Just a heads up everyone, Polyend has actually fixed a TON of the export features and settings, this video was not made on the latest firmware and the issues i expeirienced should be fixed. Check the latest firmware here - polyend.com/downloads/ Thanks for hanging out, peace and love.
Dude, the fact you don't edit your videos and just do it in one take is so amazing! In a time when everything is so hyper edited, it's so relaxing to just hang out in real time. Inspiring stuff man!
Exactly this! One of the reasons Ricky is my favourite reviewer/commentator on electronic music stuff. Plus, he has a great balance between sharing his craft, his process and knowledge of the gear. But yeah, the one take video approach delivers a fantastic result for the viewer. You gotta have bravery though to pull it off.
@@sketchdashaman yes he is authentic not trying to get others down but there too much fake guys out there trying to be cool with a fake attitude and this guy is just Authentic
11:14 - actually using sequencers with hexadecimal numbered steps is much more easier because this number system perfect fits music with 16th notes. The first digit will basically tell you the number of the bar and the second one the number of the 16th note in this bar, mega convenient.
I absolutely love that you keep it all in. This is the kind of content I want to see. I enjoy when people just do the thing but the world needs to see people really use something and see how they go about it. Thank you!
This is the first hardware instrument that I actually fully connected with immediately. I really sunk my teeth into Renoise for a few years and when I first got the Electribe Sampler 2, I always found myself saying, "I wish I could do this thing that I know how to do in a tracker." lol Anyways, I adore this box. Probably my favorite thing I ever bought (in terms of beat production stuff). I guess I get why it doesn't click with everyone, but I love this thing.
Wow! i love that feeling. that was me with the MPC 4000. It just felt like an extension of my brain. I'm happy you understand its quirkiness, but accept it. After that, its soooo much fun
One plus for hex numbers in 4/4 music is that it is base 16, so the digit rolls over after 16 steps - 0 to F for the first bar, then the next bar is 10 to 1F etc. Quite intuitive once you get your head around it.
Maybe it's already written in another comment, anyways: Regarding 14:07 'Sample is too long'. With the newer firmware, they added an import functionality to just load a portion of a sample into RAM. And in case you realize that you only need a portion of the sample, but already loaded and worked with the full one: When you replace/overwrite a sample, all instrument parameters like LPF, oscillators etc. will be preserved, so you could overwrite the sample with its shorter version (via import function) without loosing anything.
Your first video of the Polyend Tracker referenced Renoise and that was the first time I heard of it. Been using it ever since and it's amazing. Even though you don't use Renoise, thanks for mentioning it. + You should make a video about actually trying to make a full track in Renoise! It's super fun and crazy, make some jungle.
@@sebp400 How well are Polyend and Renoise able to talk with each other? Is there a combined workflow possible? I currently use Renoise and would like to use the Polyend for "on the couch" , but I'd like them to sync or at least talk to eachother in both directions.
@@sebp400 I've done some house-ish beats playing around but am primarily doing jungle, it definitely seems versatile and like it's just a matter of workflow/organization. I find it so much easier to work with than other DAWs
I do want to say, re: hexadecimal, it's really really quick once you get used to it - just another notation like writing notes as C3 or tempos in Italian or whatever. And it lets you talk about numbers between 0 and 255 (i.e. all MIDI message values!) in just 2 digits.
Agreed and like it says in the manual, "This allows for easy alignment with music: bars will always start with pattern steps 00, 10, 20, 30 and so on. Each bar’s quarternote beat steps end with the digits ..0, ..4, ..8, and ..C." So you actually end up doing less math once you've memorized that.
@@shitmandood it's one of those things that's very hard to grasp, but once you understand it, you then understand why people say it's the superior way of doing things. Kinda like writing with a pencil all your life, then learning how to use a typewriter.
@@G8tr1522 Have you ever tried to go back and write after using a keyboard? The muscles don't work the same. My hand doesn't know how to hold a pencil. I used to write all the time but didn't know that my hands would be affected by not writing for a very long time.
