TRK-01 Review

NI Reaktor’s TRK-01 is an under rated gem, TRK-01 is a two part groovebox, with simply a kick and bass engine. It doesn’t seem like much, but if there were any piece of software I wish were hardware, it’d be TRK-01. There’s just something fun and inviting about it every time I use it. There’s enough variation in synth types and parameters to explore, plus the sequencer per control makes it incredibly dynamic in terms of per tonal variety per step.

The UI is pretty minimal, with lots of options simply one page away. By clicking any of the labels you get a few more controls and options in the center section of each part. This creates a simple first glance interface, with all the various less important options tucked away, but not into menus. Each part has 8 variations to choose from, which can be selected with midi notes, meaning you can establish various sounds, and patterns for each part, and perform mixing between them (or simply sequence them with your piano roll).

Sequencer: The heart of TRK-01 is its sequencer, a TR style step sequencer that lets you easily draw in velocity values per step. You can do patterns up to 64 steps in length. What makes it special is the parameter locking system, Each of the front panel controls can be controlled per step easily via two different methods on the sequencer. The first method is to double click a control’s label, this will display the control name below the sequence, where you can assign values to that control per step. Double click to exit or click another control to edit other parameters. The second method is to selecta step in the “lock” lane, this will highlight the respective part and any controls that have a value locked to that step. From here you can adjust the UI just like normal, but it will apply the sound to that step. (note, only the panel controls, not the middle display can be locked). 

Kick: The kick engine consists of two layers, each layer can hold either a sample, synth, or noise. The synth engine is failry basic but designed for heavy kicks, you get a few waveform controls and a few controls for the contour of the kick curve. Each layer has a filter and drive for some extra shaping. The kick engine gets SH, bit redux, or a filter as it’s insert effect. Trk-01 is capable of some incredibly powerful and beefy kicks, being able to sequence the controls per step means you can also use the kick engine to create other percussive elements, even full beats.

Bass: The bass engine has a bit more to it with a multimode oscillator that is processed by a modifier into a filter. The oscillator modes are all fun, you get a classic synth engine with PWM, a super saw engine, a west coast style engine that does folding and shaping, an FM engine, and an oscillator with more complex shapes you can blend between with phase distortion. FM is always great on these types of tools, but the west coast engine is surprisingly fun and versatile, also the modern and super engines really come in handy for those brighter high fidelity sounds. Next this gets fed into a modifier, which can be either a ring mod, frequency modulation, sine distortion, or SH. The ring mod and frequency mod don’t go high enough frequency in my opinion, but the frequency modulator does get nice and watery. The sine distortion sound great, nice and rubbery. The filter has a notch option which is always a welcome addition, and this one sounds nice. There is also the option to feedback the filter, though be warned because this can sometimes affect your signal even if the filter is turned off. For insert effects you get unison, flanger, and phaser.

Effects: It’s worth noting that the send effects for each part can also be sequenced just like the synths, but the master effects can not. The delay can go really short and do resonator stuff, but again, you can’t really sequence or modulate it. There are 8 reverb modes all kinda lo-fi ish with different qualities. Finally there is a bass enhancer and a compressor for some final coloring. 


This all may sound simple and minimal, but the layout and interface really takes advantage of this stripped down design, and allows you to take full advantage of what’s available. This is why I say I wish it were hardware, this would be such an incredible groovebox to just have on your lap or desktop, it encourages play and seems to lean towards experimental rhythmic grooves. There’s also just random nice little extras here and there, for example the modulation system is very straight forward, you click the icon, and a row of mod depth knobs pop up on the display. Also the timing system is interesting, providing you with a swing and groove control to create more interesting feel than simply swing alone.

I like to just sit and make grooves and patterns with TRK-01, it forces a bit of creative energy with it’s process and gets some new ideas out of you. It’s perfect for really techy IDM and percussive glitch patterns. I do wish it had SH modulation or step probability and perhaps the ability to do polymeters with the parameter modulation, as the results, while quite dynamic, lack generative qualities. If you have Komplete you likely have TRK-01 in your collection already, I understand that these large libraries of plugins can be a bit overwhelming, but if you love groove based production, you should really dust this one off and give it a session if you’ve been avoiding TRK-01.