Sorry about the re-upload 😅 KZread finally decided to make this version HD after 4 tries! ▼▼▼🎹 Get a Polyend Tracker 🎹▼▼▼ bit.ly/3hbw5mK

@pidof

Жыл бұрын

My name is Cameron too. From one Cameron to another: get a theory board. From IRIJULE

Brings back memories from the late 80's on the Commedore Amiga 500 with Soundtracker/Noisetracker/Protracker.

@DeanGvozdic

2 жыл бұрын

OctaMED was my favorite tracker back in those days

@jamescuttsmusicjcm5013

2 жыл бұрын

it does!..... i am not sure i'd want to go back there though. ahahaha. ummm.

Glad you're digging it! I've had a harder time really getting into the flow with the Tracker myself, but the features built into this thing are surprisingly powerful.

Thank you Cameron!

@wizetek

2 жыл бұрын

🤘

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for making such a cool device!

@charliehill8068

Жыл бұрын

Hi polyend, don’t know if you’ll read this but please please please mak your granulator polyphonic - it would make this instrument the perfect musical hardware out there

@dhonkeypunch

Ай бұрын

as an old ModPlug Tracker afficionado i must say that I hate myself for being too poor to buy your wonderful apparatus! i dont mean its too expensive, it cant be, just that i wish i could afford it but I accidentslly bought a Roland Phantom before i learned about your device from a video about which software and hardware aphex twin used

I got one,and I am in love..It's NOT what you think if you have MPCs and DAWs,and you can take it anywhere.You can take it on a bus/train,sit in the park,and use a powerbank..amazing...

I love the tracker it literally has been my go to for making tunes and music when I don't have time to get stuck in! I also take it on walks and jam in the countryside which is super refreshing, sometimes even bringing a microphone to record stuff. Really great review and you made so e lush stuff straight away, would dig a Blofeld and tracker performance full video!

Learning the Elektron workflow made the transition to the Tracker much easier, also the Polyend YT tutorials are clear and quick per function. I can create some really whacky/bizarre sequences, very keen to hook it up to other midi synths to see what comes out and resample live into my 1010 Blackbox and OT Mk2

For people with little time for composition; there is an in-unit mod option. You just have to compose with octomed, renoise or others via your computer / convert it / upload in tracker and let's go. I think tracker with tempera (granular) can be a great combination.

I dont know how one would want to stretch the word sounddesign, but for me its the righ tool for it and recently i decided to buy the mini to, its even better and to have them both is a creative inspiration for me, that will last a long time.

Always superb content, thank you. Also, it's cool that you mentioned Ricky Tinez - I had no idea that you knew one another but strangely I always list Venus Theory and Ricky Tinez as two of the best youtube music production channels, you both have different styles but both share the same superb energy and top quality content which is often way ahead of the game when compared to other youtubers in the same category. and always with the super pro tech details and pro opinoons that we all love. Thank you

version been updated to 1.51 and I hear is very good. I just got it yesterday and so thrilled with it. I love that its so portable, that it could be use for busking a back track for your performance, and that it has 8 assign Midi command for the Midi foot switch. Looking forward to try that. I cant wait to try the chord mode. Which was the main reason I wanted this.

Agreed. Polyend is criminally underated. Their hardware is top notch, the features are interesting, the support is great. They are the real deal. I resisted getting the Tracker at first, but man I'm I glad I took the plunge. Got me excited about recording again.

Excellent overview - particular appreciate your practical and musical insights. Thank you.

Since I used trackers alot in my teens it felt like home. There's a reason this idiom was so popular.

Only had mine a couple of weeks and I've only had limited time on it although I'm getting my head around it quicker than i thought. I used Octamed as a kid in the late 80s on my Amiga so the workflow isn't totally alien to me. The best thing out it is ironically it's limits. When i used a DAW with limitless, channels, fx, plugins etc, etc I'd get lost tweaking superfluous stuff for hours. With the Tracker you know when the limit has been reached and you don't end up going down a rabbit hole needlessly tweaking stuff like you would on a DAW.

It took me a while to unlock the power of the tracker, but once I figured everything out, I really love it. To get the most out of the wave table synth, you have to assign an envelope or a LFO to the wavetable position.

@sub-jec-tiv

2 жыл бұрын

The granular mode too. It’s my favorite thing on this box (besides performance mode which is bonkers).

@hiding_my_name

2 жыл бұрын

@@sub-jec-tiv I really wish there were multiple grains to work with.

really good video on this that managed to be more informative regarding real-world use than most.

