Bad Gear - Polyend Tracker
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- čas přidán 20. 06. 2024
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
01:31 Trackers in general
02:31 Overview
05:58 Hate
06:22 Jam 1
07:12 Jam 2
08:19 Finale
08:50 Verdict
Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world's most hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about the Polyend Tracker. Is this hardware take on the ancient software-based music production technique yet another hipster toy???
Thanks to Polyend for sending me a Tracker as a long term loan.
The original Ultimate Soundtracker sample packs can be found here:
archive.org/details/AmigaSoun... - Hudba
Audiopilz: *slaps roof of YT channel*
Full Tracks, Extended Jams, Sample Packs: www.patreon.com/audiopilz
People say "sounds like videogame music" when they have no other frame of reference to think about electronica. But honestly it's one of my least favorite things to hear about my music at this point and I have to pretend not to die inside when they say it.
Happy to see the Tracker on here. Finally my hipster status has been confirmed 😭😭😭😂
Pliz kick the tyres. Sign of guaranteed quality.
@JOVANKA-------👇💋 Gesundheit!
Congratulations, Jam 2 just got you another patron. :3
Not hipster enough. I sequence with a fuse box, 16 reclaimed light switches and a typewriter. All powered by soil.
Organic soil, I hope ;-)
The mobile yurt studio is bang on trend. Mine is powered by farting oxen.
@@2112jonr Curated, artisan soil.
@@secretelitemusic I couldn't get the oxen to guff at 432hz so I had to let them go.
@@AlexBallMusic Niiiiiiiiiice !
This is like a utilitarian answer to the OP-1... a compact instrument that costs half as much, teaches you how a tracker works, and despite being limited on paper you can still whack super complex stuff out of it. The demos you made were amazing. A no-frills groovebox for modern times!
Thanks! True that!
Only thing it's *really* lacking is few extra MIDI-only channels and maybe some builtin synth engine but the wavetable feature emulates that good enough
The OP-Z is roughly the same cost and does 8 tracks and has a battery and built in synth engines, I like it a lot more than the OP-1 but people overlook it.
I used trackers for years and years,, and eventually got an OP-1... but TBH I found that neither tool was right for me. In my experience the limitations did not breed creativity; they mostly bred frustration and demotivation. But either one _can_ be great, in the hands of a compatible user.
@@xani666 a simple synth engine would be great, maybe they’ll do it in a Tracker 2 someday. The wave table and granular engines are interesting, but in practice, I find them frustrating to use. Like, they’re good for getting some weird experimental sounds, but sometimes you want to be able to reliably dial in an immediately usable bass sound or something.
Huge props to @Polyend for having the balls to send their product to a show named "Bad Gear"!
Also: Awesome episode!
Thanks! Yeah, @polyend are the GOAT!!!
Clearly some of the guys on the Polyend teams are fans. Anyone who watches would know that the title is misleading. Bad gear is how us hobbyists turn side money into beautiful music. Really looking forward to the Electrive ESX-1 episode so I can sell mine for 50% more than I paid (theoretically. In reality that thing is going to be buried with me)
The indie gamers generation. I decline to give them props.
Dis gear so bad! Thank you, certified hipster!
Thanks guys!!!!!
Still waiting for the Polyend Pocket.
Polyend Mini is going to be released soon, check out Benn Jordan recent video, he demos a prototype device.
Nice one sir ! As a Trackerhead and one of the soundbank sound designer of this machine head it's fun to have your take on this thing ;-)
Hey, nice to have you around. Thanks!
I just found your videos after getting a Polyend Tracker last week and they've been really great to learn specific tips and tricks!
Oh, a Trackerhead... in that case - Can you, please, recommend me some entry-level tracker for MIDI sequencing (windows)?
@@_jakjr_ renoise
@@deejaychainwallet Thanks. Any free alternatives? 70EUR is acceptable for a good piece of software, but it would be money wasted if trackers aren't my thing.
"The circle is now complete. When last we met, I was but the software. Now -- I -- am the hardware."
True!!!
