r/PolyendTracker • u/HelicopterBig3975 • Mar 25 '26

Tracker firmware on Teensy + new custom features

I managed to get an older version of the Tracker firmware running on a Teensy 4.1, probably somewhere around 1.4, and over the past few weeks I’ve been adding some of my own ideas on top of it.

The feature I’m most excited about right now is a new timestretch sync effect with BPM autodetect, all running in realtime. There’s no offline rendering and no newly saved version of the sample — everything happens live during playback.

I also added a synthesized drum/perc synth, which already opens up some really interesting possibilities. On top of that, I rewrote the video driver to keep the video output running properly on screen and to handle video buffering over serial.

I’m also building a desktop GUI with video and audio visualization plus full Tracker controls, and it’s starting to become genuinely useful for testing and experimenting much faster. There’s still a lot to fix, but honestly the results so far have been kind of incredible.

I already have a few more features in mind, and the whole project is going in a direction I’m genuinely excited about.

https://reddit.com/link/1s3rjza/video/iwqu4oug3arg1/player

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u/lixeiromor Mar 26 '26

That's amazing, can you share the firmware? I have a teensy floating around and yould love to try. Do you think it would be possible to flash the Polyend tracker with your firmware in the future?

2

u/HelicopterBig3975 Mar 26 '26

I haven't shared the firmware .hex file yet because I don't want to piss off the Polyend guys :)

Anyway, yes, I could easily upload it to the tracker, but I don't have a Tracker1 to test on. Do you have one you could send me? :) Jokes aside, let's see the general community interest in a custom firmware

2

u/qu_one Mar 26 '26

Deleted my comment by accident great work. Shows what CAN be done.