wtf this cmd trick while importing lots of different stems will save a lot of my lifetime!! thanks for sharing you knowledge! this gives me more time for the important part!!! making music! rock on man
To understand hexadecimal, it helps to understand "regular"/base-10 numbers. When you have multiple digits (ex: 123), you can break it down into a sum of simpler numbers: 100 + 20 + 3. That can be broken down into a sum of products, or multiplications: (1 x 100) + (2 x 10) + (3 x 1), or (1 x 10^2) + (2 * 10^1) + (1 * 10^0). (Math reminder: any number raised to the 0th power equals 1.) Notice that in the last form, the exponent of the 10 decreases in each position? That's what the 10s, 100s, 1000s "place" really means. Hexadecimal works the same way but with 16 instead of 10, so if we use the same example, 0x123 = (1 x 16^2) + (2 x 16^1) + (3 x 16^0) = 291. Now, what do the letters mean? Well, if we only had 0x0 to 0x9 to work with, then we would be missing a bunch of numbers between 0x9 (9 x 16^0 = 9) and 0x10 (1 x 16^1 = 16). How would you write a 10 or 13 in hex? That's what the letters are for: after 0x0 (0) to 0x9 (9), we continue to 0xA (10), 0xB (11), 0xC (12), 0xD (13), 0xE (14), or 0xF (15). Each digit has one of 16 values, hence hexadecimal or base-16. So, if we have a number like 0x1BF, we use our formula and get: (0x1 x 16^2) + (0xB x 16^1) + (0xF x 16^0) = (1 x 16^2) + (11 x 16^1) + (15 x 16^0) = 447. Why is this useful? Well, consider midi CC's which have values 256 values, from 0 to 255. In hexadecimal, 255 = 0xFF, so if you drop the 0x prefix it's... shorter. Is it worth it? Definitely not if you aren't cramming a bunch of numbers on the screen, but trackers do exactly that so compactness can be useful. If it's still kind of confusing, try counting. Let's count to 23, which is 16 + 7: 0x0, 0x1, 0x2, 0x3, 0x4, 0x5, 0x6, 0x7, 0x8, 0x9, 0xA, 0xB, 0xC, 0xD, 0xE, 0xF, 0x10, 0x11, 0x12, 0x13, 0x14, 0x15, 0x16, 0x17. Try some other numbers and the pattern may become more clear.
I don't understand trackers. I'm glad there are options and that there are people who get them and love it. I know a lot of my favorite artists, especially in DnB Land, use them to make amazing stuff. This is the first video you made that didn't give me gas 😄👊
@Ricky Tinez At 4:10 Is it possible to restrain that from happening, i.e. poly-notes overflowing to other tracks?? Like, "Keep notes within single track (mono record)" or something? I think this is a major feature otherwise. Having to manually fix this would stop the creative flow.
11:14 - actually using sequencers with hexadecimal numbered steps is much more easier because this number system perfect fits music with 16th notes. The first digit will basically tell you the number of the bar and the second one the number of the 16th note in this bar, mega convenient. When using default decimal mumber system it's hard to tell which bar you're in without didiving the step number by 16. E.g. Pattern step "66" in default default decimal system is bar #4, step #2. With hexadecimal option on the number of this step is displayed as "41" which is much easier to comprehend (steps start from 0).
I grew on trackers - back in days when Amiga was the thing, however, all this it's kind of loosing "the music". Really appreciate those videos about Polyend because actually helping me NOT spend hard earn cash on this device.
Ricky is on an old firmware version, almost everything is solved in the latest version. Also many other features have been added. I also started on screamtracker and impulse tracker 26 years ago ;)
Great video! Absolutely loving my tracker and it's interesting seeing it from the perspective of someone who makes a different style of music than I do.
It's so much fun to watch you play with the Tracker. Also, the "condom" thing (around 6:40 in) made me laugh out loud. My Tracker should arrive any day now, can't wait to play with it.
Even though I'm a big yam fan and gullible asf, I knew instantly when you said it that your old DJ name was NOT Earthy Yam! Awesome work Ricky. Excellent video. Loved it.
Yes, titles, especially for instrumental songs and abstract soundscapes are not easy to name. Autechre, PanSonic, etc. are using nonsense syllables, pseudo-technical, etc. I totally agree that suggested track titles is a really nice idea, at least for a temporary label while working on something. I really am interested in granular devices, so I will probably get the Polyend Tracker.
So I’ve been using Renoise as my main Daw for about 13 years. (Sheeeeeeesh time flies ) Ive been pining over the Polyend Tracker since the announcement , but I’m glad I cancelled preorder because they improved the hardware and software since then. However, I can tell that the “archaic” workflow was not a instant gratification like most devices these days.. Let me tell you a secret, Once you learn the specifics of a tracker based workflow and the nuances of the particular tracker your working with , you will be hard pressed to find something that ever replaces its ease and swiftness.
The "File Transfer" mode doesn't work the way you'd expect it to: it doesn't mount the tracker as regular USB mass storage device. It uses the Media Transfer Protocol, like an android device. I think you can shunt files around from OSX using the Android Transfer app, but it's a hassle compared to just using a card reader.
Tried this. It was much faster to pop the microSD and mount it on the mac than to use that Android file transfer application. It's super annoying, too, because Android is built on Linux and Mac is built on BSD; they should be kissin' cousins able to communicate easily, but I guess someone is being anal about file transfer permissions...?
about hexadecimal numbers - seems crazy but I think it's actually pretty useful for the row numbers: since each step is a sixteenth note, every 10 ends up representing a bar. For example: 4 bars of music would be 64 steps in decimal, or it would be 40 in hexadecimal.
Also in the beta firmware: "Added Import function in Sample Loader which allows cropping samples" so you could have cropped that long drone sample prior to importing into the project.
The auto naming is one of my favorite things from Korg Gadget. Especially useful when I just want to make music. If the name didn’t sit well, then I’d change it.