The performance features of the tracker are really dope! I come from Elektron devices and it definitely reminds me of the Octatrack how you can completely go nuts with fx performance!

Wait, I don't have to remember the HEX codes for each instrument and effect?

For a non Music noob who just bit the bullet........wow... I am still so excited and happily surprised at how my 'F#-"*- Ups' can still come together. Mistakes can be magic and the standalone Tracker is a wonderful product for doing just that. Explore and be amazed...

I love the Polyend Tracker... got it just before firmware 1.4 dropped... I was holding off since I was also considering the the Dirty Waves M-8 tracker... the larger screen and Performance Mode won me over to the Polyend Tracker. Still throwing side glances at the M-8 as it has the Mutable Braids engine... and has a 3 FX slots and is much more portable/pocketable... the support for tracker tables is also a big addition. I was using NitroTracker 0.4 on the Nintendo DS-Lite a whole bunch on the go... and decided I wanted a tracker with actual MIDI connections. Performance Mode is the Polyend Tracker's killer feature that ultimately pushed me over the edge. I'm in the 7.6% of your demographic chart... so I remember the 80's. NES ROM support might also have given the Polyend a slight edge... but in that regard the DS-Lite will play Kirby's Adventure while the Polyend Tracker said "Defender 2 and Joust are good enough for you, now go make some music."

@stogertone

2 жыл бұрын

if you're curious about the m8 but unsure about pre-ordering you should look into the headless option as a way to try it out. I recently received mine though and it has actually become my preferred workflow to my daw and I definitely would say it was worth every penny and minute i waited.

I cannot believe it has taken me a year to watch this vid!! really great coverage of one of my most beloved magickal gadgets. bravo, polyend!! bravo, cameron!! yaaaay!!

Sunvox is also a good modern software tracker 👍

Memories of OctoMED Tracker on the Amiga

Yeah, it's back. Very curious about the Polyend Tracker!

For me personally, the kind of microscopic control the Tracker workflow is offering is exactly what I was kind of craving for on other devices (like the MPC). I mean, I also enjoy jamming intuitively with analog instruments in a band, or digital ones in the studio, and give myself away to just let music evolve. Yet, when it comes to actually arranging a song idea, I really enjoy to go into all those nitty gritty details. Maybe it satisfies a slight OCD tendency inside myself 📎 + there seems to be something inherent in the workflow + randomization features etc. which facilitates reproducible happy accidents; which one can then decide to eliminate OR to evolve further. I really like that.

Just got one and I really love it! I approach it as a sequencing machine for my hardware that has the "bonus" of being able to play samples. The V1 being so cheap at the moment, it seems worth it. Enjoy!

Ove had one for a year but i want ti say awesome review and simple explanation of what the tracker is and iant

I have never developed workflow so getting this and learning it can’t and probably won’t hurt me 😎

In Renoise (its Software!) for example you can have up to 12 Note Events per Track (Column) and an infinite amount of tracks in the project (maybe its not inf. but you can go way beyond 8). The Polyend Tracker has a certain amount of CPU Power and Memory. So they have to limit the Trackcount and everything else. Its a different approach to a DAW but once you figured it out it can help your creative processes. I do like it... . Cheers

Very clearly explained stuff ! If only everyone made such informative videos about gear - world would be nicer place haha - Well done dude!

Mate, beautifully filmed video!

great video! thanks for the info :)

Love your content dude!

As of the time of this writing, they are on sale on Reverb (with the new Mini on the way). Looking forward to working within the confined spaces of the hardware tracker (get hit with paralysis quite a bit when there's too many options going on)

Just watched this (2 years late). Great overview. Do you still have/use the Tracker? Just bought mine again for the 2nd time, metal gray version; also thinking of trying the Polyend Play as well. Thanks

Nice video , relly like the way you aprroached. Due to the fact you are user of hooktheory, what do you think about creating like melodies and chord progressions there and them some how reflected here, do you think is it something doable? any suggestion to use it in tandem with hookpad?

Amazing how many of the issues you flagged got fixed. Bonkersly creative bit of kit for peeps looking to step off the beaten path

I startet my productions at 98 wir an Amiga 2000 and octamed , it was the same 😉🙏

I will say. I love their aesthetics. It's very modern and clean with some warmth to it. It looks like a modern art piece. I love the colors they chose. You really want to make something with it.