I love DnB,Jungle and keygen music and this thing is a tracker in a box
Same here!!! Big fan of that stuff since I was a teen
That's exactly the kinda music I wanna make! After a week with the Polyend Tracker as a first intro to the concept, it's truly amazing and I love it so much already
Yeah I’m Hardware trackers for life
Hahahaha WAREZ
@@Syntox I’ve always pronounced it “Where’z,” but my shxxty former friend says “Juarez.” 🤔
I love this! SoundTracker / ProTracker / OctaMED were my jam back in the day. My mind was blown the first time I saw LSDJ on a Gameboy back in 2010. And when I learned that Aphex Twin used trackers, a lot of things started to make sense.
Yeah, all that micro editing is super easy on trackers
Check out the Dirtywave M8 if you're into LSDJ.
The tracker era of the late 80s through the mid 90s was so much fun. It's neat seeing it resurrected in hardware now.
Yeah, it's a pity I didn't participate in the scene back then
Oh god no.... Not my baby! 😅 Fair play to Polyend for sending it in...., it's like trusting a Bulldog with your Sunday roast 😁
Let's call it realism;)
@@AudioPilz great job as always. Can't wait for next Friday! 😁
THE POLYEND TRACKER IS THE MOST FUN PIECE OF GEAR I'VE EVER BOUGHT.
It's indeed a fun box!
OK!!
I love it when you review a popular unit as 'bad gear'. You can feel a great disturbance in the force, like a thousand synth nerds crying out.
You had me at "It's a tracker." You made this thing shine as usual. Damnit AudioPilz, now I want one! Guess I'll stick with Renoise for now. At $60 it's a tenth of the price and does quite a lot.
Thank you so much!!!
Man I may be a complete n00b but every single episode, I would be pretty happy with any of the "bad" gear - this thing looks incredible!
It is incredible. From a musical idea to a mixed track and with a different sensibility to music creation than any other hardware out there (apart from the new M8) the Polyend Tracker has everything and more besides. If you don't like the idea of trackers don't slag it off, it's not for you. If you're curious... don't hesitate to try and or just buy. If you're a tracker aficionado and you want a standalone hardware tracker then this is it.
I picked up my tracker about 10 months ago after selling off the digitakt, which had plenty of limitations of its own. This tracker has worked better for me if only for the song mode! The tracker's song mode makes it very easy to chain patterns and build complete jams. The midi capabilities are excellent for controlling external gear. Not as powerful as the MPC one, but much easier workflow and what does it matter anyway? I like the polyend tracker.
The pattern length and song mode of the Tracker are real advantages over the 'takt
The song mode is amazing!
Octatrack, Digitakt and Model:Samples are basically trackers with a sequencer interface.
Polyend Tracker is very sleek. I just wish it had more ins so that I can send all my instruments into it.
M8 Tracker is the dream handheld.
The M8 seem super interesting!
@@AudioPilz Jeremy just did a stellar intro
I own a m8 and its life. Idk if I can go back to normal daws.
@@jokeboxproductions that is a big claim, but I could believe it
@@jokeboxproductions how do you compare it to Renoise and Polyend Tracker?
I grew up using trackers on an Amiga. I bought the Polyend Tracker last spring and I love it!
Nice!
You haven't mentioned that Tracker has really cool randomization features like fill types that will allow you to make complex patterns. Those randomization include Euclidian fill and so on.
I quite like that you can export files that other trackers can import. I grabbed ReNoise after getting my tracker and the combination is fantastic. Some of the data can't be transferred, but for using as a portable device you can bang out ideas quickly, I have to say I love it. It is right up there with my Korg ER-1 or fun.
Nice, I've yet to try that feature
A french collection of Vintage Analogs Synthesizers & drums machines
czcams.com/video/528DtHGIbgw/video.html&ab_channel=LeonardLORM
ARP 2600+ROLAND SH101+MC202+TB 303+TR 505,606,626,707,727,808,909+RE201-SEQUENTIAL PRO ONE+PROPHET600+DRUMTRACKS, KORG MS20+SQ10+POLYSIX+M1,YAMAHA CS01+DX7
DX9+DX100,OBERHEIM PROMMER+DX+MATRIX 1000
I love the tracker for taking around if you want something portable but capable, also works with a powerbank!
I love this thing so much that I've based my entire setup around one. My musical journey started with Octamed so it's quite fitting that I've ended up here..
Nice!!!
