Polyend Tracker Mini

I pondered about the Ableton Move and the Tracker Mini for several days. Both represent two different ways of working with sounds. Being a Push 3 owner myself, I decided to try something new with the Mini. Oh boy, I am happy: this is FUN.

My main concern was all the negative reviews shortly after the device was released. If you search on the internet, there are QA complaints from different people all around the web and in Polyend forums.

The unit I received shows no quality issues. No wobbling; the device sits flat on any surface and, even when I'd prefer clickable buttons over the existing ones, buttons quite OK (they even have different shape so it's easy to identify them with your fingers, without the need of moving your eyes out of the screen.) So, either I was very lucky with my unit or Polyend was able to iron out all the initial QA issues. I guess I'll never know.

The battery is fantastic (probably better than the estimated 8h), and it can be replaced, when necessary. I love to buy something I can use for years without the fear of the internal battery dying and making the device (half)unusable.

The only problem I have with the Mini is that it's a fingerprint magnet. It's absolutely crazy. It doesn't matter how clean your hands are, after 20–30 minutes of use, it starts showing fingerprints everywhere. Besides, the coating material makes it difficult to clean these. Hence, the 4-starts rating.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely. I think its price is (more or less) reasonable and, since I have it, I've been enjoying my time with this wonderful little thing.

Let’s face it, a tracker is not meant to be for everyone… but if you want to explore others ways to be creative, this is for you
Usability is excellent, principles are clear, allowing to produce quickly, large screen for this form factor
Some people might say that it should embark more features, but it has already a lot of things to do with, and this is exactly what the tracker is for:
Get it out of your bag, and make something where you are, with what you have - let your creativity explode and the tracker will very efficiently support you
Another interesting part is it’s MIDI capability to drive your gears, not limited by a few steps, it can sequence a full track of your favorite synth
Did I say that the sampler is very nice?
And what about the cool multitrack audio over USB?

Being so portable, it's the sort of device I bring with me often when traveling. Always loved trackers, and it reminds me greatly of growing up in the 80's. A very cool gadget with lots of sounds, and the means to load your own samples. My only beef with it is the material it's made from. It's a rubberized finish that's an absolute finger print magnet. Really wish it wasn't, but, I don't regret buying it. It is fun, and super portable.