Ngl, I was almost sold on the M8 tracker, over the polyend tracker, but the built in mic on the polyend overrode almost anything the m8 could offer, for me. I used to walk around with a zoom kit, and record every cool sound that stuck out to me, as I was walking. The thought of going to a forest preserve with the tracker mini, and the contact mic applications of the built in mic sold me 110%. I’m an audio engineer by trade, and that mic is insanely useful
The m8 has built-in synthesizers and they're remarkably versatile so you're not just working with samples (although that is one of the options). There's just way more sound design tools and the work flow just kinda sucks you in. If also designed, hand built, and supported by one man who, as far as I can tell, never sleeps. He's on the Discord all day answering questions. He's super nice and has continued to add features that people request (although I think he's nearing capacity on the device.) In any case, I've never had better feelings about a developer/company than with the m8.
- m8 has an active community - it has an active founder who regularly pushes updates (and does discord meets which you'll find on youtube) - the m8 was made by one person, though i think he has help with shipping and assembly - it's complicated, but it also means you can do a lot. the synth engines are quite powerful. you either love or hate it, but i like it's complicated-ness - easy to export stems/samples and you can import samples by just putting them on the sd card. - with the original polyend tracker you had a small buffer of memory you could load samples into (I've seen quotes online of 133 seconds of wav). This portable one has a "longer sampling time" according to 7:30 in the video. but the m8 just uses the SD card as it's memory and it's more than fast enough and your only limit is the size of the sd card. way easier - m8 is just really portable and now there's a portable polyend tracker too (yay!). that was the biggest appeal for me at the time as there was nothing like it - m8 is really based on LSDJ, or is a much closer ode to it. - the community and the indie developer culture of it all is a win for me personally. - oh, and the build is good. the m8 is nice that way. whichever you choose i think you'll be fine, but the m8 is really fun. hopefully the polyend tracker portable version lets you run a video game emulator like the main tracker did!
@@endoflevelboss The M8 is just an amazing pocket-sized device that's really fast to use and incredibly powerful. Mine blows me away every time I use it. So many great tracks created from scratch on it: ruclips.net/video/R-c6jKDSB-U/видео.html It feels amazing to have an entire studio in your pocket that you can whip out and create music on at any moment. Sitting in a park, on a plane or chilling on the sofa writing a track is just really nice.
I'd say we have like 3 serious choices for a portable tracker solution, the M8, Tracker Mini, and SunVox on a compatible device. I personally ended up landing on SunVox on my Steam Deck as my personal option in part because I love the synth engines present in SunVox it allows for a lot to be done especially throwing the grunt of what is basically a laptop CPU behind it. I'm glad people are liking the Tracker Mini though as more options in such a small market is a good thing I think.
Ooh how's that work? I tried to install VCV but it didn't go well ( I admittedly didn't try that hard). Are the "controls" okay? Are you just in desktop mode using the trackpads as a mouse or do you have a controller layout set up?
@@alexanderlane For SunVox I've got a community controller layout loaded that some one else made. It also helps if you enable native touch support SunVox on Linux has it's full touchscreen capabilities of the version for Ios and Android. Bitwig is also serviceable on the Deck with touch screen input enabled. VCV Rack is probably the roughest one to deal with that I've tried though so I don't really have any suggestions there other than maybe deal with the struggle if it's worth it to you and building up your own control scheme for it.
What you can do with the Steam Deck is tape a teensy to the back of it and use a tiny micro-usb to usb-c cable to connect it. Then you have an M8 with a larger screen and bluetooth connectivity.
My dream would be this device with the M8 firmware. I'm a more 'vintage' person too, and the tiny tiny screen of the M8 didn't work for me. It broke my heart, cause I LOVE what it does. Like you said - like a game you're dying to get back to. But when I got the Tracker in their fire sale, I found myself missing all the effects of the M8
I'm so surprised that you don't miss the silicon buttons! The ability to bounce around to different patterns while the sequencer is running is one of my favorite features of the original tracker.
Seriously, the buttons and the wheel are what make the original worth using. The tracker sounds like cheap trash imo, so I use it as a sequencer for other gear, and I that it does amazingly well. I never had to suffer learning how to use a MC-303 because of it
Thanks for the great video! For me, the best would be the “old” Tracker with the added features of the new Mini, I like the microphone, the increased processing power and expanded memory and the stereo sampling, but I also love the radio and the wheel. I would also like to see the square white pads replaced with 2 octaves of piano style mini buttons.
@@sodiumlights yeah the build quality on mine is good. The worst thing I could possibly say is that it attracts finger prints. I was on a plane today making music with it and felt satisfied with what I was doing. I get frustrated with grooveboxes if I feel the output is not usable in a track.. That was not the case with the mini
@@sodiumlights haha. Yeah it's like "how can we get more finger prints! More finger prints!! I'm really fussy about output quality. For example I've gotten rid of an SP404 and Novation circuit because I didn't like what was coming out of the jack (air, noise floor etc). To me, this sounds like an audio interface or Elektron gear. It's pristine. The master effects (soft clip and overdrive per instrument) add credible sizzle. I think reviews could make more of this point around sounds quality.
