Polyend Play+ and Trade-In Upgrades

[duncan-rmi]

someone's got to give synthstrom a shout-out here, for setting a precedent.
early adopters of the deluge were madly enthusiastic about the machine, but almost all of us wished that the screen used grown-up writing instead of a toddler's red crayon. they listened, they made it so, with an affordable & simple hardware retrofit. then they made the firmware open-source.
I dunno, lads. I have a tracker & a play here, & while I like the tracker's sequencing paradigm, the hardware capabilities mean you need very careful planning & a bunch of other boxes. the play has barely been out of its box. I like it- it's a lot of fun, & that is after all why any of us is in this game, right?
but the deluge *easily* manages all of that functionality & more, except perhaps some of the "let's just push this button & see what the machine comes up with" stuff, & to be honest, in the context of working to a brief, or with other people in the band, some of these aspects become less important than (say) having a lot of capability in a small footprint & retaining firm control over it all.
again, I loved the tracker for shifting me out of the existing hw sequencer paradigm, & the play has some excellent tricks. but these days, my deluge is the daily driver.

[davidlynch]

Synthstrom set the bar with the Deluge, probably to the chagrin of many larger companies. $150 for a major hardware upgrade and in my case only a 1 week turnover time. The Deluge was already doing more than anything in its class, but the hardware and firmware upgrades Synthstrom has done over the years really set my expectations for all other companies. Good to see Polyend following suit. Hopefully other companies will take note as well.
Synth companies should take a page out of Fender's book and focus more on creating a long lasting, modular design that stands the test of time.

[brainbox]

want them to do this with the OG tracker...that would be so sick

[onetwothreefourfivesix]

I was on the fence when the Play came out but this video has inspired me to give the Play+ a look. Thanks for making a video that showcases the updated device very well.

[williambierwerth]

Ben you are awesome if it hurts them to see you enjoying yourself that speaks more about them than you life is too hard to give up so don't. Please don't give up reviews these rock.

[TheBigLou]

how do you manage to have no audible sound crackling when touching or turning a knob? I own two Polyend Plays and I always hear near-full-volume crackling when I turn any knob while playing. It happens using a batterybank as well as using a normal power outlet :/

[darkmatter]

I love trade in programs I wish more companies would do that.

[Winterdagen]

Thanks for all the amazing gear videos Ben! Your refreshingly thoughtful takes on beautiful instruments have always resonated with me and will be missed.

[bobclark]

Benn, I'll always be a fan. You do a great job. I'd like to share my perspective being a new owner of the Play..my unit is 5 months old and I now learn it has depreciated almost 400 bucks and it has issues that Polyend has yet to respond regarding them. Files corrupting, project missing or swapping files. Crazy stuff! Anyhow, now I learn my 5 month old device is a Legacy device and if I want I can pay 400 more to upgrade. So the unit I have lost 400 in value and to regain its value and added functionality pay out another 400.. I feel insulted and truly disappointed that the company you gave great endorsements, has failed me. You bear no responsibility regarding this! I trust you completely. But Polyend did not think the upgrade or how its recent customers would feel!
If my unit was 4 years old or 2 years old, OK, I understand the program and the costs. But They are not responding to email, or support tickets I sent. That is a huge NO NO in my book. I mean at least acknowledge you got my support requests. The Back stage forum is not a place for answers, IMHO. I'm so frustrated to have my play looking at me in my studio, it can't hold samples properly or corrupts them and now it is a door stopper? Keep doing your thing, Benn, as you truly are great at it! I wish Polyend had the same approach and desire. And, BTW, this is my second Play purchase, despite returning the first defective unit. I feel like a fool!

[ChunterInfo]

This *was* normal for the super expensive Synclaviers and Fairlights which is why they tend to seem to be one of a kind depending on how much servicing they got despite them being as digital as an instrument can be

[jmartaudio]

Metric halo! -- They have offered upgrade parts for all of the new versions of their audio interfaces. They are amazing!

[dictabeat]

Brilliant review Ben. Personally, I'm a big fan of Polyend. It's such a shame they stopped doing modular gear. They were ahead of their time and now with this Polyend+ again they're nailing it. I love the brand for the kindness, innovation and even though they're not the cheapest, they're also not the most expensive and I feel it's worth it. Even if not everything they make is for everyone.

[phed]

You legit had me laughing, trying to hold in my coffee, with your "WTF happened to your eybrow" line. Caught me right off guard.

[symbiat]

I’m blown away by that trade-in for existing customers and kudos to you for pointing out.

[yyams]

Yes! Stereo is a huge upgrade and the reason I bought a cheaper simpler stereo groovebox last year instead of spunking a bit more on the Play. The Play+ is now the piece of gear I will aim for once I can afford to buy stuff like that instead of house upgrades.

[apricebcd]

Ive never used one of these before but you have me excited about this concept. Also Roland could learn from this. 'This is how to make a screen/interface"

[jeffneria]

The upgradable hardware business model is such a better move than the TE's field's marketing blunder/embarrassment. Good job polyend!

[MillisecondFalcon]

I love your videos, Benn. And I hate to see you, or anyone for that matter, getting unjustifiably negative comments or accusations like has happened here. Some people just jump on the negativity train because it looks like everybody else is boarding and they don't want to be left out. Don't let those people get to you, they don't appreciate or even recognise the amount of time and passion you devote to videos like this. Unlike many other content creators in the music hardware space, you actually get to know the products you test\use really thoroughly and that's something you should be incredibly proud of. Please keep being your wonderful, talented, authentic self. And keep making great videos like this one!

[TimBeauBennett]

I only just bought a play (with benns code lmao) and man I am so happy about this. I don't think I'll upgrade for a while, but I'm excited that I can down the line

[rhode]

I really appreciate your insight here Ben. I feel like the pandemic made a lot of stuff in the music tech space weird and significantly messed with timelines (resulting in the year and a half turn around we see here).

It looks like a fun upgrade! I don’t know if it’s quite for me given the embarrassing number of options I have that accomplish the same (with a different workflow, but still). I appreciate PolyEnd having an upgrade path - as a software engineer, I know that a significant upgrade like this costs.

For those complaining about upgrades, a year after I bought my $12k ExMachina Quasars, there was a MK2 and the upgrade costs $1600 with self-install. Chips and DSP stuff are much more expensive than you realize or remember, particularly for manufacturers that can’t get batch discounts at the level of someone like AMD or Intel. If the upgrade path isn’t for you, that’s fine! Don’t take it out on Ben or others just genuinely sharing their joy.