- No time-stretching — Could a manager be created within the Sample menu, with time-stretching handled there?
- More precise sample start/end editing — 1024-step resolution instead of 0.2%. (When working with loops, it is difficult to find the exact attack point of a drum hit.)
- Sample cropping function — This would work well in combination with the 1024-step resolution. Again, this could be included in the Sample Manager if one is added.
- Isomorphic keyboard — This would improve chord playing and melody input.
- Note Repeat issue on the Perc synth — When Note Repeat is applied, I expected it to affect only the selected instrument, but other instruments that sound simultaneously are also repeated. (For example, if Note Repeat is applied to a hi-hat, even when the tracks are separated, the snare also gets repeated/flammed.)
- Adding Drive to VAP and Chorus to ACD would go a long way toward covering the Juno sound. A stereo chorus would be especially useful. Since the Juno and ACD have very similar oscillator configurations, it feels like a missed opportunity.
- Mute/Solo control via an external controller — At least basic mute and solo functions should be controllable externally. Since audio tracks and synth/MIDI tracks are separated, it is currently impossible to control both mute and solo simultaneously during a live performance.
- No resampling / no USB audio recording — Perhaps this could be worked around by adding a crop function, allowing the user to mix down and then crop the resulting sample.
- Recording external inputs — This would require a hardware upgrade, since there are no physical input connectors.
- More synth engines and greater polyphony.
- Multi-effects that can be placed after the tracks. (Items 10 and 11 would probably require a more powerful CPU.)
- More tracks — Additional navigation buttons would probably be necessary for scrolling through them.
- A looper that can be converted into a sample.
- Additional individual outputs.
Overall, the workflow seems to be designed around the assumption that you won’t be creating an entire track by yourself on the device.
The Polyend Play Plus is an extremely portable sketching tool for electronic music, and I think its real potential would shine if it allowed users to load samples, match loops with different tempos, apply effects, resample to overcome its limited number of effects, and ultimately create an entire track on their own.