I’m starting to collect these trackers now, I have the Original and a Mini and now I’ve placed my order for the Plus. I might be a little obsessed with them perhaps 🤔 Big thanks to Polyend I love these trackers immensely 😊
I love how full-circle the development of this is. We've gone from turning the Gameboy into a music machine, to putting a Gameboy into the music machine. There's something really satisfying about that, and I can't quite explain it 😀
I'm so happy there's been this resurgence of hardware that just doesn't need a full PC daw. I love making digital music without having to turn on my PC.
Soooo... I wrote literally thousands of songs using modedit etc back in the day..... and this video made me realize why I like using spreadsheets so much now 😊 greetings from Maelcum of KFMF!
OG PE Tracker user here. I really like how they evolve the Tracker. Man, 8 tracks PLUS 8 MIDI tracks is amazing. Chords easiliy eat up 4-5 tracks, so thats a more than welcome expansion...
@@neiel1 each note will have to be in a separate column, so a three note chord will take up three columns but only in that specific step. You can have as many instruments as you want/ that can fit into a column but only one note in each step per column. Hope that makes sense. As an example you could have three columns playing chords together but also have something like percussion or drums or bass living in those same three columns as long as they are placed in open steps. Also, the tracker makes it very easy to resample ( or Render, as they call it) any group off steps cross multiple columns. meaning you could program in your chords, resample them and place that sampled chord into a single note event/step on a single column. its not nearly as confusing as my explanation sounds. The Tracker is perhaps the easiest, most intuitive groovebox I've used.
@@iiaaiiaannaaiiaaiithank you! That was a very helpful explanation. I believe I understand. Moreover, I am further inspired to explore making music in this way! Cheers!
@@neiel1 Great! I was suprised by how easy, intuitive, and expressive using the Tracker is after having read fearful reports to the contrary. maybe it just clicks with me but i think it's so logically laid out with very few shortcuts to remember .
Great video David. Thank you for using my FM Swell patch in your composition at 3:19 . I worked on a load of the patches for the Polyend Play+ and these have been brought across as the synths are the same. So nice to hear one of my patches being used in your tune. 🙌🏻
Love discovering new about music from your videos, they are so cozy like a blanket in autumn. Also they are one of the few things on the internet I look forward to ❤
I'm so glad this video exists as someone who is (very) new to making music and who didn't know about trackers. now i have so much to learn and discover! thanks David, great video as always :)
This tool seems so cool! I'll need to consider buying stuff like that in the future when I'll have the money for it Your channel is genuinely one more source of motivation for me to start produce music on digital hardware, keep up with the good work!
The more I watch David the more I get in trouble at work for trying new things on my pocket operator. Your videos are amazing and never seize to inspire
I really appreciate you digging into the early trackers; I haven't seen many reviews of the hardware trackers from the perspective of someone who used those back in the day. FastTracker 2 started everything for me, so I've been curious what I would think of returning to that workflow in the new, hardware environments. Thanks for lending your perspectives!
Hi, I always appreciate your videos, even if this one really looks like a commercial ;-). I think it is worth knowing that the last available units of the Polyend Tracker (OG) can be found for about 390€ in European stores and online, and that 2nd hand units now go for 300€ and less, making it a fantastic value for the price (they lack the synths though). Also I was wondering if you had ever been curious about the Dirtywave M8 tracker, which is IMHO the best option for a pocket sized groovebox available. Has way more sonic and sequencing power than the Polyend too, and is an incredible little machine. It does ' types of synthesis, and is a fantastic sampler too. Check it out.
This is a great overview, thanks! I still love my OG Tracker but it would be nice to have more tracks and built-in synths, of course. Only Version 2 of this hardware and it's really an all in-one box already! Pretty great.
