What iOS Trackers do you use in 2024?

senhorlampada

@jaijai said:

@senhorlampada said:
Itching to dust off my PSP with LGPT and GameBoy emu with LSDJ

Also try fatass tracker for the gameboy color, it is really awesome
https://archive.org/details/demo_fatass_tracker

Holy shit, that's awesome.
Thanks for the tip on that one

hghon

This one was my first tracker and it was so much fun and simple enough to get the basics before jumping to SunVox

https://apps.apple.com/eg/app/snibbetracker/id1065797528

FordTimeLord

@jaijai said:

@FordTimeLord said:

@jaijai said:

@FordTimeLord said:
You could get a retro handheld and run LSDJ on it. Some of the Anbernic ones will even run M8 headless

I would like to add LPGT tracker to this list, it also runs on cheap retro handhelds. It is like LSDJ only sample based. Kind of like a M8 UltraLite
This was my go-to before I got a M8 tracker.
https://www.littlegptracker.com/

Nice! Which version did you get running, the PSP one?

I use a forked version on a psp with custom firmware.
https://github.com/djdiskmachine/LittleGPTracker/releases/

This version has many QOL features, some ideas are taken from the M8 tracker.

Ooh, that looks great. I’m going to give that a try over the weekend, cheers!

jaijai

There is a new free tracker released for the desktop, based on wavetables.

https://wavetracker.org/

jaijai

For a fm based tracker on the desktop there is

https://bambootracker.github.io/BambooTracker/

wim

@joegrant413 said:
I'm on MacOS and just downloaded PixiTracker.

The initial startup experience is, um, interesting

Any tips on how to get going? Yeah, RTFM. But any other advice to have a Quick Start?

You have to jump through a couple of hoops first, but then it should work without issue:

1. Quit any previous attempts to load the program.
2. In Finder, navigate to the folder and right-click (mouse) or two-finger tap (track pad) on the START_MACOS.app file. Then select "copy".
3. Open Terminal and type the following xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine followed by a space. Then press command-v to paste the filename and path onto the rest of the command line. You should end up with something similar to:
   xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /Users/<username>/<yourpath>/pixitracker/START_MACOS.app
   with your user name and path substituted.
4. Press return. You shouldn't get any return message when you do so. If you get an error message then double-check the command line.
5. Load the START_MACOS.app file. Pixi Tracker should now fully load. If it doesn't, check step 1 again to be sure you closed all windows and try starting it again.

The iOS/iPadOS version doesn't need these setup shenanigans.

Reference: https://www.warmplace.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4399

Littlewoodg

in no particular order

Retroarch because LSDJ, PPSSPP because LGPT

FordTimeLord

@Littlewoodg said:

Retroarch because LSDJ, PPSSPP because LGPT

I found LGPT surprisingly useable on the phone with PPSSPP’s touchscreen controls. Doesn’t work so well on the iPad without a controller but on the phone everything is well within reach. Feels similar to texting.

qqq

Do I understand right that there are no iOS trackers that can host AUv3s? That would be neat.

I know you could just run one as a midi AUv3 alongside audio AUv3s inside a host, but a tighter integration could be interesting.

FordTimeLord

@qqq said:
Do I understand right that there are no iOS trackers that can host AUv3s? That would be neat.

I know you could just run one as a midi AUv3 alongside audio AUv3s inside a host, but a tighter integration could be interesting.

Squarebeat is a host if you unlock the full version. I haven’t tried it though so no idea how well it does

qqq

@FordTimeLord said:

@qqq said:
Do I understand right that there are no iOS trackers that can host AUv3s? That would be neat.

I know you could just run one as a midi AUv3 alongside audio AUv3s inside a host, but a tighter integration could be interesting.

Squarebeat is a host if you unlock the full version. I haven’t tried it though so no idea how well it does

Oh cool! I'll check it out the free version soon.

Littlewoodg

@FordTimeLord said:

@Littlewoodg said:

Retroarch because LSDJ, PPSSPP because LGPT

I found LGPT surprisingly useable on the phone with PPSSPP’s touchscreen controls. Doesn’t work so well on the iPad without a controller but on the phone everything is well within reach. Feels similar to texting.

the scale on the phone is pretty much the scale on the PSP...

