I briefly thought about making a Kit version ... but this actually does not make it much cheaper. As long as there is anything pre soldered to the Board, you'd need CE to comply in the EU. (some manufacturers simply ignore that)
Besides this, PCB assembly is pretty cheap compared to all the Component Costs.
And as I'm currently doing the end assembly by myself, for free. There is no cost saving in this either.
I might be able to make a cheap version in the future. But this would probably be a completely different product (no full size connectors, smaller display, made in china, ...) It would only share the software with the current version.
Ahh yeah, price :sweat_smile: with 100 Units as a first batch I'd have to ask for EUR 1500 (incl. 20% Tax) or EUR 1250 (without tax to non EU customers).
Anything below, and it would be hard to make profit if sold via a reseller. (they grab like 30-40%)
I sent the last prototypes to a couple of Beta Testers (Actual Composer/Music Producer, no Youtubers) and took their feedback to make a lot of Hardware/Software improvements.
If you're a professional Music Producer and want to test a Prototype, just send me a mail via the website.
The next batch of Prototypes, planed for EoY, will be a bit bigger, to get even more feedback and there are a lot of requests from reseller that want to try it out extensively (Thomann for example).
I'll also have to do a new EMI/ESD check (hopefully the last one)
As I said in another comment, I aim to have a Batch of 100 ready for sale around May next Year. But lets see how this plays out. Hardware is hard ;)
Yes there is a Stem export to USB Drive (besides a mix export).
This gives you 8 WAV files. 1 per Track.
In the latest Hardware revision I added the capability for a USB Device mode. So you can attach Track8 to a PC and directly access the internal SSD.
Idk if Track8 is suited for kids. Sure it's durable. But because of the heavy weight and metal case there might be accidents happening when dropping it on siblings ;)
Also it might be a bit complex to operate depending on the kids age.
There's an Audio import from USB, but currently it only supports WAV. I still have to find the time to include a mp3 decoder.
Track8 has no Wifi/Bt/Internet connectivity whatsoever. (because the certification is a big pain). So you'd have to copy everything you want to import to a USB Drive.
From a hardware perspective it's already possible to attach a 3rd party core audio USB Audio Interface. I've just not implemented the feature yet.
It's simply not a use case I have. I usually only record one Input at a time. Track 8 has 3 Inputs (Stereo/Mono/XLR) and I can wire up all my gear to these inputs and then select from what source to record via the Mechanical Rotary Switch. That's very easy to use and intuitive.
If I'd add more Inputs (like the tascam) I'd have the same Issue they have: how to map an Input to a track. Or have a fixed mapping (Input 1 only records to Track 1). In find both scenarios quite inconvenient for an intuitive workflow (I tried a lot of Multitrack recorder before deciding to build this)
So yeah, Track8 is quite opinionated in regards of workflow and features. But I don't want to turn this into a can-do-it-all DAW in a box.
Yeah pricing is always an issue. I obviously can't compete with bigger Companies on price. I hope to have a first Batch of 100 Units ready at next SuperBooth. And at that Batch size, everything is quite expensive.
I also didn't want to compromise on Component quality. So I decided to order double shot Keycaps from the best Keycap Manufacturer in the US (solutionsinplastic.com). The case comes from a small Manufacturer in Poland. The PCB is produced by a Company in South Germany that also does Prototypes for Mercedes.
This all adds up. But I thought, if I can't compete on Price, I can try to compete on quality/repairability.
If I can prove product market fit, maybe I'll do a cheaper, less boutique version in the future.
This is currently a one-man-show. So I'm doing everything by myself.
I have a simple mixing section (Volume/Pan) for each of the 8 Tracks. And there is a TrackFx (Filter/Compressor/Delay-send/Reverb-send) and MasterFx (Compressor/Delay/Reverb)
You can route the audio out back into the input(with a cable, no internal routing). But you can also do automation per track. Currently only Volume/Pan, maybe also Fx Parameters in the future.
The hardest part of adding features is always, how do I make them accessible to keep the immediate feeling.
Here's a video from SuperBooth where I describe some of it's features. I added a lot of stuff since then ... and I'm not a sales dude so the interview was quite awkward ;)
Yeah, 4-tracks are a big inspiration for this Track8 I'm currently building.
My goal is to provide a similar experience. Immediate, tactile controls. Directly writing to a digital "tape". But without the analog restrictions like the need to rewind.
I now use it all the time for laying down new ideas, and only use the DAW for Mixing/Mastering.