In the 1.4.0 firmware update they disabled the USB media transfer because it was buggy. Hopefully it will be back soon, but in the meantime, popping out the SD card is the way to go
Nothing wrong with Hex, it's what we grew up using on the old trackers on Amiga etc. You soon get the used to it and the columns are a digit shorter ;)
But hex numbers are great for music especially when you have 4/4 grooves. Because every digit is just 4x4 so it's really easy to see where in the grid you are 😁
Hey Ricky, Makeup Gain just applies automatic compensation based on the amount of gain reduction happening. If it's reducing by 3dB then it'll apply +3dB on the out. This should result in a more even sound so you're hearing the compression more but as you noted, when you're slamming it the output will be quite loud because you're juicing the entire signal.
That's about right but the compressor doesn't set the makeup gain based on actual gain reduction. Instead it assumes your signal has a certain rms volume and applies make up gain as per threshhold and ratio setting. If your signals are very quiet then the make up will be way too high as your signal is way below the assumed rms and there is no actual compression happening.
@@hanszollner1837 well then I stand corrected. I always worked under the impression that it matched input level in order to remove loudness bias. TIL, thanks!
Hi Ricky, pleased to meet you... I just received my polyend tracker. I bought it as a brand new one, but I feel I'm not the first owner, you see... Could you just tell me how it comes when you power it for the first time ? I mean, are patterns empty ? Or maybe there is already demo patterns? When I first put the power on, all patterns were full of strange and shit... What do you think about it please ? Thank you very much Alex
Has the File Transfer mode been enabled in later Firmware? Just got my PT and put Firmware 1.6 on it, hear that 1.7 is ‘coming soon” I assume when the PT Mini starts shipping. Thanks man
Amazing video Ricky! I just now listen to these videos while painting. I have a question. When you pick a part of a sample to make it granular, does it automatically detects the pitch of the segment, say, does it say, AH, this granule is C? Or how does the chromatic arrangement work? (I have a tracker too but I haven't figured it out.) Also, could you make a video of the performance mode/screen? I haven't made much sense out of it yet. Love, paisano! ¡Ya véngase a comer chilaquiles al DF!
I love this machine so much. File Transfer works everytime for me. The firmware is under heavy development it seems. More fixes and features arriving fast. Waiting for the bug fix for section sampling, which allows to select anything and sample it. Currently is samples from all tracks... need to mute the tracks that are not in the selected section... Anyway.. I am starting to setup my stuff with the Tracker being the central machine..
Sold mine to get an octatrack. I found it very picky about clipping and sound levels. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the pads and their scale layouts. In concept I found it cool but I can do what I want elsewhere with less trouble
at 16:50, i think it's useful to know that the number of cycles doesn't affect the pitch, but rather the wavelength of the cycle itself. it will sound like its going down an octave, but that's because you moved the loop markers out of perfect zero transit position, so essentially you create a new wave. but if you are looping a single cycle waveform, if the loop is correct, 3 cycles will be the same pitch as 1 cycle.
"shift the entire condom" lmao. Great vid. I'm stuck on the tracker or the mpc one atm. This thing looks sooo fun but the mpc seems a bit more full featured for production...
Yeah man, the stem export has been slightly off tempo since the beginning. I’ve been working with them via email and then via their github for a few months asking to fix that bug. In their 1.3.0b release they say they’ve fixed the problem, but I have not tested it yet. My work around for previous firmware releases has been time stretching each track individually (in Reason) to get them each to precise whole number tempo.
I have a preordered the tracker when it was announced.. and got mine a couple of months ago. I do not have the nice rounded buttons and also the pads are not very responsive. Is that fixed in this nee rounded button version?
The wavetable synth can be polyphonic? The tails overlapped right around 17:19 wasn't expecting that... so the sequencer requires multiple lanes for chords, but say you run a keystep can you sequence the wavetable engine polyphonically that way?
Hexadecimal gives you more resolution with two characters. 0-99 vs 0-127 (0xFF) ... seems annoying but has intent. Also spreads more evenly than base 10 over the length of a pattern.
For anyone considering the polyend tracker don’t be too discouraged by the inability to use the sample editor for long samples, it has only happened to me once before and the sample was easily half the ram
Hey Ricky, thanks for this! do you know if the Midi Adapter "standard" vs "non standard" issue that you discovered when connecting the DB-01 has been addressed in this firmware? I'm still struggling to get my PT to work with other synths using Midi (Crave, in this case).
What are the differences between the prototype/preorder version and the current release unit in terms of hardware, other than slightly different buttons?
Love your work Ricky - I'm keen to get into music production as a relative beginner (some light Garage Band and Pro Tools experience). Is the Polyend Tracker something you would recommend? I love the idea of DAWless and am a big fan of manual controls and like as many knobs, dials and buttons as possible, but want something portable and self-contained - so I can play whenever inspiration strikes and record the ideas. I'm tossing up between this, the OP1, the OPZ and the Synthstrom Deluge - four completely different devices I know, but all seem related in that you can go from nothing to a full composition without needing to connect to a computer. Your advice (or anyone else's) would be very welcome!