Nathi94

Found this one called “Ultraabox” online. It’s free and works in the browser. But I’m not sure if it’s fit the criteria of a tracker software.
https://ultraabox.github.io/index.html#

VividSynths

@jwmmakerofmusic said:

@belldu said:
I've got a bunch of unfinished stuff in VividTracker.
It's close to the Amiga Protracker series I remember from my teenage years and definitely the most 'authentic' vintage tracker out there on iOS. It can handle .MOD files (4 track), but not the later 'ScreamTracker' or other variants.
It can save in proprietary 8 track format too.

There's then an app called '4Champ' that can access a huge online library (for free) of just about every tracker piece written in the 90s, so plenty of inspiration available for those that want some nostalgia.

VividTracker? Proprietary 8 track format? Now my interest is piqued.

I'll check 4Champ also.

The 8 track format supported in VividTracker is actually not proprietary. There are some mod-files that have 8 channels instead of 4 channels, for instance this one:

https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=52310

You can download and play this module in VividTracker, but not in Protracker on the Amiga because it only supports 4 tracks. The Amiga was of course limited to only 4 hardware audio channels, hence the limitation. But it was possible to achieve 8 channels on the Amiga too, by playing two virtual audio channels on each hardware audio channel. This was done in StarTrekker, which looks very similar to Protracker and is - as far as I can tell - fully compatible with Protracker:

https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=13415

That trick did cost quite a lot of CPU power, so it was not often used in games and demos.

The mod-format is a bit weird. There is a location in it, at offset 1080, where there are 4 bytes describing various things. This is what it says:

Offset  Bytes  Description
------  -----  -----------
 950      1    Songlength. Range is 1-128.
 951      1    This byte is set to 127, so that old trackers will search
               through all patterns when loading.
               Noisetracker uses this byte for restart, ProTracker doesn't.
 952    128    Song positions 0-127.  Each hold a number from 0-63 (or
               0-127) that tells the tracker what pattern to play at that
               position.
1080      4    The four letters "M.K." - This is something Mahoney & Kaktus
               inserted when they increased the number of samples from
               15 to 31. If it's not there, the module/song uses 15 samples
               or the text has been removed to make the module harder to
               rip. Startrekker puts "FLT4" or "FLT8" there instead.
               If there are more than 64 patterns, PT2.3 will insert M!K!
               here. (Hey - Noxious - why didn't you document the part here
               relating to YOUR OWN PROGRAM? -Vishnu)

Source: https://eblong.com/zarf/blorb/mod-spec.txt

So, depending on what characters there are here, it will either support 4 tracks or 8 tracks. In ProTracker 2.3 on the Amiga, it inserts "M!K!" here. In Startrekker, it writes "FLT4" for 4 tracks and "FLT8" for 8 tracks. Then, there are other trackers that put in "8CHN" here instead (not documented here). When you save a mod-file in VividTracker with 8-channels, it will store it as "8CHN" and not "FLT8". If you save it as a normal 4 tracks mod, it will store it as M!K! to stay compatible with Protracker.

VividTracker does have its own file format called "VTM", but this is not for storing 8 tracks. It will of course be able to do that too, but it is used if you make use of the "auto chord" feature, which allows you to transform a track from another pattern to another track in another pattern but with a different chord. This is done by using effect 8 in VividTracker. This effect is not used in Protracker, but in VividTracker you can use it to auto transpose C-major tracks into e.g. A-minor. You don't want to transpose drums, so you can also tell if the sample is a drum sample. It is a really cool feature, best explained in this video:

It is also explained in detail here: https://www.vividsynths.com/doku.php?id=vividtracker_reference_manual#auto_chord

Qmishery

Do trackers on iOS allow you go go and type in something like "C4" directly? When I tried PC trackers, they all asked me to find a corresponding button on hardware keyboard that "means" this or that note instead of directly writing it.

Samu

@Qmishery said:
Do trackers on iOS allow you go go and type in something like "C4" directly? When I tried PC trackers, they all asked me to find a corresponding button on hardware keyboard that "means" this or that note instead of directly writing it.

