ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- Comparing the Tracker Mini to the SmplTrek!
Ever since people found out I had my hands on a Tracker Mini early, I've been receiving requests to compare it to the Sonicware SmplTrek. While I absolutely do that in this video, I'd like to point out that I feel this comparison is a pretty difficult one to make, because I think that both of these devices are just too different, both in workflow, and purpose. The Tracker Mini is more of an all in one "make an album with me" type device, where you sample things to turn into synths, drums, etc. The SmplTrek is a lot more of a way for you to sample and take your favorite synths and drum machines with you, make the bare bones of a track on the go, then export it into your DAW to fine tune. Again, this is just all my opinion, so let me know yours in a comment below! Enjoy the video :)
My favorite gear in one list, courtesy of zZounds.com:
www.zzounds.co...
GEAR IN THIS VIDEO
Polyend Tracker Mini: www.zzounds.co...
Sonicware SmplTrek: amzn.to/45LGV9U
Roland J-6: amzn.to/45LLnG2
Teenage Engineering PO-32 Tonic: amzn.to/3YQSoTy
Korg Monotron Delay: amzn.to/3OPFWyY
Zoom Livetrak L-12 (audio recorder): amzn.to/44tmnC2
Questions? Ask them below!
Support the Channel: / freebeat
Bandcamp: free-beat.band...
Follow me on Instagram: / freethebeat. .
If you enjoy this video, considering subscribing to the channel! It's free, and I upload new content every single day!
All Amazon links in this description are Amazon affiliate links, the gear is the same price to you, but I get a small kickback when you use these links! It's an easy way to support the channel at no extra cost.
Would be fantastic to see a comparison in a month or so, focusing on them both as production handhelds thanks to the crazy updates they’ve both gotten 🤪🤪
Stay tuned!
@@FreeBeat you tease! P.S. thanks for you work on making the more linear workflows obvious...I think you're maybe 1 of 2 people on YT using these sort of devices for that kind of almost portastudio workflow kinda thing, and I think it's a HUGELY underexploited ability of both systems
I loved this video, I think a comparison between these two devices is a topic that really deserved some attention on TH-cam and I think you made a very concise and high quality video about it.
Thank you so much!
Just fired up the video and I was just thinking of this kind of comparison last night. Was totally thinking they were rather similar. Good to see I wasn't the only one wondering.
Yeah they're very similar in some aspects, but most of the time they're very different!
I have them both. Workflows are different and that is fine. The main drawbacks: one does not have a built-in battery, another does not have a built-in speaker.
Great comparison! I'm glad they don't overlap too much and are different enough to enjoy both of them in different ways.
Yeah they don't really take that much from each other!
Love your perfectly judged video inserts format. Can't wait to see you crack out the op-z / J-6 and see how well they play with the TM.
Haha I don't think the OP-Z is coming out for a main video ever again :(
@@FreeBeat no my man, I mean using the opz to play the TM's waveforms.
@@sodiumlights Yup I know haha. My OP-Z double triggers to the point where it won't be coming out for a video probably ever again.
And of course...vs Woovebox! 😮
Good video, strange comparison IMHO. I like to see Tracker Mini vs Dirty Wave M8 and SmplTrek vs SP404MK2.
Have the SmplTrek and have the Tracker Mini on pre-order. I have found that if you're familiar with Ableton Live clip-launcher, it can give you a leg up on the Trek's workflow.
Yes the clip/scene based workflow on the SmplTrek can be very familiar to Ableton users!