So hexadecimal numbers actually work great for a tracker because sequences are 16 steps so 00-0F is the first bar 10-1F is the second and so on. And you know from the second digit of any number what step you're on in a pattern. all quarter notes are on 0 4 8 and C (C is a little hard to remember) Personally thats super easy for me to keep track of compared to seeing that i'm step 37 and thats the start of the second beat in second pattern. I like it a lot but for some reason it also numbers your patterns in song mode in hexadecimal, which is confusing as shit because the pad grid is only 12 wide so then yea... you gotta do math. I wish I could make it show steps in hex but patterns in decimal.
i read somewghere the latest firmware can sample its own playback, or I think you can sequence an external synth with the tracker and record that linein return.. that would be nice
The latest firmware allows recording external synths through the line in that are MIDI sequenced from the Tracker. If you want to resample internal sounds you can use the Render Selection function.
Yeah it does internal resampling - works really nicely, especially if you get stuck in this situation where you have a huge sample, but you only need a little bit of it and you want to run it through the sample editor to bake effects in etc. resample the bit you need, and then load that instead, and away you go :)
Ricky, any chance you’ve ever sat down with the Line 6 HX stomp? It’s a do-all box with impulse responses, over 200 effects, and midi in and through. Just thought ya might dig it Anyway, the videos are sick.
Just a heads up everyone, Polyend has actually fixed a TON of the export features and settings, this video was not made on the latest firmware and the issues i expeirienced should be fixed. Check the latest firmware here - polyend.com/downloads/
Thanks for hanging out, peace and love.
Go here for the latest beta firmware: github.com/polyend/TrackerIssues/blob/master/HOWTO_BETA_FIRMWARE.md
Whenever you got the opportunity to talk to polyend reps, pls ask them to implement a timestretching algo. This would be handy. (:
yay! Very glad to hear that - am buying one now!
@@77377 The beta firmware currently has two time stretching algos, one for beats and one for notes.
Feel free to add this to your timestamps:
6:48 - 7:14 - WHOA... COLUMN... COLUMN!!
Dude, the fact you don't edit your videos and just do it in one take is so amazing! In a time when everything is so hyper edited, it's so relaxing to just hang out in real time. Inspiring stuff man!
Exactly this! One of the reasons Ricky is my favourite reviewer/commentator on electronic music stuff. Plus, he has a great balance between sharing his craft, his process and knowledge of the gear. But yeah, the one take video approach delivers a fantastic result for the viewer. You gotta have bravery though to pull it off.
@@LawrenceBrock yep & his honesty about things "he" likes & dislikes, he doesn't try to look cool. he just has fun :)
He links to the video editing software that he uses in the video description... Maybe it's filmed in one take, but it's still edited.
That's a huge reason I was drawn to this channel. I seriously, seriously dig his laid back vibe.
@@sketchdashaman yes he is authentic not trying to get others down but there too much fake guys out there trying to be cool with a fake attitude and this guy is just Authentic
11:14 - actually using sequencers with hexadecimal numbered steps is much more easier because this number system perfect fits music with 16th notes. The first digit will basically tell you the number of the bar and the second one the number of the 16th note in this bar, mega convenient.
I absolutely love that you keep it all in. This is the kind of content I want to see. I enjoy when people just do the thing but the world needs to see people really use something and see how they go about it. Thank you!
I love the way you take me on your journey to discover what an instrument can do. It’s so organic. Keep up the good work. Sending love from the UK
This is the first hardware instrument that I actually fully connected with immediately. I really sunk my teeth into Renoise for a few years and when I first got the Electribe Sampler 2, I always found myself saying, "I wish I could do this thing that I know how to do in a tracker." lol Anyways, I adore this box. Probably my favorite thing I ever bought (in terms of beat production stuff). I guess I get why it doesn't click with everyone, but I love this thing.
Wow! i love that feeling. that was me with the MPC 4000. It just felt like an extension of my brain. I'm happy you understand its quirkiness, but accept it. After that, its soooo much fun
One plus for hex numbers in 4/4 music is that it is base 16, so the digit rolls over after 16 steps - 0 to F for the first bar, then the next bar is 10 to 1F etc. Quite intuitive once you get your head around it.
This is a great point. I never consciously thought about it, but at the same time I never had much trouble with hexadecimal when using trackers.
DJ EARTHY YAM IN THE HOUSE
My favorite moment
With the condoms
It could be worse.
It could be organic squash.
And the workable babies 😂😂
The silentHill-funkwave-house- razzledazzle DJ.
Maybe it's already written in another comment, anyways: Regarding 14:07 'Sample is too long'. With the newer firmware, they added an import functionality to just load a portion of a sample into RAM. And in case you realize that you only need a portion of the sample, but already loaded and worked with the full one: When you replace/overwrite a sample, all instrument parameters like LPF, oscillators etc. will be preserved, so you could overwrite the sample with its shorter version (via import function) without loosing anything.
