Bad Gear - Polyend Tracker

[@AudioPilz]

Audiopilz: *slaps roof of YT channel* Full Tracks, Extended Jams, Sample Packs: www.patreon.com/audiopilz

[@t0xcn253]

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.

[@jay_Cee777]

Happy to see the Tracker on here. Finally my hipster status has been confirmed 😭😭😭😂

[@secretelitemusic]

Pliz kick the tyres. Sign of guaranteed quality.

[@zooblestyx]

@JOVANKA-------👇💋 Gesundheit!

[@meretrix]

Congratulations, Jam 2 just got you another patron. :3

[@AlexBallMusic]

Not hipster enough. I sequence with a fuse box, 16 reclaimed light switches and a typewriter. All powered by soil.

[@2112jonr]

Organic soil, I hope ;-)

[@secretelitemusic]

The mobile yurt studio is bang on trend. Mine is powered by farting oxen.

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@2112jonr Curated, artisan soil.

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@secretelitemusic I couldn't get the oxen to guff at 432hz so I had to let them go.

[@2112jonr]

@@AlexBallMusic Niiiiiiiiiice !

[@henninghoefer]

Huge props to @Polyend for having the balls to send their product to a show named "Bad Gear"! Also: Awesome episode!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Yeah, @polyend are the GOAT!!!

[@jordanzish]

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)

[@htechdance]

The indie gamers generation. I decline to give them props.

[@urfavoritehumanbean879]

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!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! True that!

[@xani666]

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

[@richardharris9708]

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.

[@ToyKeeper]

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.

[@spyhardman]

@@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.

[@zooblestyx]

"The circle is now complete. When last we met, I was but the software. Now -- I -- am the hardware."

[@AudioPilz]

True!!!

[@seangriffin0110]

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!

[@Polyend]

Dis gear so bad! Thank you, certified hipster!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks guys!!!!!

[@zackcolbourne6921]

Still waiting for the Polyend Pocket.

[@flossless200]

Polyend Mini is going to be released soon, check out Benn Jordan recent video, he demos a prototype device.

[@iagmusicandflying]

The tracker era of the late 80s through the mid 90s was so much fun. It's neat seeing it resurrected in hardware now.

[@AudioPilz]

Yeah, it's a pity I didn't participate in the scene back then

[@Existence_denied]

I love DnB,Jungle and keygen music and this thing is a tracker in a box

[@AudioPilz]

Same here!!! Big fan of that stuff since I was a teen

[@jojoDUB]

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

[@10kfreemen]

Yeah I’m Hardware trackers for life

[@Syntox]

Hahahaha WAREZ

[@crnkmnky]

@@Syntox I’ve always pronounced it “Where’z,” but my shxxty former friend says “Juarez.” 🤔

[@kenflagg]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Yeah, all that micro editing is super easy on trackers

[@KimStennabbCaesar]

Check out the Dirtywave M8 if you're into LSDJ.

[@joemurray2523]

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!

[@bobsanders8282]

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.

[@chordorgan]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

The pattern length and song mode of the Tracker are real advantages over the 'takt

[@rorz999]

The song mode is amazing!

[@mattkaz9604]

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.

[@64north20west]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

There certainly is a lot of online animosity towards certain electronic musical instruments

[@matthewlister3755]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!!!

[@whitesky38]

THE POLYEND TRACKER IS THE MOST FUN PIECE OF GEAR I'VE EVER BOUGHT.

[@AudioPilz]

It's indeed a fun box!

[@oblongtom]

OK!!

[@Dante1981Music]

I love that you dug up those OG floppy disk samples to use for the last jam! I never got into writing music on trackers, but I used to listen to tracker music a lot in the mid-90s as they were small. Back then it still took about an hour to download a 5 meg mp3 over a bad rural modem connection.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! These samples are super powerful!

[@ildafons]

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.

[@jamesbarels469]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Nice, I've yet to try that feature

[@subtension]

A french collection of Vintage Analogs Synthesizers & drums machines kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2Obdad-fK6Vndk&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

[@JamesRamboPearce]

I love the tracker for taking around if you want something portable but capable, also works with a powerbank!

[@johnmcnally322]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!!!