Think you summed up the best use case of the SmplTrek pretty well there. It's great for using real instruments to get song ideas down, without the hassle of using a computer. Also has a carry-case as well now (though it doesn't come free!). Great video!
that carry case is OUTRAGEOUSLY priced lmao... what where they thinking.
outrageous, but not quite capital letter outrageous ;-) Comes to about £62 for us here in the UK, you could probably get something comparable for £30 or less.@@atetraxx
Wow. What a really great summary of the focus of each device. I think everyone watching understand that you aren't saying that the other device CAN'T do the other one's "thing" but that there just not much point in fighting the flow of the design of a device if you can pick a different one instead. Like I have an MV-1. It can do a lot of things. But if the thing you are having it do isn't making a full song via a super linear section-to-section construction while using the on board instruments, mostly unedited, and recording vocals over top of it with multiFX on all of it, then you have the wrong device. Can it do live? Yes. Can it sample? ...yes. Generative? Kind of. But don't use it for those things if it can be avoided.
Oh one last thing if you are looking for notes. Don't take this the wrong way because I know this sounds insulting, but one of the things I like about yours and Loopop's videos is that I'm not looking at a face. There's nothing wrong with your face and your expressiveness is good and everything. But I really do enjoy a video that doesn't break my focus off of the gear and interrupt what I am learning about a piece of gear I have never touched myself. The narrator's voice approach actually isn't objectively inferior and only for people who don't have a good studio for shooting wide shots. It is actually a feature, in my book anyway. Just my two cents.
The face shot was good for the bass playing to see what I was hearing. But for talking only, looking at a face isn't looking at, and studying, gear. Even when your hands aren't touching the gear, it still valuable to be studying it. Maybe it's just me. But Loopop's popularity can't be ignored and I bet a lot of the reason is the product focus visuals of his videos. I'm not saying copy Loopop, but he is extremely not the norm. I'm saying don't copy everyone else.
People complain when I show my face, people complain when I don't show it haha. I thought the balance here was my best effort yet to be honest. Thanks for the input.
@@FreeBeat First, I'm not complaining :) But I acknowledge that it's hard to see the difference between complaint and suggestion or even encouragement when it's text-based because a person's tone is obscured.
Complaining would be if I was saying I "do not like your video because you showed your face". My statement was/is not nearly that strongly negative. I'm simply letting you know that I was appreciating the "100% camera on gear" setup in case you changed from that style because of people asking (or complaining) about the "100% camera on gear" of your previous content.
If you start showing your face 50% of the time I would not stop watching. I would just be more likely to watch a video only if it was covering something I actually wanted to learn about, rather than being drawn into your videos purely for the presentation style.
There will always be people who like one style more than the other. But I would argue that you viewership became your viewership (like in my case) because it wasn't talking-head content. And that even though some people who come along will voice their preference (or complaint) otherwise, the majority are here partially due to that presentational choice. You can't please both and will have to choose to address one. Perhaps they are the majority, but I bet they are the "squeaky wheel" - just one tiny part but its the only part making sound because the rest is happy. But your audience became your audience for a reason.
But it's, for sure, hard to ignore the squeaky wheel. When they are the only one's speaking up.
Nice work man 😁 I feel like I need a Tracker Mini too now though 😅
I'd love to hear what you could do with one!
@@FreeBeat Thank you. I'm a big fan of Renoise and the vst version Redux. So I'm using those at the moment to make manic chopped up drum patterns for a film soundtrack. Great fun 😁
@@ChrisLodyMusic That's awesome! I've tried so many times and I just can't get my head around Renoise for some reason, but I love LSDJ and the Polyend Trackers lol.
Hi many thanks for the review! I have the original polyend tracker which I love, but as it’s just a bit too large for rucksack travel, I got the Smpltrek! For me the trackers are just so fast for beat-making, and don’t need a manual, amazing!
However for my music making they are knackered by their limited sample times, and as you point out for the Mini, the lack of pads. The tracker screens are to die for. The Smpltrek screen is tiny but still usable! I was able to use the Smpltrek efficiently within an hour, and thereafter rarely had to rely on the manual. Version 2 OS has really improved .
It’s a tricky choice but frankly for music making travelling only with a rucksack, and with battery power, it’s great to have finally some choice :)
Tracker mini would be a cool thing to have in the future, I used to be interested in smpltrek but my workflow doesn’t require having it atm, what I really want is another OG tracker, mixer, and a couple synths is the ideal set up, just need $$$
That will make for a sweet DAWless setup for sure!