Your first video of the Polyend Tracker referenced Renoise and that was the first time I heard of it. Been using it ever since and it's amazing. Even though you don't use Renoise, thanks for mentioning it. + You should make a video about actually trying to make a full track in Renoise! It's super fun and crazy, make some jungle.
I do house in Renoise and the Polyend tracker. It's versatile.
@@sebp400 How well are Polyend and Renoise able to talk with each other? Is there a combined workflow possible? I currently use Renoise and would like to use the Polyend for "on the couch" , but I'd like them to sync or at least talk to eachother in both directions.
@@sebp400 I've done some house-ish beats playing around but am primarily doing jungle, it definitely seems versatile and like it's just a matter of workflow/organization. I find it so much easier to work with than other DAWs
I do want to say, re: hexadecimal, it's really really quick once you get used to it - just another notation like writing notes as C3 or tempos in Italian or whatever. And it lets you talk about numbers between 0 and 255 (i.e. all MIDI message values!) in just 2 digits.
Agreed and like it says in the manual, "This allows for easy alignment with music: bars will always start with pattern steps 00, 10, 20, 30 and so on. Each bar’s quarternote beat steps end with the digits ..0, ..4, ..8, and ..C." So you actually end up doing less math once you've memorized that.
@@fts4life It's more like memorizing a multiplication table than doing maths. :)
Hex.. This is the way.
@@shitmandood it's one of those things that's very hard to grasp, but once you understand it, you then understand why people say it's the superior way of doing things. Kinda like writing with a pencil all your life, then learning how to use a typewriter.
@@G8tr1522 Have you ever tried to go back and write after using a keyboard? The muscles don't work the same. My hand doesn't know how to hold a pencil. I used to write all the time but didn't know that my hands would be affected by not writing for a very long time.
man I love this tracker, so powerful, intuitive, and quick! It's kind of taken over everything else I own, even the PC! 👌🏾💯
"alcohol and babies....they don't mix". LOL.....i'm pretty damn sure that's how a lot are made, tho....love this, Ricky!
Best quote of this post ?
"Hexadecimals?!? Want to have no fun making music?"
I'm a tracker/ableton user and that command keyboard shortcut is such a help, thank you
I like that you record "THOSE NIGHTS" in the studio, because we all have them. Really enjoy the channel sir.
The wavetable synth works great with random packs of Serum wavetables you can find online. It's more powerful than it first appears.
your headroom comment has been huge for me. i now own two of these and couldn’t imagine making music without them.
your videos are the most warmth , its like sitting with best friend , thx man
Thank you, Ricky for being a part of my re-discovery of music in my life.
Thanks for hanging out with me Starship
wtf this cmd trick while importing lots of different stems will save a lot of my lifetime!! thanks for sharing you knowledge! this gives me more time for the important part!!! making music! rock on man
To understand hexadecimal, it helps to understand "regular"/base-10 numbers. When you have multiple digits (ex: 123), you can break it down into a sum of simpler numbers: 100 + 20 + 3. That can be broken down into a sum of products, or multiplications: (1 x 100) + (2 x 10) + (3 x 1), or (1 x 10^2) + (2 * 10^1) + (1 * 10^0). (Math reminder: any number raised to the 0th power equals 1.)
Notice that in the last form, the exponent of the 10 decreases in each position? That's what the 10s, 100s, 1000s "place" really means.
Hexadecimal works the same way but with 16 instead of 10, so if we use the same example, 0x123 = (1 x 16^2) + (2 x 16^1) + (3 x 16^0) = 291.
Now, what do the letters mean? Well, if we only had 0x0 to 0x9 to work with, then we would be missing a bunch of numbers between 0x9 (9 x 16^0 = 9) and 0x10 (1 x 16^1 = 16). How would you write a 10 or 13 in hex? That's what the letters are for: after 0x0 (0) to 0x9 (9), we continue to 0xA (10), 0xB (11), 0xC (12), 0xD (13), 0xE (14), or 0xF (15). Each digit has one of 16 values, hence hexadecimal or base-16.
So, if we have a number like 0x1BF, we use our formula and get: (0x1 x 16^2) + (0xB x 16^1) + (0xF x 16^0) = (1 x 16^2) + (11 x 16^1) + (15 x 16^0) = 447.
Why is this useful? Well, consider midi CC's which have values 256 values, from 0 to 255. In hexadecimal, 255 = 0xFF, so if you drop the 0x prefix it's... shorter. Is it worth it? Definitely not if you aren't cramming a bunch of numbers on the screen, but trackers do exactly that so compactness can be useful.
If it's still kind of confusing, try counting. Let's count to 23, which is 16 + 7: 0x0, 0x1, 0x2, 0x3, 0x4, 0x5, 0x6, 0x7, 0x8, 0x9, 0xA, 0xB, 0xC, 0xD, 0xE, 0xF, 0x10, 0x11, 0x12, 0x13, 0x14, 0x15, 0x16, 0x17. Try some other numbers and the pattern may become more clear.
