still no manual, eh?
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And potted succulents
I canāt see it: this thing is bigger and heavier than my MacBook Pro, which also has like 70 keys for about the same tactile interaction experience, just no knob. Of course, itās a lot cheaper, but I donāt feel inspired to mess with it given my current options on laptop and iPad, and Iāll try anything, then flip it on eBay if I need to.
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For sure. Polyends Preset module is such a simple idea but in that format itās super innovative!
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I rewatched the Loopop video again. As he plays the Tracker from a keyboard, it sounds like it has eight voice polyphony from the keybed, not eight separate voices like the Digitakt. It seems to behave natively as the Digitakt does if you connect it to a RK-002 or similar device.
That makes sense, considering its approach to chords within the sequencer, and certainly puts it a step ahead the Digitakt for me personally.
yeah, its just like 8 steps on the tracker with that one sound, should be easy to record a lot of ambient stuff this way, even tho at this stage there are no probability steps used. nice indeed
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I totally understand your point, and that point could be applied to why use anything other than a laptop than purchase or explore the almost endless range of musical tools available to make music (guitar, drums, Roland xox boxes, Elektron gear, vintage synths etc, 4 track recorders, effect pedals etc etc) we all choose our tools right? This is just another tool, if you can be inspired and do everything you want on a laptop, then I would only encourage one to continue doing just that. for some of us thatās not how we prefer to work, I use two Mac books on the regular running various trackers and daws, but for me personally I find inspiration in limitations, and hardwares that shifts my perspectives in regards to writing and how I develop my personal skill set. To each is own right? 
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I like this and really enjoyed loopops video. One reason why I donāt feel instant buy for me though. I want to see the the internal memory upgraded. I just canāt hang with 90 secs.
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therefore the question: is it possible for the different notes to behave independently from each other? like overlapping sounds on one track for instance.
Itās just that it looks plain redundant as opposed to productively limiting. If you have a screwdriver, why go out and get the same screwdriver again? I look hard for reasons to talk myself into trying something new because Iām fortunate enough economically to be able to make this kind of purchase without concern for whatever Iād lose in selling it. But in watching the demos, Iām struck by how much it looks like interacting with a laptop, at about the same level of inspiration or less. Its keys donāt seem to offer an advantage, and there are fewer of them, and the screen is much smaller without anything nifty like touch sensitivity. The one difference is the big knob, but it looks like itās doing nothing more than increasing and decreasing selected values. Iām the most mouse-hatingest person I know, but in this case using a mouse to slide a value up or down (as opposed to clicking through nested levels of annoyance) looks like virtually the same kind of physical interaction. Iām all for accomplishing similar tasks via different cognitive routes as a way to maintain freshness. For example, my 1010 Blackbox does much less than a computer, but itās so ergonomically different and so super portable that it lets me work differently when I want to. Iām always looking for at least a little difference that I can jump in on., and I virtually always find it. Polyendās tracker, though, just looks like a repetition of a laptop in the way you work with it, only much less so without offering a single twist or alternative point of view for me to seduce myself with. Is there something specific that grabs you here?
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Since the 8 tracks are monophonic: no, you will need at least two tracks for overlapping notes. The spreading of multiple āconcurrentā notes across multi tracks is just a comfortable input feature. The monophonic restrictions of the hardware are still in place.
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If you have no problems being productive with a tracker on your laptop, thereās probably no reason to get Polyendās.
But there are lots of us who use our laptops for our day jobs, and itās the last thing we want to use to make music.
Imagine if Ableton released a standalone hardware platform for Live. Itād probably be a big seller. Why? Less outside distraction. More focus on the task at hand-- creating music. So we tracker heads feel super lucky to have this offering from Polyend.
Itās the same reason why dedicated hardware still exists in the age of computers. Have you ever wanted to log on to Facebook with your Octatrack? Probably not. It does not help streamline the creative process 
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My biggest gripe with the idea of using a laptop for the same thing is that every laptop or computer for that matter has been plagued with issues both hardware and software, I generally donāt even take them out the house or move them around much so it doesnāt exactly inspire confidence in the idea of spending out on a laptop for something like this. From whatās presented so far with the Polyend, I know for certain that Iād be able to make songs that Iād personally be happy with out and about being able to sample things on the go the a dynamic mic. I donāt necessarily need everything that renoise has to offer to make the music I want to make but it is nice to know that projects on the polyend can be exported to Renoise if you do want to take things further.
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As an old timer, I used many a software MIDI sequencer on Ataris, Amigas, Macs etc, and spent a lot of time in their vertical, scrolling āevent listsā. And when āaffordableā samplers like the Mirage and EPS hit the scene, I got very good indeed at maximizing sample memory. In fact, I still use both of those machines.
For that reason, I see this is a potentially inspiring little box. While the now-released specs have put some would-be users off, they only serve to remind me why it appeals to me in the first place - limitations that force creativity. I was never more productive than I was in the years after the EPS came out, and it still inspires me today. The limitations force me to take new approaches and a more cavalier attitude about sound quality - something about which I can get a bit too obsessed.
Then again, maybe I simply need to get Renoiseā¦
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For me yes, no computer, no vstās, no endless options on filters, eqās blah blah blahā¦Iāll be honest with you, Iām old, I started years n a death roll ago on an Atari 5200 st/cubase and ive used at one time or another every daw thatās been commercially available, so like I said I totally get where youāre coming from, been there myself a time or two. I love trackers, their punk as fuk and far more interesting to write with, just my opinion, Iāve been using them for decades, to me they have a unique advantage over traditional daws, but again thatās my opinion, so when a new tracker is released Iām all over it, add a hardware platform to a tracker?! And Iām soaked like beans on toast lol!!
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but is it like cutting a note or are there any transients running into each other?
like a reverb tail and suchā¦
Same here kat, ācavalierā indeedā¦character and technique. more with less. the way of the samurai lol!
Itās the same as with any other device with monophonic tracks like the Digitakt, Octatrack etc.pp.: if the envelope of the previous note hasnāt already ended it will be cut at least the note itself short (voice stealing).
Effects: Iām not sure about the effects on the Polyend tracker and if there are at all any live effects which requires more than a little bit processing like a reverb. The loopop video just shows that even using the compressor needs to be done none-live by imprinting the effect on the sample itself (which requires a few seconds for processing).
It seems that the device itself has very little processing power (even less than a teensy?). In the video it looks like that it is just enough to play a sample on each of the 8 tracks, but not much more.
@DkirbyDamonkirby thanks for clarifying. Now I see what you mean about limitation: eliminating the barrage of unrelated info a computer constantly barfs up. Iād actually be more enthused with the Polyend if they doubled down on the laptop-y quality of the Tracker by providing bigger screen space via a hinged fold-up screen, like a laptopās. The clamshell design would provide a built-in case for grab-and-go. Make it a touchscreen, now youāre talkin: a dedicated Tracker laptop. Maybe a MKII or Pro someday.
Me, Iām all about the physical interface, about whether it feels good physically to play with coordination, like an instrument. In that case, I donāt 100% resent laptops if the keyboard interaction has a decent feel. (A mouse is a dealbreaker for me because it kills the feel. )
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Got a quick word from Polyend that the manual is still another week or two away.
Iām in no hurry now, so no biggie for me.
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