I was very close to purchasing one and then I checked their website and see that it even though it has midi capabilities you cannot load standard midi files and they also state there are no plans to implement that. I have a slew of midi files from my now defunct Yamaha QX3 that I would like to import, but I guess I'll keep looking. Oh, I thought about getting another QX3, but so far the ones I've found are priced similar to this tracker, and most QX3' have the crap beat out of them. I do have a pre-order for Dirtywaves M8, but that is more for mobile use.

Worth a buy then? I'm digging the layout and features from what I have seen so far.

Sick to see someone shout out the Nerdseq when discussing the polyend as i feel the nerdseq had gotten a bit overshadowed, and I dig their rack version with it's expansion modules. However, (and perhaps you're still waiting to get your hands on one) but the Dirtywave M8 tracker is definitely very powerful, fairly unique, and deserving of a mention if not an entire video. I definitely recommend looking into the m8 headless option to try it out if you're either not keen on waiting or are currently waiting for one. Digging your videos, man. Cheers!

@mb2776

Жыл бұрын

The option of another hardware tracker like the polyend is great, good that it exists. I had high hopes for it, but the workflow with the pads and stuff just isn't for me. That's why I probably get a M8. I'm also really familiar with LSDJ so I guess that helps too.

Regarding "polyphony" in a tracker, I once heard someone saying that you can make "fake chords" by creating really fast arpeggios with the notes. I never used a tracker (although I know what they are and how they work), so I don't know how good are the results, but suddenly a lot of video game music from the 8 and 16-bit eras started to make sense.

@vgaportauthority9932

2 жыл бұрын

Some trackers let you make small arpeggios per step, that was often used in game music of the olden times. A lot of the weapon sounds as well. They're just chromatic flurries often.

@reallivebluescat

Жыл бұрын

Thats what they did with super mario

renoise daw is the same shizzle, funny to see the late 80s stuff coming back in 2020+ with a update

There's also Dirtywave M8 Tracker

do you have a tutorial to show me how you set up the polyend with the blofeld in multi

It's like a hardware version of the old scream tracker.. man the good old days of trying to sample notes of all the greats . I spent a long time getting Randy Roads' guitar into a sample to make iron man. Lol. I just realized that subconsciously I'm making a midi version of this exact thing. Multiple notes/midi events for step..

Another box to try (also very good for noodling around): Synthstrom Deluge

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

It's on my list! Been trying to get a hold of one to try for a while now, but no luck quite yet haha.

@25adbond

2 жыл бұрын

Def concur on that. I thought it would be like my circuit but its a box of surprises and I am writing 70% worth of a song on it before bouncing to a daw

The only thing this really needs imo is the option to switch tracks from being an audio voice to being a FM synth voice

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

That'd be great to see!

OK. Take note, Polyend. And thank you Mr. Theory. I’ve watched more than several videos about the tracker and THIS is the video that made me purchase it. Should be arriving within 18 hours. Like a lot of others here, a tracker will be a whole new dimension for me. I have always resisted DAWS and I am hoping that with its seemingly more intuitive (albeit unique, ahem) interface and all of its creative and tactile mangling capabilities, my inspiration will once again ignite. Though a whole different animal, don’t pardon the pun, I recently returned the Pioneer Toraiz Squid because, despite all of its sequencing possibilities, not having any on board sound design tools just killed the creative flow for me.

@omnifvck2596

2 жыл бұрын

I have the pre order model, It's fun in so many ways. Once you know where everything is and start getting the muscle memory down, you start to flow.

@bluebull399

2 жыл бұрын

Did you ever give reason a try. This was the obvious step for me moving from trackers. I liked the fact everything was built in like the tracker and better still, every knob on every instrument could be programmed. It was very familiar however, instead of using effect commands, you woukd draw the envelopes using the mouse.

@audiosourceunknown2673

2 жыл бұрын

How have you been getting on with the Tracker?..

@brianr5975

2 жыл бұрын

@@bluebull399 Sorry I didn’t respond earlier. I forgot to mention that I am pretty fiercely anti-software as far as music creation goes. I’ve always needed the tactile surface of hardware.

@brianr5975

2 жыл бұрын

@@audiosourceunknown2673 Thanks for asking. I do love the tracker and I find it very inspirational. As others have mentioned, its “limitations“ are a source for great creativity. When I feel like just flipping on a unit and banging on some keys or twisting some knobs, I have my hardware synths. When I am in a mood where I’m down for some in-depth creative sound design where I have very precise control, I can utilize the tracker AND those synths all at once to achieve a sort of balance in my technique.

