POLYEND PLAY Review // How it raises the groovebox bar // Top pros, cons, 16 factory songs, tutorial

Interested in Play Plus? Check out my review here:

Check out the groovebox/sequencer buyer's guide in my ever-expanding book on Patreon:

Check prices here (some stores may not have stock yet, affiliate links help the channel regardless of what you buy):

Other gear in the video:
► SiparioX by @lab4music209
► Volca Nubass by @KorgOfficial
► JD-08 by @rolandglobal

TIMELINE:
0:00 Intro
1:35 Overview
6:20 Connectivity
7:45 Project scope
8:15 Song mode
8:55 Variations
9:55 Sample pool
11:25 Sequencing
11:55 Pick & place
13:55 Keyboard view
14:15 Select & adjust
16:35 “Control all”
17:15 Session save
18:15 Live rec
19:15 Automation
21:00 Sample packs
23:00 Fill
26:00 Chance
28:40 Randomize
31:45 Repeats
33:15 Play modes
34:00 Speed/Pause
35:40 Perform
38:50 Scenes
39:30 MIDI tracks
43:30 Master FX
46:10 Sound design
47:50 Misc settings
49:05 Pros & cons
53:25 Factory songs
Other places I hang out:

My music:

Submit review and video ideas here (sorry I don’t offer 1x1 sessions/setup/purchasing advice):


NOTE: Occasionally I’ll try out affiliate marketing and include affiliate links. This means that I may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via affiliate links to stores like Amazon, Sweetwater, Thomann and others. The content of this clip is entirely my opinion, and was not paid for or dictated in any way by the company creating the gear. Without addressing the particulars of products shown here as they might be under NDA, gear shown on this channel may be either sent by the manufacturer, on loan for review or bought at a discount.

[seanpk]

Just want to say that I love all your videos and reference them all the time as video manuals / how to guides when i’m playing with gear at home. I love how comprehensive these videos are, and they’re so organized + clear about what is happening and why. If I made synths I’d legit pay you to just do what you do with these videos and have that be the actual product manual. Hope you get more into modular in the future too, some modules need this level of documentation :)

[prod_by_slvg]

I don't even care if i can't afford any of this, i just love watching your vids, they make me happy just the way you cover everything. thanks for all you do, loopop!!! you're the goat of music tutorials!!!

[jo_ey]

Amazing what of a product specialist and musician loopop is. Always a joy to watch. And very helpful when you buy a product.

[JohnMark]

Just received mine. Glad to have this tutorial. While not as complex many “boxes, ” it is not as intuitive as many of the YouTube reviewers say. One needs the manual and then some. In my first Project, there was not enough memory to download the Acoustic Piano sample pack. Since many of the features work best when the user can download the entire sample pack, that was immediately frustrating. Parts of the pack were usable, but it was unclear as to what samples I did not have access to. There is a way to download individual samples, but it is not that straightforward or intuitive. With that being said, the customer service person at Polyend was responsive and helpful. That person said the issues were going to be addressed in a firmware update. It is a blessing and a bane to get the Play so soon😊. Despite the mentioned issues, the Play is the most unique and useful product like this I have ever used. I will be able to spend less time with equipment and more time recording music.

[subiesojourner]

I've watched a slew of your videos, and how you remember all this stuff is mind boggling to me.

[wiegraf]

Thanks for the review! I have been waiting to buy a groovebox for years, and I think after watching this I'm still gonna go with the Deluge. Their latest update has given me pretty much all the features I want.

[Karmabim]

After watching this and other Youtube videos I decided to go ahead and add one of these to my small collection of instruments. My Polyend Play arrived this morning and since then I have been trying out a few ideas. After searching the Polyend Play online user manual for how to do or setup certain functions without much success, I remembered this video. Within minutes, with guidance from loopop, I had found exactly the things I wanted and with a bit of logic I worked out a couple of others. Having watched this and other loopop videos I would like to congratulate him for such well presented reviews.

[bahutu]

It's really amazing to see how Polyend managed to marry the best features from the step-sequencer world with their expertise from engineering the Tracker (fill, randomize, select + copy, undo, perform, ...). I even guess that there are some features on Play which only make sense if you worked with the Tracker before. Which is wonderful, since it adds innovations you wouldn't come up with without that 'niche' Tracker expertise <3

[MikolaiStroinski]

Congratulations to Polyend!- each of their product is better than the previous one.

[_cocoalabs]

This is the best video on using the PLAY that exists! So good that I'm joining the Patreon because of it. Great work as usual! (Enjoyed the syntakt video as well) -- Buying way too much gear because of loopop!

[sundance]

Your tutorials and overviews are INDISPENSABLE!! Loopop. Thank you! Thank you!

[chuckvicious]

I think that it's important to note the fact that Loopop mentioned that you can play polyphonic chords per midi track which specifically translates to 30 overlapping midi notes at one time -per track -per clip . Will be great for sequencing external gear.

[RonCavagnaro]

ok I just caved. bought a polyend play. checking video again heheh

[AD-Dom]

Absolutely my favourite groovebox/sequencer on the market. Gone through quite a few up until this point. The workflow is fun, creative and easy to produce fairly deep songs. The price is right IMO.

[strangersun]

I want to love Polyend, but I've never had a clean experience with any of their devices that I've owned. That includes Tracker and Medusa. There have been bugs a plenty in the firmware. As slick as the hardware can be, I had button sticking issues with both the Tracker and Medusa. The included power supply with the Tracker led to hanging issues and after rebooting from one hang, which required disconnecting the power supply, I lost all my projects. There may have been a language barrier, but their technical support was curt and uncaring. They said something to the effect of "Try another power supply. Backup your work more often."

After that, I haven't been tempted to try something new from them.

[deepsoulfulsounds]

Great review as always! The granular control you get from Polyend devices is amazing!

[krazywabbit]

I've been doing well in my GAS therapy program. Until now. The lack of ability to sample is not a deal breaker for me as I am not a fan. That's the beauty of this space. There's something for everyone. But there's only one loopop. Well done sir.

[i.syntaxerror]

Yeah! Finally!!

An hour later.
Thank you sir so much for your deep review.
In terms of the pros and cons I'm fully agreed to the end.
However I'd like to see one more function like : "learn my style".
Anyway after this lecture I have to say I can play on Polyend Play. LOL
It's time to pick up one.

[tonioswan]

man the sound u got at 1:03 after turning the cutoff down was an insane idea for a track, that bassline was deep af

[TheScreamingFrog]

This is pretty amazing groovebox magic.
Like the grid features and ways to modify the playback. Love the music at the end.