[@Daphoid]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!!

[@kcosminhz7988]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Always a pleasure. Gotta get a blackbox;)

[@JobimSynthMusic]

Pure nostalgia! I began composing with fast tracker 2 back in 2000/2001. Still some of my most complex and elaborate pieces.

[@AudioPilz]

Nice! Gotta go down the software tracker rabbithole too

[@bluecliffsynthesis6685]

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!!

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!!!

[@Elavox]

Oh god no.... Not my baby! 😅 Fair play to Polyend for sending it in...., it's like trusting a Bulldog with your Sunday roast 😁

[@AudioPilz]

Let's call it realism;)

[@Elavox]

@@AudioPilz great job as always. Can't wait for next Friday! 😁

[@2.7petabytes]

I grew up using trackers on an Amiga. I bought the Polyend Tracker last spring and I love it!

[@AudioPilz]

Nice!

[@matthewtunnicliffe201]

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..

[@AudioPilz]

Nice!!!

[@jimonaldo3108]

Your jams on this video were some of my favorites you’ve done. Love the videos.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!!!

[@dylanleroysynth]

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!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!!!

[@inthefade]

@@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!

[@sideefxtv]

THIS is best episode EVER! hilarious effects presentation ;) Very good work, Florian. Well done

[@PatrikLundh]

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! :)

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks for watching!!!

[@grantprosser7315]

I love your sense of humour, these videos are just packed with rapid fire wordplay. Excellent work!

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!!!

[@System.10]

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!

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!!!

[@eDrone33]

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.

[@Nintendj]

Stealing samples from other tracker tunes. I can relate. :)

[@RonCavagnaro]

Been using my tracker for tutorials series and man this thing is GREAT! It's getting better the more I use!

[@AudioPilz]

👍👍👍

[@elfboi523]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Nice, I have to go down the software tracker rabbit hole too!

[@ChurchOfTheHolyMho]

I half watched one other video on this thing, and didn't get the point of it. Your "trackers in general" intro clarified it for me in seconds... As someone who started with MOTU Performer and my beloved Opcode Vision in the days before the piano scroll, I suddenly find the idea of this thing interesting. Super informative as always. Thanks!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks for watching!!!

[@VIRALBEATS360]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Interesting indeed!

[@ruscular]

For all those that complain of high prices, look on Craigslist and there will be someone who have one to sell cheap because the jog wheel have become unresponsive. The factory default of silicone greasing the jog wheel collect dust and dirt in the potentiator. I took the jog wheel off and wipe all that grease off, and now works perfectly. Bought it for $400 used. I did had to order online for a 1.3 mm hex wrench, as that is a specialty tool not common at a tool store. Go look on youtube on how to do this, as there are some caution to be taken to perform this cleanup. Be careful to not lose the tiny ball bearing and spring. The 16 channel midi export is one of the best feature. Pretty much retire my MMT8 sequencer. This Tracker is much easier to manage.

[@AudioPilz]

Great input, thanks!

[@jefftheworld]

I'd definitely be interested in seeing your opinion on the Dirtywave M8. It's got a very unique form factor and controls, but it's so unbelievably feature-rich. It's sort of the perfect piece of gear for this series. Weird, opinionated, but doing some really interesting stuff.

[@AudioPilz]

Great suggestion, thanks!

[@ababyalbatross9016]

The M8 may be tough to find enough negative comments about to consider it worthy of being considered 'bad gear', it's just too good! (though this is the internet so I'm sure it could be sleuthed somewhere...)

[@GazWilliams]

Best Polyend Tracker vid by far! Bad gear? Not in your hands!

[@AudioPilz]

Hey Gaz!!! Thank you so much!!!

[@RANDOMLOOPGENERATOR]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!

[@nickfbatombrew1436]

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 👍☢️

[@AudioPilz]

Is that Amiga 500 artisan?

[@nickfbatombrew1436]

@@AudioPilz just a fully expanded triple drive and hard drive taking the capacity to a massive 512mb, those were the days

[@vertitis]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Works great with a power bank!!!

