User want to record fast arpeggios or very tight note sequences in Live Recording.
Mostly this involves external MIDI controllers.
Curently it is not possible to do this as the OFF message will get in the way and spread the notes across tracks.
What do you want to achieve?
User would like to see an option to disable OFF messages and instead focus on Note On triggers sent via MIDI. So that very tight playing would be possible and most importantly into the same Track.
After lengthy discussion the prefered solution would be one or both of the following options:
An option to disable OFF message for Live Recording
Or a specific option to disable OFF Messages for incoming MIDI
Are there any workarounds?
To double increase song tempo in tracker. But synchro canât be kept this way.
To dump seq/arp into two tracks. That means a lot of manual changes after.
Thought processes for possible solutions
Initiall thoughts were about a ârecord without OFFâ option in config->general.
This is too much of simplification, of course. We do not want to erase breaks between notes.
How about not saving note-off (OFF command) in track in case next note comes at the same time? Currently during midi playback (Mxx instruments inside the track) tracker sends note-off already before every note without OFF command and this is perfectly enought,
The exception is the first note in track - why?
Any links to related discussions?
Another discussion regarding this issue has happened in this wish - which has been archived in favor on this existing one:
Hi @pitmast , thanks for your wish. We donât want to complicate or change design of the recording as long as there are simple workarounds for this use case. If not, then weâd consider it more a bug than a wish, to be honest. Here are some ideas:
have you tried changing the note gate/length of the arpeggios? We assume 100% gate (depending on device generating the Arp) would make note ends/starts very close to each other and could easily confuse the receiving device in playback/recording of the notes. We suggest using a smaller gate length, like 75% for example, depending on Arp speed and general tempo of the song.
have you tried using different Config Recording options in Tracker? Using Microtiming?
as you mention, recording across more than one track is an option too
finally, Tracker also has Arp FX which could be used instead
Please let me know if any of this solves your case. Thanks again for contributing to our wish list
Iâve tried options with very short gate and recording with micro-timing.
These are really good ideas I thought.
Unfortunately tracker stores OFF command after every note at the same time. To be sure I checked it with very slow tempo. The step reserved by OFF canât be used for next note.
Note length and micro-timing doesnât matter.
Of course It is pretty possible to record complete arpeggio on two tracks. But we perfectly know if both source and tracker are synchronised and arpeggio is monophonic it should occupy only one single track.
Hi @pitmast ,
thanks for your comment. Now I see what you mean. Only way I could record a 1/16 arp is to set Tracker to double tempo so that the note offs donât overlap with incoming notes. If thatâs the case, then we have to use 2 tracks to capture both: closing previous note and opening another one. I didnât have problem recording 1/8 arps for example. This needs to be rediscussed with the development team.
Iâm sorry, but I donât agree with this. This is the nature of the Tracker concept. Note OFF is a sequence event that takes space of a step in the pattern and is as important as any other event. Everything inside it is designed around these constraints. The tracker sequencer âgridâ simply has a âlow resolutionâ, and that why itâs very capable of some things, while it lacks other qualities
I meant more in terms of achieving the same result (an arpeggio) using internal, rather than external source. But I am not sure about the exact result you want to achieve of course
We will need more time to review this, thanks for your input and patience.
There are many things to love about the tracker and polyend: it sounds great, its nicely made, and customer service is incredible.
Having said that, I can sympathise with pitmast. Trying to live record is frankly useless. So itâs disappointing to read the above and hear itâs functioning as intended, with no intention of change.
When inputting notes on a single track in step recording mode, it cuts off the note before it; Why not extend this simple concept to live record mode?
âŚand if the note ends before another begins, then ânote OFFâ is a deserving sequence event.
Would it really go against âThe Nature of the Tracker Conceptâ to make this an option?
@ilovedrums247 and @pitmast , thank you for your feedback. As I said above, we will need more time to review this and evaluate the effort and possible consequences.
I am really sorry you think so. Please describe the issues youâre having in more detail and log them as a Bug and weâll look into it. Thanks again for your comments and support.
I have brilliant idea, it will resolve the issue.
New option for recording - âwith gatesâ
With such an option, in live recording tracker will add a gate fx to a note with value for instance 90 instead of storing a note and OFF command in following step at the same time.
I too feel like this problem needs some thought. disabling Note Off in config â general would be a good start. especially when working with percussive sounds that donât need a note off. being able to turn it on and off easily would be already a good solution to me.
The feature to multiple or decide song tempo for midi clock output, for instance x2 or x0.5 will give many advantages. And will solve issue with recording the external monophonic sequences in one track.
Iâd like to second the ârecord timing to gateâ and âignore note lengthâ options. finger-drumming, even without using external gear, fills the grid with a bunch of OFF events that arenât necessary for short 1-shot samples. and spilling out onto other tracks.
Yes, I would love to ignore note offs for live recording. I often have to collapse a live recording that has been spread to multiple tracks down to one due to the note offs cluttering the tracks.
I use my tracker with my Eurorack system and convert the midi gates to triggers that fire envelope generators⌠So only need single triggers for each note, rather than needing gates, so note offs are often irrelevant to me.
Moved from another draft wish for completeness - @Sandroid
What is the problem?
Currently the live recording of 16 * 1/16 notes in 16 length pattern on single track is impossible.
This is because of OFFs.
Can OFF command be skipped in case following note-on is precisely at the same time of previous note-off?
It should works fine considering during playback every note-on is anuanced before by additional note-off, witch is not stored in track.
What should this feature achieve?
Live record 16 * 1/16 notes in 16 length pattern on single track.
Definitely need a an option in the config setting to turn off note off. I was a user of many trackers back in the day and it was always an option which could be toggled. Note off is causing so many issues with Polyend tracker, spreading notes all over the place and creating a right mess which makes the whole process of playing a simple melody a nightmare. There shouldnât need to be a work around, it should just work, the only time notes should be spreading to other tracks like every other tracker in existence is when the user is playing chords and clearly the note off function is causing all these problems. I rolled back to the previous firmware of 1.0.1 not as bad as 1.0.2 however it still spreads to a second track. I only received my Polyend tracker plus yesterday and was super excited to start making music however it has been a very frustrating experience as with the forementioned problem. This is basic stuff and should work, itâs not like it is a major limitation of the hardware where it canât handle the option of turning that option off. I really hope this gets resolved soon. As I may return it for a refund. This isnât a cheap device and basic things like that should function correctly.