Great review. I wonder how you would feel about diving into Renoise now that you have spent quality time tracking.

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

Might check it out at some point! Just need to find the time to really give it a proper go

@Artersa

2 жыл бұрын

@@VenusTheory Renoise only gets better and better.

So happy I found you

i got the tracker mini version . Game changer

Did you have a trim over the top of the Blofeld? lol

Hi Cameron, have you ever tried Renoise?

As someone who used trackers religiously. I can confirm, you absolutely need to have 16 tracks. One way round it would be to sample your chords (as they did in the amiga 4 channel days). However, this was very limiting and a lot of tracker musicians would not want to go back to these limitations. I'm really surprised at the 8 channel limitation as there's no reason why modern hardware couldn't do more.

I don't think you mentioned what is imo the biggest limitation of the Tracker: sample record stops playback. So when you're doing that generative vibe on the Blofeld, you would not be able to capture it and manipulate it in the Tracker without some additional recording device. Overall I agree with your review, the Tracker has become my go-to music gear to take on the go despite its limitations. As a sample-based production device, it makes more sense to me than an SP-404.

what mic and effects do u use?

crazy question but can you run other hardware gear straight in for live recording or sampling such as synths?

@harveytherobot

2 жыл бұрын

You absolutely can. But not for long periods of time. 45 seconds max. But it’s not really designed for recording long tracks. You can sample external audio and chop up loops (or not) or sounds to turn into instruments. But you can also sequence external hardware and run the audio through the tracker in stereo.

@ultrajayme

2 жыл бұрын

@@harveytherobot thanks

@russellwoodstechno

2 жыл бұрын

i’m gonna sample my Pocket Operators into it if i get one. no more worrying about syncing and volume levels.

Good job on your delivery buddy. It takes effort to make decent video.. bravo

Is it possible to sequence midi and record the incoming external audio at the same time? One of my frustrations of sampler workflow is having to prepare everything on a computer beforrhand

@604Yarks

2 жыл бұрын

It can sequence midi, but the tracker itself won't record incoming audio.

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

I suppose you could by sending it to a synth and outputting the synth to the line-in with an adapter. Not sure how that works in practice as I haven't tried it, but I'd assume it's possible.

@insidestraight4659

2 жыл бұрын

@@VenusTheory I just received a tracker, so I will try tonight, from the reading the new manual they describe this exact workflow so I am hopeful

Can you share how you do your vocal processing for your videos?

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

Recently covered that in my 'making of a video' video!

As both a tracker owner and Beagle dad, I demand to know where you got that shirt.

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

Got it as a gift from my lovely wife haha - asked her and she said she found it on Amazon!

@ak99uk

2 жыл бұрын

There can only be one... I was lucky enough to get "Best Dad" again this year. I've never been even 2nd, which is cool.

My buddy Mesmer almost soley uses a tracker and hes making bangers.

I wonder is there any updates on this device

Dude….you should be a DJ. I assume you do Voice Over work. If not…you should. Great voice for it. Love your videos. Great info!

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you dig the channel! I don't do voiceover stuff regularly, but it is something I do every once in a while!

Your radio voice rules

Dang son love your soothing voice you need to read Audiobooks Also I need that tracker too! Ha!

shoutout Elijah Craig, that's good hooch

Thanks for your review of the Polyend Tracker. I'm considering trading my Digitakt for this tracker.

@BendApparatus

2 жыл бұрын

Did you do it? I don't think that'd be an upgrade... The Digitakt is powerful...

@channelite

2 жыл бұрын

@@BendApparatus I never sold my Digitakt, still in a box in my closet. I still like trackers, though I spent some money the Bitwig 4 upgrade and I'm into that at the moment. The Polyend Tracker would be awesome if it were sitting on my desk.

@BendApparatus

2 жыл бұрын

@@channelite lol yeah I want a polyend myself. I've never owned an Elektron device. I've heard their workflow is completely different than anything else. I have a Novation Rythm and a Circuit. I'm hesitant on the tracker because like mentioned it supposedly makes more sense to people who are decent at math... something I'm trash at... But I would like a more powerful tool than the 2 aforementioned devices... Like apples and oranges, the 2 I'm heavily considering between is the Polyend and the Akai Force... The force supposedly uses a simple clip/loop based workflow... The only thing I've ever produced an entire song in was that old MAGIX studio software...which was basically editable loops... Of course...1 is $500 the force is 1k...😬

Re. apples and oranges, the Deluge maybe?