I think it's worth noting though that you can't do any kind of linear tracks on the tracker. You can't do a vocal track on it like you can on the SmplTrek. And you don't even have to use the global tracks for vocals. You can use loop tracks for entire sections and record vocals that way. It's like a baby Akai Force that way.
Chopping and editing samples on the SampleTrek is not the best. I had to return my SampleTrek because the workflow was too clunky. The Tracker Mini can do whatever you need and I think is better especially with the workflow
@@Epicfuzz you're missing the point. They're both great machines. But you cannot do linear recording on the Tracker at all. So if you're a vocalist, unless you want to sample in lyric by lyric which is completely absurd, the tracker CANNOT make an entire album.
@@dreamstaticsounds you have to mix and master the tracks in a DAW anyway so I usually track out my vocals then. I never said you could make an entire album so not sure you are so upset. YOU CAN get a lot of the song done in the tracker because the workflow is made for that and it’s pretty straightforward
@@Epicfuzz wasn't upset, sorry if it came across that wag. Was merely stating what my original point was. Free Beat is the one who said you could make an entire album on the tracker and that's not true. Not by itself. I'd actually argue that you could more easily do so on the SmplTrek. Both machines have their strengths and weaknesses though.
Yeah I should have mentioned that you can do a full album on the Mini if you don't have vocals haha.
Goddamn my dude, that drum solo
It's those pads! :D
I love and have both❤😂🎉
Yeah they're both pretty sweet! Thanks for watching :)
Well done 👍 just about summed it up 🙂.
Trying nitrotracker on my old Nintendo DS this weekend get a feel for a tracker on something with buttons.
Was playing a little with PixiTracker and as much as it’s easy to use it’s really limited.
I need to give Nitrotracker a shot, do you like it?
The R4 card only came last week, maybe had a few hours with it.
Like it a lot more having the familiar DS controls, than a touch screen on iPad.
As for nitro it seems to work like you’ve demoed with the Trackers.
I really don’t know enough about it yet, apart from it’s free so nothing to loose.
Yes, please! It has more tracks than the polyend, it's tactile, the synth is top-notch and editable, mic in, ability to play notes on the fly etc.... It hasn't had the recognition it deserves. I love Nitrotracker for life :)
Nitrotracker is amazing !!
Considering the version 3 software of the Smpltrek, how does it now stand up with the Tracker Mini?
Super cool comparison video!
Thanks!
Great vid
I was looking at both ... i have the Mpc live 2 so ive gone with the polyend tracker mini as it seems like it'll add something different.
Hope i made the right call get it in a week
They're both great! However I agree that the SmplTrek might be a bit too close to your MPC. However, the clip based arrangement workflow is awesome!
Sacked off my M8 once I got the Mini...saved my eyesight :)
Great video! I am used to DAWs, especially Ableton Live. I am not interested in tweaking sounds, I need a machine to record entire tracks, or parts of tracks, to create a song. I can export and mix in my DAW. The SmplTrek seems to be the right machine for me then? But the Tracker Mini could do the job if all sounds (synth, guitars with preamps...) go into the line-in? I need to record on another machine than my computer haha. Thanks!
SmplTrek would definitely be the way to go between these two :)
Great video. I'm happy with my smpltrek :)
Glad to hear it!
I wiah smpltrek had some sort of synthesis engine on it, even if it wasn't extravagant..... I still love the smpltrek though
Great video, thank you! What about battery life?
Sorry, wasn't actually trying to respond to you.
I get about 4 hours on the mini, I've never been off the adapter that long with the SmplTrek actually now that I think about it hahaha. I'll have to report back!
That's disappointing that it can't mangle the samples onboard. Looks like its a good pocket sequencer but a middling sampler?
