1010music nanobox devices (currently lemondrop, fireball, razzmatazz, tangerine) fulfill all of the criteria nicely and at a fair price.
2 Likes
It’s a tricky category for sure. The Circuits are nice but can’t really hook into a computer based workflow for further development without loads of faffing about. In my mind, in a category where you have the circuits at circa £300 and the M8 at around £600-ish, the OG Polyend Play looks interesting at its new price (currently £433 on Thomann.) It’s a bit more than a Circuit admittedly, but you get all the generative goodies that you get with a Polyend device, plus it’s a bit more capable in the MIDI department. Plus export is a drag & drop job. Feels like of the options out there, this one sits in something of a sweet spot. Not sure why they seem not to have dropped the price of the OG tracker as that is a very sweet noodling piece of gear also.
Wait until they release the Tracker plus. 
2 Likes
such a great track!
1 Like
You already have the Mini which is perfect but a bit expensive and th build quality is apparently a bit shady
I am really coming back to this idea.
I was seriously thinking about putting the trigger on a Yamaha Seqtrak because it’s compact, has a battery and speakers and a few channels of audio and speakers, but then for the same price so does a base level iPad and does a ton more besides.
OK so it doesn’t have hardware controls, but I have a launchpad pro and could easily get a Korg BT MIDI controller.
I am wondering when people mention iPads - is it intentional (as there are specific apps on iOS not available on Android), or is it a synonym to “tablet” in this context? Thanks
There are probably 100x music apps on IOS compared to Android.
On Android you basically have Koala, FL and Zen Beats. (All of which are good), but not much else.
1 Like
Not only are there many more iOS music apps compared to Android, but a number of them only run on iPads as opposed to iPhones, because of screen size.
1 Like
This total Haq talks a little about it.
I think I might be in the same boat as you again sir!
I currently make 2 types of music. One is DAW based and fully produced, the other is more atmospheric sample based stuff, which is often less produced, kinda. For days where it’s the classic “long day at work looking at a screen” or “kids are in bed, I’ve got 20 mins” a noodling device is something I’m definitley after, and I know where it sits in my setup better now. While this type of music can be done in a DAW, I found myself experimenting in a new way when using hardware and I’d like to revisit that. One example here of me doing my best impression of Jamie XX and the Field.
What I want is a portable gadget where I can build a track like that, but ideally with some features that allow easy management of samples, and also DAW export. Essentially I’m after an interesting sequencer, good audio editing, some form of granular processing and a boat load of effects. I tried using a phone with some apps but I find them far too fiddly, even with nice apps like Koala and Ableton Note, I just craved a much bigger screen. So this whirling around in my head narrowed it down to either a) an iPad or b) a portable hardware device.
One candidate here is the Tracker Mini. I think we both had the OG Tracker? The only reason I parted with the OG is that it was almost portable. In a 100% ideal scenario I prefer battery power so I can pick it up and play or even take it to a corner of the house. That said, I’ve heard all the quality concerns and that has me also concerned about dropping £620 on something that might be faulty or might not last long. On paper though, it’s pretty much exactly what I’m describing above - and it’s a genuine break from daily driver screens. Also, the Polyend version of the tracker has all that generative goodness. That’s probably the thing I miss most about the OG, it really did lead to some unusual and interesting results. There’s also the KOii which looks fun and way cheaper, but no stem output isn’t something I’m into so I’d potentially pass on that.
Once you consider the Tracker Mini which is retailing at £620, it’s hard not to take a long look a the iPad. The biggest downside is that it’s yet another screen? But it’s also portable and heck, at least it’s a different screen. There are some awesome apps for iPad, especially thinking of Borderlands that let you go hands on with sample manipulation which is an interesting/unique way of playing with samples. Then there’s all the big players like Loopy and so on for putting a track together. Thinking of doing a bit of reading on what works for people in there, but it’s a tricky call.
2 Likes
I’m basically thinking the same thing as you.
I got so close to buying the B-Stock Seqtrak today on Music Matter, but I don’t think a groovebox is really going to satisfy me.
I’m a big fan of the Tracker, but the Mini is still a very limited device and at £629 it’s more than an iPad Air which makes it very hard to justify.
I’ve currently using an old Air 2 with a shattered screen, but hooking it up to a Launch Pad you really do get the groovebox vibes and it’s also really fun that new DAWs or plugins are generally £20 rather than £150 including things like Fabfilter etc.
Apparently the new iPads are out in March so if I’m still into it then I might invest in something new and shiny.
1 Like
I think 1010 Blackbox from both this post and your post in the iPad apps thread. The only hesitation is it doesn’t have heaps of effects, or DAW export (though I believe you can now have 3-4 stereo outputs assigned separately if you include the HP out).
