Easily one of the most fascinating devices I’ve had the pleasure to review is the Polyend Tracker. It’s hard to overstate what a unique piece of hardware it is. The company followed up last year with Play, another sample-based drum machine that took a more immediate approach to music creation. Now the company is back once again, bringing its undeniable mobile sampling prowess with the mini tracker.
The Mini takes the core workflow of the original Tracker and shrinks it down to just under a pound and just 6.7 by 5.1 inches. That’s not the world’s smallest drum machine, but it’s a bit smaller than something like the SP-404 MKII. However, it retains full Tracker compatibility, so you can start a song in the studio and finish it on the fly, or vice versa.
The Tracker Mini lacks the satisfying jog wheel, versatile ear pads, and FM radio, but it does have a microphone and built-in battery. Plus, it actually has more memory and a faster CPU, so the Mini can hold up to eight minutes of mono samples in its pool, instead of just two. Plus, it supports audio over USB, stereo sampling, and even comes with its own hard case—a must-have for protecting your music-making gear on the go.
The 4,310 mAh battery should last up to eight hours on a charge, though that will largely depend on how you’re using the device, obviously. Mechanical keyboard-style controls and scroll wheel are replaced with gamepad-style buttons. Navigating the interface might be a bit more difficult, but many of the shortcut and function keys made the transition. So creating a track shouldn’t require a lot of menu diving or free button presses.
Most importantly though, it has eight audio and/or MIDI tracks, all the same sample editing tools, effects, beat slicer functions, granular and wavetable synths. He is easily capable of not just sketching out an idea, but building an entire song or even an album. It looks likely to be one of the most powerful and interesting portable drum machines on the market when it starts shipping in July. You can pre-order one now directly from polyextreme or through retailers like perfect circuit for $699.
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