Ah, so the Polyend is clearly for me, since sampling a fart in the woods and turning it into an instrument is _exactly_ what I want to do! I'll probably sample farts elsewhere too, there is a big tiled bathroom close that has some natural sort of reverb to it which calls me in my dreams. I also figured that recording the sort of "splat" sounds of dropping wet rags on top of each other one after the other in a big tiled space with natural dryish echo should turn out some interesting results with a bit of effects on top.
😂😂😂
What about the screen on the smplTrek? Unfortunately my eyes aren't the best anymore so my fear is that it might be too small.
it is tiny! I think that's probably the only drawback on the Smpltrek. My eyes is going bad as well, but I can manage. I have both the OG tracker and the Smpletrek. The polyend tracker has a better screen, but it is mostly monosynth per track, unless you use the chords function. While the Smpletrek can use up to 30 note polyphony total across 10 tracks.
what up w the 90s display - entire top half needs to be touchscreen
Does the Tracker have microtiming or offgrid notes like like Smpltrek?
Yes it does! You'll find "micromove" under the options for your per step effects.
Can't you just use the tracker mini line input to record instruments the same way as suggested for the smpltrack?
I was waiting for the mini on backorder from zzounds but just canceled and got it on reverb. But way to go making me want the smpltrek, I have the polyend play and have always made the most music with samples. If you like the smpltrek pads you have to try native instruments like maschine. I think they make the best pads.
The input on the SmplTrek is specifically tailored for a guitar/bass/mic, whereas the Mini's is just a normal in. It gets more technical than that, with levels and whatnot.
Would I be able to launch individual sounds and banks on the mini from an elektron box? Thanks
Hi, it would be interesting to make a video using both devices in conjunction
I definitely will do that in the future!
Ever tried midi mapping the launchkey to the smpltrek? Im trying to figure out a good setup for it
what makes the Polyend capable of doing an entire album and not the SmplTrek? They can both complete full songs, yes?
I think (as long as you don't want to do a song with vocals, or any long linear audio) the Tracker Mini gives you enough per step control, that with enough work you could completely finish songs/an album on it. The SmplTrek does a lot, but I don't think it quite gets all the way to a finished song on it's own. You could *probably* squeeze something very close to a completed song out of it, I feel like it needs a DAW to just add that finishing touch. That's just my opinion though.
Hi I have the original poly tracker (same workflow as the mini) and also the Smpltrek; yes, I have done complete songs on the Smpltrek, it’s advantage over the tracker is it’s 3 audio tracks to allow you to record vocals, guitar, or whatever across all the scenes.
One great advantage of the Smpltrek is it’s huge sample times, compared to the anaemic 4min stereo on tracker; this helps song creation. I wish though it had 32 scenes instead of 16.
Workflow-wise whilst travelling I find the Smpltrek more conducive to song-writing, and the tracker workflow faster for beat-making; both are definitely more efficient to use than the Roland sp404. Neither are as powerful as akai MPC but then MPCs are way too heavy to be portable and have no battery power.
Both machines have stem exports for your DAW. Even with my akai mpc as powerful as it is I take stems into my daw for final mix and mastering.
Hope this helps!
You missed that the tracker DOESN'T have a speaker, making it not a stand alone device to just grab and go.
You are really obsessed with this no speaker thing lol. Wired earbuds are a portable electronic musicians best friend.
SmplTrek seems closer to an sp404 but with maybe less of a learning curve and more portable.
I think we need some free beat “fart in the woods” merch.
now EP-133 must be added
So buy both got it
Does it have a built in speaker?
The Tracker Mini doesn't, the SmplTrek does!
Every Pocket Operator vs Woovebox? lmao
I would very much like a "Fart in the Woods" please
hahaha
You're missing the elephant in the room: the M8 tracker
This video is about the Mini and the SmplTrek though :)
M8 winner
No comparison. M8 is still the best sampler out besides maybe the octatrack. M8 even smokes the digitakt 2 imo.
I wish they would have a baby together already...
Right? lol.