Korg gadget has the random name thing - I agree, it's really cool. On my other synths I mash teh keys for names, which is annoying to come back to.
"Condom...what...I mean column...anyway, go to micro-move" what are you tryin'a say ricky.....
I don't understand trackers. I'm glad there are options and that there are people who get them and love it. I know a lot of my favorite artists, especially in DnB Land, use them to make amazing stuff. This is the first video you made that didn't give me gas 😄👊
@Ricky Tinez At 4:10 Is it possible to restrain that from happening, i.e. poly-notes overflowing to other tracks?? Like, "Keep notes within single track (mono record)" or something? I think this is a major feature otherwise. Having to manually fix this would stop the creative flow.
Ricky, you are the best. I just love watching your videos and enjoy your jams so much. 💥
Great video Ricky, look forward to some more Tracker pieces and tips! Very inspiring
11:14 - actually using sequencers with hexadecimal numbered steps is much more easier because this number system perfect fits music with 16th notes. The first digit will basically tell you the number of the bar and the second one the number of the 16th note in this bar, mega convenient.
When using default decimal mumber system it's hard to tell which bar you're in without didiving the step number by 16.
E.g.
Pattern step "66" in default default decimal system is bar #4, step #2. With hexadecimal option on the number of this step is displayed as "41" which is much easier to comprehend (steps start from 0).
Awesome to see you using this thing Ricky!
I grew on trackers - back in days when Amiga was the thing, however, all this it's kind of loosing "the music". Really appreciate those videos about Polyend because actually helping me NOT spend hard earn cash on this device.
Ricky is on an old firmware version, almost everything is solved in the latest version. Also many other features have been added. I also started on screamtracker and impulse tracker 26 years ago ;)
The Polyend Tracker is the best hardware release of the year change my mind. I've been having a blast with my one.
Subscribed as soon as you said "Shift up - select the entire condom" + This tracker looks so fun to play with! Nice video :)
Great video! Absolutely loving my tracker and it's interesting seeing it from the perspective of someone who makes a different style of music than I do.
It's so much fun to watch you play with the Tracker. Also, the "condom" thing (around 6:40 in) made me laugh out loud. My Tracker should arrive any day now, can't wait to play with it.
Even though I'm a big yam fan and gullible asf, I knew instantly when you said it that your old DJ name was NOT Earthy Yam! Awesome work Ricky. Excellent video. Loved it.
Wow I wondered about the image quality and looked up that cam - marvellous!
Ricky please do another video on the tracker once they release the 1.3 firmware, it'll probably adress every problem you had in this one
@@rorz999 Sounds like you're moaning about legitimate critiques he has about the product, not all the problems were solved.
John Tejada is the BOMB! Sweat on the WALLS!!!
Just got mine, glad I revisited this vid!! Thanks for the awesome info and inspiration.
The ER-301 module has that auto name generation for custom units. I love it. It's the ultimate song title / band name generator.
iOS version of Reason does it too. Pretty funny names as well!
Great video and love the format, thank you! Only just looking at the Polyend Tracker.
Yes, titles, especially for instrumental songs and abstract soundscapes are not easy to name. Autechre, PanSonic, etc. are using nonsense syllables, pseudo-technical, etc. I totally agree that suggested track titles is a really nice idea, at least for a temporary label while working on something. I really am interested in granular devices, so I will probably get the Polyend Tracker.
So I’ve been using Renoise as my main Daw for about 13 years. (Sheeeeeeesh time flies ) Ive been pining over the Polyend Tracker since the announcement , but I’m glad I cancelled preorder because they improved the hardware and software since then.
However, I can tell that the “archaic” workflow was not a instant gratification like most devices these days.. Let me tell you a secret, Once you learn the specifics of a tracker based workflow and the nuances of the particular tracker your working with , you will be hard pressed to find something that ever replaces its ease and swiftness.
Been using the Legowelt sample packs for a while now. Really high quality synth samples!
The tracker is the best. All op 1 owners come fight me.
ez win gg
😂😂
OMG so there are hexadecimals! That's what I'm so used to in the old trackers. Now I want it even more :D
Amazing timing! FedEx just dropped mine on the porch!!
I don’t think you’ll like the “timing” after you try to use it with other gear! ;)
The "File Transfer" mode doesn't work the way you'd expect it to: it doesn't mount the tracker as regular USB mass storage device. It uses the Media Transfer Protocol, like an android device. I think you can shunt files around from OSX using the Android Transfer app, but it's a hassle compared to just using a card reader.
Tried this. It was much faster to pop the microSD and mount it on the mac than to use that Android file transfer application. It's super annoying, too, because Android is built on Linux and Mac is built on BSD; they should be kissin' cousins able to communicate easily, but I guess someone is being anal about file transfer permissions...?
Ugh, there is a OT mk2 Anniversary edition in the background. You lucky bastard.
First thing that caught my eye as well
Came here to say this - I want one sooooo bad!
