Thingstone Track8 is a new standalone hardware arranger device designed to capture ideas without the need for a DAW.
Many electronic musicians pursued the DAWless approach, i.e., making music without a DAW. To achieve this, many people use workstations such as the standalone Akai MPC/Force or NI Maschine+, or digital mixers, with which they can record their music.
For those who find Maschine+ or MPC too complex, an alternative will soon be available that focuses entirely on arranging. Thingstone Track8 is a standalone arranger that has been on the Superbooth several times, but is now in production and in its final stages of development.
Thingstone Track8
Track8 is a standalone arranger that can work with both audio and MIDI files. Imagine having a standalone MPC but without the sound generation aspect, just the music arrangement part. That’s what Thingstone Track8 does. No built-in instruments, just recording and arranging.
It helps you capture your creative ideas without the distractions of a modern digital audio workstation, says the developer. All features are conveniently accessible without needing to dive into menus.
The Track8 is an 8-track, 1-float/32-bit hardware arranger featuring eight audio tracks and eight MIDI tracks. Since the arrangement works on an audio level, it is referred to as an 8-track arranger.
On the audio side, you can record projects up to four hours long and save them to the 120GB internal storage. It offers copy, cut, and paste functionality for up to eight minutes of audio, including multiple tracks. Additionally, you have an eight-minute undo stack.
Detailed audio edits are also possible using classic, mechanical buttons. Functions like volume/pan automation per track, nudge audio, and zoom in (2048x) give you proper DAW-like tools to edit your audio tracks.
It also features pre- and post-recording functions, including count-in, punch-in, and bouncing multiple tracks in place.
To refine your tracks and your final result, the audio engine offers both track and master FX. Each track has a multimode filter (LP, HP, BP, and notch), a compressor, a delay, and a reverb send.
The master FX, on the other hand, features built-in delay and reverb effects, a master compressor/limiter, and detailed clipping detection.
Dawless MIDI Recording
Alongside the audio part, Thingstone Track8 also features a MIDI section with eight independent tracks, each of which can be sent to a different MIDI channel (1-16). The built-in MIDI sequencer records note data (step record single + multiple notes), pitch bend, modulation, and MIDI CC automation.
Thanks to classic features like copy, cut, and paste, detailed editing of individual/multiple steps or tracks is also easily possible. The MIDI engine also allows you to adjust the Velocity and quantization.
Inputs & Outputs
The audio that you arrange here must first be either loaded or recorded into the Thingstone Track8. You can record a single stereo input to up to 8 stereo audio tracks, via either a mono 1/4”, a stereo 1/4”, or an XLR 60dB Microphone Preamp with 48V phantom power.
Unfortunately, multi-track recording of multiple devices isn’t possible. This would be great for recording jams with various instruments. This forces you to record one instrument at a time, which is something limiting to me.
Alternatively, you can use the two USB-A ports to connect storage media and import your loops or tracks you recorded with a digital mixer into the Track8. The USB-A also supports up to 8 USB MIDI devices.
The device also features a full-size 5-pin DIN MIDI input/output and a USB-C port for power delivery/internal SSD access, as well as a dedicated ON/OFF switch.
Once your arrangement is complete, you can mix down your project as a single WAV file or export raw project stems to a USB mass storage device.
Moreover, Track8 features an easy-to-use browser for managing and loading your audio and MIDI files.
Thingstone Track8 First Impression
An intriguing piece of hardware for arranging DAW-less tracks. Track8 is undoubtedly appealing to all musicians who want to bypass workstations like MPC or Maschine+ and enjoy a more straightforward approach for arranging tracks without a DAW.
I find the I/O too small for real-time audio recording. Nevertheless, it’s a piece of hardware worth keeping an eye on.
According to a post on Gearspace, the Thingstone Track8 will be 1512,60€ + VAT. It will be manufactured in Weingarten, Germany.
More information here: Thingstone
„ multi-track recording of multiple devices isn’t possible“
Well this is a definite no buy……much to expensive for what it does!
This thing would have been fun to test for 5/600 euro, since there s also no specs about quality. Instead its 2000 euro now!! 😅come on guys
It looks like they made a device with a DAW for people who don’t want a DAW..
I get what you’re going for, but I feel there’s a line with a device that simply gives you what you need to run your setup and, and DAWs that are so utterly complete, that they impair instead of become a tool of creativity. No idea where this device lands between these two world though (too complete?). For going dawless, I’d say you only need a 8-tracker (or more) with midi connectivity. It’s plenty for jamming, or even layering tracks to jam on top of. The final mix you want to do on a computer anyway.
8 tracks of audio I understand, but not 16 midi tracks???
Surely the overhead for running midi does not compare with audio?
Even an older Ipad and Cubasis3 with a class compliant audio/midi interface covers this.
Not exactly as integrated but with provably greater functionality.
Agree with this. I would even pay this price for a full featured MIDI ONLY version of this.
anyway, i like it. too expensive with tariff’s now though. maybe in a couple of years.
i missed the STEREO audio tracks. that’s perfect for recording improv and long nuanced performances. this just went to a buy. hope it iteracts well with SQ64’s for my modular rigs too.
In the modern era of privacy surveillance and spie hackers intruding on your creativity. Thingstone Track 8 provides an alternative.
Underspecced and Overpriced.
This is a DAW, it’s a hardware device that is a dedicated DAW, It’s a specialized computer. It really makes me laugh how many people are fooled by the ‘analog is better’ ‘no computers’ baloney, when many of the instruments they play are loaded with computer chips and software.
I don’t think the kind of buyer who can afford this unit is going to be fooled. It’s more about audiences. People like to see gear on stage, but they really don’t want to see laptops.
Looks attractive, if it keeps developing and 16 Audio, 16midi arrive then I’m in
they need to flesh out the midi side if its doesn’t do Multitrack recording.
For those who profess to champion their local economies, uphold shared values, and reward genuine craftsmanship, it bears emphasizing that this builder—save for the keycaps, sourced from an increasingly authoritarian United States—relied exclusively on European suppliers. Even more striking, he openly disclosed every one of them, a rare and almost principled act of honesty in an industry all too comfortable hiding behind anonymity and marketing gloss.
Perhaps, then, this is not the “value proposition” some seek—if, indeed, value is measured only in the narrow terms of price. As for the instrument’s evolving feature set, such creations are not static; they mature, refine, and accrue capability over time. Growth, after all, is a process—both for the tools we build and the people who build (or critique) them.
Such a shame to only have 1 audio input. I’d prefer to buy something bespoke like this over, say, a TASCAM recorder, but being unable to capture multitrack group jams is my deal-breaker.
I am one of the people who want it bad but can’t have it as it won’t be sold or shipped to the USA at present.