I'm thinking about sampling Your voice and using it as a bass source on my next track... You have more bass than any of analogue tracks on my Syntakt...

Isn't that essentially Renoise or SunVox in a box?

@zetrel

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah but quite limited. Still, I can imagine playing with a hardware tracker would be infinitely more fun than sitting behind a computer monitor.

TOP!

Check out the Dirtywave M8 another amazing tracker at a great price.

Haha I knew you would like it lol 😆

And next, get an amiga emulator and try the original protracker. 8 bit samples, 4 voices. 512Kbyte ram...

I've seen this listed used for as little as £350. Worth a punt or not?

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

That's a pretty damn good deal I'd say haha - the only 'word of warning' with the tracker that I can think of is that you just need to be fairly open-minded to alternative approaches and workflows especially if you've never used a tracker before. Very fun device though, and I really love using it for some generative sequencing stuff with my other hardware!

@LurkingCrassZero

2 жыл бұрын

@@VenusTheory I missed out on the £350 deal:-( Cheers for the info and vid. Really got me wanting one now. lol

Well that explains it pretty neathly thank you. It's a Sound Tracker who's married to Audacity.

Syntronik Free by IK MultiMedia is nice. You sound make a video on it.

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

I'll note it down!

Latest firmware is a killer too

As a renoise-Freak, I feel this is my safespace now :)

Jeskola Buzz for lyfe!

Instead of more tracks I feel like an ability to play different patterns at the same time would be welcome. So you can combine one pattern with just drum elements with another pattern of synth elements. I think you could do some cool live things that way. Would be especially cool if you can assign these patterns to the pads (activate/mute or unmute them that way).

@burprobrox9134

11 ай бұрын

It plays 8 patterns at a time, which can be either drums or synths, samples, whatever.

@arthurhiroa4238

11 ай бұрын

@@burprobrox9134 Oh, wait. So I can actually play 8 patterns of 8 tracks at the same time on this machine?

I miss ScreamTracker 3 ;)

People over here complaining that 8 tracks ain't enough.😂 Look at all the amazing Commodore 64 music that's out there! That's all done on THREE TRACKS and sounds like it's on 8! Trackers can be incredibly powerful if you know how to utilize the power they're presenting you with. If you can't do what you want in 8 tracks, then most likely you're wasting space in your tracks with stuff you don't need.

Damn, you're just like me, two dudes whose voices match not our outward appearance. Onward my Deep voiced Glasses wearing brotha!

I'm sorry. If you can please show your face a bit more often. Your voice and face match really well for me so it really makes me want to watch. That is the reason for my like. Thanks for the tracker review. Very useful.

@PapyPetitPois

2 жыл бұрын

Liked, followed, subcribed, belled, tweeted, faxed and pidgeoned.

@PapyPetitPois

2 жыл бұрын

Even if I disagree

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

God tier comment

@gullahgeeche5702

2 жыл бұрын

LOL

Fun fact: You can play NES games on this thing. It's nucking futs.

i feel inclined to leave a comment to counteract yt algo

@Skyverb

2 жыл бұрын

Word

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

Hopefully the re-upload doesn't hurt the performance too much. Already seems like the traction is dead but fingers crossed!

and...it'doesnt play stereosamples and converts AND resamples to mono

Not having the possibility to out the project at higher resolution than 16bits 44.1 khzs makes the machine not really usable for professional lets say album making... So sad, since this issue is really keeping me not buying the Polyend Tracker.

why does it look like an expensive piece of hardware used for an old fasttracker software that was made when the Amiga computer was made

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

Well, because I suppose that's more or less what it is haha. Definitely an oddball of a unit, but quite a bit of fun!

@jeroendeclercq7580

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed. The hardware looks sweet. They need a ui designer and a step sequencer mode!

Uh.. a hardware amiga protracker? 😀

Love the copy and paste …. There is truly nothing like this piece of Gear in the world. Won’t be the brains of any set up | but she is covers a lot of ground. Excited for more Firmware. ( needs horns) and trumpets

Have you seen Ahoy's video on the history of trackers? kzread.info/dash/bejne/pKN2zclmmbPYkto.html He just released it today.

@VenusTheory

2 жыл бұрын

I have not - thanks for the recommendation! Will add it to my playlist.

Bump

You have nice hands

Cm has no D#. just an Eb!!!!1!1!1!!