@@nutritionontape excellent news, cheers! I actually intend to sell my Blackbox to fund the TM. I just don't gel with it, plus the sound staging just feels way too tight (even with some reverb), whereas the OP-Z sounds superb (but horrendously poor built quality). A few fingerprints don't bother me...unless the surface material is that tacky, dust magnet rubber! How do you rate the screens brightness outdoors, or next to a window? Is the viewing angle tight? Is the screen akin to a Kindle's in terms of material (like a matt finish)?
The buttons are what I used a lot. I chop up a lot of samples on the Tracker and assign them to the buttons. I then record live as I play different chops (MPC, SP404) style. I do not know how the Mini will allow me to do this now. I still preordered mine but it will be interesting. Any thoughts?
I don't know about Polyend's history of continuous firmware upgrades when it took them quite some time from 1.5 to 1.6 on the og Tracker and about a year for 1.7. I honestly thought they had just silently killed it, as a lot of people complained about how bugs were never fixed. I won't hold my breath here. What moved me from the Tracker to the M8 was the huge flexibility in the chains and patterns on the M8. And the synths of course.
if the m8 didn't exist I'd be all over this. what I like best about the m8 is that I couldn't even name the button combos anymore. It's all muscle memory and therefore really quick to get from idea to result.
What if you want to trigger multiple performance parameters at once? For instance with the pads on the original Tracker I am usually using two fingers on each hand to trigger performance parameters. It seems liken the mini you select a row and trigger only that one row.
Stereo samples. THAT is one of the deal-breaking features I care about if I'm going to switch from a mono-sample based sampler, especially if it's to another tracker. The original Tracker, M8, Digitakt, etc. are all mono-sample based samplers (but output stereo). The new Tracker Mini includes more sample time per project partly because it's now added stereo sampling so it needs the extra sample time, and partly because the hardware is more capable. If I want to sample an external synth that has stereo modulation, ping pong delay, or other stereo effects, bouncing down to mono does not retain the character of the original sound. I care less about buttons, knobs, and other details if I can't get the results I want to hear. Mono vs Stereo is one of the most essential details of music production equipment. The Tracker Mini is similar to the M8 in that they're both portable trackers for their workflow and music composition, but closer to something like the SmplTrek in audio features like having a built-in mic and stereo-sampling. Aside from that, it's evident how rarely used the radio feature is on the original Tracker, because sometimes people forget to mention its omission in the Tracker Mini. I forget it's there too.
Stereo sampling is not so needed. We can live & make cool music without it. But comfortable controls is more wanted. I used PT & M8. PT mini has same visual interface not adopted to “no jog wheel” & “no pads” device. That’s sad. I see how people compose music on mini & m8 - second is more more polished & featured. And m8 is $100 cheaper, lol 😄🤷♂️
@@ChumpyDumps Thank you for the correction, I was basing this on the original release and earlier reviews/demos. Apparently the firmware had been updated to support stereo for a while now.
Can you use the original poly and tracker to MIDI control the mini? That way you can still use the wheel and I like to set up the patterns staggered jn rows
Mine was dreadful. Polyend claim there was a dodgy batch. Ever since I've been very curious to know if bad models are still being sold. Just the other day a new owner posted a comment on Polyend's forum and they are curious to know if the middle section of buttons should feel so shite. Watch user's press down the far left hand side button under the screen. You may just see the button next to it dip down😂 Make sure whoever you buy one from has a good return policy. Myself, I'll wait a year and see before buying another.
@@sodiumlights mine arrived from thomann yesterday. middle buttons are all spongy n horrible. and tbh the whole unit feels so cheap, like a beta unit. the worst build quality I think I've ever seen. sent it back to thomann today man I wanted to like it so much :(
Question.... Before plugging down $700.00 for a hardware tracker could you recommend a software version that would be comparable to this or the M8 to get the feel for utilizing a tracker prior to such a big hardware purchase? I'm a DAW user but these are peaking my interest for composing on the fly/portable. Thanks! Love your channel.
Hello my friend! If you want to try the M8 without buying the hardware, there is the “headless” version with a teensy. I’ve heard it works great with a steam deck👍🏼👍🏼 thanks for watching!!
I'd recommend Renoise. It's the most "capable" tracker there is, but it's not "portable" unless you use a laptop. The license is also pretty cheap. There are a lot of free options, but they are fairly limited and/or very specialized, mainly towards chiptune music.
On the original tracker it had a radio built in that you could sample from and you could change the way songs are displayed from a downwards scroll to a left to right scroll, are these also present on the tracker mini?
Actually, I think the Polyend Tracker (the OG or the Mini) has the best workflow for a beginner to trackers. Renoise is amazing but it's not so intuitive
I'm rather glad they came out with this, as it not only added to the feature set, they made it's portability usable without sacrificing a fair bit. This of course makes it a difficult choice for me between it and the M8, as I'm worried the M8's a bit too minimalist for controls for myself. On the other hand, the sheer flexibility it has makes it super tempting... I suspect I'll probably wind up picking up both to try out, and see how they roll. I'm so glad the Mini has a battery, because there's just something to be said about a device you can pack and use whenever, or, y'know, when a power outage happens (which unfortunately seems to be happening a touch more often in the area I live in)
As a super early PT user, this looks awesome, but I'm a bit sad that they've spent their time building this instead of fixing issues with the original PT. There are atill hundreds of bugs open in their PT bug tracker, and theres plenty of room inside that chassis for a battery if they really wanted to issue a portable version - I even designed a mod that adds one!