Once you learn the 'qwerty piano layout' used in most trackers it's a LOT faster to 'play in' the notes using the keyboard than type C,D,E,F etc and then add optional # and octave and also instrument number which is added automatically when playing in the notes.

Most trackers start with C on 'Z key' and the 'Q' above it C but one octave higher something like this.

VividSynths

@Samu said:

@Qmishery said:
Do trackers on iOS allow you go go and type in something like "C4" directly? When I tried PC trackers, they all asked me to find a corresponding button on hardware keyboard that "means" this or that note instead of directly writing it.

Once you learn the 'qwerty piano layout' used in most trackers it's a LOT faster to 'play in' the notes using the keyboard than type C,D,E,F etc and then add optional # and octave and also instrument number which is added automatically when playing in the notes.

Most trackers start with C on 'Z key' and the 'Q' above it C but one octave higher something like this.

This is true for VividTracker as well (with exactly that layout), but VividTracker also supports scales. If you select a specific scale and key, e.g. C-Dorian, it will let the bottom three rows correspond to three octaves with only the notes in those scales:

    Octave 3: QWERTYU becomes C-3 D-3 D#3 F-3 G-3 A-3 A#3
    Octave 2: ASDFGHJ becomes C-2 D-2 D#2 F-2 G-2 A-2 A#2
    Octave 1: ZXCVBNM becomes C-1 D-1 D#1 F-1 G-1 A-1 A#1

The soft keyboard on the screen will also get the same layout, as shown here:

Qmishery

@Samu said:

@Qmishery said:
Do trackers on iOS allow you go go and type in something like "C4" directly? When I tried PC trackers, they all asked me to find a corresponding button on hardware keyboard that "means" this or that note instead of directly writing it.

Once you learn the 'qwerty piano layout' used in most trackers it's a LOT faster to 'play in' the notes using the keyboard than type C,D,E,F etc and then add optional # and octave and also instrument number which is added automatically when playing in the notes.

Most trackers start with C on 'Z key' and the 'Q' above it C but one octave higher something like this.

Thanks, but missing point in my case.

I just asked if there are trackers that would do it in a way that I ask - as in, option to literally type in note you want by text - both note and octave.

I already was arguing with people about it on ModWiggler, out of all places. So such answers like this were instead pushing me to go learn CSound/PureData/TidalCycles in place of trackers.

Qmishery

p.s.

I honestly don't understand why trackers went with such "music minded" approach and didn't also provided "programmer alike" to go with. Which would make sense considering "computer music" stigma.

Computer keyboard being remapped to cdefgabc etc. is nothing new for me because it's very similar in Ableton (and other modern DAW, I presume). Just surprised that trackers never (?) considered the most straightforward way that I describe - at least as option.

VividSynths

@Qmishery said:
Please STOP. I already was arguing with people about it on ModWiggler, out of all place.

I don't care about how it's more convenient for you, I just ask if there are trackers that would do it in a way that I ask - as in, option to literally type in note you want by text - both note and octave.

Answers like I get by you just push me to go learn CSound/PureData/TidalCycles, d'uh.

Sorry, I totally misunderstood you. You want a keyboard layout where a "C" is entered by actually pressing C. That is a great idea. I hope you don't mind I take your idea and implement it in VividTracker as an optional way of entering notes.

Qmishery

Yeah, I meant that - for both note and octave.

Sorry for my burst of annoyance, and sorry if I sounded rude. It's just...

I'm not actually engaged much with trackers, there was a case when I considered using trackers once to "port" a melody I've composed elsewhere, and it was during a period when I've took a huge pause between music making so I was not planning to "stay" much after that, hence idea of "getting used to" was meaningless for me, so I was surprised when (I think) renoise demo was not allowing me to do such, so I tried asking people about it, and was met with similar reaction as in "huh? why do you ask that? it's much more fast and comfortable to use the way it is". Which, of course, ended up with "deaf conversation" from both sides.

Now, yeah, if you implement that, I think it would be very cool - if that doesn't take too much devlopment resource from you, of course. And yes, surely I propose that as an "optional" way because most people are used to worfklow discussed above by Samu (sorry for getting heated again!)

Dunno what's would be best way to do it though. I see it as perhaps some sort of conditional mode that makes software "read" letters and numbers as note values from simple text.