Play+ Is awesome - however surprised to see someone called it “more traditional”. I find it very non-traditional, and “wired for happy mistakes”. But I guess people use it differently than I would. I would say Tracker+ is more traditional 
Ah, yeah see I use the Tracker+ at this point. IN the same way you describe actually, just on its own. It was a fine close thing between the two but resampling and all the sample editing via the screen swung it for me. It’s a powerful engine for sure. I’d almost like to see someone take the underlying code and have it in a groovebox format like a Circuit or similar. Could be tempted by a Play+ one day for a different workflow in a similar system.
Yeah what I meant by that was more how there are other boxes somewhat like it. Eg: there are bunch of left to right standalone sequencers, and also grooveboxes like Deluge out there. So there is some indirect/similar competition there for it, where the Tracker has very little. Both are v cool though. I kinda felt when they made OG Play that they were trying to re-make the Tracker interface but in a more accessible format.
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Can I get the + update for £99 please? Then I might feel less aggrieved about this entire situation.
I used the Tracker as a MIDI melody generator for the Behringer 2600 synthesizer, using the Fill function. I used the Polyend Play as a drum machine.
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What do you guys think of using the Play for advance backtracking.
Getting quickly a beat started in jazz, hip-hop or IDM and improvising on the keyboard?
The goal is to have a small band with you to play the lead of chord.
Any thoughts?
Edit: I found this videa that kindda summarize it
Rapid jam with the Polyend Play and acoustic piano (youtube.com)
Hey guys, I found an OG Play for a good price, I’m looking for a drum machine and was eyeing the TR6S when this one showed up. As a drum machine, notwithstanding the extra cool MIDI sequencer, do you recommend it? Or should I stay focused on getting the TR or a Circuit Rhythm?
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Hey ! I own Circuit Rhythm , play + (used to have regular play)… Personally I would look into the workflow of each , they are wildly different. Play is not a sampler (does not audio record) and I would not rely on it to load longer samples in etc, it is more like a wild box that is amazing if you want to make happy/glitchy accidents - you can do a lot more with things than circuit rhythm. I have a series on yt for play.
Circuit rhythm is if you are looking to record in samples, trigger samples, and do auto slicing (extremely fast workflow for that).
If it were me, and my workflow, and had to choose between those two, I would go with play. But that’s me
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I really like the Play for drums. Circuit rhythm is a bit more criptic because it has no screen. Both are great but i’d take the Play over the Rhythm.
Thank you for the response. I don’t actually mind that the Play can’t sample as it doesn’t have much space, like 6 min mono I’ve read. I want it as a drum machine. The TR6S doesn’t sample either, the circuit does, but it indeed is a bit cryptic. So the play is winning me even though I am not very sure about the support from Polyend.
I really like the Play for drums. Circuit rhythm is a bit more criptic because it has no screen. Both are great but i’d take the Play over the Rhythm.
Thank you, I plan to use it for that actually, and the midi sequencer is a plus. I just worry about the support for it from Polyend
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I made a series on the polyend play im not sure if interested but feel free I will leave a link in case you wanted to see some workflow stuff - just make sure you note where the play+ videos start which will not include features of regular play
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQvVnhG7o2yTfIAfDTX-IJ1ptsOqavqmP&si=zEDYn9l8cCH5d5ds
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They just released midi perform for both the Play and Play+ in beta. And a pretty cool pad play mode. I really do love how much they listen to users and add features from requests.
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I believe that this device deserves much more love. It’s sequencing abilities are outstanding, you can do a lot, a lot with single shots, and it’s true that it can’t sample and slice but there are other machines to make that. This is a electronic music beast. And the most fun device I’ve ever had. It’s a joy to make music with it.