@@Hawkman1335O The + and - voltage rails are easily soldered to so you just get an Adafruit battery manager board and a battery and throw it in, basically. Double sided tape to keep it in place if you're fancy.
Yeah, I loved the m8 in concept, but the learning curve of button combos ended up making it unusable for me in the long run, and I think that's saying something, because I mainly work with a deluge, and that thing is no stranger to button combos and learning curves lol. I'm gunna get the mini for fun
Got one. Everything was looking good until I opened the (very nice) case. Oh my god. Did Polyend cut a deal to use TE’s manufacturing team? Were the quality checkers from the OP-Z crew? the buttons feel extremely cheap and there is way to much depth to them. the back has a bulge, which I’m not entirely sure was intentional. In an odd way it does make a nice placement for your fingers, but on the other hand it really does look like a fckup. The four notched feet don’t even touch down! (gonna upload video later) the silky smooth coating feels wonderful BUT there is a seam (top section, base section), and this seam…well…On the LHS the top section juts out. Yet on every other side the base sticks out. Utterly shoddy, and very far from the perfect built quality of a Paper-white Kindle. it’s lighter than I expected it to be, and certainly not the listed weight. the screen surface feels like a matt monitor type material…which I like! To be honest, I’m really not sure what to do. I’ve so far resisted turning it on. I know that sounds ridiculous but I have learned from the pieceofshit that is the/my op-z. I don’t know if every Mini has the same issues or not (gonna ask around today) but I don’t want to turn the thing on and start loving it and making justifications for the flaws.
I've seen a thread on the polyend forum with a direct answer from polyend themselves regarding the user interface of the mini and everything, that they had this thing in mind for many years and that they tried out many things as control functions like a jogwheel and even a thumb wheel. yeah...I'm sorry but I don't buy that. The user interface still looks pretty bad but at least not as bad as the SmplTrek which is bad in is own leage. Even the form factor is idk, kinda like an Ipad but I've never seen it used as a desktop unit so why it is so flat? Some people hate on the button orientation of the m8 but they forget that it is based on a gameboy, but more important, the m8 can also be used as a desktop unit, controlling it with one hand while looking at the streamed display on your monitor.
Have you tried big font on the M8? It greatly enhances the experience. And in terms of UI, I think you miss the point completely on the M8. Yes, things are compact in terms of buttons but it is executed with a very, very consistent logic attached to it, making it quite intuitive. So the lack of buttons is an actual feature, if you ask me. It's going to be interesting seeing how the new tracker will fare. Polyend has been dropping the ball for some time now in terms of the launch of the Tracker Mini (ie. poor communications, delays due to poor quality assurance etc.).
@@robinr22 Yep - big font mode! ruclips.net/video/u7I9jrc2R4A/видео.html&ab_channel=Avrilcadabra It's quite the game changer, and doesn't really do much in terms of hindering the UI.
Tried the Mini, didn't like it. Not having any input buttons for doing chopped loops on the fly completely broke my workflow. They could easily add a shortcut for using the track select buttons as a 'shift' input at some point, but as it is, they've killed the happy accident part of the OG.
but how do you jam/noodle on it without the keys... Can't decide if I want this or not. I'd def miss the keys like crazy, which I use all the time. It's how I figure out a tune, plus they work properly with the custom scales that an external keyboard won't, but I don't think I'd miss the jog wheel. I've tried using external midi keyboards on my original Tracker, but It's not such a slick integrated setup as using the Tracker's keys. Not sure I can forgive Polyend for taking the keys off this. Think I'm taking this to the grave.
Why not add small jog wheel & at least 8 pads!? 🤦♂️ Don’t understand it all. It’s MC-101 size in width & so much free space 🤷♂️ M8 still the beast in pocket music production. Waiting for PT Mini Mk2.
While I really liked the review, I can’t agree with the „not enough” buttons argument. m8 has phenomenally though out UX and Is very fast to learn basic operations (there is only couple of „Combos” that work similarly on every screen) and then - you don’t even need to think or look on the screen. The problem with too many buttons (like on Polyend) is that it is way more cumbersome to use. Both have learning curve, both are great in their own thing, but when talking about buttons - in my opinion M8 have an edge. I agree that they both crave different demographics - one (Polyeend) is based on classical Tracker experience (Fastracker, Noisetracker, Protracker etc), ie trackers existing on computers, while M8 is based on LSDJ (grom GameBoy) - those are totally different experiences and ideas behind. I personally think that m8 paradigm works better in portable form factor, but „traditional” trackers (ie Polyend Tracker) are easier to grasp for novices.
I have the tracker big brother and honestly love it but hardly ever use it because of my current set up. Tho its so unique and i love the sound engines and editing on it. Definitely keeping an eye on this mini, maybe ill make a swap
Got mine this week. In love with it ❤. I hate jog wheels and the new buttons work surprisingly well. Definitely want to find the best mobile midi controller to pair some pads with this for live note entry. I have been using my circuit rhythm for that this week 😂
The Tracker Mini had absolutely false advertising. They expanded the memory… but you can’t use it. It has the same 45sec/sample and 133sec/project limits that the OG tracker does. The fact that Polyend purposely obfuscates this is why I will never buy from them again.