Compact Creations with that OT mk2 anniversary please, Ricky!
@@Dwali17 Somebody should send him the MPC Live retro version so he can do a shootout video.
That was a flex
Damn I really watched the whole thing 😭 amazing videos as always.
about hexadecimal numbers - seems crazy but I think it's actually pretty useful for the row numbers: since each step is a sixteenth note, every 10 ends up representing a bar.
For example: 4 bars of music would be 64 steps in decimal, or it would be 40 in hexadecimal.
Should have installed the update they sent you... "Fixes: Timing of exported song stems, pattern stems, and an entire song is now more consistent"
Also in the beta firmware: "Added Import function in Sample Loader which allows cropping samples" so you could have cropped that long drone sample prior to importing into the project.
Beta firmware has midi chords and sidechaining. Pretty sweet update coming.
@@CrescentRollCarl man i love my tracker.. owned every elektron and everything else you can think of.. nothing is as cool
@@inf0tr8r I'm with you. Been on trackers for years, and this thing is a dream come true.
Amazing! Jared, thanks for sharing this. I've been looking into it and they totally fixed a lot!
The auto naming is one of my favorite things from Korg Gadget. Especially useful when I just want to make music. If the name didn’t sit well, then I’d change it.
In the 1.4.0 firmware update they disabled the USB media transfer because it was buggy. Hopefully it will be back soon, but in the meantime, popping out the SD card is the way to go
Ricky that was an absolute blast! So many fumbles and mumbles on this episode 🤣😂🤣😂🤣 too funny bro! 🤘🏻🖤😉
I just got one of these and I have been loving your vids on it.
Select the whole connn…column…
I had to stop the video to laugh at the condom bit. I just ordered my Tracker. Your videos are awesome! Thanks
There are random name generators online. Very handy. Even one that writes rap lyrics based on words you put in.
"Let's make an Abelton Push that makes people hate you at the same time."
Nothing wrong with Hex, it's what we grew up using on the old trackers on Amiga etc. You soon get the used to it and the columns are a digit shorter ;)
But hex numbers are great for music especially when you have 4/4 grooves. Because every digit is just 4x4 so it's really easy to see where in the grid you are 😁
Hey Ricky, Makeup Gain just applies automatic compensation based on the amount of gain reduction happening. If it's reducing by 3dB then it'll apply +3dB on the out. This should result in a more even sound so you're hearing the compression more but as you noted, when you're slamming it the output will be quite loud because you're juicing the entire signal.
That's about right but the compressor doesn't set the makeup gain based on actual gain reduction. Instead it assumes your signal has a certain rms volume and applies make up gain as per threshhold and ratio setting. If your signals are very quiet then the make up will be way too high as your signal is way below the assumed rms and there is no actual compression happening.
@@hanszollner1837 well then I stand corrected. I always worked under the impression that it matched input level in order to remove loudness bias. TIL, thanks!
Congrats on the 100K subs!
Hi Ricky, pleased to meet you... I just received my polyend tracker. I bought it as a brand new one, but I feel I'm not the first owner, you see... Could you just tell me how it comes when you power it for the first time ? I mean, are patterns empty ? Or maybe there is already demo patterns? When I first put the power on, all patterns were full of strange and shit...
What do you think about it please ?
Thank you very much
Alex
Has the File Transfer mode been enabled in later Firmware? Just got my PT and put Firmware 1.6 on it, hear that 1.7 is ‘coming soon” I assume when the PT Mini starts shipping. Thanks man
Amazing video Ricky! I just now listen to these videos while painting. I have a question. When you pick a part of a sample to make it granular, does it automatically detects the pitch of the segment, say, does it say, AH, this granule is C? Or how does the chromatic arrangement work? (I have a tracker too but I haven't figured it out.) Also, could you make a video of the performance mode/screen? I haven't made much sense out of it yet. Love, paisano! ¡Ya véngase a comer chilaquiles al DF!
Oooh hadn't realized that LFO reset for new notes, thanks for the tip!
btw you can 'bias' the granular LFO position by moving the grain position in sample playback
Is that you earthy yam ??? 🤣
Subbed ! Great videos and aesthetic
these vids are so much fun to watch
I love this machine so much. File Transfer works everytime for me. The firmware is under heavy development it seems. More fixes and features arriving fast. Waiting for the bug fix for section sampling, which allows to select anything and sample it. Currently is samples from all tracks... need to mute the tracks that are not in the selected section...
Anyway.. I am starting to setup my stuff with the Tracker being the central machine..
“See ya later..........oscillator!” Love it
Ricky "There go my ears"Tines
Ricky “There goes my wallet” Tines. 😞
"Rickey Tines" probably plays the Rhodes. This is Ricky Tee-nez.
esquilax Hahaha.... nice ‘pick up’. 😎
Sold mine to get an octatrack. I found it very picky about clipping and sound levels. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the pads and their scale layouts. In concept I found it cool but I can do what I want elsewhere with less trouble
@Ricky Tinez At 4:00 Is it possible to record without quantization, like in Renoise, where there's an FX parameter for note offset?
at 16:50, i think it's useful to know that the number of cycles doesn't affect the pitch, but rather the wavelength of the cycle itself. it will sound like its going down an octave, but that's because you moved the loop markers out of perfect zero transit position, so essentially you create a new wave. but if you are looping a single cycle waveform, if the loop is correct, 3 cycles will be the same pitch as 1 cycle.
that one 16th offset of the last chord throughout the video.. do i love it or is it driving me insane?