I used to make music under MS-DOS with trackers. My first experience with trackers was when I visited friends with Amigas, and when the first trackers apppeared on DOS, I began making music with them. At the same time, I was making music with synthesizers (Yamaha CS1x and Roland MT32) using a Roland MPU-401 and MIDI software but I couldn't just combine the two, which I wished I could.
Nice, I have to go down the software tracker rabbit hole too!
As a guy who writes CNC G-Code every day, this video has completely sold me on trackers. The logic makes complete sense to me compared to other sequencing styles. BRB buying some bad gear!
Not gonna lie, this just made me want one. Seems perfect for IDM.
Ideal IDM box!!!
The hipster rocks it again with big style. I will have to get in the loft and dig out my fully spec’d Amiga 500 and run the joy that is octamed again if only to see how my music production has improved or not as the case may be. I think of it as a digital piano roll for 20th century but I think with the midi capabilities this neat bit of kit will inspire 21st century generation of musicians even hipster ones 👍☢️
Is that Amiga 500 artisan?
@@AudioPilz just a fully expanded triple drive and hard drive taking the capacity to a massive 512mb, those were the days
I started making music with Scream Tracker 3, back in the days where you would get sounds by finding other tracker made tracks and take their sounds. It seems tedious looking back at it now in 2022, but it did make sense, the way you would create a tune.
Stealing samples from other tracker tunes. I can relate. :)
Didn’t think I’d see the Polyend Tracker on an episode of Bad Gear. Ha ha. Very fun machine! I don’t use mine nearly enough though. I should. Akai Force has been my main brain for awhile. I wonder if you should look at that unit sometime? Keep up the great content!
Thanks!!!
@@AudioPilz the Akai Force will break your brain with buggy and frustrating implementation, but it is insanely powerful. If only they'd fix the damn bugs!
THIS is best episode EVER! hilarious effects presentation ;) Very good work, Florian. Well done
Your jams on this video were some of my favorites you’ve done. Love the videos.
Thank you so much!!!
You stack so many jokes and references into such a short period of time. I love that aspect of your videos as much as the jams and reviews.
Thank you so much!!!
Once again, fabulous jams. I loved the final piece. So many familiar snips of famous demos too.
Thank you!!!
I love your sense of humour, these videos are just packed with rapid fire wordplay. Excellent work!
Thank you so much!!!
my favourite episode! great information, great demonstrations, and great tunes. I had a blackbox, i thought it was shit, it had all the features of a huge sampler, 1/16th the size. i didnt know i wanted a tracker, thank you.
Always a pleasure. Gotta get a blackbox;)
Thanks for a great show as always! I got nice memories from the Amiga 500 days, both regarding the demo clips and making happy hardcore on OctaMED. Those were the days! :)
Thanks for watching!!!
in 1987, I was running a bbc micro with an acorn music 500 synth, I could save a whole 20 minute set on one single 5 inch floppy, this alone was the reason trackers were popular, saving a digital copy using tracker code used around 1/20th of the space instead of audio files, and it wasnt until the early to mid 90's when HDD capacities got affordable that tracker usage dropped off.
Yeah, trackers were still being used quite heavily until the mid-90s, although mostly to sequence samplers and other hardware by that time. The MIDI timing on the Amiga and Atari was rock solid unlike a lot of mid-90s PCs
A lot of the 4K demos really blow me away
Good one. Getting into trackers was mind-opening for me. Next up: the Dirtywave M8.
Except the M8 will never feature on Bad Gear
Another W for the M8 Tracker!
That one is super interesting, thanks for posting!
4:50 had me laughing in tears. And the Karsten Obarski reference... Epic.
Happy birthday Florian! This is the most musical thing I have ever heard from the tracker space, and this device seems to have a load of options for the price. And I loved that you referred to equilibrium, one of my favorite early 2000s films. Thanks for posting and see you next time!
Thank you!!! Equilibrium is a sci-fi classic!
I absoluteLY LOVE my Tracker - most fun in a piece of hardware in ages
Man, this thing is really making the rounds... don't think it will ever be in our studio, but an interesting piece of gear, for sure.
Interesting indeed!
Best Polyend Tracker vid by far! Bad gear? Not in your hands!
Hey Gaz!!! Thank you so much!!!
Pure nostalgia! I began composing with fast tracker 2 back in 2000/2001. Still some of my most complex and elaborate pieces.