@@MidlifeSynthesistIts / it's is one of the worst features of this heck language, to be honest. It's a direct violation of a general rule that holds almost everywhere else, for no reason.
@@MidlifeSynthesist Haha, greetings from Sweden and another non-native English speaker. The trick is to pronounce "it's" as "it is", then it's easy to tell which one is right. 😊 Hope my comment didn't come across as finger pointy, I just saw the opportunity to fix the typo before the premiere. Looking forward to watching this video soon.
I think they are very different devices for very different styles and purposes. As mentioned in the video, both have their strengths and weaknesses, but as a true addict, the answer for me is, get both🤣
@@Paul-uy1ru I’m speaking from my own experience. It’s not just comparing the spec sheets. For me, working with samples and adding synth sounds is been a bliss on the M8. I do wish it was a tad bigger and had pads for banging beats. But it is what it is. As for making programatic beats and changing stuff I find it more intuitive. And the tables are awesome too. Also making songs by reusing phrases is way nicer. I mean if you decide to change the drum beat it is changed everywhere. Which I like. But I guess it’s a matter of taste.
So they removed the grid and the wheel and put a smaller screen on it for 250 bucks more than the original. Cool! And the fun fact is that sunvox on a rasberry pi blows it away. Lol
Did you even watch the video dude?🤣 It costs the same as the OG and has an integrated battery, integrated mic, 12 stereo audio tracks over USB, longer sampling time, stereo sampling, more cpu 🤷🏻♂️ I don’t work for Polyend so if you don’t like it I have no issue, but at least get the facts straight 👍🏼
@@MidlifeSynthesist I don't know. I only know I can get a portable tracker that blows it away for 1/10 of the price. Then everybody's free. Sorry if I seemed rude. Bye!
They dropped support for .mod files so I cancelled my Polyend order. Abandoning the huge library of legacy tracker tunes to rush out firmware 1.7 sucks. Polyend's priorities are all wrong.
SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS THOUGH?!?!? nah... i'm sorry but TE has effectively techno jesused up the portable compact music gear market....... $700 is uncomfortably close to a grand in my book... for a hardware version of an ancient piece of tracker software.
Come on man - them giving you this device IS payment for a review/ video. Why do RUclipsrs think we don’t know this? You are now incentivized towards positive feedback about it - even if there’s nothing written in a contract or explicitly stated. Access, in and of itself, to a company is a benefit. Im sure you’ll try to be as objective as possible and try to remain honest/truthful - but subconsciously it is what it is which is why all contact between influencers and companies is a conflict of interest.
Love this thing. I carried it with me on a trip through Europe, and have some unique samples that I’m pleased with!
Ngl, I was almost sold on the M8 tracker, over the polyend tracker, but the built in mic on the polyend overrode almost anything the m8 could offer, for me. I used to walk around with a zoom kit, and record every cool sound that stuck out to me, as I was walking. The thought of going to a forest preserve with the tracker mini, and the contact mic applications of the built in mic sold me 110%. I’m an audio engineer by trade, and that mic is insanely useful
The next version of the M8 has a built-in mic :D
@@NightCabbage They sold out in like 5 minutes.
@@iShredStreets Yeah looks like the Model 02 is pretty popular :P Second batch should hopefully be up in a bit!
revisit this with the new patch!!!
The M8 takes the cake for me (owned the Polyend before too), but I’m really glad that there are more devices in the space.
I am interested in the M8 what makes it so cool?
The m8 has built-in synthesizers and they're remarkably versatile so you're not just working with samples (although that is one of the options). There's just way more sound design tools and the work flow just kinda sucks you in. If also designed, hand built, and supported by one man who, as far as I can tell, never sleeps. He's on the Discord all day answering questions. He's super nice and has continued to add features that people request (although I think he's nearing capacity on the device.) In any case, I've never had better feelings about a developer/company than with the m8.
- m8 has an active community
- it has an active founder who regularly pushes updates (and does discord meets which you'll find on youtube)
- the m8 was made by one person, though i think he has help with shipping and assembly
- it's complicated, but it also means you can do a lot. the synth engines are quite powerful. you either love or hate it, but i like it's complicated-ness
- easy to export stems/samples and you can import samples by just putting them on the sd card.
- with the original polyend tracker you had a small buffer of memory you could load samples into (I've seen quotes online of 133 seconds of wav). This portable one has a "longer sampling time" according to 7:30 in the video. but the m8 just uses the SD card as it's memory and it's more than fast enough and your only limit is the size of the sd card. way easier
- m8 is just really portable and now there's a portable polyend tracker too (yay!). that was the biggest appeal for me at the time as there was nothing like it
- m8 is really based on LSDJ, or is a much closer ode to it.
- the community and the indie developer culture of it all is a win for me personally.
- oh, and the build is good. the m8 is nice that way.
whichever you choose i think you'll be fine, but the m8 is really fun. hopefully the polyend tracker portable version lets you run a video game emulator like the main tracker did!
@@endoflevelboss The M8 is just an amazing pocket-sized device that's really fast to use and incredibly powerful. Mine blows me away every time I use it. So many great tracks created from scratch on it:
ruclips.net/video/R-c6jKDSB-U/видео.html
It feels amazing to have an entire studio in your pocket that you can whip out and create music on at any moment. Sitting in a park, on a plane or chilling on the sofa writing a track is just really nice.
