Polyend PLAY: Everything You Need to Know BEFORE Buying

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VIDEO CONTENT
00:00 Intro & Bo's Music Demos
03:43 TL;DR what is the PLAY?
08:06 Unique sequencer explained
17:29 Great for coming up with new ideas!
23:02 It is portable (but not great in sunlight)
24:08 Negative: Stereo out only is a BIG limitation!
24:50 Performance FX Explained
27:30 Negative: Can't record Perf FX
30:15 MIDI sequencing explained
35:37 Negative: We gotto talk about the touch capacitive knobs
37:35 FINAL THOUGHTS (don't miss this!)
39:20 Two song demos I made with PLAY

#PolyendPlay #Bobeats #Groovebox

[BoBeats]

One thing I wished explained better is that the midi tracks do have a chord mode. This lets you set a chord per step without using multiple tracks. What I was trying to get across was that if you want to play individual notes with articulation you need to use multiple tracks. But the chord mode works great for static chords and its a very good inclusion.

[adamd]

I honestly think you're the most unbiased and realistic gear reviewer on YouTube. Thank you for that 🙏

[Polyend]

Thank you for sharing your honest opinion Bo!

[echo_opera]

@bobeats Thanks for the great review. You can actually play per step Chords in Midi Mode. You just need to use the Sample Start button to select from an available set of preset chords. Pick your Step, and tap on Sample Start, and there's your Chord list. It works like this on the Tracker as well, so you don't have to fill up multiple tracks for Chords in Midi Mode. So give that a look and see if the Chords you like are in that long list. Cheers.

[flybyrecords]

In performance mode, you can also turn any encoder to affect the selected tracks, and they will also revert to original values when exiting performance mode. That is just awesome

[internalreality]

i really love its performance related options, which to me are awesome

[MkUltra]

Thanks for the video! I think multitrack over USB would sell me on this. As it stands, I'm considering a Digitakt or Digitone as my next studio addition.

[mr_floydst]

Back at Superbooth, one had no chance to try it because the booth was constantly crowded. Nice to get a chance to understand what it is this way.

[DavidDeLuge]

Great review and fair comments on the very few negative aspects. Since we are still on V1.00 of the firmware, I fully expect subsequent releases to take it to the next level. The Play and The Dirtywave M8 are my two current goto devices. Loving the outro tracks! 👍🏻😁

[marcwav]

Monster review. I feel like this is the best review I've watched in a few years!

[stratuspei]

I just got a Play and learning it through the user manual and tutorial videos. This is a very good resource, thank you BoBeats!

[AgonalRhythm]

I've enjoyed mine a lot so far. Biggest wishlist item is USB interface stuff. The ability to manage samples from a computer, audio over USB and exporting stems would make this a lot less tedious to work with.

I'd only recommend this for (1) people who are likely to use the performative aspects of the device, (2) those who have a pretty organized library of samples they are intimately familiar with, or (3) people who want to be delighted by the random generative aspects of the play

[JorbLovesGear]

Good stuff Bob! The external midi control seems like it wouldn't fit into my current workflow, where this might replace my mpc, and the lacking sample manipulation sort of excludes it from that role as well.

But for just drums, or self contained grooves, this seems really fast and fun.

[lo-firobotboy]

Thanks for this. I had looked at this but wasn't quite sure what to make of it when I saw it in the shop

[Rollur]

I ve played it for twenty minutes and I am just playing! This is a perfect device

[clxor]

Excellent review, loved the play already when it was announced. Seems so much FUN (to play). I think i’m going to marry it with my Pioneer SP-16 which is excellent for just playing with loops. Jam on the Play, record the loops and then make some soup out of it :)

[ildafons]

Nice instrument! It is quite new but it is a fresh look at grooveboxes. Modern workflow and unique features make it quite a good purchase. Unfortunately you need to use SD card but it is not an end of the world.

[szymonbiay]

You can preview (hear) any step by holding the main encoder down while pressing a step

[simonmorton]

Hi Bo, there is one thing that is not correct in this video, midi can be polyphonic. Use the sample start button, in midi mode, and you can enter chords, it’s pretty cool!

Also, having seen what Polyend have done with the tracker, and the amazing updates and customer support, I bought the play knowing full well it’s on v1.0.0… Looking forward to lots of updates, I’m sure they’ll fix a lot of the things you mentioned. It is a fantastic device already, and like you said, it is very fast to come up with ideas, which is why I got it. Great review as always, thanks!

[NicleT]

Fantastic review. I have like a _love-hate_ relationship with the PPlay. But performing with it is so fun.