Nice! Gotta go down the software tracker rabbithole too
Excellent always my friend.
And holy heck getting some late 90's Unreal Tournament vibes off the 8:45 jam.
EDIT: Ha, the "my music is video games" comment after I posted while watching for the win.
Thank you!!!
Yeah, great and fun overwiev! I have my polyend for couple months and still learning a lot of things and how to implement it into my Dawless setup. The comunity is amazing and helpful. Randomization and unlinearity is something that can refresh some jams.👍 Would love to see some more effects in the future, but the updates and support is awesome!💫
The random + fill functionality is honestly the best combo for coming up with ideas. My PT has randomly generated some amazing basslines that I would have never thought up lol
Been using my tracker for tutorials series and man this thing is GREAT! It's getting better the more I use!
👍👍👍
This was an amazing episode, especially because I use trackers every day! The workflow is easy once you get used to it. This unit actually seems awesome to me, shame it's so expensive. The jams were also brilliant as usual, the second being my personal favourite!
Thank you so much!!!
Takes me back to my days working with an Atari ST, I had TCB Tracker, good times with crunchy samples! Excellent run down as always bro.
Thanks!
The editing for this show is the best of any gear channel on YT. Also, love how the moral of this show is that there is no such thing as bad gear!!
Thank you so much!!!
Man, I learned off of freeware trackers like Famitracker, Milkytracker, and Sunvox. Now I can't stand interfacing with a computer keyboard. This thing is gnarly
Gnarly in a good way?
This is almost like fate. I've been eye-balling getting one of these for the past couple weeks and this vid might be what pushed me to buy one. Great vid as always! :D
Happy to hear that, thanks!
Nice piece of gear for all tracker brothers! Cool tracks became standard on your channel! Cheers!
Thank you!!!
I grew up programming hip hop in Fast Tracker II and this is high up on my list
Nice!
Being new to the synth groove box game, I don't see why synth heads call this stuff bad gear. The only benefit of all of the complaints is to have this channel to subscribe to. No other instrument can boast a channel like this. So maybe you all should keep on whining and complaining. This is great.
There certainly is a lot of online animosity towards certain electronic musical instruments
That was a bombastic show! I'd never expect tackers here. :D
Thank you!!!
Wow. I'm home. Almost. Lots of friends and colleagues have suggested I look into one of these as trackers were how I got into making music using computers in the first place. OctaMED will forever hold a special place for me.
If you liked Octamed you will LOVE the Polyend Tracker! You'll feel right at home
@@rorz999 I still have my expanded Amiga to run it on too. The problem is I also expanded my family and there's never any time to so much as switch the thing on! I scratch that itch sometimes using mobile trackers like SunVox, but there are years of muscle memory in OctaMED sound studio.
Nice!!! Give it a try!
@@AudioPilz how do I get a permanent loan from Polyend ?
"Wavetable" - some aphex twin's syro-like sounds - AWESOME
I keep wanting one of these so now I need to see your take.
Good stuff.
Thanks!!!
Imagine a device like the Polyend Tracker but running SunVox instead.
Just downloaded SunVox;)
The jams are exceptionally good on this one!
Thank you!!!
The ultimate hipster toy has to be the Op-1. Cheers for putting Legowelt in the video!
True that!!! Love Legowelt!!!
@@AudioPilz Me too! He's an otherworldly guy
Since the price dropped to 390€ this tool is a must. Super creative tool and amazing sounding device.
My favourite moment is 08:50 flashing ;)
Amazing content and usual.
Big thanks for sharing.
Thanks!!!
I love your jungle jams!
Thanks!
I'm a big fan of the Tracker. There are a lot of good CZcamsrs out there sharing their work. (And a lot of bad ones too!)
I got mine in 2020, packed for a move, and haven't used it once! It's still tucked away in storage until life sends me a little stability.
Maybe the Tracker can deliver a little bit of that stability?
Great episode as always. I've been thinking about getting one for a little while. Its features, especially stuff like the wavetable and granular modes, are pretty damn cool. It's also great that each sample-based instrument has a bunch of synth parameters in general, instead of keeping it more plain. I'd probably use it as a centerpiece for sequencing other hardware (and some internal sounds). Plus it's one of those things you could chill on a couch or something with and work out a track
Thanks!!!
that finale soundtrack reawakened my love of music
My favorite piece of gear of all time! I really haven't made a beat on anything else since I purchased the Polyend Tracker. Definitely interested in the Dirtywave M8, though.
