Polyend Q1 News
Synth, Tracker, and Play Updates
The next Play/Play+ beta will merge the finger drumming and MIDI Perform mode features. This update has taken longer than expected as the finger drumming and MIDI perform touch on almost every area of operation in the Play, so making sure these features work as expected is the focus of the next beta. We should have the next beta ready in the next two weeks. I can’t promise that, but I want to give more of an estimate than “soon”. The beta also brings in several other bug fixes for Play.
Trackers will see another beta firmware shortly after the Play+ update, combining USB sampling with a refined version of (T mini) note entry mode.
Lastly, Synth 1.2 firmware is in open beta testing right now.
Step Release
We were excited to release Step—a drum machine in pedal form—last month. The Step is designed as a stomp-controlled drum machine and accompaniment to live instruments instead of a full groove box. Its functionality is similar to Play’s in many ways, and it won’t take away support from other devices.
Polyend is excited to continue developing new products and supporting existing devices in the pedal market.
Voter Forum
We are going to restructure how we work the voter forum. First, we have increased everyone’s vote count to 15 votes!
Next, we will approve all wishes (that are not duplicates), and the moderator team will continue to moderate them to ensure they are in the proper format. The development team will no longer review or approve wishes but may decline them if they are not technically feasible or do not fit the product’s vision. Please do not write a new request if you made one that is in draft wishes; allow about a week to implement all these changes.
We will move current “draft wishes” to the wishlist as long as they aren’t duplicates and remove the “draft wishes” category. You will be able to draft and vote for wishes under “feature requests”. I’ll comment here when this changeover has been completed.
Since all requests will be automatically approved for voting, please draft proper feature requests and use the appropriate wish format. A clearly explained and titled wish is more likely to get votes!
Last year, a lot of developer time was spent debating 1. If a wish was technically feasible, and 2. if a wish was within the scope of development. These changes have been made to optimize our development team’s time and focus more on getting the updates out.
In line with these changes, we are changing the name of the “Wishlist” to “Feature Requests.” The voter forum is very helpful in determining what the dev team might choose to implement next, but a feature request having a high number of votes does not guarantee it will be added to the product.
In Summary:
- The number of feature request votes is increased to 15
- We will remove the Draft Wishes category completely
- Wishes will always be immediately votable
- Moderators still ensure that wishes are well formed and/or remove duplications
- If a wish receives at least 20 votes, a technical feasibility review may be conducted.
- Although immediately approved for voting, feature requests may still be declined due to technical limitations or if the request doesn’t fit the vision of the product.
Note: We updated our community guidelines with the following rule: Attempting to manipulate the voter forum by creating alternate accounts or other means is strictly prohibited and will result in suspension from the forum.
Open Betas To Continue
The open beta trial has been positive, and we will continue to keep our beta firmware open. Find the list of active open beta firmware here.
This Year’s Events and Where To Find Us
Buchla and Friends - Los Angeles. This one already happened in January, but I wanted to mention it as I really enjoyed it. Much busier than I expected, and next year, I think we’ll have a bigger crew. If you are considering making this part of your NAMM itinerary, I would highly recommend it. Only positive experiences, and thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hello.
Superbooth - Berlin, May 8-10. If you don’t know Superbooth - It is everyone’s favorite “synth” event, or at least mine. We’re excited to be there, hanging out in our usual spot in the Gym.
Guitar Summit - Mannheim, DE. September 8-10. Our first time doing a guitar-focused show. It should be fun!
Polyend turns 10 years old this year, so we hope to do something special to celebrate this milestone as well! Stay tuned for more events and updates soon.
Feature requests for new products need more time to get those 20 votes for the reasons you explain, but… At the same time, because they are new products, it is also easier to get a wave of new requests, a percentage of them are related to that newness of the product, and are likely to fade away as new users get familiar with new devices and start getting into their uses and routines.