINUE.

Proper behavior would be:

  1. When receiving a MIDI STOP, Play Chain stays as Play Chain mode.

  2. When receiving a MIDI START, Play Chain would reset to the first pattern in the song and start playing from there. This is the best option, but if Polyend wanted to be consistent with manually pressing Shift-Play under internal clock, an alternative would be to reset to the pattern button last selected by the musician. In either case, MIDI START should cause the Play to reset to the same location each time.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Attach a Tracker MIDI Out to a Play MIDI IN.
  2. Set the Tracker Transport and Clock OUT to MIDI OUT and the Play Transport and Clock IN to MIDI IN. Set the Tracker Transport and Clock IN to INTERNAL.
  3. Set up a song on both. The song on the Play should involve multiple patterns in sequence.
  4. Go to Pattern Mode on the Play.
  5. Select a start pattern for the song on the Play.
  6. Select SHIFT+PLAY on the Play.
  7. Press Play on the Tracker. The song will play on the Play.
  8. Press Play on the Tracker again to stop it. You should do this at some pattern not the start pattern nor pattern 0.
  9. Press Play on the Tracker a third time.
  10. Note that the Play begins playing at the pattern where it had just ended, rather than (as would be proper) at pattern 0 or at the pattern you had originally selected.
  11. Also note that the Play is no longer in PLAY CHAIN mode.

Occurrence / Frequency

Always

Found in Firmware

  • Version: 1.6.0
  • Build: 1928

Attachments

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Hi @sean-3086 Thank you for reporting this bug. We will do our best to resolve it and notify you when it’s ready. :slight_smile: