Polyend’s hardware tracker continues to evolve and improve.
Five years ago, you would have been forgiven for scoffing at the idea of a hardware tracker. And yet here we are, amid what looks like a hardware tracker revolution. As I finished the Dirtywave M8 review (see SOS September 2024), Polyend’s Tracker+ landed on the doormat. Less than a year before, I reviewed the Polyend Tracker Mini, which improved upon the original Tracker released in 2020. It is fair to say that trackers are officially popular again.
Polyend could be credited with igniting the current explosion. The Tracker+ is the latest revision of their initial desktop tracker device. Improvements include support for stereo samples, eight more tracks (bringing the total to 16), six new synthesizers, audio over USB and extra memory.
The Tracker Mini, Polyend’s smaller, more portable version, recently had a version 2.0 software update to align it with the Tracker+. So, if you enjoy the Tracker experience, you can have a Tracker+ in the studio and a Mini for travel and easily swap projects between them. Sadly, the original Tracker does not have the CPU or RAM capable of offering these new features, so you’ll have to upgrade to take full advantage.
Trackwhatnow?
If you need a tracking primer, refer to my review of the original Polyend Tracker from SOS November 2021. In short, trackers are sample‑based sequencers. The sequencing is a different paradigm from the MIDI piano rolls we’ve become accustomed to in modern DAWs. Tracks scroll downwards and resemble a spreadsheet where each cell is populated by a note which can play one of up to 48 different ‘instruments’ and up to two ‘FX’. An instrument is usually a sample, but the Tracker+ has added three synthesizer slots, which can each load one of five different synth types. Rather than covering much of the same ground as the original Tracker review, I will focus on what the Tracker+ offers over the original.
Plus Size
Polyend’s marketing tagline for the Tracker+ is “Not new, but better”. At a glance, you might not see any difference between this and the original. The Tracker+ has the same physical size and layout as the earlier version, but Polyend have improved the build quality. The original buttons, which were hard plastic, have been replaced with a more tactile rubberised feel. The jog wheel, which caused problems for some users on the original, has also been upgraded and feels much more sturdy. The inputs and outputs on the back are identical, with a micro‑SD card slot, USB Type‑C port, and 3.5mm jack sockets for stereo line in/out, mic input and MIDI in/out. The USB cable supplies power and class‑compliant MIDI but now works as an audio interface with 12 stereo outputs.
Round the back we find 3.5mm sockets for audio out, line in, mic in and MIDI I/O, a micro‑SD card slot and a USB‑C port.
Inside the box is where the real improvements lie. A more powerful microcontroller brings the Tracker+ in line with the Tracker Mini. And there’s more RAM available for samples: around 720 seconds of mono or 360 seconds of stereo sampling (at 44.1kHz), a sizable improvement on the original 130 seconds of mono sampling. If required, you can stretch this out using lower sample rates.
The increased CPU power also allows for more tracks in each pattern. The original Tracker was limited to eight tracks, but the Tracker+ doubles this to 16, although it has some limitations that we’ll focus on shortly. A Song can contain up to 255 patterns, and a pattern can contain up to 128 steps.
Synthesis
The original Tracker was focused on sample playback. Samples can be one‑shot, looping, sliced, converted to wavetables, and there’s even a granular mode. However, the most significant addition to the Tracker+ is the five synthesizer engines that can be used instead of samples.
In addition to the 48 sample instruments and 16 MIDI tracks available to each project, there are now three synthesizer slots. The three slots can be allocated to one of five synthesizer engines, and each synthesizer can play up to six voices:
- ACD is a 303‑inspired synthesizer with sawtooth and square oscillators, a sub‑oscillator, noise, and three low‑pass filter types.
- FAT is Minimoog‑inspired, with three oscillators and three filter types.
- VAP is designed for polyphony and has two variable‑waveform oscillators and a multi‑mode filter with 15 filter types.
- WTFM is a 2‑operator FM engine with feedback, variable waveforms, and the same multi‑mode filter as VAP.
- PERC is a drum synthesizer with six engines for kick, tom, snare, hi‑hat, cymbal and percussion, which can be played as a complete kit. The name PERC is perhaps a nod to Polyend’s first‑ever product, a mechanical MIDI‑powered drum trigger. There are a lot of algorithms and tweakable parameters. You can achieve classic TR‑style kicks and snares, FM percussion, classic analogue disco toms and more. The tom algorithm can even be played chromatically, producing more than just tom sounds.
Most of the synths have the kind of modulation you would expect: one or two envelopes and LFOs. In the simpler ACD and FAT synths, modulation is hardwired to pitch or amplitude, but in the more complex VAP and WTFM synths, you can use a modulation matrix to assign them. Each synth patch can also have up to seven macros assigned. These can be named and assigned to modulate up to five parameters in varying amounts and then sequenced later to add movement to your sounds.
I am very impressed with the new synthesis options in the Tracker+. When judged on sound alone, there is a simple charm to all the synths. They sound great, although you might call them retro in character. When you start sequencing them and automating the macros, magic can — and often does — happen.
Track Count
Although Polyend market the Tracker+ as having 16 tracks, there are some restrictions. Tracks 1‑8 can be used for anything. They can sequence samples, external MIDI, the new synths, or all three simultaneously. Tracks 9‑16, however, can only be used for MIDI or the internal synths. If you are only interested in using the Tracker in a strictly old‑school sense — to sequence samples – then tracks 9‑16 will not be much use.
Audio Interface
The other headline new feature for the Tracker+ is the addition of a USB audio interface. Once you plug the Tracker+ into your computer using the included USB‑C cable, your computer will have access to 14 stereo inputs and one stereo output. The 14 outputs are reserved for the master stereo output, the first eight tracks, the reverb and delay outputs and the three synth slots. The interface is locked to 16‑bit/44.1kHz.
As I noted in my review of the Tracker Mini, the single stereo output is unused. I had hoped it would be used to allow sampling from the computer, but this hasn’t happened yet. Perhaps there is a technical reason why it can’t be done, but it seems like a missed opportunity.
Conclusion
In all other aspects, the Polyend Tracker+ is identical to its predecessor. It has the same robust software, the built‑in FM radio for random sampling, the performance page for live remixing your song, the offline sample editor, stem export... and even the bonkers Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator. It remains a highly enjoyable way to make electronic music.
Over the last three years, Polyend’s incremental improvements to the Tracker concept have culminated in a mature product that feels well built and fun to use.
Over the last three years, Polyend’s incremental improvements to the Tracker concept have culminated in a mature product that feels well built and fun to use. For me, the synthesizers are the best new improvements. They sound great, and there’s enough variety to find the sound you’re looking for. It’s a shame that you only get three synthesizer slots. The Tracker’s main competitor — the Dirtywave M8 — allows all 128 instrument slots to load a different synthesizer if you want to. But Polyend’s approach does have advantages. Any of the synths can have up to six‑voice polyphony, which only one of the M8’s four synthesizers can do.
Ultimately, tracking is, and always was, about limitations. Some are good, and some are not. Polyend are slowly weeding out the bad limitations (like mono samples) and adding more cool stuff. It’s good to see the platform evolving.
Pros
- An even better Tracker.
- Improved build quality.
- Stereo sampling.
- The new synths are fantastic.
- 16 tracks...
Cons
- ... but still only eight sample tracks.
- Still no use for that USB audio input.
Summary
Polyend continue to improve the Tracker system with updated hardware, and some welcome software improvements like stereo sampling, 16 tracks, USB audio interfacing and five new synthesizer engines.
Information
£699 including VAT.
$799
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