Polyend releases the Tracker firmware source code

viraptor

"Click to accept marketing cookies and enable this content" on a video? Have some shame, developers...

girvo

I'm glad! It makes sense though: the community has been reverse engineering it and building their own with LLM help lately. I love my Tracker+, such a neat bit of kit, and I'm excited to see what we can do now the firmware is open

dimatura

The avalanche of reverse engineered/custom firmwares is definitely changing the synth landscape. I'm wondering how many other companies will start open sourcing. It isn't always trivial since sometimes there's proprietary software components or toolchains that can't be open sourced. But it's hard to imagine it won't be more common. There's a lot of mixed feelings in the community. A lot of musicians don't like AI, but they do want to have more features and bug fixes. A lot of synth makers are probably ambivalent too, especially if they have a stronger vision of what the synths should be that custom firmware ignore. Not to mention the commercial implications of adding features into existing synths, possibly making newer models less appealing. And of course people are copying UIs and workflows from other synths that took a lot of work to develop.

sebastienbarre

For people afraid of bricking their units, I can't stress enough how groundbreaking it is that they're acknowledging that risk and still offering to repair your unit. You pay of course, because this is a risk you took, but at least they will have a look at it: "Out-of-Warranty Repairs Available: In the unlikely event that something ever goes wrong with your hardware while using custom firmware, it is not covered under standard warranty. However, Polyend is always happy to help get your instrument back up and running through its official out-of-warranty repair service (standard service, parts, and shipping fees apply."

gregsadetsky

Relatedly, Erika Synths released the source code of the LXR-02 very recently as well: https://www.ericasynths.lv/news/post/lxropen (I/AI had fun porting it to wasm/web! I don't want to seem too self-link'y, so if anyone asks, happy to share the link) I also have a Polyend Tracker for sale if anyone's in the market..! It's a great device, I'm just trying to focus on having less right now.

nullstyle

Looks like my Tracker is getting promoted from drawer jockey to the main jamspot in my music setup, and I've got a weekend project to take on. I love to see this new trend in the electrical musical implement industrial complex.

vyaa

Awesome! I don’t use any of their gear but still great news. If only Ableton and Max would follow. Maybe that’s a weekend project.

keyle

What excites me most about this, is alternative hardware running this firmware. I love the idea of the polyend stuff but they're too pricy when there are perfectly usable trackers with more possibilities like renoise. The novelty of a handheld tracker wears off quick once you start plugging things in.

NDlurker

Exciting! I have a Tracker I need to update. I've also been seen stuff about Doom OS for the SP404 MK2, need to update that too.

consumer451

This has to be related to MWAVE's FM-1 viral popularity, largely due to open firmware right? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/10/from-impulse-purchas... https://github.com/aroum/fm1-custom-fw see also: > Reverse Engineering of the M-VAVE FM-1 Pocket Synthesizer Firmware https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49994065 (75 points - 50 comments)

ricokatayama

That’s cool. After M-vave's FM1 and TE's OP-1 revolution, going this path is almost mandatory for anyone with good hardware but a crappy interface. I'd love to love Polyend's software, but M8 is so far ahead in terms of power and intuitiveness.

jamesjolliffe

Very smart move. Open-source your project. Get more nerds invested in your gear and its legacy, and crowd-source feature development. Well done, Polyend! Godspeed, and looking forward to seeing how this develops.

felizuno

Modwiggler is filling with reverse engineering mods, I think it is super smart to get out in front of that. Modding is nothing new and open source music firmware à la Mutable Instruments is a great example to learn from. Good move Polyend!