Polyend Tracker

71 Customer ratings

4.5 / 5

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35 Reviews

Polyend Tracker
1.325 AED 335,29 €
Plus 277 AED shipping
The price in AED is a guideline price only
Since we ship from Germany, additional costs through taxes and customs may be incurred
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b
I'm legit obsessed with the unit
b8ck8tt 06.01.2022
Polyend Tracker changed everything about music-making for me. It became my holy grail, and I've completely switched to using it for production, and I don't feel like there is a way back, at least in the observable future. I've been using it for a year now, and 100% of tracks I've finished over the past year, I did on PT. It's not for everyone, but as soon as it clicks, if it clicks at all, tracking starts making so much sense that going back to piano roll feels like a cumbersome and pointless process. Total score - 5/5.

It takes time to learn it, but when muscle memory kicks in, everything falls into its place, and your ideas translate into music in seconds. I wish there were more shortcuts to navigate longer patterns, but other than that handling-wise it's great, so 5/5.

PT is built with a lot of limitations by design, so it's hard to compare with, let's say, Akai MPC, since they have very different philosophy. Compared to classic trackers, PT is loaded with features, both classic and modern ones. Wavetable synth, granular synth, loads of step effects, reverb (huge thanks to Émilie Gillet from Mutable) and delay sends, loads of sample editing effects, etc. For what PT is, I'd say it's definitely 5/5.

Again, keeping in mind what PT it, sound-wise it's good. It has its quirks, you have to battle gain staging at times, you have to accept all samples are mono only (probably the biggest bummer for me initially), mixing can be challenging, but when you know how to use it properly, it can sound great. Especially after additional master effects were added, such as Space, Bass Boost and a limiter. I'd still export stems sometimes to further mix them in a DAW, but mostly I'm working towards mixing 100% in PT, and only mastering the final mix in a DAW before uploading it. So, it takes time to learn, but it can sound good, so 5/5.

Hardware itself it great, except one big issue that a lot of users experience - excessive lubrication of a jogwheel. In order to fix it you have to unscrew it and wipe the shaft from time to time, removing the extra lube. If you don't do it, the jogwheel keeps spinning on the shaft with values not changing, or changing randomly. Easy fix, with a step by step guide on youtube, but it's annoying. Software-wise there are bugs, and while Polyend fixes them, they clearly don't have a huge staff, and their priorities were shifted towards developing new products, so bug fixing process is slow at best. With this being said, so far they were providing new features couple times a year, making it a much better product, as well as fixing some major bugs. Overall, you can definitely use PT as it is right now, but you have to work around some issues, which is also a bit annoying. So, quality-wise it's 4/5.

I'm very thankful for Polyend for making Tracker. Not only it changed my workflow completely, provided me with new ideas and inspired me, it introduced me to a wonderful community of PT users, that is the most friendly, helpful and fun community I've seen so far. I'm having tons of fun with PT, and I don't see myself switching to anything else as a center piece of my music-making process.
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AK
Sampler and Midi Sequencer
Audio Knight 29.01.2023
As an avid electronic musician, I was on the hunt for a compact and versatile sequencer that can keep up with my creative process. After quite a bit of online researching, I had finally settled on the Polyend Tracker.

It seemed to offer the most bang for my bucks.

January 2021, I ordered and received my Tracker from Thomann.de.

This minimalistic device stands out in terms of design and build quality. The thick aluminum casing with its black coating not only looks great, but also gives you the confidence that this piece of equipment might last you a very long time. Its portability is also a huge plus, making it easy to take with you on the go and work on your tracks anywhere you want. The decision not to include an internal battery is a smart one as batteries do have a tendency to expire over time, but the powerbank method works like a charm.

The pads are a standout feature of the Polyend Tracker, they are well-implemented and responsive to your touch. The GUI (graphic user interface) is user-friendly and makes navigation a breeze. The keys also have a nice click to them, reminiscent of the feel of an old IBM keyboard.

The big rotary knob is also a kool feature of the Polyend Tracker, allowing for quick and intuitive navigation, as well as editing. However, the big knob feels a little fragile, which could be a concern. It seems to be the only weak point of the device, but it’s worth noting that, after 2 years, it has yet to cause me any issues during use.

Regardless, it’s always a good idea to handle any electronic equipment with care to ensure longevity.

For me, the Polyend Tracker was an excellent gateway into the world of music trackers, making it easy to understand the basics of this type of instrument.

I had never really explored the world of trackers before purchasing the Polyend Tracker. But, this little device taught me a lot about the “tracker heads” of the past and their unique workflow when it came to making music.

So I decided to delve deeper into the world of trackers, and I also purchased the Renoise software.

While Renoise is an incredibly powerful tool, I found myself overwhelmed by it. There were so many options and possibilities that it was easy to get lost.

However, the Polyend Tracker was completely different. Its simplicity and limitations are what made it so much fun to work with. It forced me to be creative within a certain set of parameters, and I found that this restriction actually made my music-making process much more enjoyable.

