#404

So cool! Thanks for sharing!

Looks like the cc#s are fixed in the Tracker so I’m assuming you have to change them up on the 16n side. Wish I had kept my 16n! Might get one of the newer Michigan Synth Works fader banks (not technically 16n, but seems extremely similar;)

1 Like
#405

Hi, here’s Łukasz from Polyend. Thanks for bearing with us while we’re hardening the firmware. We’d like to inform you of the immediate availability of Tracker firmware 1.3.1 beta 3. We believe it solves the most pressing issues users reported with 1.3.0 and we invite you to try it out. We’ll be releasing the official stable firmware 1.3.1 based on this beta within the next two weeks. In the mean time we’ll be testing it extensively and listening to any reports about issues with 1.3.1 beta 3. Thanks again for your support and holding us to the highest standards.

Work on Tracker improvements doesn’t end with 1.3.1, we’ll have more to announce in the following months. In the mean time, we hope you enjoy this new release. Cheers!

Download

You can get the firmware on GitHub:
Tracker 1.3.1b3

1.3.1 Beta 3 Fixes

  • Edits on Song screen could crash the device when switching to Pattern Editor (#410, #662, #688)
  • Undo actions on Song screen now more predictable with 10 levels of undo (#591)
  • Correct stem alignment for tracks beginning with silence (#697)
  • Offline song export is now 20% faster and usually faster than wall clock song time (#697)
  • Offline stem export now takes around ~2x wall clock song time (#697)
  • Drastically improved tempo accuracy in song and stem export (#697)
  • Properly reset performance screen after “Continue song” is used (#481)
  • Fill mode with beat slice: lighted pads now correspond to slices (#669)
  • Notes played with an external controller in Pattern Editor no longer get stuck (#151, #634)
  • Notes played with an external controller now use constant velocity if “Velocity” is not enabled in Recording Options (#291)
  • Notes played with an external controller passed to a MIDI Instrument are now velocity sensitive
  • Protect against pressing “Backspace” accidentally and resetting very low master volume to 0.0 dB
  • MIDI OUT messages should not be emitted during offline song export
23 Likes
#406
  • Protect against pressing “Backspace” accidentally and resetting very low master volume to 0.0 dB

Hah, that one got me yesterday! Good call, thanks for adding a protection.

And, seriously, thank you so much for continual improvement on this platform! I’m having a great time with my unit so far and I look forward to future updates and the creative possibilities they unlock.

3 Likes
#407

Where would I find the page guide? sorry just got mine and fumbling through the manual!

#408

In the interests of fairness given my criticism in earlier comments, I want to say that I’ve tested the song stem exports in the new firmware with various different test projects this evening, and the major issues have been fixed. There are still a few problems involving stereo data not being exported, the master track glitching after one pattern length, and the track stems not being flush with the bar - but the significant problems with drift, export time, synch, and others appear to be largely resolved - which is great. Looking forward to those being adjusted and hopefully live in the next official firmware release.

4 Likes
#409

It’s in the project settings page in the 1.3.0 firmware, under “Pattern Divider”.

2 Likes
#410

Thank you for the help!

#411

Just loaded the new firmware and tested out stem export on a track - took just a couple minutes and everything sounds great. This is a great relief and makes the Tracker much much more usable, very excited to make more full tracks on it

6 Likes
#412

i’ve been on the fence getting a polyend tracker for a while. on the one hand, i love trackers and their workflow, and this seems like a very capable machine for many reasons.
the main thing i’m struggling with is the grid… how do you people find it for tracking? the way most trackers use the computer keyboard is so brilliant, since you’re (probably) already familiar with the layout. i find a grid much harder to navigate (don’t have a monome grid either, just use non-grid scripts on norns, i guess for this reason). do you find it quick to navigate through the tracker matrix without arrow keys? did it take you a long time to find your way around note input with the grid? i’d love to hear from someone who’s used to other computer trackers and are now using a polyend tracker : )

#413

The tracker does have arrow keys and they work as you would expect them to - look on the lower right side of the unit. In general, most things have their (semi-)dedicated keys, so it’s surprisingly close to navigating a classic tracker with a computer keyboard (source: used various trackers since I was 12, I’m now 37).

The grid is mainly used for fast input of notes (you can also change note value with the encoder) and parameters as the grid values map from minimum to maximum value so if you know the value you want, you can whack it directly from grid (this can also be done with the encoder). All the navigation is done via the dedicated mode and navication keys, and there isn’t much you really need the grid for if you’re more comfortable setting values with the encoder.

2 Likes
#414

thanks for explaining! i guess i just have to try it and find out : )

1 Like
#415

The grid is great. You don’t really input notes via the grid in the way you might expect (where each pad corresponds to a position on the track). You use the wheel, and select the pitch, or instrument, or whatever, with the grid. It’s fast, and intuitive.

#416

Yeah, the grid acts like the QWERTY area of the keyboard without modifiers does in a computer tracker - you use it to input a note to the selected position (and then possibly moving to next position based on the step value). With the Polyend unit, as the parameter range for the other values corresponds to amount of keys on the grid, you can use it to input a value for any selected parameter in a logical way.

1 Like
#417

I just picked up a Tracker from my local boutique store yesterday. I love the build and overall feel of it. Polyend obviously put a lot of thought into its design and functionality.

Unfortunately though, I’ve been noticing a faint high pitched noise every time I turn monitoring on to sample something. The noise then gets baked into whatever I’m sampling. This occurs even if I don’t have something plugged into the line in and sometimes it occurs when monitoring is off and I’m in pattern mode.

Is anyone else experiencing this? Do you think it’s a bug or is it hardware related?

1 Like
#418

I’m not experiencing that at all - I wonder if you might have a dud unit, or some noise elsewhere in the system?

#419

nor am i, though i did get ground loop noise when attached to my computer usb before throwing an isolator on it

#420

Yeah, USB noise is my guess. If you have it plugged into a hub or computer, try powering it off of the provided wall plug instead.

1 Like
#421

Thanks for all of your responses. I was using the Tracker with the provided wall plug exclusively (except for when I updated the firmware) and continued to get noise. Yesterday I came to the conclusion that I probably got a faulty unit so I returned it. The Tracker is a really sweet groove box- it’s so focused and self-contained, but I already have two Octatracks and can’t really justify spending money right now. I’ll probably get another one sometime down the road. I’m still very pro-Tracker.

1 Like
#422

Hey there, really interested in this little set up.

I have my main room in the house but really fancy something smaller that I can move around a little easier. Do you sample norns? How else do you use it in conjunction with the Tracker? Very nice… :mountain:

#423

fell down the modular rabbit hole this past year and effectively stopped finishing songs since i didn’t want to keep using a computer (ableton) to make music. just got a tracker this week and it has been exactly what i’ve needed. i never used a tracker based workflow before but it is very intuitive and i’ve been making things that work a lot better as songs while still being experimental and fun to make.

4 Likes