I'd say we have like 3 serious choices for a portable tracker solution, the M8, Tracker Mini, and SunVox on a compatible device. I personally ended up landing on SunVox on my Steam Deck as my personal option in part because I love the synth engines present in SunVox it allows for a lot to be done especially throwing the grunt of what is basically a laptop CPU behind it. I'm glad people are liking the Tracker Mini though as more options in such a small market is a good thing I think.
Ooh how's that work? I tried to install VCV but it didn't go well ( I admittedly didn't try that hard). Are the "controls" okay? Are you just in desktop mode using the trackpads as a mouse or do you have a controller layout set up?
@@alexanderlane For SunVox I've got a community controller layout loaded that some one else made. It also helps if you enable native touch support SunVox on Linux has it's full touchscreen capabilities of the version for Ios and Android. Bitwig is also serviceable on the Deck with touch screen input enabled.
VCV Rack is probably the roughest one to deal with that I've tried though so I don't really have any suggestions there other than maybe deal with the struggle if it's worth it to you and building up your own control scheme for it.
What you can do with the Steam Deck is tape a teensy to the back of it and use a tiny micro-usb to usb-c cable to connect it. Then you have an M8 with a larger screen and bluetooth connectivity.
major game changer for me when compared to Tracker OG is support for stereo samples.. that is REALLY big thing.
My dream would be this device with the M8 firmware. I'm a more 'vintage' person too, and the tiny tiny screen of the M8 didn't work for me. It broke my heart, cause I LOVE what it does. Like you said - like a game you're dying to get back to. But when I got the Tracker in their fire sale, I found myself missing all the effects of the M8
M8 mk2 has a bit bigger screen.
I'm so surprised that you don't miss the silicon buttons! The ability to bounce around to different patterns while the sequencer is running is one of my favorite features of the original tracker.
Seriously, the buttons and the wheel are what make the original worth using. The tracker sounds like cheap trash imo, so I use it as a sequencer for other gear, and I that it does amazingly well. I never had to suffer learning how to use a MC-303 because of it
Thanks for the great video! For me, the best would be the “old” Tracker with the added features of the new Mini, I like the microphone, the increased processing power and expanded memory and the stereo sampling, but I also love the radio and the wheel. I would also like to see the square white pads replaced with 2 octaves of piano style mini buttons.
I was blown away by the sound quality when mine arrived
Cool to read your comment. How's the build quality on yours?
@@sodiumlights yeah the build quality on mine is good.
The worst thing I could possibly say is that it attracts finger prints.
I was on a plane today making music with it and felt satisfied with what I was doing.
I get frustrated with grooveboxes if I feel the output is not usable in a track.. That was not the case with the mini
@@nutritionontape thanks for the reply. It's not coated in that OG MPC LIVE rubber I hope!
Is the output volume a decent loudness?
@@sodiumlights haha. Yeah it's like "how can we get more finger prints! More finger prints!!
I'm really fussy about output quality. For example I've gotten rid of an SP404 and Novation circuit because I didn't like what was coming out of the jack (air, noise floor etc).
To me, this sounds like an audio interface or Elektron gear. It's pristine. The master effects (soft clip and overdrive per instrument) add credible sizzle. I think reviews could make more of this point around sounds quality.
@@nutritionontape excellent news, cheers! I actually intend to sell my Blackbox to fund the TM. I just don't gel with it, plus the sound staging just feels way too tight (even with some reverb), whereas the OP-Z sounds superb (but horrendously poor built quality). A few fingerprints don't bother me...unless the surface material is that tacky, dust magnet rubber!
How do you rate the screens brightness outdoors, or next to a window? Is the viewing angle tight? Is the screen akin to a Kindle's in terms of material (like a matt finish)?
The buttons are what I used a lot. I chop up a lot of samples on the Tracker and assign them to the buttons. I then record live as I play different chops (MPC, SP404) style.
I do not know how the Mini will allow me to do this now. I still preordered mine but it will be interesting.
Any thoughts?
Awesome. Another great vid.
Thanks bro!❤️
I don't know about Polyend's history of continuous firmware upgrades when it took them quite some time from 1.5 to 1.6 on the og Tracker and about a year for 1.7. I honestly thought they had just silently killed it, as a lot of people complained about how bugs were never fixed. I won't hold my breath here.
What moved me from the Tracker to the M8 was the huge flexibility in the chains and patterns on the M8. And the synths of course.
1.7 is very broken.
@@Gainnbummer to hear... I thought it was supposed to fix a bunch of bugs!
if the m8 didn't exist I'd be all over this. what I like best about the m8 is that I couldn't even name the button combos anymore. It's all muscle memory and therefore really quick to get from idea to result.
What if you want to trigger multiple performance parameters at once? For instance with the pads on the original Tracker I am usually using two fingers on each hand to trigger performance parameters. It seems liken the mini you select a row and trigger only that one row.