[@ZombieLincoln666]

Can it input chords? One thing I like about Renoise compared to other trackers is that the tracks are polyphonic

[@rishpanjeet7479]

I absoluteLY LOVE my Tracker - most fun in a piece of hardware in ages

[@0xABADCAFE]

Once again, fabulous jams. I loved the final piece. So many familiar snips of famous demos too.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!!

[@LorenzoVDH1996]

Trackers were my first introduction to electronic music making (modplug, madtracker and later on Renoise) so I was really excited when I heard they made a hardware one. So I purchased one, but returned it. In 1 hour it managed to crash 3 times... it did not leave a good impression on me. However, I will give them another chance and will try out the mini and hope it will be less buggy.

[@AudioPilz]

Yeah, some things seem to work better in software...

[@GritsNGravy]

Started off with Modplug as well. Before dabbling in acid pro then FL studio. I have old data CDs with hundreds of tracker files on them

[@TokyoScarab]

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

[@AudioPilz]

Happy to hear that, thanks!

[@palyndrumatix7790]

That was a bombastic show! I'd never expect tackers here. :D

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!!

[@patkelly8309]

In comparison to the original spirit of Tracking this seems rather like what Green Day were to The Clash. Lovely video.

[@patkelly8309]

Is the Dirtywave M8 Bad Gear material?

[@rorz999]

You're nuts. This thing is like a homage to Protracker + Octamed in a box

[@patkelly8309]

@@rorz999 Yes a homage with none of the edges. A pastiche then if we're going French.

[@BlackMajj]

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! ;)

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you, so happy to hear that!!!

[@anthonyb.2983]

While holding shift + record, press the black track buttons under the screen to unarm which tracks you don’t want to currently record on to real time record. For some reason, the Tracker starts off with all tracks armed to record, and it randomly records to any of the eight tracks if you don’t unarm them.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks for posting! I am aware of this but still had a hard time establishing a workflow that did the job for me

[@0xABADCAFE]

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.

[@rorz999]

If you liked Octamed you will LOVE the Polyend Tracker! You'll feel right at home

[@0xABADCAFE]

@@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.

[@AudioPilz]

Nice!!! Give it a try!

[@0xABADCAFE]

@@AudioPilz how do I get a permanent loan from Polyend ?

[@robbiewabisabi]

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!

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!! Equilibrium is a sci-fi classic!

[@avetisk]

If you don’t take your time learning how to use, and more importantly if you try to keep your workflow with it, then Polyend Tracker is just a torture instrument. But if you can do that, it’s really enjoyable in so many ways.

[@AudioPilz]

True that!

[@Pablo668]

Great werk as always. I want you to know that I have an Amiga 500 in here somewhere. I'd best start digging.

[@AudioPilz]

Get it up and running!!!

[@G1SUNPLANT]

Nice piece of gear for all tracker brothers! Cool tracks became standard on your channel! Cheers!

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!!

[@jsca1082]

kinda funny that a video review calling it "Bad Gear" is what convinced me to finally buy this thing

[@AudioPilz]

😀😀😀

[@thelastdruidofscotland]

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.

[@rorz999]

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

[@AudioPilz]

A lot of the 4K demos really blow me away

[@aki_gong6271]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!!!

[@supermegaultrabanaan]

Imagine giving a content creator a unit to use on a KZbin show called Bad Gear. Total power move (and amazing marketing).

[@AudioPilz]

I warned them;)

[@danwentz]

1:15 Yes they are, stop being so non sensitive to their velocity! (Config | General | Recording options | Velocity)

[@diegob6729]

That: “You don’t really master your tracks, you just send them to Susan in Accounting.” comment, killed me 🤣

[@AudioPilz]

😀

[@ToreHansen]

Great video, and 20 minutes due to pause and rewind on some of the video cuts? Totally worth it! Have a great weekend!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! Have a nice weekend!

[@phillytnoize]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

The M8 is indeed super interesting

[@mophydo]

Have you looked in the Zoom R8? I absolutely adore mine and use it to record everything even though it's basic and often pretty janky

[@AudioPilz]

Haven't tried one of these. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@MathHammer]

Good one. Getting into trackers was mind-opening for me. Next up: the Dirtywave M8.

[@GregDixson]

Except the M8 will never feature on Bad Gear

[@robertk6422]

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 ^^

[@lux.projekt]

Not gonna lie, this just made me want one. Seems perfect for IDM.

