XOR Electronics Intros NerdSEQ Portable, New Hardware Tracker With Polyphonic Sequencing

March 17, 2020 Synth Anatomy Grooveboxes, Hardware, News, Sampler 0

Xor Electronics transforms its well-known NerdSEQ into a portable hardware device with the option to expand it with triggers, CVs and more

Crazy timing. A day before the actual presentation of the Polyend Tracker audio workstation, XOR Electronics comes around the corner and presents the NerdSEQ Portable without a big teaser spectacle. One week, two hardware tracker workstations, no bad. Probably the year of the trackers!

According to the developer, it’s a tracker based hardware sequencer with sampling, MIDI I/O, modulators, sound generators an more. It features 8 tracks for each polyphonic sequencing for different destinations, yes polyphonic not monophonic.

Sound Engine

NerdSEQ Portable is a full workstation that is based on old-school trackers (like Fasttracker2, ImpulseTracker or LittleSoundDJ), but with functionalities from 2020. It features a built-in sampler with 32 sample slots for both playback and recording in 16bit (stereo sample, 150 seconds sample time), pitch & polyphonic sample sequencing (4 voices), sample effects and more.

The sequencer allows independent use of tracks including clip-like launching patterns including mute/solo tracks. There is also the new integration of the Novation Launchpad with which you can control the clips. In total, you can record up to 254 sequencer rows and 254 patterns with each 64 (and less) steps. It also offers flexible and comfortable arrangement of patterns.

Modulators, Effects & More

That’s not all. NerdSEQ Portable also comes with a wide range of modulators, effects, sound generators and more. From 8 automation slots, wavetables, quantize, retrigger, LFO’s, polyrhythmic patterns, groove, portability, dividers, multipliers, sound generations and many more are on board.

Connections

Where other trackers save something, Xor Electronics gives its portable tracker a wide range of connections. On the backside, you a stereo line out, headphone out, line input, USB and the Expander port for NSA with which you can integrate the NerdSEQ Eurorack Expanders (CV16, Trigger16…).

It comes with full-featured MIDI I/O including polyphonic MIDI sequencing and recording per track, MIDI effects, CC, NRPN, Aftertouch and program change.

More Details

3.5″ Colour Graphics IPS display with a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels
microSD connector accessible for project and sample management
Integrated Sound synthesizer
…..and much more….

The release is planned for late summer 2020, but could be delayed due to the Convoid-19 problematic. The official price is not yet announced. As a reminder: the classic Eurorack NerdSEQ cost 486,78€ without tax including the expander. So it’s possible that the portable version will cost around the same price but not sure!

More information here: XOR Electronics

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