Stereo samples. THAT is one of the deal-breaking features I care about if I'm going to switch from a mono-sample based sampler, especially if it's to another tracker. The original Tracker, M8, Digitakt, etc. are all mono-sample based samplers (but output stereo). The new Tracker Mini includes more sample time per project partly because it's now added stereo sampling so it needs the extra sample time, and partly because the hardware is more capable. If I want to sample an external synth that has stereo modulation, ping pong delay, or other stereo effects, bouncing down to mono does not retain the character of the original sound. I care less about buttons, knobs, and other details if I can't get the results I want to hear. Mono vs Stereo is one of the most essential details of music production equipment. The Tracker Mini is similar to the M8 in that they're both portable trackers for their workflow and music composition, but closer to something like the SmplTrek in audio features like having a built-in mic and stereo-sampling.
Aside from that, it's evident how rarely used the radio feature is on the original Tracker, because sometimes people forget to mention its omission in the Tracker Mini. I forget it's there too.
The M8 samples in stereo my guy.
Stereo sampling is not so needed. We can live & make cool music without it. But comfortable controls is more wanted. I used PT & M8. PT mini has same visual interface not adopted to “no jog wheel” & “no pads” device. That’s sad. I see how people compose music on mini & m8 - second is more more polished & featured. And m8 is $100 cheaper, lol 😄🤷♂️
@@ChumpyDumps Thank you for the correction, I was basing this on the original release and earlier reviews/demos. Apparently the firmware had been updated to support stereo for a while now.
@@fumoffuyouM8 had stereo sample support from day one
This looks so cool, really great vid man 😎
Can you use the original poly and tracker to MIDI control the mini? That way you can still use the wheel and I like to set up the patterns staggered jn rows
is the build quality / QC as bad as people say it is? gaps at the screen edges, wonky power button etc?
Mine was dreadful. Polyend claim there was a dodgy batch. Ever since I've been very curious to know if bad models are still being sold. Just the other day a new owner posted a comment on Polyend's forum and they are curious to know if the middle section of buttons should feel so shite.
Watch user's press down the far left hand side button under the screen. You may just see the button next to it dip down😂
Make sure whoever you buy one from has a good return policy. Myself, I'll wait a year and see before buying another.
@@sodiumlights mine arrived from thomann yesterday. middle buttons are all spongy n horrible. and tbh the whole unit feels so cheap, like a beta unit. the worst build quality I think I've ever seen. sent it back to thomann today
man I wanted to like it so much :(
Got an m8 and it's amazing. So tempted by the mini though. Guess it's sampling v synthesis really.
Question.... Before plugging down $700.00 for a hardware tracker could you recommend a software version that would be comparable to this or the M8 to get the feel for utilizing a tracker prior to such a big hardware purchase? I'm a DAW user but these are peaking my interest for composing on the fly/portable. Thanks! Love your channel.
Hello my friend! If you want to try the M8 without buying the hardware, there is the “headless” version with a teensy. I’ve heard it works great with a steam deck👍🏼👍🏼 thanks for watching!!
If youre on android, you can get a gameboy emulator and lsdj. Literally identical workflow to the M8
I'd recommend Renoise. It's the most "capable" tracker there is, but it's not "portable" unless you use a laptop. The license is also pretty cheap. There are a lot of free options, but they are fairly limited and/or very specialized, mainly towards chiptune music.
On the original tracker it had a radio built in that you could sample from and you could change the way songs are displayed from a downwards scroll to a left to right scroll, are these also present on the tracker mini?
I've been waiting for this video lol
I really appreciate that my friend! Thanks for watching!
Would anyone recommend this to a first time tracker user? I was thinking of learning from renoise first
Actually, I think the Polyend Tracker (the OG or the Mini) has the best workflow for a beginner to trackers. Renoise is amazing but it's not so intuitive
I'm rather glad they came out with this, as it not only added to the feature set, they made it's portability usable without sacrificing a fair bit. This of course makes it a difficult choice for me between it and the M8, as I'm worried the M8's a bit too minimalist for controls for myself. On the other hand, the sheer flexibility it has makes it super tempting... I suspect I'll probably wind up picking up both to try out, and see how they roll. I'm so glad the Mini has a battery, because there's just something to be said about a device you can pack and use whenever, or, y'know, when a power outage happens (which unfortunately seems to be happening a touch more often in the area I live in)
As a super early PT user, this looks awesome, but I'm a bit sad that they've spent their time building this instead of fixing issues with the original PT. There are atill hundreds of bugs open in their PT bug tracker, and theres plenty of room inside that chassis for a battery if they really wanted to issue a portable version - I even designed a mod that adds one!
Tell me about the mod
@@Hawkman1335O The + and - voltage rails are easily soldered to so you just get an Adafruit battery manager board and a battery and throw it in, basically. Double sided tape to keep it in place if you're fancy.
What is the model of the tray/laptop stand/trap table seen in the first few seconds of the video? It looks sturdy
Yeah, I loved the m8 in concept, but the learning curve of button combos ended up making it unusable for me in the long run, and I think that's saying something, because I mainly work with a deluge, and that thing is no stranger to button combos and learning curves lol. I'm gunna get the mini for fun
There’s so many great choices for portable music making machines these days. Have you researched the Woovebox yet? It’s another M8 competitor.
Hadn’t heard of it! *runs off to google
Wouldn't call it an M8 competitor, rather a Pocket Operator competitor.
The Woovebox isn't a traditional tracker at all.. and it's price to performance ratio is stupid.
Nobody mentions that you can play games on it. I want to find out if you can add games.
