Tracker thread

Do you make tracker music? What modules do you use? Do you make your own modules?, if yes, how so? Share resources about trackers and how to use them, I have so far followed this protracker tutorial https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVoRT-Mqwas9gvmCRtOusCQSKNQNf6lTc and then moved to schismtracker but I also find bambootracker interesting

instead of modules I meant samples ofc.

>>5468 I don't but I think you'd dig this https://github.com/hundredrabbits/Orca Here's a video intro to the program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR1TMGYhCoE

Excuse my ignorance but is there any reason to use a tracker over a DAW? Sure, trackers look cool, they have that 90s charm, but what can they do that a DAW like Ableton and FL Studio can't do?

>>5494 i think for most people they just prefer the interface. particularly for live performance it can be easier to edit your sequences with keyboard commands rather than clicking them in on a piano roll with a mouse. one of the more common uses for a tracker is to sequence something like puredata or for hardware synths, in those situations a snappy interface that just does midi well is all you'd really want. also, on linux in particular, people might use a standalone sequencer instead of a daw because linux has a lot of good discrete audio software (synths/effects/plugin hosts/etc.) that can be patched together with jack but doesn't have very many good daws. so it makes more sense to do the whole unix philosophy thing and pick and choose your sequencer/recorder/etc. instead of going for an all-in-one solution that doesn't work that well. (coincidentally, the most polished proper daw with native linux support is probably renoise and it has a tracker interface)

>>5488 all of the software that dev has come up with is really cool conceptually. in execution? well... they're using electron to emulate a terminal... but these artsy music types don't know what the fuarrrk they're doing so you have to cut them bit of a break. at least orca has a C port that actually runs in your terminal: https://github.com/hundredrabbits/Orca-c . wish they'd do the same for the tracker: https://github.com/hundredrabbits/Marabu .

>>5495 Alright, I'll admit that this peaked my interest, which tracker would you recommend? I'd personally like something with a ton of tutorials.

>>5506 I can't say that I have any expertise because I just started last night, but I've been using Protracker and following the tutorials OP linked and they've worked really well so far. Trackers look very intimidating, but you get a hold of the basics pretty quick

>>5494 It's just the style of sequencing that makes it special for some people. Personally not my cup of tea but it is stupid simple to make music with samples with one.

>>5494 different workflow. In my opinion - better and comfier. Ableton is okay too but it's meant for different things, i don't get why as a musician you'd even consider Fruity Loops though. DAWs have a different workflow that works for some people but not for others, Trackers though - often more intuitive and very impulsive and quicker, less clunky and less soykaf. There are good DAWs out there like Bitwig or Reaper but they serve a different purpose to a tracker (I don't count Renoise as a DAW, that's like saying Madtracker or modern Modplug is a DAW because it supports VST). It's a completely different charm and i prefer it, i couldn't wipe a track in Fruity or Ableton for the love of me because the interface was clunky full of unnecessary features that made the workflow slower (especially in the case of Fruity), they're basically normalglitterboy DAWs that both make soykaf too easy but somehow make it worse.

Anyone making jungle and stuff with chopped up breaks wanting to share some wisdom?

I've been learning milkytracker, and isolating parts of 80's new-wave/italo songs using mixxx to get samples I like. Having .xn files to browse & see how pros do their work has been invaluable, but the number is pretty limited, is there a treasure trove out there with some?

>>6104 If you're not allergic to proprietary software check out renoise. Its basically free.. some limitations and a nag screen but the "demo version" has all the features I've ever needed. If you want to pay for it its fairly cheap as far as these things go. It runs natively on Linux and is perfectly designed for sample heavy music like breaks.

>>6111 I've already been using Renoise for a year and a half I think. It's great. It feels like home. I remember using the demo version for 180+ hours or something. Just looking for some production techniques or something along those lines.

Finding samples has always been really difficult for me, which is why I use Famitracker. It's a shame that it's Windows-only.

Here's a couple resources for my alice http://tracker.modarchive.org/ http://www.futurecrew.com/skaven/tracker_music.html https://web.archive.org/web/20010620083831/http://www.maz-sound.com/zen-of-tracking/mpt-intro.html

sunvox is a free multi platform tracker. Has live effects like a proper DAW too. https://www.warmplace.ru/soft/sunvox/

I started tracking with octaMED 4.0 as a midi sequencer for my akai s2000 off of an old ratty a500. Since my Amiga's psu died, I've moved onto using renoise instead for several years. However, one day I want to revive my amiger and throw in a Vampire accelerator to push Paula to her maximum. >>6114 If you haven't heard of it already, akaizer is a great little program that emulates the old akai cyclic "timestretch" sound quite well. I'm not sure if it's on Linux. "Hourglass" is another program that does a similar sort of thing but in a more complex granular way. For drum programming, creating a complex drumpattern is very easy, but making one that flows naturally takes a lot of skill. Just keep that in mind. It's easy do the wrong thing by overdoing it