Thingstone - Track8

Track8 is a standalone hardware arranger from Thingstone (the work of Collin Raddatz), built for writing and arranging songs without making the computer the centre of the room. It gives you 8 stereo audio tracks and 8 MIDI tracks, with the kind of linear editing that actually matters when a sketch turns into a piece: cut, copy, paste, bounce, undo, punch-in, loop points, level, pan and automation. Record a beat from USB, add a synth take, sing something in, shift a section around, export the stems when the song is ready for the big machine (or just leave that part out and finish it all from this one device).

The big screen itself also adds a lot of charm — green waveforms, blocky meters, clear labels — it has that early digital instrument aura, somewhere between an old terminal, a lab device and the display language reminiscent of a Fairlight CMI. Besides the massive touchscreen just mentioned you also get physical controls, a 4×4 button grid, 8 track buttons, encoders and direct access to the important functions. There is a screen, yes — but one with discipline. No plugin supermarket, no browser tabs, no mysterious pop-up demanding your attention, just the an empty space you ought to fill. Oh, and briefly back to those buttons — anyone who has ever dabbled in mechanical keyboards will be in for a treat. There are Cherry MX Clear switches under the hood — if that means little to you, just know that this is a very satisfying device to edit with.

Audio recording is handled through a single selectable stereo input: XLR mic preamp with phantom power, mono 1/4", or stereo 1/4". Each audio track has level, pan, mute, automation, filters, compression and sends to delay and reverb; the master section adds delay, reverb, compression/limiting and clipping detection. MIDI gets proper editor treatment too, with step recording, note editing, velocity, quantisation and CC/modulation/pitch-bend automation. DIN MIDI and USB MIDI make it happy in a hardware setup, while firmware v1.1.0 opens the door to class-compliant USB audio interfaces — expanding Track8 beyond its built-in single-input recording and allowing up to 8 stereo sources to be recorded simultaneously, provided the interface is compatible.

Projects live on 120 GB of internal storage, with each track saved as a 32-bit float WAV for clean export. You can mix down to a single WAV, export individual stems, or access the internal SSD over USB-C. And because Thingstone clearly understands that green-on-black perfection is a personal matter, there is even a theme editor for creating your own display look.

Track8 lands in a place where surprisingly few machines live — a standalone audio and MIDI arranger that is deep enough for real songs, but focused enough to keep the idea moving. It records, edits, arranges and exports without turning the process into a computer session, and that gives it a very particular charm. For hardware-based songwriters, live setups and anyone who still likes a dedicated machine with a clear purpose — this is one to be excited for.

Features:

• Standalone 8-track audio and MIDI hardware arranger
• 8 stereo audio tracks
• 8 MIDI tracks
• Linear song arrangement with cut, copy, paste, bounce and undo
• Record one stereo source at a time
• Selectable inputs: XLR mic preamp with +48V phantom power, mono 1/4", stereo 1/4"
• 120 GB internal storage
• Projects up to 4 hours long
• 32-bit float WAV files per track for clean stem export
• Volume, pan, mute and automation per audio track
• Audio editing with detail edit, nudge and zoom up to 2048×
• Count-in, punch-in and loop functions
• MIDI note editing, step record, velocity and quantisation
• MIDI CC, modulation and pitch-bend automation
• Full-size DIN MIDI In/Out
• USB MIDI via 2× USB-A ports
• WAV and MIDI file browser with import/export via USB
• Track FX: HP / LP / BP / notch filter, compressor, delay send and reverb send
• Master FX: delay, reverb, compressor/limiter and clipping detection
• Mixdown to WAV or export individual stems
• Access internal SSD via USB-C connection to computer
• Theme editor for custom display themes
• External Audio in firmware v1.1.0: class-compliant USB audio interfaces, Track8 lets you configure up to 32 Inputs (8 Stereo Input, 8 Stereo Return) and 18 Outputs (8 stereo Sends + 1 stereo main output)
• Dedicated stereo send/return per track when using External Audio
• 1/4" headphone output
• 1/4" footswitch input
• USB-C Power Delivery
• Designed, programmed and assembled in Germany
• Ongoing firmware development with community feedback on GitHub