SUPERBOOTH 2024: We were big fans of Polyend’s Tracker when it arrived in 2020. Although it draws its inspiration from the somewhat niche world of software trackers, beyond those retro leanings lies a well-equipped and surprisingly approachable sample-based sketchpad.
With Tracker+, Polyend is giving the design of the original an all-round significant overhaul. As with the original, Tracker+ is a sequencer-based instrument equipped with both sampling and synthesis engines. However, each of these elements has been significantly expanded compared to the original release.
One of the most significant improvements here is fully stereo sampling and sample playback. On the synthesis side, meanwhile, Tracker+ now comes with four different synthesis engines: ACD is a single oscillator virtual analogue monosynth, FAT is a three-oscillator virtual analogue with drift and detune controls, VAP is a virtual analogue polysynth with flexible modulation matrix, while WTFM combines wavetable and FM synthesis. Each Tracker project can be loaded with up-to three synth instances making use of a total of eight voices.
Alongside these synth engines, Tracker+ adds a new drum machine engine, named Perc. This uses up one of the eight available synth voices, but can produce five drum sounds simultaneously, including a range of kick, snare, hat, tom and perc tones.
The distinctive vertical tracker-style sequencer has been expanded here, for a total of 16 tracks. Of these, the first eight are universal and can sequence synths, stereo samples or MIDI, while the latter eight are restricted to sequencing external MIDI or the internal synths or drum machines. Tracker’s song mode has been updated and expanded too.
The hardware also adds USB audio capabilities, making it easier to get your creations into a DAW environment. To cope with the new functionality, Tracker+ is upgraded with additional processing power and sampling memory.
What’s more, a forthcoming update to Polyend’s compact Tracker Mini promises seamless compatibility between it and Tracker+, meaning Tracker Mini users can begin sketches on the cut-down version before porting them to the upgraded Tracker+ to take further.
Tracker+ is available to order now priced at $/€799.
