#81

It’s actually quite brilliant the more I think about it. No one owning a Tracker will be wanting for drum samples - the FM radio has every flavor of noise you would need for making your own custom kits easier than it would be to source a library of one-hits.

2 Likes
#82

I always liked this one by Ess at Elektron for the Model:Samples announcement. Shows how much you can pull off with six sample tracks!

June’s a long wait! I can’t wait to see the deep dive videos that show the performance features, or the hardware shortcuts that exemplify why one would want this over Renoise on a laptop with a numpad (seriously, get a numpad if you’re using Renoise without one!).

I’ve been really happy with how this product has brought a lot of new users over to Renoise and trackers in general. I like that this can export .mod format files, which Renoise can then import. I wish it had a built-in battery, but USB power is decent with the glut of cheap powerbanks around.

4 Likes
#83

Being an extremely basic Renoise user; what does the numpad afford a user?

#84

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been an active Renoise user, but I remember making use of it a ton. This page has a good list: https://tutorials.renoise.com/wiki/Keyboard_Shortcuts

Essentially, it’s the main tool for instruments (instrument selection and current octave). You could substitute left ctrl + [ or ] for octave selection and alt + up or down for sequential instrument selection.

#85

Ah! Helpful! Being able to trigger instruments and samples in tracks with different effects is certainly one of the biggest advantages to Renoise and having the numpad ease that transition is hella cool.

#86

programming parameters quickly

#87

Here’s a deep dive. Loopop does his typically excellent job walking through everything. What a fun looking instrument!

6 Likes
#88

So loopop sez there’s 2 automation lanes available per channel on any given step, but you can change to different automation parameters on a per-step basis. That’s what I was hoping for, and honestly it sounds flexible enough that you could do some really cool things within those limitations. Not necessarily the showstopper it appeared to be, for me at least (your mileage may vary).

3 Likes
#89

I’m curious to know more about the haptic feedback on the jog wheel. Is it micro stuff like the apple trackpad, or stronger vibrations? Is it just to give a sense of detents when making small adjustments, or is there something more interactive going on?

4 Likes
#90

I’m always a fan of haptic feedback and thrilled to see any version of it in this product, but yeah, I’m curious how well it works and what the level of feedback is. Also, if the scroll is exponential or linear, how well does it work for micro inputs? Whats the fidelity?

#91

Now, my biggest question would be; who is more likely to fulfill an order more promptly: Perfect Circuit or Polyend?

I know they’ll both more or less release the product same day, but which would most likely reach my US home faster? Obviously I’m very excited and very sold on the product. Haha

1 Like
#92

If you preorder from Polyend you get the Tracker Hardcase for free (oddly enough, I only see that information when I mouse-hover over the Preorder link on their page). I don’t see a similar offer from Perfect Circuit.

#93

Right, that is a fair point. Especially because I have a young one in the house. Hopefully they send our international orders early enough to anticipate and account for US customs

#94

Appears to be a bug on their site though - the preorder link displays 499 eur, but when you click through, the product is priced at 599 eur. Maybe they’ll resolve soon.

#95

I already preordered yesterday. The site is still a little funky. But I checked out with the correct US price when all was said and done.

I was so eager and excited, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m in the first 100 orders. Haha

2 Likes
#96

AFAIK the Zoia uses a Blackfin DSP.

#97

I’m thinking about flipping my Deluge and replacing it with this. I immediately see the benefits of tracker style sequencing. I love the screen and waveform views and sample editing features.

The Deluge’s greatest strength is also it’s weakness. The developers are amazing at expanding its firmware capabilities, but they’re limited by the interface of the hardware. So, I was stoked when they starting adding additional features, but now there is so much feature creep that the button shortcuts are getting out of hand and the limited screen, while at first totally fine, now isn’t helping contextualize where you are in the OS.

Whereas the Tracker solves all of that and it’s limited feature set might be a nice way to focus. The Deluge is super powerful, but I always feel like I’m under utilizing it.

2 Likes
#98

Absolutely this. I also see myself replacing my OP-Z with this. I just can’t seem to get the rhythms I want out of it and the limitations, while par for the course with the size, leave me wanting. I will continue to try and make the most of it; but while battery powered and a sequencing powerhouse, I just can’t be creative with the layout. Shame really, cause it’s MY shortcomings that are holding me back from really making the most of it.

Trackers, on the other hand allow me an insane amount of creativity in beat and synth writing! Can’t wait

#99

what are the possibilities of this for NON-rhythmic music? i remember back in the day live acts at raves who would bring their desktop machines and CRT monitors and run crazy sets with trackers… and always associated, correctly, i think, tracks with very rhythmic music.

is the Polyend able to go off-grid? is something more longform possible?

3 Likes
#100

Based on a few seconds in the loopop tutorial, sounds like @fourhexagons has been working on some less rhythmic stuff with it. I’ll be interested to hear his thoughts!

1 Like