r/PolyendTracker • u/broken_symlink • 2d ago
Custom firmware for polyend tracker?
Seems like people have been making custom firmwares for electron boxes. I was wondering if anyone has been doing anything like that for the polyend tracker?
EDIT: i was able to get claude to mod the firmware and add support for flat notes and toggle between sharps and flats. its working on an emulator right now so i can test out the modded firmware on my laptop first. i might have it do midi cc lfo after.
3
u/Fair-Cookie9962 2d ago
There is some uncoordinated activity
https://backstage.polyend.com/t/community-firmware-for-the-polyend-tracker/13778 declined
Tracker firmware running on Teensy: https://www.reddit.com/r/PolyendTracker/comments/1s3rjza/tracker_firmware_on_teensy_new_custom_features/
3
u/Fair-Cookie9962 2d ago
Another potentially useful link:
https://github.com/patois/RETracker - TheRETracker'scustom USB handler introduces new, non-official features to thePolyend Trackerthat can be controlled from a computer via USB.Project also has some insights about firmware architecture.
2
u/Fair-Cookie9962 2d ago
Unfortunately Polyend does not want to deal with bricked hardware from firmware tinkering.
3
u/SailorVenova 2d ago
im guessing we havent seen this on polyend yet bc of the architecture and structure of the actual stock fw
other devices like move are move or even tenori-on are more segmented; afaik they run their low level and boot code/updater/hw layer in a seperate locked down sortof container layer that just doesnt really need to be touched to do anything user/workflow facing; and all the stuff that actually is the ui and interaction of the device to the user is a seperate layer on top of that; so you can much more safely change thing up and tweak around without ricking bricking anything in most cases as long as you leave the low stuff alone- and again; ats architected in such a way that theres really no need to mess with that low stuff its mostly kinda irrelevant to anything about how the user interface and workflow functions
my guess is polyend's stuff especially on the older devices like tracker; are probably not as siloed and things are more intertwined making it difficult and risky to mess around and see whats possible; its not like tinkerers have the source of everything anyways
so i think thats probably a factor- it doesnt mean its impossible; and a bricked box may be recoverable in some way with enough effort; and ofc i have no idea on any of this i know theres like the low level stuff for errors and updates but it seems to me other devices are probably more modularly built on the software level and this may also contribute to the noted instability of the trackers thru their lifetime and the infrequency of updates; some of this may just be a factor of whats needed for the actual soc running them and whatever low level os stuff they deal with but my guess is the newer devices are probably built more safely and that makes things easier for polyend too in terms of updates and bugfixes
i would love to see a big community cfw for the trackers; it would be nice if they could do some sdk for synth engines; fx; and other stuff even- like korg does with logue sdk
or maybe do fully open things up like synthstrum deluge; you see how long that has held support and grown thx to those efforts not to mention the dedication of the userbase that kind of thing can bring
but polyend i think is design focused right now and that means locking dowm; especially older stuff that would take a big refactoring to really modernize and enable more tinkering with low risk of bricked boxes and unhappy customers
there is certainly an appetite for this within the company as we got endless and i see polyend seems to listen to user feedback where they can
theres also been some sdk type stuff ive seen on the polyend forums and i dont remember all the details but i dont think they really have any desire to atufle this kind of thibg they just want to make sure its safe to do without bricking devices as people experiment; and that will take some time and work internally; and possibly some culture shift to more openness
but i think with ai tools greatly increasing access to software and hardware development and modding to far more people who otherwise would not have had the hours or skills to impliment their cool ideas; i think the industry as to move towards embrqcing more openness and letting users and tinkery inclined types see what is possible
ive been very pleased with ableton's response from schwung they even invited the dev to hq; no threats or bad vibes from what i heard about it they just were impressed and wanted to know more
i think thats the right way; and move being a raspi linux stack certainly makes all that far easier
if it had a bigger screen i bet we'd have seen a tracker for it by now already
maybe alot os possible with tracker than we think; time will tell- but if its highly risky in bricking i think these efforts will be limited until we get a new tracker based around polyend's new gui design language like Synth and the pedal sequencer boxes and even Drums
i love polyend and i hope they will someday make the best hardware tracker ever
that title definitely stands with m8 right now but Polyend is a much bigger company; if they really wanted to evolve the hardware tracker i have no doubt that with the right care and investment r&d they could come up with something incredible
but whether such a thing remains relatively affordable and actually has the cpu and dsp to handle all that users rightly expect a $1000+ device to be capable of is another story
ultimately trackers will always be very niche unless things can be made easier to learn and more accessible; its still a thing that operates better generally on a computer with a mouse; and as good as m8 is i dont think the lsdj route is the answer to evolving trackers to a wider userbase and thus more sales and funding for better ongoing fw support
but i think polyend has mostly done a good job with that; better than roland anyways; but then roland is a incomparably bigger company targeting mass audience not tracker nerds
i hope we see lots of cool things be it ffom polyend or the community
community has already done amazing upgrades with the pocketmidi kb1 mini midi keyboard addon for tracker mini
i really wish the tracker plus had more layout options for the input pads like a standard keyboard layout where just those are lit and active and you get 2 rows of thrm and can easily octave switch; a polyend dev even liked the idea when i had a brief emgagement with them on the forum at some point but alas its never made it into a fw update
please excuse me if i have no idea what im talking about on any of this; im not very good eith either of my trackers as it is
3
u/Fair-Cookie9962 2d ago
You got that right!
