Yeah, it’s definitely a programming type of experience. I feel the resistance when using it and I think it’s partially a commitment thing, but I gravitate more towards the MPC Live 2, which is obviously in a completely different size category altogether (let alone design philosophy, core strengths, etc).
I think the Polyend Tracker (OG or +) are the kind of hybrid devices that make tracking enjoyable for those who don’t enjoy tracking, whereas the Mini sort of needs you to fully embrace the programming component. The problem with the larger size trackers is the lack of a built-in battery, so they require extra bulk. And so does the Mini if you want playability.
Hands down that would be the Digitakt 2. The SP doesn’t even come close as far as powerful sequencing goes. But the DT2 also lacks the battery, so it’s closer to the Tracker+.
You didn’t list the MPC there but that one is my favorite at the moment, despite the bulk. It’s definitely not a tracker though.
This is a good point. I didn’t quite realise this when picking it up, but I probably preferred the OG for its form factor and dedicated buttons and knobs. It’s a small difference in theory but actually the workflow is quite different.
One aspect of the choice here is I need an element of portability, not ultra portability. If I can take the box to another room with a power cord, that’s enough “away from the desk” for me.
Cheers, I’ve never strongly considered the DT but maybe it would be a good half way between the two.
I’ve linked to it in the tracker mini thread a while ago, but this is all you need to make the Tracker+ portable, I use this in Play+ too, it’s a bit fiddly to access the power button but it lasts for hours and is cheap as owt.
I’ve been using the Mini for some time and had cause to go back to the OG recently.
I actually found the jog wheel annoying having got used to the + and - buttons.
I now prefer the form factor of the Mini although the bigger screen of the OG is great if you have crappy eye sight like me.
The lack of note input buttons is annoying especially as the advertised mobile phone key input doesn’t work reliably. The Roland S-1 is the best solution for midi I’ve found thus far.
Overall I’m very happy to have the Mini as the battery and microphone adds a lot of utility over jobwheel and radio.
Just got my tracker. The major issue is live recording. If you use “notes only”, the live recording at the start will not place the OFF command so you essentially can only record the first note and none others in the pattern…using midi in or the buttons themselves. It works somewhat with Microtiming turned on but I still get issues. This is the only way I play into any sequencers, using live recording, then fudge around with stuff. Found a thread on backstage with others chiming in and it’s a noted bug. A few went back to the last firmware and it works as normal so might be doing that if they dont fix that.
Nothing is ever perfect is it, with almost any device. Oh well.
Yeah this bug is a bit of an annoyance. I read on the Polyend forum they are aware of and looking into it. Considering rolling back until a fix is in place.
A personal opinion. I have tracker, tracker mini and play+. They are absolutely amazing machines to make music. The synths are awesome on mini and plus, but the experience of have only 8 tracks and 120 secs of the original has been totally lost. There were a pretty changeling rules that made at least for me the OG an absolute masterpiece. I think I will not use very much the synths on the mini. I’ll stick with my 8 tracks.
Didn’t mind if it was stereo or mono.
In the new version there’s a lot of possibilities but something is lost, at least for me. I would love to see an OG tracker mode with limited space and without synths.
Yes imagine the newsletter :
“Hey people, in our new firmware we added a mode that reduce the number of tracks and sample time so you can live the true tracker original spirit experience.”
Seriously, maybe Polyend team can spend its time to fix bugs and add new exciting features instead of adding silly mode (and they already did it with the horizontal mode… )
With the original tracker they said that they added some of the limitations. I have 2 trackers, mini and play plus and I’ve not experience any major bugs or froze. And I’ve used it extensively. So I don’t know what you talking about of millions of bugs.
Please I ask you not to try to belittle my thoughts about tracker features, naming it “silly mode”. Respect.
I didn’t say anything about “million of bugs” but yes, there are well known bugs (live recording, etc…).
Sorry If I hurted your feelings, it was not intented but I find it very weird to do a feature request that basically consist of removing features… I just find it absurd to ask the Polyend team to work on a special mode and spend time on this when you could just use 8 tracks and limit yourself to a limited amount of sampling time.