[@AudioPilz]

Ideal IDM box!!!

[@recycology5468]

Oh yeah Classic Movie, " The Equalizer"!! I never got into Tracking because I picked an early Atari 520ST with Sequencing Software but several months ago I picked up this Polyend Tracker and I love it but for me the work flow is slow. I'm working on that. Still it is a all in one "Wonder Box" for me. I but Konnie Klank would have loved it too.

[@AudioPilz]

Love Equilibrium too!

[@Happyyz]

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!💫

[@rorz999]

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

[@slipknotboy555]

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

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!!!

[@defnlife1683]

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.

[@AudioPilz]

The M8 seem super interesting!

[@roryjineffect]

@@AudioPilz Jeremy just did a stellar intro

[@jokeboxproductions]

I own a m8 and its life. Idk if I can go back to normal daws.

[@roryjineffect]

@@jokeboxproductions that is a big claim, but I could believe it

[@defnlife1683]

@@jokeboxproductions how do you compare it to Renoise and Polyend Tracker?

[@geuggis]

I started electronic music back in 1987 with amiga soundtracker, creating hundreds of mods, but with the power of todays daws i dont think i will ever go back to trackers .. it seems outdated to me. Fine video again btw ... final track reminds me of those glorious days !

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!!

[@Gekneveld]

I didn't buy one at the time because I read that it couldn't import modules except for old protracker mods. Now, I read that it also imports Impulse tracker. This is great because you can convert more complex modules to it (like those from Fasttracker). Does this actually work like it should? If it does, I'm buying it. I have literally hundreds of old XM's that I am excited to re-visit.

[@rorz999]

They don't always come out perfect

[@AudioPilz]

I've yet to try that!

[@grimlyghost]

Hey Mr Pilz, live recording is: hold rec and press play in pattern mode Greetings

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks for posting. I got that but I didn't manage to establish a workflow that would really do it for me

[@simplemindedspacetrash7499]

Renoise is like 80% cheaper and is an actual DAW. I love buttons, yeah, but I also love having vsts, stereo samples, and tracks only limited by cpu power. If yall are curious about this thing but havent tried Renoise I definitely suggest demoing it

[@numbstation]

Strong +1 for Renoise!

[@njdpdv]

RENOISE IS EPIC THE EMPEROR OF TRACKERS

[@GregDixson]

I tried Renoise back when the Polyend Tracker was out of stock everywhere. Over a year later I'm still loving Renoise and didn't ever get the Polyend

[@AudioPilz]

I put testing Renoise on my evergrowing to do list;)

[@uniqueflowsnake]

Yeah, one of my friends has been making professional music with renoise for years.

[@thelefthandofcreation1617]

that demo video at the end LOLLL amazing

[@amygdalos96]

I do not own one but it seems like the better choice for dawless setups. A big display and easy to use interface with the option of really long patterns is really cool. If it had more tracks I would consider using this instead of ableton+launchpad.

[@AudioPilz]

The pattern length of 128 steps is great!

[@lukeburkett5645]

Was it Fmod that had that game inside of it that was like Tron with the bikes?

[@AudioPilz]

Good question!

[@Nik.leonard]

Imagine a device like the Polyend Tracker but running SunVox instead.

[@AudioPilz]

Just downloaded SunVox;)

[@partyeffectsdotbiz]

I am happy to be part of the guys you responded to before you became giant like jexus, but actually more giant

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks but there is no one mor gigantic than Jexus!!!

[@officialloner88]

Isn’t there an eurorack expansion for this so that you can sequence eurorack patches? I really want to try this!

[@Polyend]

Polyend Poly 2 MIDI to CV converter Eurorack module.

[@officialloner88]

@@Polyend awesome!

[@bennmurhaaya8518]

The lack of individual tracks out is perhaps because each track can contain any instrument as opposed to a drum machine where the individual output is always tied to a single sound. On the other hand it would be nice though since some people could work with this in mind and process each track as separate instrument. Not me though. I suck at it some I am fine with single output.

