Polyend Tracker+ Sequencer

General

As it turns out, the Polyend Tracker is here to stay. While this Plus edition has the same form-factor as the original Tracker, under the bonnet, there are several upgrades to be found. For what's technically a bit of a niche product, the original Tracker and the more recently released Tracker Mini have certainly found their way to many happy sound-designers, so it's little wonder that Polyend now serve up a next-gen model.

The Features of the Polyend Tracker+

The Polyend Tracker+ not only boasts five times the sample memory capacity as its predecessor, but stereo sample playback and four additional synth engines. The ACD engine gives you virtual analogue synthesis based on a single oscillator setup; the FAT engine simulates vintage 3-oscillator analogue synths; the VAP engine is a virtual analogue poly-synth loaded with oscillators and a large number of modulation options; and the WTFM engine is a 2-operator FM synth based on wavetables with three feedbacks. On top of that, you're set up with the PERC: a straightforward drum machine for classic x0x-style sounds and more. When used as a USB audio interface, the Tracker+ provides fourteen stereo audio tracks for a total of sixteen tracks that can be filled up using the sample engine or one of the aforementioned synths.

What is a Tracker?

To keep things simple: a tracker is a sort of two-dimensional grid divided into tracks onto which notes can be placed. In terms of navigation and the way of thinking, it's a actually a bit like a spreadsheet. Where a standard DAW program has a similar thought-process behind it as a tape-machine, where real-time recordings plays an important role, the tracker is a much more nerdy way of writing score. Classical musicians who want to place notes in precisely the right place without needing a metronome will probably find they work much better with a tracker than they'd first expect. Another hallmark of trackers is that they allow you to place notes incredibly quickly, much like typing a chunk of text into a word processor. This is the difference between a tracker and any standard DAW, where the interface is designed with a focus on using a mouse, and supported by masses of graphic menus while an experienced tracker user will simply type their notes in with the kind of rapid keyboard chatter worthy of a '50s newspaper reporter on the edge of a deadline.