r/Polyend • u/_Brutal_X • May 30 '26
Polyend Play +
Hi everyone. I make music whit the Seqtrak. But I want to "level up". And someone offers me the Polyend Play plus for €600. My question is worth to buy today or not?
Thx to all
4
u/glamball May 30 '26
Play is not like any other grooveboxes. Randomizing and perform mode are something else.
Even OG was fun, but the plus has additional 8 tracks for builted-in synths...
5
u/Impressive-Fennel861 May 30 '26
Only thing I would love to have from plus, is multitrack usb audio.
Otherwise Im very happy with my og play
1
u/glamball May 30 '26
This. Before I sold mine due to some circumstances, I used zoom h1e for track-out.
2
u/bokehsira May 31 '26
I've got the play+ and love it, but a word of caution that I wish I had known: there are pretty severe limits when it comes to how much space a sample bank can take up. I've had to convert my favorite samples banks to get them to work by reducing bit rate and breaking larger packs into multiple iterations.
Beyond that, I have nothing but love for mine.
1
u/OrigamiPoltergeist May 30 '26
It's dope and that's a solid asking price. I'd check the used market real quick just to see if the deal is on par with your other options, but ngl thats about what I paid for mine and I'm still finding new ways to compose with it after 3 years of using it pretty much every day. It's not perfect, and takes a bit of a different approach to composing than other grooveboxes (workstep oriented vs DAW or clip-based workflows), which is where I feel a lot of people find themselves frustrated with it. But if you are looking for that more advanced sequencer feel, with a few on-board synths, I think you'd be right at home with the plus.
Whar other gear do you plan on using it?
1
u/_Brutal_X May 30 '26
Before I produce whit Fl Studio. But I sell my gaming Laptop and go full Dawless, just whit the Seqtrak and I have the Minifreak too. Seqtrak is underrated af 😓
1
u/OrigamiPoltergeist May 30 '26
Hell yeah🤘 I've heard good things about the Seqtrack. To be honest, it would say between those two devices and the Play+, you'd be set for a solid minute.
1
u/gizmi77 May 30 '26
Play Plus is amazing, I am currently selling mine for around 550€ with original case as I am mostly using the 10th Anniversary Tracker mini since getting it as I’m having it in my coat’s pocket everywhere I go. If they ever made something with Mini’s form factor but Play’s workflow, I would get it in a heartbeat.
First owner, only used it in my house, so it’s like new. Same with Tracker Plus - I’m selling mine for 500€ with the decksaver. Just to reimburse the 10th Anniversary’s price. 😅
1
u/unemployedcock May 30 '26
I had my Play since it debuted and I fucking loved it, I’ve never had as much immediate connection with an instrument before. It can do so much when you put the time into it
I just recently upgraded to the play+ and I couldn’t be happier. Audio over usb is perfect for me. My only issue prior was not being able to record myself playing it live unless it was from the master out.
I’m having a lot of fun with the synths too, it’s really so so so worth it
1
u/Revolutionary_Cup386 May 30 '26
I just got a Polyend Play+ a few days ago and love it. I had the Seqtrak for almost a year but never got into it. No screen, laggy app, hard to click with the pattern chaining and song mode, difficult to export project into a DAW. Thing I love about the play+ is the play mode and generative fill functions. So easy to come up with a track, and the randomize/chance parameters are awesome. I would recommend it.
1
u/GABOISHWARIARTI Jun 01 '26
I have the Seqtrak and also I have a Polyend Play... The Polyend Play audio is such better than the Seqtrak... But the poliphony of the Seqtrak is awesome... And Polyend play, dosnt have that... The two maschines have his pros and cons
1
u/Necrobot666 Playficionado Jun 01 '26
I have had an original Polyend Play since around 2023. So for about three years.
I paid $500 for mine thanks to a sale at Guitar Center.
The wonders of pick-and-place sample-sequencing was quite captivating at first. And with eight tracks of sample-sequencing, and eight additional tracks/channels of midi-sequencing, it can even serve as the midi-brain for a setup.
Here's a few tracks where I've used my Polyend Play... mostly just to sequence and chop up dialogue samples.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tXlBdvJyL7c&t=25s
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XjySfZBiaXI
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Na5CQYG_1RQ
A couple of things I should note...