The M8 is indeed super interesting
As an oldskool trackerhead I have to say you really nailed that last tune 🤘🔥
Thank you!!!
You are savage for this one AudioPilz. the tracker is a great way to think about things differently, although I rarely use it for a full composition, but that said I rarely use one box of anything for a full composition... or even finish a full composition for that matter.
Yeah, Tracker approach really forces you to think differently
Another one of those episodes I'll be coming back to an unhealthy amount of times?
Yes. Definitely.
So happy to hear that, thanks!
Imagine giving a content creator a unit to use on a CZcams show called Bad Gear. Total power move (and amazing marketing).
I warned them;)
New episode of Bad Gear so cranked the studio monitors to ridiculous volume and manned the pause button to not miss any memes. I see tracker and I like. Got my feet wet in protracker on the Amiga. Good old times. Now I want an old Amiga again. Damn you good sir! ;)
Thank you, so happy to hear that!!!
Your tunes, no matter the gizmo, are always tops!
Never thought I would see this on Bad Gear - One of the best pieces of hardware to be released in the last few years.
I really enjoyed working with it but I can understand why people don't appreciate it
This has just been a regular review channel for a long time lol, he rarely uploads a video where he's actually leaving a negative review
You have got to be kidding me! Mine arrived literally today, I feel completely called out and I haven't even watched the video yet!
Enjoy, it's an amazing piece of kit
As usual: nothing personal;)
I love your show so much!! Thx for making this beautiful looking mini computer less intimidating! Love it!
Thank you!!!
yeah ! using trackers is for the most artists a different shoe but that looks like a solid Hardware sequencer, specially for me. i like it that you've mentioned the origin of the soundtrackerline. I also spotted the Soundmonitor at the bottom left corner ^^
I.... want one now.
I grew up using ScreamTracker and this makes me feel all kinds of modern nostalgic, and this is more of what I have been looking for when it comes to DAWless than Digitakt or similar.
Nice, Screamtracker!
Did I spot a Future Crew demo reference in there!? So classic and iconic! And fitting for the review of course!
Correct! Legendary!!!
not much to say except the tracks this week were a couple of bangers, impressed with the bad gear!
that episode OWNED. if i knew Vsnares & RDJ used trackers back in 2005 who knows- maybe i'd have chosen one over my beloved Musical Gameshark (Ableton).
Musical Gameshark;) Nice one...
I've been using Polyend Tracker since Rev.2 and holy shit it's my little drum and bass baby and I love it to bits. Confirm that it handles a 256GB card like a dream, and that's big enough to comfortably store a vast archive of 90's jungle and acid house sample CDs stolen from Archive Dot Org. ✌
Serious bit of kit for anyone who loves trackers, I just WISH it had some kind of SID chip emulation or synth engine built in! If they can put NES games on it, they should be able to emulate a SID, c'mon Polyend!
It's great for all break beats!!!
Good old Legowelt with his Dave Smith Poly Evolver acquired trough a trade. Love this Dutch synth forum legend!
❤️❤️❤️Legowelt❤️❤️❤️
Got the Polyend Tracker, love it. I'm running Renoise for most of my stuff, but if I want a good workflow with no distractions or if I'm on bus or train, flight.
I'll just hook it up to a power bank with a set of headphones and I can work anywhere. What you can expect is a solid oldschool tracker with a fast and fun workflow with some additional kinks to spice things up. And there is nothing like it. It has a steep learning curve and there are always new tricks to learn, which makes it extra fun to work with.
Works great with a power bank!!!
Can it input chords? One thing I like about Renoise compared to other trackers is that the tracks are polyphonic
that demo video at the end LOLLL amazing
Brilliant as usual!
Thank you!!!
hey man, you getting suspiciously close to god-given MPC One! :D
Praised be thy MPC!!!