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I own the og Play. When the Play+ was released I felt annoyed and betrayed in a way. I stopped using the Play for a while and let it collect dust on the shelf. Then about month ago I dusted it off and incorporated it back into my setup. I quickly realized I should have never stop using it. I’m not even interested in the Play+ to be honest because the og Play does everything I need it to do. It’s a great midi sequencer especially for getting ideas down quickly. The sample play back engine is also extremely useful. The Play is not my main sound source but it is the beginning of my chain. When paired with my other gear the Play acts as the ultimate complimentary piece adding spice to my overall sound.
In my case the Play is sending midi to the DT mki and it’s a powerful partnership. The DT is my main sound source giving me clean sound and the Play is adding lofi grit that I can do quick performance effects with. Quite often I’ll send random midi sequences to the DT, when I find something I like I’ll just live record the midi right on to the DT. The workflow is amazing for me. If you find an og Play for a good price you can’t go wrong in my opinion.
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Great videos!! Very helpful.
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I can completely get this. Unlike other companies I can think of, my assessment of the Play+/Tracker+ debacle is that these indeed were the devices Polyend wanted to make. But the chip shortages etc made it difficult to access what they needed.
From my perspective, these sorts of marketing issues are generally a case of incompetence rather than an attempt to do customers out of their cash. The upgrade plan wasn’t a bad idea, but the way it was done left OG Play owners high and dry. Which obviously isn’t great. I asked them if they were doing the same for Tracker+ and they said pretty much no - I’m guessing they didn’t want to get burned twice by the backlash.
Tracker was a huge risk at the time, and took them from being a niche company to one firmly embedded in the groovebox market which in turn enabled Play to happen. Play seems like an attempt to make that esoteric Tracker workflow more accessible, full of fills and randomisations but in a format that’s more visual and easier to understand.
Play probably has more competition as a quick/fun sequencer than Tracker, which really only has the M8. But Play competes with other genertive sequencers, and other boxes like Digitakt, Circuit Rhythm, Deluge etc. Interestingly, the upgrade from Tracker to Tracker+ is a total no brainer with the synths and extras. But to me that the synths look a bit menu divey on the Play’s smaller screen, so the upgrade from Play to Play+ seems less of a slam dunk. I noticed that last time out one outlet had the Play OG for £250 which is insane value.
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Very well said! I was one of those PLAY users who got burned in the upgrade. I’ll trade up but only when the used buy/sell combo is right for me. I’m not paying close to $500 for an upgrade (with taxes, shipping. etc.)
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Yeah I think the rep Polyend now has for abandoning devices is all about what they do now. Will it be a case of Polyend Tracker 2 in 1 year? Or will they now settle down and focus on PT+ and PP+ for the forseeable, removing bugs and ironing out the kinks for the long haul? I am hoping that 2020 was an outlier, and like their previous products, it’s now a case of knuckling down and sticking with what they’ve made. Speaking of that though, the Play OG seems like a fine groovebox even without the updates, especially if your main focus is to make fun patterns with mono drum samples and maybe basses. If you’re not needing synths or using widescreen synth parts with stereo samples, then it’s a good one to have around. I also noticed that unlike the original Tracker, the original Play has not been discontinued and is still on sale. So perhaps that tells its own story at this point.
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I will never forgive this company for what they did to me
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lol
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I’m a later adopter of the og play. Before purchase my initial impressions led me to refer to it in my mind as the polyend random. I could not resist the curiosity to explore the potential.
I’m not sure how I feel about these most recent betas, They certainly align with the Play concept but not being able to record what you play in those modes is meh. Much respect to Polyend for being transparent and showing the work they have continued to put into their devices.
Play gets so many things right. The per track play modes and independent track speeds among many other things are brilliantly implemented. But IMO, as a sample oriented groove box, the lack of modulation options, sample looping and mlr style gesture looping per track are disappointing.
I’ll be keeping it for a while I think. I’m using it mainly as a rhythm machine and midi sequencer. I haven’t enjoyed programming on board melodic content on it as much as I would have liked up to this point. Time will tell.
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