"shift the entire condom" lmao. Great vid. I'm stuck on the tracker or the mpc one atm. This thing looks sooo fun but the mpc seems a bit more full featured for production...
I have the same dilemma. Tracker? One? I guess the only way to really make an informed choice is to try both..
Yeah man, the stem export has been slightly off tempo since the beginning. I’ve been working with them via email and then via their github for a few months asking to fix that bug. In their 1.3.0b release they say they’ve fixed the problem, but I have not tested it yet. My work around for previous firmware releases has been time stretching each track individually (in Reason) to get them each to precise whole number tempo.
t h a n k y o u
Polyend says this is the first hardware tracker, but Xor electronics came out with Nerdseq first? Is that not the first hardware tracker?
I have a preordered the tracker when it was announced.. and got mine a couple of months ago. I do not have the nice rounded buttons and also the pads are not very responsive. Is that fixed in this nee rounded button version?
Literally praying about buying this and Jesus sent me Ricky and this video.
The polyend tracker just keeps on getting better and better with every firmware update. It is just so much fun.
*If the software format is a basic DAW like the Tracker, then is it really “DAW-less?”*
Entertaining, interesting and chilled, thanks!
The wavetable synth can be polyphonic? The tails overlapped right around 17:19 wasn't expecting that... so the sequencer requires multiple lanes for chords, but say you run a keystep can you sequence the wavetable engine polyphonically that way?
Hexadecimal gives you more resolution with two characters. 0-99 vs 0-127 (0xFF) ... seems annoying but has intent. Also spreads more evenly than base 10 over the length of a pattern.
For anyone considering the polyend tracker don’t be too discouraged by the inability to use the sample editor for long samples, it has only happened to me once before and the sample was easily half the ram
Just resample the cut down version, and voila
I use a Octatrack to slice and playback melodic samples. Judging by the number of times you said “wait...what is happening?” should I hold onto my OT?
Hey Ricky, thanks for this! do you know if the Midi Adapter "standard" vs "non standard" issue that you discovered when connecting the DB-01 has been addressed in this firmware? I'm still struggling to get my PT to work with other synths using Midi (Crave, in this case).
Oh man, @12:10 you had me rolling.
What are the differences between the prototype/preorder version and the current release unit in terms of hardware, other than slightly different buttons?
Korg Gadget was the first thing I used that automatically/randomly named things
Love your work Ricky - I'm keen to get into music production as a relative beginner (some light Garage Band and Pro Tools experience). Is the Polyend Tracker something you would recommend?
I love the idea of DAWless and am a big fan of manual controls and like as many knobs, dials and buttons as possible, but want something portable and self-contained - so I can play whenever inspiration strikes and record the ideas.
I'm tossing up between this, the OP1, the OPZ and the Synthstrom Deluge - four completely different devices I know, but all seem related in that you can go from nothing to a full composition without needing to connect to a computer. Your advice (or anyone else's) would be very welcome!
So hexadecimal numbers actually work great for a tracker because sequences are 16 steps so 00-0F is the first bar 10-1F is the second and so on. And you know from the second digit of any number what step you're on in a pattern. all quarter notes are on 0 4 8 and C (C is a little hard to remember)
Personally thats super easy for me to keep track of compared to seeing that i'm step 37 and thats the start of the second beat in second pattern. I like it a lot but for some reason it also numbers your patterns in song mode in hexadecimal, which is confusing as shit because the pad grid is only 12 wide so then yea... you gotta do math. I wish I could make it show steps in hex but patterns in decimal.
The condom button is next to the master button. lol. As usual, another awesome vid. Polyend Tracker looks pretty interesting.
i read somewghere the latest firmware can sample its own playback, or I think you can sequence an external synth with the tracker and record that linein return.. that would be nice
The latest firmware allows recording external synths through the line in that are MIDI sequenced from the Tracker. If you want to resample internal sounds you can use the Render Selection function.
Yeah it does internal resampling - works really nicely, especially if you get stuck in this situation where you have a huge sample, but you only need a little bit of it and you want to run it through the sample editor to bake effects in etc.
resample the bit you need, and then load that instead, and away you go :)
hey Ricky, what headphones are you using?
I worked with Fastracker 25 years ago, I see great similarities :)
Ricky, any chance you’ve ever sat down with the Line 6 HX stomp? It’s a do-all box with impulse responses, over 200 effects, and midi in and through.
Just thought ya might dig it
Anyway, the videos are sick.
Thanks for all your enlightening videos on the Polyend Tracker