If we talk MPC - I think Touch is a better Bad Gear specimen
here's a few things, if this day will ever come: less buttons for a higher price than mpc one, making one drum pattern and trying to send it to different external drum machines (after you made the templates) is a pita. also you will make a drum track and then a different track mapped to the midi ch. of your drum machine to send one pattern, only to find out that MUTE PAD doesnt fkin work... you can use everything with usb like computer keyboard, midi controller, but not a damn mouse, which aint that important but hey, how you gonna attract daw people to this thing? its kinda missed opportunity. looper function i still have to wrap my head around it, when trying to do something live. you can make different midi programms but they wont save the midi ch. for example i make midi programm for volca beats and a different one for mfb522... nope i cant mute hihats or anything, i dont get the idea of this midi programm thing. it isnt perfect yet, but its actually the best sampler/sequencer i had my hands on, tried the maschine but didnt gel with it, also for the basic stuff its quite intuitive
@@alexsicko i think you're the first in this thread who started talking about MPC Live
It's certainly fitting that I'm watching this in a cab going through Shoreditch (en route to somewhere much less fashionable, I should add)
Apt. Everywhere's less fashionable compare to Shoreditch. But especially Stoke Newington.
Great video, and 20 minutes due to pause and rewind on some of the video cuts? Totally worth it! Have a great weekend!
Thanks! Have a nice weekend!
Having used Trackers for 30 years...I was so excited to buy one and did immediately! Now it collects dust. So I mainly used Fast Tracker II and had 32 channels of tracking. This allowed a lot of wiggle room to make chords, more complex drums that didn't get all IDM/choppy/shitish, and wasn't super restrictive. This was run on a PC that's far weaker than my cell phone from 10 years ago. The ultra limited tracks is the killer mostly for me. I'd even love to use it as just a midi sequencer to replace my massive MV-8000, but only 1 set of MIDI out, and again 8 tracks. They make up for the limited tracks by allowing you to assign a different FX per note, which is pretty damn cool, as that was often a reason why I used multiple tracks, but it basically pingeon-holes you into making IDM or Jungle and that's really about it. Anything that doesn't use that sliced/choppybreak/cutoff-drum sound, you'll end up just using it as a drum machine only just so you can track each drum independently so the samples don't cut eachother off.
Regardless, it's my 1 regret purchase of over 100 units of gear in my in my studio. If I could return it due to dissatisfaction, I would. Immediately.
Currently thinking of getting a copy of FT2 too
Shoutout to Karsten Obarski, wherever he is. \o/ Oh, and have a listen to Crystal Hammer, one of the first tunes he made himself with his Tracker. Never forgotten.
Great Review as always!
I played the game as a teeny. Great fun.
Thank you so much!!! Mr. Obarski is king!!!
Super inspiring as always 🤌
For some reason it always catches me off-guard when you suddenly pass the voice-over through the effect you are mentioning. Gives me a good laugh.
Thanks for the feedback!!!
Good to see Eon, 9 fingers and Second Reality buried in there
I've been watching demoscene stuff all week - nice!!!
I'm a long time Renoise user. I'm sure I would love this hardware device to suit my production style. I just struggle to justify the price to my wife about why I need just one more thing for my "studio"
I am happy to be part of the guys you responded to before you became giant like jexus, but actually more giant
Thanks but there is no one mor gigantic than Jexus!!!
Enjoying your content, Thanks!
Thanks for watching!!!
You are always full of surprises.
I hear that a lot;)
When this one came out, my first thoughts was, my dreams have come true as I started out on trackers like a lot of people did. It was quite a bit more expensive back then, and I was like hmm about the lack of Stereo samples, and no velocity sensitive keypads. What nailed the final coffin for it was that later years this is the most "second-hand" sold unit I've ever seen, it's constantly available for sale often short lived after someone bought it. There's also a TON of defective units for sale which tells quite a bit about the longevity of the unit. Yes, it's hot, yes it ticked a lot of boxes - but this one is not for me. Maybe a future version will fix all things.
Lack of stereo samples is a bummer, but if you started out on trackers then presumably you're used to dealing with mono samples. I don't understand why the lack of velocity-sensitive pads is a problem, because velocity is programmed via trackers rather than played via keys. Also, I think lots of people sell theirs not because of hardware faults but because they are new to trackers and couldn't get to grips with the workflow. If you've used trackers before, you'd get to grips with this really quickly. I don't think I've ever had to look at the manual, everything just makes sense