Can it be used directly as a midi host for USB only controllers?
Got one. Everything was looking good until I opened the (very nice) case.
Oh my god. Did Polyend cut a deal to use TE’s manufacturing team? Were the quality checkers from the OP-Z crew?
the buttons feel extremely cheap and there is way to much depth to them.
the back has a bulge, which I’m not entirely sure was intentional. In an odd way it does make a nice placement for your fingers, but on the other hand it really does look like a fckup. The four notched feet don’t even touch down! (gonna upload video later)
the silky smooth coating feels wonderful BUT there is a seam (top section, base section), and this seam…well…On the LHS the top section juts out. Yet on every other side the base sticks out. Utterly shoddy, and very far from the perfect built quality of a Paper-white Kindle.
it’s lighter than I expected it to be, and certainly not the listed weight.
the screen surface feels like a matt monitor type material…which I like!
To be honest, I’m really not sure what to do. I’ve so far resisted turning it on. I know that sounds ridiculous but I have learned from the pieceofshit that is the/my op-z. I don’t know if every Mini has the same issues or not (gonna ask around today) but I don’t want to turn the thing on and start loving it and making justifications for the flaws.
I've seen a thread on the polyend forum with a direct answer from polyend themselves regarding the user interface of the mini and everything, that they had this thing in mind for many years and that they tried out many things as control functions like a jogwheel and even a thumb wheel.
yeah...I'm sorry but I don't buy that. The user interface still looks pretty bad but at least not as bad as the SmplTrek which is bad in is own leage. Even the form factor is idk, kinda like an Ipad but I've never seen it used as a desktop unit so why it is so flat?
Some people hate on the button orientation of the m8 but they forget that it is based on a gameboy, but more important, the m8 can also be used as a desktop unit, controlling it with one hand while looking at the streamed display on your monitor.
Doubtful I'm willing to trade the radio and the pads for stereo samples.
Ding ding ! The workflow on the OG is too good. I’m waiting for the MK2. Good job with the mini just not for me.
Do you lose a lot of the live performance oriented features without the grid buttons or did they still try to implement them somehow?
Have you tried big font on the M8? It greatly enhances the experience. And in terms of UI, I think you miss the point completely on the M8. Yes, things are compact in terms of buttons but it is executed with a very, very consistent logic attached to it, making it quite intuitive. So the lack of buttons is an actual feature, if you ask me.
It's going to be interesting seeing how the new tracker will fare. Polyend has been dropping the ball for some time now in terms of the launch of the Tracker Mini (ie. poor communications, delays due to poor quality assurance etc.).
Big Font mode?? I've not updated my M8 firmware since I got it last year - clearly I'm missing out!!
@@robinr22 Yep - big font mode! ruclips.net/video/u7I9jrc2R4A/видео.html&ab_channel=Avrilcadabra
It's quite the game changer, and doesn't really do much in terms of hindering the UI.
Can you do a video about using this to timestretch and using the synth enfines please? Im new to this and cant find much in the way of help.
Tried the Mini, didn't like it. Not having any input buttons for doing chopped loops on the fly completely broke my workflow.
They could easily add a shortcut for using the track select buttons as a 'shift' input at some point, but as it is, they've killed the happy accident part of the OG.
How can you make chords on a single track?
You can't, you need multiple tracks, but then you can resample into a single track
I love it I didn't get one because I've been using Renoise since 2010. I process with plugins there. I like the screen on my iMac.
but how do you jam/noodle on it without the keys... Can't decide if I want this or not. I'd def miss the keys like crazy, which I use all the time. It's how I figure out a tune, plus they work properly with the custom scales that an external keyboard won't, but I don't think I'd miss the jog wheel. I've tried using external midi keyboards on my original Tracker, but It's not such a slick integrated setup as using the Tracker's keys. Not sure I can forgive Polyend for taking the keys off this. Think I'm taking this to the grave.
I’m so concerned about the build quality. I know TE messed up real bad with that op-z crap. If it feels cheap, not worth the money.
Why not add small jog wheel & at least 8 pads!? 🤦♂️ Don’t understand it all. It’s MC-101 size in width & so much free space 🤷♂️
M8 still the beast in pocket music production. Waiting for PT Mini Mk2.
I can't remember if you have a Digitakt. Have you been using the PT mini over the Digitakt? I'm still unsure which one should be my first sampler.
He had one but sold it a while ago. GAS is a hell of a drug 😅
So happy to hear this is a nice device. Does the mini still have the radio?
No it doesn't
While I really liked the review, I can’t agree with the „not enough” buttons argument. m8 has phenomenally though out UX and Is very fast to learn basic operations (there is only couple of „Combos” that work similarly on every screen) and then - you don’t even need to think or look on the screen. The problem with too many buttons (like on Polyend) is that it is way more cumbersome to use. Both have learning curve, both are great in their own thing, but when talking about buttons - in my opinion M8 have an edge.
I agree that they both crave different demographics - one (Polyeend) is based on classical Tracker experience (Fastracker, Noisetracker, Protracker etc), ie trackers existing on computers, while M8 is based on LSDJ (grom GameBoy) - those are totally different experiences and ideas behind. I personally think that m8 paradigm works better in portable form factor, but „traditional” trackers (ie Polyend Tracker) are easier to grasp for novices.