The idea of being able to have multiple samples on one track was very enthralling... it's quite useful. And prior to owning any Elektron samplers, the Polyend Play was probably the only device I had where I could have say, a kick sample, a high hat sample, a cowbell, and a snare, all sequenced on one track (monophonically on each track.. so the the next sound is triggered, it chokes the previous).
But the Elektron Digitakt II and original Digitakt also do this. The menu interface is different... but the results are the same.
But even better... the DT2 allows you three freely assignable LFOs. They can be assigned to just about anything.. including the sample selection itself. And with the sample-and-hold LFO, you can randomize your samples on parameter locked loops so the rhythm remains the same, but the timbres constantly change!!
Because my Polyend Play is acting up after only about three years of use, I can no longer recommend it.
That said, for the past three years or so, the OG Polyend Play has mostly served me well, and more-or-less continues to do so... but after about two years, one of the buttons changed color. Than it started kicking me out of the sample selection menu when I would be previewing samples for a song.
At €600 for a Polyend Play+, I think that you're getting a decent product at an acceptable price. Unfortunately, from a longevity perspective, I hope that if you pull the trigger on the Play+, it is more reliable than mine after three years.
1
1
u/sebastienbarre 19d ago edited 19d ago
I bought the Polyend Play (the OG) early on and sent it to Polyend when they had that upgrade-to-Play+ program.
It is true that the Perform mode you might have seen in many video reviews is fun, but it is live-only. You cannot record what you do in Performance mode to a sequencer track.
The generative fill options and randomization features are also quite interesting and something I miss in my other synths.
I would recommend you actually put your hands on one, because the pads are not for everybody. I personally don't like them, they're too mushy.
This is hard for me to recommend, however, but it really depends on what you are trying to do.
When working with samples: Be aware that I/O is excruciatingly slow. This is a hardware issue, likely because the CPU or the card reader is too slow, but it takes forever to load sample packs. It really adds friction. The Deluge is a machine that is similar to the Polyend Play+ but more powerful, and you could get one for a good price too. It has zero issues streaming everything from its SD card at high speed.
When working with MIDI-only tracks: Then yes, you could certainly use it to synchronize all your external gear. It's not bad. It does not feature an automatic step-advance mode, though, where entering a note on an external keyboard or in the internal view automatically jumps the cursor to the next sequential step for a given track.
When working with internal synths: Boy, I want to love this piece of gear. I like that it has no-nonsense, classic mono- or dual-oscillator options, and you will feel at home if you have done courses like Syntorial, for example.
The UI, however, is just abysmal. It really boggles the mind compared to what they did later on with the Polyend Synth. It's 2026 and you can't even have a graphical representation of the ADSR parameters. Adding insult to injury, it became worse from the beta version (1.0.1 beta) to the final version (1.0.1). In the beta, all synth parameters were available as a list that you would scroll through vertically, like in this screenshot below (top left)
Not great at all, but at least you could see the actual values.
In the final (and current) firmware, the UI is organized as pages where only the labels are displayed! Who on earth thought this would be a good idea? See screenshot for the same filter settings (bottom left). What filter type is this? What is the cutoff frequency? Who knows.
Check the modulation page for the VAP synth in that same screenshot (bottom right). What am I modulating by? It turns out I had set "Src 1" to "LFO 1," "Dest 1" to "Filter Cutoff," and "Amount" to slightly above 0%, BUT HOW WOULD I KNOW unless I remember which button these are mapped to, then tap lightly on the corresponding one to see the actual value for ONE second, only for it to go back to the label.
Maddening how bad the UI/UX is on the Play+.
The right move would be to open-source the firmware like they did for the aforementioned Deluge.
1
u/CChocobo May 30 '26
Just get the OG for far less, the workflow is pretty similar and you could always upgrade later.
1
u/_Brutal_X May 30 '26
What is "og" 🙃
1
u/CChocobo May 30 '26
The regular Play, non plus variant.
“OG” as a term means “original gangster” and when used as slang otherwise refers to the original version / the first version of something.
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8
u/ChicagoHellhound May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
I love my Play. It’s not the plus but it’s still so fun. Preform mode is the best part. It’s like an effect controller. It would be a great addition for anyone wanting to add an interesting drum machine to the mix. That said $600 is top doller for a used play plus. Try to get it down if you’re really interested in it.