The Polyend Tracker Mini has been created to let musicians record samples, fine-tune sounds, and compose grooves everywhere – and we do mean everywhere, because this handheld device is perfectly equipped for beatmaking on the go. However, this doesn't mean it's any less powerful than the larger Tracker models. On the Mini, too, the sequencer functions according to the familiar Tracker concept, with notes and parameters displayed clearly and simply as numbers or bars. When users want to edit their samples in more detail, there is of course a more precise waveform mode. The Tracker Mini has its own synth and drum engines, but its killer feature is surely the ability to record samples in the field, so producers will always have fresh material to work with. And plenty of it: The integrated battery lasts for up to eight hours on one charge, meaning a whole day spent sampling environmental sounds in the big city can be quite literally turned into "urban" beats on the go.
The Polyend Tracker Mini is a stereo sampler that saves both any imported and (more importantly) a user's own freshly recorded samples on a 16GB MicroSD card. These can then be edited on the device itself in a huge variety of ways, as well as sliced and modulated with a series of effects. On top of that, the device has five synth engines which can be used to create sounds with the monophonic and polyphonic VA synth, FM synth, and drum synth modes; the synth sounds can all be resampled internally. The sequencer's 16 tracks can be used to program the samples and synth notes as patterns, which can easily be pieced together into songs block by block, and melodies can also be patched in from an external keyboard via MIDI. The Polyend Tracker Mini is so powerful that it even has a Mix&Master section for mixing tracks internally, making it possible to immediately optimise a set of samples into a full live performance. For even deeper editing, the grooves can be streamed in parallel to a DAW via USB over up to 14 stereo tracks.
One thing the Polyend Tracker Mini really excels at is workshopping ideas for new song material. It ships with an internal battery, a microphone, and hard case, so it's fully prepared for its travels – and ready whenever inspiration strikes. This allows beatmakers to sketch out new tracks in complete freedom (and complete peace) wherever they are, going on to refine them in the studio later. However, the Tracker's on-board workflow does differ significantly from conventional sequencers and workstations, so newcomers may need a little time to get up to speed. Equally, while this compact device is eminently suitable as a playback unit for activating beats and sequences during live gigs, the Tracker Mini lacks the grid buttons found on larger Tracker models, which of course make rhythmic live performances much more intuitive: Thanks to its full MIDI implementation, however, all of the Mini's functions can be controlled via a MIDI keyboard or controller.
Polyend was founded in 2015 in northeastern Poland by Piotr Raczyńsky and a team of dedicated designers, technicians, programmers, and musicians. The company focuses on the development of new creative possibilities. The first product to be released was named "Perc" and was a drum machine that created quite a stir on the market. Next, Seq and Poly, two interfaces which can be used to control both hardware and software instruments, were unveiled. Other products in Polyend's range include various modules for the Eurorack modular system and also the Medusa hybrid synthesizer, which was designed in cooperation with the Greek synthesizer manufacturer Dreadbox.
Put the Polyend Tracker Mini in its case, stick the case in a backpack, and let's go... Find an inspiring nature spot, one with some environmental sounds for the background noise, create a few percussive found-sounds for the beat, and use the human voice itself to record a melody via the Mini's internal mic. Take a seat in the shade of a tree, headphones on, and get to work chopping, polishing, looping, and modulating the new catalogue of samples. Maybe add them to an existing idea, one which has already been programmed and saved on the Tracker Mini's own interface. Make the beat unique, breathe some new life into the groove, then use the synth engines to punch up a bassline and the perfect chords. Back home again – fire up the laptop and the DAW, finalising today's fresh track with some choice plugins. Finish up the mix – and the new song is already sounding pretty good.