😂nah ain’t for me but your channel always is!
I have the tracker big brother and honestly love it but hardly ever use it because of my current set up. Tho its so unique and i love the sound engines and editing on it.
Definitely keeping an eye on this mini, maybe ill make a swap
Personally I like it more than the OG, but I’m a sucker for portables with built in batteries 😜
Got mine this week. In love with it ❤. I hate jog wheels and the new buttons work surprisingly well. Definitely want to find the best mobile midi controller to pair some pads with this for live note entry. I have been using my circuit rhythm for that this week 😂
Is this comparable to the sp404mk2? Could you use midi keyboard for note entry and sample chopping?
I just sold my M8 and am about to buy a mini
What do you think of your Mini?
Thank you for the joke here! 0:05
The Tracker Mini had absolutely false advertising. They expanded the memory… but you can’t use it. It has the same 45sec/sample and 133sec/project limits that the OG tracker does. The fact that Polyend purposely obfuscates this is why I will never buy from them again.
Lol that's wild
Its, not it's. ❤
Thank you from the bottom of my heart😅 As a non native English speaker, using it’s/its and who/whom is always a challenge😜
❤️
@@MidlifeSynthesistIts / it's is one of the worst features of this heck language, to be honest. It's a direct violation of a general rule that holds almost everywhere else, for no reason.
@@MidlifeSynthesist Haha, greetings from Sweden and another non-native English speaker. The trick is to pronounce "it's" as "it is", then it's easy to tell which one is right. 😊 Hope my comment didn't come across as finger pointy, I just saw the opportunity to fix the typo before the premiere. Looking forward to watching this video soon.
@@sinewaymusic I'm from germany and that is exactly how I remember it^^
@@MidlifeSynthesistit's not just the non native speakers who mess up. 'Tis a pity that " 'tis " died with Shakespeare ...so much easier! 😂
This antique musician is concerned that the 5" screen might be too much smaller than the OT 7" one.
Nah. Don’t think so. The amount of sound design and stuff you can do on M8 is unrivaled atm.
I would agree the M8 is better, but I've always disliked the argument that more features means better...
I guess it depends on your style of music. For me I couldn’t gel with the original Polyend tracker
I think they are very different devices for very different styles and purposes. As mentioned in the video, both have their strengths and weaknesses, but as a true addict, the answer for me is, get both🤣
More isn’t always better. Do I want complex sound design and a cheat sheet to do so? Nah.
@@Paul-uy1ru I’m speaking from my own experience. It’s not just comparing the spec sheets. For me, working with samples and adding synth sounds is been a bliss on the M8. I do wish it was a tad bigger and had pads for banging beats. But it is what it is.
As for making programatic beats and changing stuff I find it more intuitive. And the tables are awesome too.
Also making songs by reusing phrases is way nicer. I mean if you decide to change the drum beat it is changed everywhere. Which I like.
But I guess it’s a matter of taste.
I don’t like the sounds. Would certainly need to sample external synths. I would love to have this for traveling.
This is dusty swift solo artist
So they removed the grid and the wheel and put a smaller screen on it for 250 bucks more than the original. Cool! And the fun fact is that sunvox on a rasberry pi blows it away. Lol
Did you even watch the video dude?🤣
It costs the same as the OG and has an integrated battery, integrated mic, 12 stereo audio tracks over USB, longer sampling time, stereo sampling, more cpu 🤷🏻♂️
I don’t work for Polyend so if you don’t like it I have no issue, but at least get the facts straight 👍🏼
@@MidlifeSynthesist It's 709 euros on Thomann vs. 472
@@paolomoretti9291 perfect circuit has both at 699 USD🤷🏻♂️ maybe thomann slashed the price on the OG to clear stock?
@@MidlifeSynthesist I don't know. I only know I can get a portable tracker that blows it away for 1/10 of the price. Then everybody's free. Sorry if I seemed rude. Bye!
@@paolomoretti9291 no harm done, have a great day🤟🏻
They dropped support for .mod files so I cancelled my Polyend order. Abandoning the huge library of legacy tracker tunes to rush out firmware 1.7 sucks. Polyend's priorities are all wrong.
So, not one single negative? Hmmm...
Grab your Tracker Mini at Perfect Circuit using my link! bit.ly/3PyjoE8
No. Not now they killed .mod support. This device is dead to me 👍
Where
❤
the intregalitys is good lol, joking
SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS THOUGH?!?!?
nah... i'm sorry but TE has effectively techno jesused up the portable compact music gear market.......
$700 is uncomfortably close to a grand in my book... for a hardware version of an ancient piece of tracker software.
It's hardly portable with no speaker.
M8 all the way. This device is way to expensive to be even considered by me. It is only half the price of an Electron Octatrack mkII.
Come on man - them giving you this device IS payment for a review/ video. Why do RUclipsrs think we don’t know this? You are now incentivized towards positive feedback about it - even if there’s nothing written in a contract or explicitly stated. Access, in and of itself, to a company is a benefit.
Im sure you’ll try to be as objective as possible and try to remain honest/truthful - but subconsciously it is what it is which is why all contact between influencers and companies is a conflict of interest.
I mean everyone can see how horrible the interface was, who ever designed this thing needs to be fired
Also mic is mono
@@davidhays2846okay creep