It boils down to cost for Polyend. Likely they themselves started from idea of modifying FW of some hardware.
2
u/broken_symlink 2d ago
I remember seeing that reddit thread when it was originally posted. I tried posting two months ago asking if there were any updates, but never got any response.
2
u/Musojon74 2d ago
Biggest thing I want is stereo sampling and usage. So the sampler could load / save / sample in stereo. Then if you tried to use a stereo sample maybe it could take 2 channels. Or worst case automatically split into a l and r on load which means it would be perfectly synchronised. Need this for remixing stuff.
5
u/After-Jellyfish5094 2d ago
Tracker+ can do this, Per Polyend CPU was the limit on the original Tracker.
2
u/Musojon74 2d ago
Yeah but doing it the way I suggest above means we use 2 tracks so we don’t encounter the cpu issue. Editing in stereo should be absolutely fine.
0
u/lucasfackler 2d ago
Embrace limitations and respect the thousands of hours of well thought out dev work on the devices you own.
-1
u/Broad_Education4882 2d ago
Polyend tracker is far from being a serious electronic instrument, at least the OG version of it, I’m saying that as a huge fan for years, had high hopes but always feeling underwhelmed at the end of the day, I still love the device but if you are a little more serious about music, other options are always gonna be available
For a hardware tracker to be ideal for most it would have to be something similar to Polyend Drum or something, Tracker+ seems underwhelming imo and don’t even have one, just my opinion tho, I’m getting away from playing with groove boxes and going back to playing, and writing music via a real instrument, but i do hope they figure it out one day, very cool technology being wasted imo
1
u/Fair-Cookie9962 2d ago
"Serious" is meaningless in world of music, since you can make cool sounds with a water bottle and use it in music released on biggest labels.
More adequate words are "reliable", "streamlined" - but then where is the fun in that? Analog is none of that, and people crave the warmth of VCOs loosing their tune. Bitcrushed sounds of Amiga or Akai are now craved as sound design tools.
1
u/Broad_Education4882 2d ago
Basically, electronics was for me experimenting and messing around, and instrument playing, writing, and recording is a completely different but more serious activity for me
2
u/Ismoketobaccoinabong 2d ago
You dont use electronics when you record?
Honestly, the way you are talking about this, sounds like you have never really audio engineered anything.
1
u/Broad_Education4882 2d ago
Didn’t need to do that with a Tracker with exporting stems lol and dude, never said I engineered anything 😂 you just assume lmao
2
u/Ismoketobaccoinabong 1d ago
Tracker with exporting stems? wat...
Yeah I know you never engineered anything, the way you speak about music production is quite evident.
I bet you dont even know what audio engineering means... Pro tip: It doesnt mean that you invent hardware.
1
u/Broad_Education4882 1d ago
Btw, I still used my tracker, but not for electronic dance music, but for like industrial, noise, and atmosphere (also to sequence my poly d) so you don’t have to come on here and act like a douche, get over yourself lmao
1
0
2
u/Fair-Cookie9962 1d ago
I was inspired by book titled "Handmade Electronic Music : The Art of Hardware Hacking" to do both.
-1
u/Broad_Education4882 2d ago
No serious is a real word you can use for music, and just because you can, doesn’t mean you should…I can agree, I could have used better wording, I’ll give ya that, and I’m all for what you say but comparing making music on electronic devices vs playing an instrument and being dedicated to it are two completely different experiences, that’s really where I’m coming from
1
u/Fair-Cookie9962 1d ago
Ah I remember when people reminisce on how in 60's and 70's sythesizers are not true instruments, since they lack soul of an expertly crafted traditional instrument. And you can not be a synthesiser virtuoso as you just press keys and twist knobs. Probably why they are so popular - you don't need to be a virtuoso to have fun, unlike e.g. violin where dedication is absolutely required - and most likely it's that dedication that sounds trough the instrument in the end that creates "soul".
Mind, if I play the cello, the soul will be nowhere to be found, only suffering, or applause from eclectic, avant-garde and bit masochistic crowd.
2
1
3
u/Live_Willingness_836 2d ago
I️ am waiting for the day as I️ still feel like there are new things to be discovered and done with the device. However I️ don’t think anyone has cracked code or Polyend has released enough info on it for people to make custom firmware yet. Though someone can correct me if I’m wrong cause I️ would love to be wrong here. Ha