Live jam with the Polyend Tracker Mini

Please support my work on Patreon: / jayhosking
A live synthesizer jam performed entirely on hardware.
I'm going to just say it: the Polyend Tracker Mini (or maybe Tracker+) is currently the best all-in-one groovebox going. Eight stereo sample tracks, eight voices of internal synths across three timbres, up to eight MIDI tracks, great onboard effects, battery powered, very portable, USB multitrack audio recording, and fantastic performance effects. This thing rules.
To celebrate the 2.0 software release, which brings the Mini and + to parity, minus the differences in hardware, I put together this piece. I'm very, very happy with the results. The Tracker is an extremely inspiring platform for me.
There are shortcomings to the Tracker platform, namely bugs and promised features that haven't been implemented yet; seriously, Polyend, you gotta get those performance effects for the Play+ synths if you're going to promise them to users, let alone the Tracker+ and Tracker Mini! But the bugs, while annoying if you don't know about them, are manageable once you do know about them, and I tend not to buy devices like the Mini for its potential firmware updates. When I bought the Mini, it was a stereo sampler, and now it's a stereo sampler with eight voices of internal synth polyphony, so Polyend is offering amazing updates. I just try not to think of what a thing is missing.
Anyway, thanks for listening.
Recorded to multitrack audio via USB (what a feature!), with a little treatment to the synths (as noted in the video), and with EQ/compression/limiting on the master.
jayhosking.ban...

[@valentinegonsalves7322]

This has got to be the best Friday ever. John Summit dropped five tracks on his KZbin channel, deadmau5 released a new project. Jay Hosking uploads a new piece.

[@Bobo]

This is truly amazing! I Bought the tracker mini to take with me on my vacation and I’m not disappointed. Even though I have never used a tracker it was quite fast to understand coming from using other sequencers like Elektron boxes. However this is just another ledger 😄

[@Jin-Hu]

Man, no matter the device, synths, cluster, it’s your sound Jay, such a unique voice. Awesome

[@EricRaymondSF]

Super track, Jay. Thanks for sharing it! Glad to hear the Mini is a win even though they have some kinks to smooth out.

[@oculist]

Well, that’s 5:23 of my life that I’ll be repeating a few times. Cracking stuff.

[@ElectronisoundsAudio]

WOW! Amazing work on this! 👏👏

[@Kumie]

Fantastic drum programming on this one. Also loving the piano samples. Great job!

[@jasonbradley4254]

Well rounded and heavily qualified musicians, with an additional serious grasp of rhythm and percussive groove, always make for the best synth creators. But it's the additional flexible/ improvisational creative edges you have that become fully composed tracks so quickly and the ability to apply those edges to any genre that endears me to every piece. Always tempering smoothness with emotional intensity. Your most intense tracks are relaxing, no matter which part of your catalog I'm listening to . I cannot express what this has meant to me over the years... thank you for sharing your hard work, exploration, and gifts. ❤

[@JayHosking]

I really appreciate hearing it. Thank you.

[@beepybloops]

Amazing what you've done on this little thing, sounds great, and the performance variations give it that extra chef's kiss. Like partners, there may not actually be a "the one", it's all about making it work with "your one", which you do so well :)

[@jimmac]

Great tune. Love the pads.

[@tafonyreynolds]

so sick Jay

[@Unifono2012]

Impressive. Sounds great

[@bpsychoz]

Loved seeing the arrangement. I struggle with that the most

[@pmgodfrey]

This is the news I WANT to hear. A new release and it's just fantastic.

[@chris_economou]

Fluttering into boundless space as sunshine streams upon my face, The dancing grooves of music’s beat, The slow and rhythmic clips of feet, Yet dainty in its painting rhythm, With melancholy bends of sounds, We move, we love, we live and breathe, Twirling, open, hearts on fire, With sounds explorative and deep, Music is complex and simple, Healing, binding, setting free. ✨Thank you for this moment to move and dance and be…the music and me.☀️

[@TheHolly53]

Cool, many thanks 👍

[@rileystratton6232]

The upward arp with the 2 notes down to the atmosphere rise.

[@solidmoods]

Amazing stuff.

[@he-man-music]

What a great listen this was! Do you plan to do a breakdown for this? Would be cool

[@JayHosking]

There's a behind-the-scenes/walkthrough-style video posted on my Patreon for this; I usually do some sort of breakdown video there for most of my tracks. And thanks!

[@vertigev]

Very cool!

[@rob2323]

Great sounding Jay, love this one, when's the next album coming out?

[@JayHosking]

Good question! I've got a vocal EP that needs mastering and artwork. Probably a couple of tracks off an ambient record. I've got two drum records in the works, one that focuses on a particular sound (using the Push 3 so far) and one of more hardware synths. And finally another whole-album-performed-at-one-time-on-eurorack record is in the planning stages. So lots on the way, but nothing ready yet!

[@olivierd5766]

Small but strong 💪💪

[@manigross3323]

Lovely🔥🔥🔥🔥👌

[@bexiexz]

yessss

[@TheCuri]

nicce jam but as much as you use the performance page I think the tracker + would be even more usable? maybe create the jams on the mini and than I dont know if you could import them on the bigger +

[@JayHosking]

Absolutely. The + is definitely the better choice for performance. However, I made the whole song on the Mini and loved the experience, and wanted to do the performance on it. Going forward, I'm more likely to do exactly what you've said!

[@findjonmoses]

Have you tried the Dirtywave M8, be keen to hear you thoughts and comparison to Polyends handheld tracker

[@JayHosking]

Yeah, I had a M8 before this one, and eventually sold it. I love the long sequencing time and pattern arrangement structure, and the synths and effects sounded good. I found it too slow to work with, though, moving from page to page constantly, and not nearly as performative as the Tracker Mini. But both have their advantages! I'm just more partial to the Tracker Mini workflow, size, dedicated buttons, and performance effects.

[@solmare_]

…obligatory “check out the dirtywave M8” comment 😂

[@JayHosking]

Hah! I had a M8, and really liked a lot about it, especially its sequencing structure. The Tracker Mini works a little better for me, mainly because of the increased number of buttons and the performance page. But both are great!