Polyend’s Tracker Mini got a big firmware update today, including stereo line-in sample recording and other stereo sampling features, and much-anticipated internal clock accuracy improvements. Mod import is back in beta, too.

Here’s what new features you get in the Tracker Mini 1.1 firmware (versus 1.0.1) – emphasis mine (ahem):

  • Added a third page of parameters on the Pattern editor with:
    • Pattern naming
    • Track naming
  • Stereo sample improvements:
    • Sample Recorder – Line in source recording in stereo
    • Sample Loader – stereo samples from SD card previewed in stereo
    • Sample Loader – Import mode in stereo
    • Updated Config – “Line in channel” parameter description
  • Sample recording time has been extended to the maximum length that can fit the sample memory
    • Around 700 seconds for mono and 350 seconds for stereo samples
  • Preview of samples from SD card added to USB Audio master channel
  • Metronome added to USB Audio master channel
  • Improved internal clock accuracy
  • Adds Beta Import Mod / Export As .it  as it worked in Tracker 1.6
  • Various cosmetic and functional UI improvements

Clock improvements have been coming to the full Polyend line – 1.0 also improved internal and MIDI clock stability and minimized jitter, plus added a redesigned clock sync correction in MIDI config. I haven’t been able to test this much first-hand, so Polyend Tracker owners, let us know how that’s working for you in comments.

The download and a full changelog back through 1.0 (including fixes) is available on the Polyend website:

https://polyend.com/downloads/tracker-mini-downloads/

And here’s Benn Jordan with some hands-on time on this one from launch – so not including these latest improvements:

I got only mini amounts of time, so here’s a really really quick guide to the Tracker Mini:

Performance setup:

And the stereo and granular stuff that got us excited last year:

Mmm, field recording. Wait – you can make that into a song? Like, you don’t have to just drown a bunch of noisy recordings of a pond with infinite reverbs and make it last 20 minutes?

I… may have revealed myself as an “experimental musician” (dubious use of the second word in that phrase).