I have the OG tracker and the tracker mini, Was thinking about the tracker+ but instead I got a Synthstrom Deluge(oled version) for a bit less money(£750 as opposed to £799). I decided I was happy with the Polyend trackers that I have, and I have wanted a Deluge since they first came out but could never afford one until now. If I find I don't get on with the Deluge I know I can easily sell it because they are always in demand, and the tracker+ will be available for at least the next few years and by then most of the bugs(Polyend gear always has bugs) will be sorted. Also I'm fed up of being a beta tester!
This is inspiring to watch. I recently got back into using the Nintendo DS to make synth music (16th notes on a grid with patterns rather than a tracker) so the concept is similar. I'd highly recommend Korg DS-10 and also DSN-12 if you have a 3DS, the former is two monophonic synths and four drum voices, the latter a more versatile 8 monophonic synths that can be anything. The limitations and framework of these things can lead to very different music than picking up a guitar, and I like that. EDM is super fun to make.
wow if these features come to mini thats amazing. I didn't expect it to have the horsepower to support it so i was watching the video pretty bummed about what i would be missing out on. Great news, and it makes sense now there was a steep discount on the regular tracker
I really love the workflow on the original Tracker, and it's a pity that it doesn't have synth engines, but it makes sense from marketing perspective I guess. I think I'll consider upgrade to Tracker+ in future, I love to play around with synths more than with samples. P. S. That track you've made in the video is just beautiful!
I second the appreciation of your integrity with the sponsored content deal. Huge integrity as usual and you are so damn awesome besides. Thanks for another outstanding video, David!
Considering I used trackers as both my introduction to music production and as my first MIDI sequencer, I have a very soft spot for these hardware trackers and the thoughtful additions made that would have blown my day back in the early 90s. I honestly prefer the workflow to any of the modern DAWs. If PolyEnd wants to send me one, I promise to make you a really nice video 😉
There is a fantastic video by Ahoy here on RU-vid that is a history of tracker music and the demo scene. Well worth a watch for anyone interested in tracker music.
I feel like this could be used as a super powerful step sequencer tool. I was thinking abt getting a key step pro or smt of the sort but maybeeeeee. I have a new excuse to get something unique.
Thanks for your video inspiring! Questions: can we play samples on 16 tracks (or only 8 tracks + 8 synths/midi tracks)? Can I transfer tracks from/to Tracker+ and old DAW trackers like FastTracker2? Suggestion: I would be interested in a video focusing on synth engine capacities! Thanks
So cool, like a timewarp back to 1988, where I started making tracker music with my Amiga 500 😊. Can this tracker also make these legendary chords by fast playing single notes ? - Thanx . Really like your Videos … Greetings from Vienna😀😎
Thankyou for a great demo. About to get a mini. I might have missed it but is the mini 2.0 going to be a firmware update or an uodated piece of hardware. A mini plus if you will.
Just got mine like "Oh, no PERC yet". Kinda why I bought it and I knew it was in the works but its pretty loose on the timeline and details and after seeing it a few times, kinda assumed it would be a day 1 firmware update. Either way, initial reaction is good, but dam, really wanting "PERC".
This type of music creation is so fascinating. There's a great artist that I listen to that makes music entirely through this type of software. His name is FearOfDark, I would highly recommend checking him out. Love your videos, this is super interesting!
Polyend and David. QQ - Does the Tracker Plus finally support multi-timbral external MIDI control of voices in MIDI Synth mode? The usefulness of the mode on the original was kind of limited because I could only control a single voice (polyphonically) at a time from Ableton. It would be significantly more useful as a synth-sampler module if I could program playback of 16 separate monophonic instruments from Ableton.
The only "missing piece" for me is that I wish there were chord inputs on a single track. I know that's not how traditional trackers work, but there's really no reason to hold onto old software limitations.
First fix the bugs on the OG. Later release a new version. Latest firmware update introduced even more bugs. This thing can´t be used professionally because it hangs all the time.
Tracker based composing is the only way that makes sense to me. I even use renoise to control my animatronics😅. Even Keith303 was impressed! (king of tracker).
@@RonCavagnaro Yes...I know that...thanks anyway. I am still trying to decide what would suit me better. Telling me they are similar but different, does nothing.
