Mini: Sampling via USB

[alexandrosroussos]

What is the problem?

Currently the Tracker mini allows outputting audio as a USB audio device and through jack but audio input/sampling only works through the built-in mic or line input.

What do you want to achieve?

It would be very convenient if we could sample audio into the Tracker mini through it’s USB-C port;
Ideally, the Tracker should be capable of sampling over USB both as a device and as a host.

Sampling as a USB Audio device use case :

• Would make it a good pair with a USB-C smartphone or tablet that accepts USB class-compliant audio and MIDI;
• The combination with existing USB MIDI is interesting because you could, with just a single USB-C to USB-C cable for example sequence a synth from the Tracker mini then record a perfect audio loop into the Tracker mini.

Sampling as a USB Audio host use case :

• Would let us connect things like Roland Aira Compacts, SP-404mk2, OP-Z/1, Dreadbox Typhoon or other devices with built-in audio card and sample them with a single USB cable, similarly to a computer and sampling software, but without a computer;

If USB MIDI host was also added (see specific wishlist item in the links below), then sending sequences to the same kind of devices with just a single cable.

Are there any workarounds?

Sample using the mic or input jack and if you want to sequence from the Tracker mini and sample a loop, you have to also connect over USB or use an external audio/MIDI interface in between.

Any links to related discussions?

Is it possible to sample USB audio in?

Has this ended up into a wishlist item ? If no one is planning to or already created it, I’d gladly create the request. I think this feature would be a must have, in order to use the Tracker mini with a mobile device on the go. Would let us MIDI control and sample with just one USB-C cable.

Tracker Mini: USB MIDI Host Functionality

What is the problem? Currently the Tracker & Mini do provide USB MIDI Class Compliant functionality as a device. Which allows connection to hosts. Paradoxically, the simplest use case of connecting a USB-only MIDI keyboard or controller can quickly become complicated, requiring MIDI host adapters, which themselves need power. Especially for the Tracker mini which does not have performance controls, it would be convenient to have USB MIDI Class Compliant host functionality from the same USB-C po…

Any references to other products?

Dirtywave M8
Roland SP404mk2;
Roland MC-101/707;
Roland Verselab MV-1;
Sonicware SmplTrek;
Teenage Engineering OP-Z;
AKAI MPC (but through USB host port).

[Sandroid]

Did a little cleanup, else all good

[borsuk]

@here, Thanks for your wish. It’s now ready for voting

[alexandrosroussos]

I don’t realize if it’s already possible or if there is already another wish for that, but this feature would fit well with ability to sample a perfect loop by sequencing the source with the tracker or indicating a BPM and a defined of bars to sample.

[alexandrosroussos]

I just realised my wish about USB sampling would fit so well together with the following. Imagine connecting to an iPad/phone over a single USB cable and instantly grabbing perfect loops

Record perfect loops with external synth

Tracker already allows to record an external synth sequenced from an internal sequence. It would be very useful to have the ability to tell Tracker how many steps you want to record and when to stop to make perfect loops. What is the problem? With tracker you can make a sequence, play it with an external synth an record inside the tracker as a loop, but the boundaries are not perfect because it’s a manual REC/STOP. What do you want to achieve? Tell Tracker to start the internal sequence and …

Voted and fully supporting this wish obviously

[secretkillerofnames]

Not sure if I’m missing some nuance of your wish but if you have USB audio setup with, for example, an iPad it currently gets recorded via Line In.

[alexandrosroussos]

Hi @secretkillerofnames make a test connecting your tracker to a computer or tablet/mobile device via USB-C.

You will be seeing an output audio device appearing on the host indeed, but when you send audio to it, it doesn’t go to the tracker through the USB connection. So yeah it looks like it’s there, but it doesn’t work so far.

As per this other forum post, it’s said that it hasn’t been implemented so far, hence my wish :

Is it possible to sample USB audio in?

Has this ended up into a wishlist item ? If no one is planning to or already created it, I’d gladly create the request. I think this feature would be a must have, in order to use the Tracker mini with a mobile device on the go. Would let us MIDI control and sample with just one USB-C cable.

Don’t hesitate to up-vote it if you haven’t already. Would be so cool to have it already in v1.1

[samuli.hyvonen]

Also one thing came to mind that if there was a support for stereo audio going both ways with pads and phones via usb-c, one could use phone as a speaker or with bluetooth devices as headphones as well. It would be quite a power house just with a one usb cable.

[alexandrosroussos]

Also one thing came to mind that if there was a support for stereo audio going both ways with pads and phones via usb-c, one could use phone as a speaker or with bluetooth devices as headphones as well. It would be quite a power house just with a one usb cable

@samuli.hyvonen Using the iPhone / iPad as a speaker is already possible as the Tracker mini already provides separate tracks + master track through a USB Audio Class Compliant interface via the USB-C port.

The only thing that is not possible right now is to do the opposite, bring audio into the mini from the host device and record this audio.

It’s what I request on the “Sampling via USB” wishlist item.

[samuli.hyvonen]

Well, i can´t get the audio to my Ipad Air, only to Tracker Mini but there´s of course no record option as for this wishlist. I can get the tracks to my Mac and to Logic just fine. (And from there the output is hearable trough Tracker aswell. :D)

[samuli.hyvonen]

Okay you were right, i dug little deeper and tried again from the ipad side. Before i tried only Garageband and Zenbeats, Tracker didn´t show up and voice only game from the Tracker itself, but i got now the Logic for Ipad and it showed up and worked fine. I think biggest problem was that for the other two there´s no selection for the output device so it just cycle it trough or something.

But yea, then it is so close to be one cable machine! Let´s hope your wish come to be!

[alexandrosroussos]

@samuli.hyvonen this is rather due to the app not able to finely choose the USB inputs rather than the tracker itself.

[hoof123]

+1 for this.

It’s not the most convenient method - but right now because usb audio is routed to the tracker mini’s line-out, you can use a headphone splitter and reroute the line-out audio back into the line-in for sample recording. just be careful to turn monitor OFF.