Goodbye Polyend Play Plus

It's time to send back the Polyend Play Plus. I was hoping it would get more updates since my last video, but nothing has dropped since 1.01 which didn't fix the bugs I saw. This week I give my final thoughts on the device and try to show some stuff I've made (while encountering more bugs on the way).

Thanks to zZounds for letting me borrow this, here's some links to gear I've been digging lately (affiliate links from zzounds, i get a percentage of the profit):

MPC Key 37
Arturia Minifreak
MPC One Plus:

Do not use the links above if you are suffering from GAS, sleep on it for a few days first.

MY GEAR (affiliate links):

#polyendplay #musicgear #musicproduction

[Fix_My_Mix]

Funny you mentioned Maschine+…I’ve experienced crippling bugs with it to the point that I would never produce anything on it for fear that it would randomly be erased along with my entire sample library (happened twice already along with the repeated freezes).

[jukeboxfandango]

3:45 - So you basically were presented a potential fix that is reasonably cheap, refused it on principle, and now have made an entire video stating that the Play Plus is hopelessly broken even though you didn't make the most basic attempt to salvage it

[alanb]

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts. Polyend has some cool ideas but the execution here seems a little lacking/technically under-baked

[RonCavagnaro]

That's ok i can understand why people won't want to keep play+, but for me its absolutely amazing can do so much that many other gear cant! It is wired for experimentation and happy mistakes. Either you get it or you dont, thats my opinion. I haven't talked about the bugs because i haven't run into any. Sorry to hear you had so many issues

[Androsynth]

One of the things that gets lost in the discussion over lots of gear these days is that the gear we use are effectively computers with attached controls and dedicated software. And just like any computer; some folks have more problems with a given model than others.

Setting aside Polyends crappy way of handling the ‘+’ additions to the line, I’ve had the opposite experience. Both my Tracker and my Play have been pretty rock solid after an upgrade from the original firmware whereas I have had NOTHING but problems with Machine across the board (on multiple computers and multiple OS’s too).

Sometimes it’s not so much that the basic platform isn’t good, it’s just that, as any IT person will tell you, some people with the same hardware are just gonna have 10x the issues.

[Farold_Haltermeyer]

Thanks for sharing. Got my upgrade finally a few week. Paid for it. Have had 0 issues so far with extended use so maybe whatever your bugs came from have been fixed?

[youtubevideos]

This video reminds me of those good old Times, where i loved your videos about Maschine+ because you where so honest about it's flaws. Now i'm just waiting till Polyend Play MK2 comes out and they sponsor your video and you say "it has no cons".

[CrankyOldNerd]

I'm not in the market for one of these but at the same time its nice to see someone take a vendor to task. Too often technological products are built half assed and half tested and then get 4 and 5 star reviews. It's been like that for decades. Vendors need to learn people can talk to folks all over the world.

I'm sure they'll get it addressed, doesn't look like anything hardware related that would require another refresh, but the entire thing has been a bit of a debacle sadly.

[aikighost]

I have to say I really dislike not knowing instantly what's on each step. So much so that I don't find myself interested. I love my polyend tracker, but even then its not my core device but instead its more of a "this makes unusual sequences to resample and put on my MPC" situation.

[cbschrader]

Sorry if you mentioned this, but did you reach out to Polyend about getting a replacement SD card to see if that was the issue? I’ve only ever had great customer service from them and I would be surprised if they didn’t troubleshoot the issue with you.

[sodiumlights]

Beautiful video, clear-sighted thoughts, minimal edits.

[dbefore]

For balance, i upgraded from original play to the plus and the only issue I had was that weird noisy sample glitch that disappears on reboot and a freeze when loading some samples. I’m using a decent sandisk 256gb card too.

[BrentODell]

When I first got my MPC Live II I had some issues, and ended up exchanging it twice under warranty. Third time does seem to be the charm, thankfully, and I haven't had any issues since. Hopefully this Play is an outlier and/or the issues can get fixed with firmware updates.

[dustyaudio]

I appreciate the transparency. My tracker Mini has had a few funny little bugs occasionally but nothing like what you showed in this. Great ending 23:36

[Nothingspeshalwaysfresh]

I let go of mine too, such a shame that it didn’t get nearly as much use as I would have hoped . Still ❤ my tracker though . That’s indispensable

[harveytherobot]

I have a feeling they won’t be offering the upgrade program for much longer, which would be a shame because I would probably do a trade-in once they iron out the bugs. Either way, I’m still pretty happy with the original.

[joecat]

I have a Miyoo - about $80 - functions with an SD but needs faster/larger replacement to be optimal. Given that's around 20-25% of the cost of the device, I understand keeping the price low with an economic SD and letting people upgrade if/when they feel the need. It's also in a value market.

But at the price of the Play Plus? Nah. It's said too, 'cause I also like Polyend and I thought this might be a good alternative to the Tracker (which has seen some love but is missing the synth engines), but not in this state.

[jeremydenief]

I'm just going to wait and get the Play + Ultra. Should be out in a few months so start saving now!

[Tuvalu]

It's such a pity to see those bugs happening... With the Tracker I always had/have consistently a very good feeling about sturdiness, reliability etc. And the project load process in my opinion is the best out of any groovebox I know. Always feels like working in a DAW where everythings loads up exactly as you left it... Polyend seems to be expanding too quickly, with Play, Tracker Mini, Play Plus, maybe thinking about Tracker Plus. Sure it all brings them revenue, but they definitely have to be super careful not to destroy their image, which at least for the og Tracker was quite flawless...

[SonicVibe]

i only have a Dirtywave M8 but on the software/bug side i have had none been a super solid tracker for me and sounds fantastic