It’s kind of refreshing that the Track8 is just being presented as its own niche thing for its own niche audience and nothing more, but I admit I don’t get the point of a DAW-less solution that hinges on you still needing to use a DAW for at least half of the work.
1 Like
glia
7780
maybe i missed it but that wasn’t my understanding of the workflow
i have no strict commitment to going dawless but the description of offloading stems seemed to just acknowledge the reality that many people end up having a DAW used for professional mixing & mastering (even if that’s not part of their own setup)
speaking for myself i could 100% make and arrange a complete song with Track8 as currently spec’d
My impression is that transparency hasn’t been cast aside…peoples response to such tipping-of-the-cards is what changed. It still earns my respect whenever i see it (as in the case of Thingstone guy)
It’s also occurred to me that if we plan to go in depth talking about pricing & production in the abstract, another thread might be better suited for it
If you all take the commentary elsewhere please tag me so I can chime in
5 Likes
naxuu
7781
I’ll echo that I admire his commitment to a simple, focused product. That said, when I have need for a modest, minimalist recorder and arranger with a minimum of distractions, I feel like my M8 Tracker gets the job done pretty handily. It’s not marketed as such and the device is capable of so, so much more, but if I just need a sketchpad for quickly putting multiple tracks of recordings down, it fits the bill. (Then I bounce those tracks and take them over to a DAW for final effects, processing, mixing, and mastering, because I’d rather just throw a bunch of good plugins at those jobs than try to reinvent the wheel in hardware.)
6 Likes
i was happy to read that the track8 creator came from the same experience i had working with the op-1 tape paradigm. i have sketched so many ideas there and then taken them to the daw for arrangement and further overdubbing / processing / modulation / etc.
i have no issues using a computer, ipad, boss micro br, and so on – but the thing that has continually rewarded me with the op-1 is the muscle memory i’ve accumulated with it. i can fly around making loops, overdubbing, restarting a take, etc, because it’s so minimal and the UX was designed around a few buttons and encoders, with just the right amount of screen usage.
i’ve wanted that experience, but with more tracks, for a long time – and i can definitely make 8 work. my op-1 approach is to record 3 layers to a looped section of tape, then use resample to “mix-down” those to track 4. i’d then lift the resampled recording - jump ahead to the next section of free tape, and drop it on track 1. dub 2 more tracks over that and repeat. at a later date i’d drop everything in a daw and get to work slicing up my loops and building out the arrangement. for me, the blessing of working this way is that the initial sketching phase feels more like experimenting and trying all sorts of ideas without getting caught up / stalled in envisioning the whole song structure while writing. i like figuring that out later.
24 Likes
glia
7783
so perfectly stated
there are many ways to make music but without literal or emulated “tape” i end up being forced to make decisions about structure (and timing) that i’d rather make later on
OP1 and things like it allow me to very easily get experimental with re-pitching parts of a track to breath life into an arrangement.
10 Likes
2197
7784
the haxophone looks like a fun project!
Features & Specifications
- Custom Raspberry Pi HAT PCB
- Software:
- haxo-rs: This is the driver that detects key presses, breath and converts it into notes. It’s written in Rust, and compiled on the Raspberry Pi into a native application
- fluidsynth: This is the synthesizer software that will convert notes into sounds
- Tactile-feedback 5-pin mechanical switches
- Mechanical keycaps
- Breath pressure sensor
- Built-in audio amplifier (works with no-audio Raspberry Pi’s like the Zero and the Zero W)
- Serial console for hacking
29 Likes
It’s not Praga II, it’s Ostrawa 
It definitely doesn’t replace Praga. These modules (Ostrawa, Bohumin, Praga, and Hrad) are all chainable, so you can create quite an extensive mixing system. Praga is also necessary to use Hrad as the output module with all it’s nice features.
On another note, scuse the stuttering – it was the beginning of the second day of SB23, and I was only half-awake 
Yes, they are. The patchbook as well – it’s much more work than it might seem, especially bearing in mind we keep adding some new modules, damn…
12 Likes
I got you @shortsleeves - I should have edited my post at the time - excuse the misnomer! It is very much an Ostrawa and I like it!
1 Like
vinc
7787
Love that retro interface.
11 Likes
robbie
7788
Great detail about why they chose a blue display; pity the modern segmented LED doesn’t have the charm of the original’s VFD.
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That one really looks fun ideed!
I’ll have to wait for somebody making a less DIY version though.
Brought to me via the YouTube algorithm, I thought the aesthetics of this prototype might be appreciated here:
41 Likes
Yeah, got served this up this morning too… very interested, I especially liked the way you can “dial in” different chord variations. The Ableton integration is perfect for me, though I can see why they would want to make it a standalone unit.
1 Like
pleco
7792
Also saw this and was very excited by what I heard! The familiarity of piano keys is nice, and I’m wondering if something more along the lines of accordion keys would be a better choice for this? Having a more flexible way to access different inversions and chord qualities could move this from a fun way to make harmony accessible to a really compelling instrument to perform with! Though I imagine that would make the design process a lot more complex and may make it more intimidating which seems to be the exact opposite direction they’re going with it. 
Whatever the case will be cool to see it develop further!
2 Likes
A Wes Anderson synth. Looks fab 
6 Likes
It looks very cool… gives me Love Hulten vibes.
Is it a full synth or a midi controller?
I couldn’t tell in the video (but could only see USB connector so assume it is a controller mapped to Ableton for the sound/synth parameters)?
7 Likes
robbie
7795
Towards the end they explain that currently it’s using Ableton for synthesis, but a goal is to make it standalone in the future.
2 Likes
This looks (and sounds) interesting. Is it a 100% digital module? I couldn’t tell from the website.
Look at this, finally not a synthfluencer / professional video journalist but a curious musican.
yYes its blurry sometimes, claims that stereo mixd up but get deep to the core.
So great news everyone it has a red rec button for the xy pads
And a midi input for sync.
5 Likes