2 Likes
In the end I picked up a Tracker (Mini) gulp. Main reason being that I realised after I posted that it basically fits the description I started with - a sample based device with no distractions - which also meets the brief of this thread for my use case. Of the hardware I have had, the OG tracker is the one I miss the most. I still think iOS is a unique music making possibility though, but that is one for later on…
Some initial thoughts on unboxing the Tracker. Given I had a very short time with the OG, (and also given that this was 2 years ago,) the speed with which I was able to pick this up was a surprise. I’m nowhere near fluent yet, but I sketched a track in a few hours which was encouraging - and it shows Polyend did a good job with the workflow.
I actually prefer the buttons to the jogwheel. The jogwheel was especially useful in perform mode but for everything else, up/down/left/right feels easier to use. I know a lot of people use this to build the basis of a track in stems; and for that it’s perfect, but performing has been downgarded. Whether that matters is gonna be up to you. Having a mic over a radio is different but the mic edges it for me. Since this is a sampler, the fact that you can do all sorts without having to faff about finding files and doing line-in is useful. I’ve already done the “rub it and make a shaker” thing. The OG tracker was 80% portable, it’s nice to see it hit 100% in that department too. The battery is good (I got a 3-4hr session and the battery is on something like 65%.) Compare that with a Circuit where you’re lucky to get 2-3 hours out of a full charge. The one potential knock here is that like other portable boxes, I don’t know if it’s possible to replace it, or whether it will be dead in a year. If the battery becomes run down so that it needs to be tethered to a desk, then it would lose its charm as a portable box for sure. Also; boring but important. The fact that you can have a good chunk of samples on your SD card and bring them with you is great (it seems to take bigger Sandisk cards no problem). Now that it has something like 8 mins of memory per project, you’re still restricted, but not so much that you can’t have a free running loop for example (in stereo too!).
The build I would say is decent where the OG was maybe very good or excellent. I haven’t owned enough other devices, to comment on those, but it doens’t feel flimsy or badly made. It’s definitley got an air of being hand assembled, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. The one weak spot I notice is the buttons in the middle seem to be one piece of silicon where the ones around the ends feel like individual components. This does make the central panel slightly mushy and you might get slight mistriggers occasionally, but if you press them with intent, it works fine and is not a showstopper. It’s also much quieter too, which is again good if you’re sitting on the couch with other people and don’t want to trigger them with clicky buttons.
The OG Tracker to me also looked like it had elements of hand assembly (eg: slightly off centre button positions) so this seems consistent with Polyend builds in general. The last thing I will say on that is Polyend did a great job on the price to value ratio. I know they’ve come in for some stick here. But they make their kit in Poland, rather than farming it out somewhere cheaper, which feels like they’re in an unfair fight with 90% of the market on price.If other companies manufactured locally, I don’t think they’d be knocking out £300 grooveboxes. Also other cheap boxes can be a bit of a false economy at times. You get the device for cheap, but then add a hard case, some cables and memory cards and you’re very quickly in the same ballpark as a tracker, and that’s with cheap manufacture too. The Tracker Mini is an all in one buy so while it is retailing here in the UK for £600 ish, if it came with nothing else that would probably be a bad buy. But the fact that I imagine the unit is maybe £500 and all the extras come for “free” make it the best combo of bang for buck, portability and features out there. And no internet to boot!
5 Likes
Fantastic write up.
I would love a Tracker Mini, but given I have the OG it’s really hard to justify it especially when it’s the price of an iPad Air.
I think if they add the synth engines from the Play+ (which surely must be on the roadmap) it would become truly amazing.
1 Like
That’s exactly my problem with iPad/iPhone/Android/game boy/tiny boxes touch screens synths: they require so much broadband from your eyes to your brain to play with them.
The TE that had only leds op-z I think and the new Yamaha seem less demanding and more easy to just muscle memory them. Just like with an instrument guitar/flute/piano.
Models too: 1 knob per function, 12 knobs = 12 functions and that’s it. You don’t even need the screen.
This has been my conclusion each time I’ve considered an OP-1 Field… it’s MacBook/iPad Pro money… and, I get that it’s not that simple, but that’s my personal barrier to it.
Thank you kind sir! If you still have the OG, then the use case for the Mini isn’t cut & dry. Pricing wise, there was a moment when the OG was like £450 or something which looking back is phenomenal value. But wow, if they add synths then it’s in dream device territory. Hadn’t thought of that!
I would never recommend the polyend , save up for the M8. It does sampling much better, doesn’t crash as much which maybe because I use samples a lot when I had it. But yeah everything is so smooth with the M8 that it changed my mind about trackers
1 Like
Nanoloop FM or T-8, with earbuds.