[@rorz999]

It would still be nice to have it though. I try as best as I can not to have wildly different samples on the same track if I can help it (for mixdown reasons)

[@bennmurhaaya8518]

@@rorz999 True true, since you can mute tracks or mix them, it's sort of gravitates towards each track being dedicated to a single use.

[@AudioPilz]

I'm used to projects with massive track counts both live and in the studio so multiple outputs are much appreciated

[@theorize999]

Is there a sample folder containing my samples in the factory sounds? I’m curious if they’re shipping them with my samples or just distributing them on the website

[@AudioPilz]

I have to check it out!!!

[@christofferainek]

As an oldskool trackerhead I have to say you really nailed that last tune 🤘🔥

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you!!!

[@GirlRaccoon]

Thanks for another awesome episode. Watched this while I was having brunch. I would love to see the Korg R3 or the Zoom Rhythmtrak rt-123 on your show!

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks! There's an R3 around here for sale atm but it's damn expensive. Working on it!

[@mrglitch0]

Never thought I would see this on Bad Gear - One of the best pieces of hardware to be released in the last few years.

[@AudioPilz]

I really enjoyed working with it but I can understand why people don't appreciate it

[@final_animal]

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

[@mokujinsan9946]

Bless you mate. I had to revisit you fantastic show about Polyend Tracker. I've just picked one up, wow. I started of using Octamed in the mid 90s and now I return to using a modern version of my Amiga 2000 which died in 2004. The new 17 firmware from Polyend has tickled a few more Foxes. Take care love from Berlin.

[@AudioPilz]

Vielen Dank!!!

[@FutureChaosTV]

Equilibrium! This machine seems to have one of the best GUI's of any hardware synth/tracker/sampler?

[@AudioPilz]

The sequencing is cool but I would have preferred a more knobby interface

[@greatheightsu]

not much to say except the tracks this week were a couple of bangers, impressed with the bad gear!

[@BishopEddie5443]

You take the fear out of gear! It's funny how you have the BOSS 202 Dr. Groove in this video right after my opening of the Poly End Tracker box, because I'm just about to open a box of a used Dr. 202 !

[@AudioPilz]

Nice!!! Great combination!!!

[@joonglegamer9898]

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.

[@rorz999]

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

[@sysOpModular]

4:50 had me laughing in tears. And the Karsten Obarski reference... Epic.

[@rygelxv]

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!

[@palyndrumatix7790]

I played the game as a teeny. Great fun.

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!!! Mr. Obarski is king!!!

[@zosxavius]

I keep wanting one of these so now I need to see your take. Good stuff.

[@AudioPilz]

Thanks!!!

[@dotsonjb14]

I got mine about a week ago, and found that the synth just doesn't really cut it for me without retrigger options on LFOs. Using it as a midi control center I actually prefer it now over Renoise as it has a cleaner workflow for expanding patterns and those random fills are baller. Using it this way actually makes it more than 8 note polyphony as you get midi chords. Edit: Man there sure are a lot of bugs in this thing. Some of which were reported last year. I really dig the workflow but it's basically unusable with all the bugs :(

[@rorz999]

Yeah, the synthesis really isn't its strong point, but it shines at most other things

[@AudioPilz]

Agree on the synth part but the current firmware seems to improve a lot of things

[@dotsonjb14]

@@AudioPilz as far as I've seen they've been getting it better each patch. I'm looking forward to what they do next. I really like it.

[@numbstation]

Your bookshelf looks like my bookshelf. And as a long time Renoise user (having graduated from impractical trackers), I've wanted one of these since announcement and am excited that you - one of the only YT reviewers I trust to be uncorrupted AND have good & sensible tastes - chose to review it. Might be the deciding factor.

[@rorz999]

Long-time Renoise user and Polyend Tracker owner here. Get one, it's awesome, you won't regret it

[@numbstation]

@@rorz999 A couple questions that I haven't gotten clear answers on, if you don't mind: 1) How is the MIDI timing? 2) How is the MIDI input implementation? Are custom mappings reasonably easy? My thought is that combining it with something like the BCR-2000 to overcome a lack of knobbiness would turn it into a total beast...

[@AudioPilz]

Thank you so much!!!

[@fjfrancois]

Deep and powerful ? Like Protools?

[@AudioPilz]

More affordable tho;)