Editing Music tracker (section)

== Hardware ==
The earliest trackers existed to get closer to the hardware of a given machine, allowing memory-light playback of music ideal for games and similar programs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Obarski |first1=Karsten |title=Amiga Music Preservation - Karsten Obarski |url=https://amp.dascene.net/detail.php?view=3982&detail=interview |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Amiga Music Preservation}}</ref> Keeping in theme with this philosophy, a few "hardware trackers" have emerged: specialized hardware designed specifically to host tracker software, in turn designed to exploit the hardware of the machine. These hardware trackers are largely inspired by LittleSoundDJ,<ref>{{cite web |title=Nerdsynth - XOR Electronics |url=https://xor-electronics.com/nerdsynth/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=XOR Electronics}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Dirtywave |url=https://dirtywave.com/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Dirtywave}}</ref> a tracker created for the original [[Game Boy]].

The first such hardware tracker released was the NerdSeq in 2018, a hybrid tracker-sequencer for [[Eurorack]] systems. As a module of said system, it cannot be used alone, and the "tracker" portion of the device is simply used as an interface to [[Music sequencer|sequence]], while the hardware is used to handle sampling and other functions.

The first standalone hardware tracker released was the Polyend Tracker in 2020, a [[USB]]-powered device with all the functions of a software tracker. It was met with mostly positive critical reception,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Truss |first1=Si |title=Polyend Tracker review {{pipe}} Music Radar |url=https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/polyend-tracker |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Music Radar|date=22 May 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Terrence |title=Polyend Tracker review: A powerful but confounding groovebox |url=https://www.engadget.com/polyend-tracker-groovebox-sampler-review-170118746.html |access-date=27 April 2023 |website=Engadget}}</ref> with critics citing a modest price point, standalone all-in-one capability, and intuitive controls. In 2021, DirtyWave released the M8 Tracker, a portable tracker that is more heavily inspired by [[Little Sound DJ]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Synth Anatomy |title=DirtyWave M8, Battery-Operated Handheld Synth & Tracker |url=https://synthanatomy.com/2020/09/dirtywave-m8-new-open-source-battery-operated-handheld-synth-tracker.html |access-date=27 April 2024 |website=Synth Anatomy}}</ref>