Hello. I’ve had one for a few weeks. What you’ve posted is exactly an issue that anyone who uses trackers full-time as a DAW should be aware of. I also had your same feeling before I got mine, and I found out that this feeling increased strongly after spending hours with the PE Tracker. The time I put into making something in the PE Tracker does not sound any different than what I can make in less time with my other options, and in fact often has limitations in usability and musical output not found in my other options available, or other options that could be purchased over the PE Tracker.
The firmware/software in the box is very limited, which I am guessing is because the hardware strength is limited. The workflow is going to be much, much slower than what you’re used to if you use Renoise, besides coming with many limitations. It can generally only do one thing at a time, and you have to work within the stop-go environment. It has some cool features, and I think the way they designed the physical box is extremely intuitive and easy to use, but the software slows things down.
Like Jonas mentioned, the box feels rushed, like the software wasn’t really ready for shipping. I am getting bugs, freezes, or crashes almost every time I use it, but thankfully have not lost any work (yet). All I can do is reset every time and hope for the best. This should not be happening in a brand-new device! In my opinion, the software itself is decent enough for freeware but not worth the $600 they are asking, and greatly begs the question of why should we pay $600 for something that might crash when in the middle of using. I find it lags sometimes to the point where I think it’s frozen, but then it suddenly moves again. I have a feeling it has something to do with the SD cards they give, too, but who knows. It shouldn’t be doing this at launch, yet their firmware updates releases new bugs into the system while correcting old bugs. I’ve used other machines that I think are worth the full price at launch, and this one is not one of them. I have talked to others who have only had some mild bugs, or no bugs, so it seems like a gamble how the machine is going to act for some users.
What should be understood by anyone interested in the PE Tracker if comparing it to any other hardware devices:
Everyone should be aware this is not Renoise in a box, but it is its own limited style of tracking software with a workflow that will not equal the speed of using any current (and may be past) desktop tracking software. It’s not Buzz, Renoise, or OpenMPT. It’s also presented more old school than new school, if that makes sense.
It is not going to be a “turn on and immediately start making beats” type of machine; the tracker workflow is still pervasive. There is no physical sequencer with buttons you can press and fill in real-time. This is not a hardware groove box, it’s a tracker with hardware that mimics how you use a tracker with a typing keyboard, while giving you a few non-keyboard features. Software makes up the majority of your experience, not its hardware.
There is only one knob, which I think explains a lot about how many functions you can expect to control at one time. Other than some effects and a few parameters, there is not much you can adjust on the fly playing it live. It’s not a drum machine, a groove box, an MPC Live, a Deluge, or even a Teenage Engineering PO-33. There is currently no software option to add swing or shuffle with the knob, so you have to go old school and type it into to the tempo like we did in the past. The little lighted pads are tiny and have no tactile feedback or movement when you touch them, so if you have large hands or expect your keys to move when you play something, be aware of this.
The screen is required for 100% of everything in this machine and there are only a few areas where there is any hardware indication of what is happening, so if you think you can get this box to get away from the monitor after a day of work then you should also be aware of this, especially because the screen is smaller.
Also, the mechanical function keys are not backlit, meaning unless you have 100% muscle memory of each key and its functions, you can’t sit in a dark room and play around with this.
It’s a tracker software, but in a portable box that looks like an iPad. It’s not an x0x box, grid controller, drum pad, or piano workstation. If you’re looking for something more “hands on” and immediate for music creation, look at any other machine than this. You will be greatly disappointed if you expect anything more than a typical tracker experience out of this, despite its fancy looking box. If that does not appeal to you, then I strongly recommend looking elsewhere for a new machine.
If anyone reading this understands the above facts and how it relates to their personal desired workflow with hardware, then they can think about how the PE Tracker would be useful in their studio.
My own opinion is that the experience is limited in ways that reflect its own hardware limitations. I am fine with limited hardware because it usually tends to inspire creativity, but for some reason I just don’t like it in this machine. I like its radio, I like its wavetable and granular synth options, and I like its performance mode. I don’t like tracking with it, which means the box loses most of its value for me. Because it really is just a tracker, I don’t feel like I’ve been given a new world of workflow and options.
I think it would appeal to people who would use as sequencer for other hardware, since it gives the tracking workflow for things that don’t have it. The lack of swing/shuffle without writing it would be annoying though. It’s great for generative music and making weird sounds out of samples, but I don’t think great enough to warrant the price. If generative options are not new for you (I am still a Buzz user, so peer control is old hat), you won’t see anything unique here. As far as controller hardware with those options, it could be very interesting for those who haven’t tried it.
I’ve seen online how people who’ve never used trackers before are really enjoying the machine, so my complaints are my own. I have no doubt many users would love this machine, but I know others won’t find it anything special. I am just trying to warn some readers that if you want anything other than a tracker experience that this machine might not be for you.
Repeating with my own feelings, I think the PE Tracker is a hardware novelty that does not give me anything new in a tracker experience, instead making it less functional and more time-consuming than what I’ve become accustomed to over the years. It feels less “playable” to me than I was hoping for in a musical hardware device, which is where I lose interest in it. It causes me to get lost into editing music and all these things that I know would go much faster and easier on a large screen and full-size typing keyboard, along with a mouse to click around and draw envelopes and edit, keyboard shortcuts, and so on. As much as I love trackers, this machine makes me feel like I would rather get the top-quality experience I am used to than submitting to its lower-quality offerings.
There’s been some mention of possibly using a USB typing keyboard with it in the future, which just makes me think “then why not use your notebook to make music instead?” If you want a portable tracking experience with more functionality, a 10-inch Asus EEE PC netbook sells on Ebay for about $50-60. I used one for over a year with Renoise 2.8, and I would do it again if I had to choose between the Polyend and the netbook.
My verdict is it’s an interesting machine with a lot of good ideas, but it doesn’t match the experience of other tracking options, and it limitations aren’t charming to me like other things I’ve used that inspired creativity though those limitations. $600 is a lot for a device where I believe its true functionality and abilities won’t be known until probably 2021 after several firmware updates and user requests. It feels incomplete at the moment.
If you’re buying this expecting it to be as fast and playable as any other hardware sampler out there, you should realize its not that device and it can’t be used that way. Unless you just want to use the Fill function and let it randomly write loops for you, it’s still going to be tracker process to write a song, as different as that is from something like quickly pressing the buttons a hardware sequencer and having a beat going within seconds. For $100 more than the PE Tracker, an MPC One gives a variety of ways to sequence, play, record, and write music without a DAW in sight, with plenty of FX, soft synths, chords and scales at the touch of a button, audio tracks, and more to use. You won’t have to render chords into a sample to use them, like in the PE Tracker.
If you have any music stores near you, I recommend trying it out before you throw money at it. This is basic advice for many things, but if you’ve got doubts about the PE Tracker’s usefulness for you, or how it compares to other devices, then I think that is something very important to consider. I had this same question in mind before I got mine, but I was unable to try it before buying it. Now I know.