Conclusion:
I discovered that the Polyend Tracker was a great gateway into the world of tracker-based music, giving me a chance to understand the basics of this unique style before diving into more complex software like Renoise. To this day, I still find myself coming back to the Polyend Tracker as a source of inspiration and a tool for creative expression. It’s a testament to just how much this little device has taught me and continues to influence my music-making journey.

…This box did have it’s glitches, but nothing major…

Polyend has been very active in supporting this product, and I am sure that there will be further updates in the future.

I recommend this device.


Peace and love.
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RH
Superb desktop tracker sequencer, lots of fun to be had.
Rich Hayes 24.03.2021
As a longtime user of Jeskola Buzz I was looking forward to this product, so grabbed asap in 2020. I was not disappointed.

It is also a welcome break from conventional workflows and a hell of a lot of fun. If you need to disrupt your creativity this will torpedo any artistic comfort and get you thinking is different ways.

Also note that in this epoch of continuous software delivery the updates come thick and fast, so if you are used to fairly static firmware then this may come as a surprise. Features are dropping every month or so, especially if you follow the beta. For clarity, the beta has never given me any problems. Build quality is also great. No complaints there.

Though bugs were not hard to find early on, its pretty sharp now. But I do take one star off each for;

Its occasional glitches on step edges or pattern boundaries. While not a unique phenomenon to this device, it has always seemed more prevalent on the tracker. On the upside though its far from prohibitive to use or creativity.

Features are light in the song sequencer (No track mutes or measure length, position pointer, repeat (qty) (I'm thinking Elektron tracker ala MachineDrum. Even just track mutes per song step would be handy. Effectively you must think of your song development only in patterns, as there is little to no creativity to be had in song mode. This criticism may not date well to be fair, and I am behind by a couple of months

Quality overall is good, but I was shocked by the firmware condition at the time of release (even with an instant update). This should not be a problem now (in 2021) though.

Put simply, just buy it.
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T
Really cool piece of hardware
Twaroshinto 04.04.2023
From time perspective I really regret I sold it. If you are looking for classic amiga like tracker experience this is the best piece of steel you can buy. It has its learning curve but it is very inspirational. Manufacturer still provides updastes whis is really cool.
One small thing - casing was a bit wobbly but it stabilised over time.
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B
Great instrument
BlueRhino76 21.06.2022
I wanted something that I could take with me on the train or bus and use to create music. I needed more interactivity and feedback than other tools that only offer illuminated pads & knobs coupled with a tiny (or absent) screen. The polyend tracker gives me that. I'm more familiar with the tracker workflow than modern DAWs so I was confident I'd get on well with the user interface and in fact it's better than I thought it would be - it's been something that's been a pleasure to learn and master. The buttons, knobs and case all feel solid and well-built, and the sound quality is great.

My only quibble is the limit on the sample bank size. I understand what they're saying about limits inspiring creativity, but 120 seconds total means you can't make certain types of music with this - specifically anything with a lot of vocals. If we were still working on Amigas with 2MB of RAM I'd be happy but these days that restriction seems silly.

If you can live with the sample memory limit it's the perfect on-the-go tool for a great price.
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T
I was not expecting something this good
TunicTheGrey 20.08.2020
I have not been able to put this down since I got it a few days ago. From the moment I switched it on I was transfixed. The editing and navigation buttons are very logical, the jog wheel is fast with a superb feel making the workflow on this machine a dream. The sampler is stuffed with features and super smooth to use. The soft keys are not velocity sensitive which is a shame and as such I would have preferred them to be hard buttons like the rest of the device.
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n
My favourite new toy!
njprids 15.06.2022
Incredibly fun to play around with straight out of the box. Intuitive design with simple menus. Perfect addition to anyones studio!
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Z
Heart of my setup
Zetor12 11.03.2021
Polyend once again outdid themselves on the creation of this device.
The Tracker keeps all of what was awesome of oldschool trackers and ads a powerful sampling engine with cool features like a performance mode with effects, radio live recording and wavetable and granular synthesis.
This completely changed my workflow in the best of ways and it's now the center of my setup. I do all of my sampling from it and control a TR-8S, Digitone and MAM MB33 from it.
It's pretty much all I've been doing for the last few months!
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E
Polyend Tracker is an awesome piece of gear
Ebraltazat 20.09.2021
The tracker workflow really refreshes the creative mind. It's been a long time I had so much fun playing an instrument. The perform mode is such a great live performance feature. Now, with firmware 1.4 you can use the perform mode throughout the entire song in stead of a repeating pattern. Love this device.
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K
LOVE TRACKING!
Kenspocket 24.06.2020
Waited 30 Years for this revival, some wishes do come true.
So much more efficient than those left to right Piano Roll based systems, With Tracking you can see multi tracks note data and automations at the same time, Just one reason Tracking is the Future Retro way of doing things. Love to see a Pro version for 2021 AMEN LEN303 kenspocket
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Polyend Tracker