Anyone got the Octatrack?

[djd_oz]

Does that mean I can only have 8 individual sounds at any one time, or with this trigger thing, can I have a selection of say, one shot drum hits on one of the tracks assigned to be triggered by different midi notes? That would surely make sense and would give a lot of possibilities. 8 tracks would easily be enough then. Maybe djd-oz could chip in again and shed some light on that.

With the OT you can load a drum loop for example and then slice it like ableton and on the one track you trigger whichever slice you want. You can only load one sample per track, you maybe able to get around this by stitching your one shots into one long sample but that would be a PITA to do and you can only play one slice per trigger (i.e. you won't be able to trigger a snare and a kick at the same time).

The sequencer and effects on the OT is much more advance than the MD or MnM.

If you already have an MD then I'll continue to use that for drums, if you have any other external/soft synths than you can use the OT to sequence it and resample it back into the OT or load it up with samples and start mangling.

What's your current setup/workflow? and do you intend this to be a studio tool or for live use?

Below is quoted from the elektron forums on how one might use the OT.

case 1: using the OT for drums
(the OT is very capable of doing punchy drum grooves)

OT + any multi-timbral synth you like

for instance:
OT + Blofeld
OT + Virus
OT + MnM

if you don't need all 8 MIDI tracks for melodies, the multi-timbral synth of your choice might provide additional percussions

case 2: using the OT for melodies
(the OT is also very capable of doing melodies)

OT + drum machine

for instance:
OT + Jomox
OT + MD

case 3: using the OT for loops

in this case, just the OT alone

final note

you should not use the OT for everything (drum machine, melodies) at once, except in the loop-based setup of case 3

[AK]

Does that mean I can only have 8 individual sounds at any one time, or with this trigger thing, can I have a selection of say, one shot drum hits on one of the tracks assigned to be triggered by different midi notes? That would surely make sense and would give a lot of possibilities. 8 tracks would easily be enough then. Maybe djd-oz could chip in again and shed some light on that.

With the OT you can load a drum loop for example and then slice it like ableton and on the one track you trigger whichever slice you want. You can only load one sample per track, you maybe able to get around this by stitching your one shots into one long sample but that would be a PITA to do and you can only play one slice per trigger (i.e. you won't be able to trigger a snare and a kick at the same time).

The sequencer and effects on the OT is much more advance than the MD or MnM.

If you already have an MD then I'll continue to use that for drums, if you have any other external/soft synths than you can use the OT to sequence it and resample it back into the OT or load it up with samples and start mangling.

What's your current setup/workflow? and do you intend this to be a studio tool or for live use?

Below is quoted from the elektron forums on how one might use the OT.

case 1: using the OT for drums
(the OT is very capable of doing punchy drum grooves)

OT + any multi-timbral synth you like

for instance:
OT + Blofeld
OT + Virus
OT + MnM

if you don't need all 8 MIDI tracks for melodies, the multi-timbral synth of your choice might provide additional percussions

case 2: using the OT for melodies
(the OT is also very capable of doing melodies)

OT + drum machine

for instance:
OT + Jomox
OT + MD

case 3: using the OT for loops

in this case, just the OT alone

final note

you should not use the OT for everything (drum machine, melodies) at once, except in the loop-based setup of case 3

I intend it to be a live studio tool, everything live and arrangements on the fly. I'd like to load in my own basslines, chord patterns, melodic stuff and whatever and then see where I could take things with re-ordering, efx, resampling and whatever else I stumble across. I'd just be using the pc as a hd recorder and also to assemble basic parts before dumping them into the OT . It's a solution I have been looking for since I discovered I can no longer write music ITB. I can easily create parts and little motifs and musical passages but when it comes to arranging them ITB, I don't want to know, I want to do all that on the fly away from any DAW app.

Anyway, regarding the slices and triggering of them. Is each slice automatically mapped to a midi note number like what Recycle does? ie: take a drum loop, would the first slice be on like C1, the next on C#1, and so on? Is that how it works? See, if that's so, I can already see a way around getting a track on the octatrack to take care of various one shot sounds. All you'd have to do would be to first create an audio file of whatever length required and place each separate sample/sound on say 8th notes or something and use the slice thing to trigger each independant sound as and when required. I like the idea of being able to trigger individual sounds as and when rather than simply triggering and mangling a whole loop all the time. So I presume by what you're saying that I could do this, I hear what you are saying about only being able to trigger 1 slice per not on event, ie: monophonic triggering but that wouldn't be an issue since such a track in the OT assigned to deal with one shots would only be concerned with that in mind. What concerns me though, is that if I trigger a new slice, does that cut the other slice out? Or can the release time of a slice hang over to a new slice?

That wouldn't be an issue with a drum loop, but say I used a sample of 4 bars and in the first bar I had a chord with a reverb effect of delay and then another sample in the 4th bar. If I were to play the audio file back in my DAW, you'd just hear the chord and the effect I'd used until it faded away, then absolute silence until the 4th bar until the other sound was heard but if I loaded such a sample into the OT and sliced it and decided I wanted to trigger the chord sound and then trigger the sound that would have normally appeared in the 4th bar immediately after the chord sound, does the chord sound and its effect get cut off?

That's a long winded way of explaining that but I hope you know what I mean.

[Phase Ghost]

Get a mac mini and Numerology (and a Launchpad of course).

[AK]

Get a mac mini and Numerology (and a Launchpad of course).

I like the concept of numerology, however, there are too many obstacles for me. First, I am still sitting at a computer and have no real capacity to take a set up elsewhere ( which I will be doing ) 2nd, I like to still use bits of software for creating parts - I'd have to buy all that stuff in AU format. 3rd, I just don't see the point in getting a mac based set up solely for a piece of software. I'd have to get the mac mini, an interface, the five12 numerology, my favourite plugins in AU and I'd still be where I am now albeit with a different sequencer.

It looks good but it's not an option for the workflow I am intending.

[djd_oz]

AK, I'm in the same boat as you, since I got my Elektrons, I've hardly used my DAW except for recording stuff.

Anyway, to answer your question, midi triggering of slices like you describe has not been implemented yet, not that I can see from the manual. At the moment, there is one MIDI CC to control which slice parameter and you can p-lock this value like the MD.

[hydrogen]

AK like you I spend tons of thinking about music and how to do workflow...

I have an octatrack. Why did i buy it? Same reasons and the ability to do a full live PA without a computer.... but honestly i havn't gotten really into it, mainly cause i'm not ready and don't have my "sound" together enough to commit anything to audio. Its pretty cool... but once you have it all setup and sequencing your synths, drum machines etc... its like wtf. i could have done this in ableton with more precision and less headaches

I got it mainly to do some fucked up sample chopping and stuff like you mentioned but only end up using it for a couple sounds at a time because of the limited outs. and i like to have my stuff separated.

i like the note shifting its the best concept on all the elektron instruments by far. but you get that with ableton and it is still way easier to do with with the mouse.

As far as linear/non-linear sequencing goes... you are still way better off in ableton doing scenes! there is just so much more there. just think about it for a second. think about programming your whole track on the machinedrum. isn't that more linear than anything? i mean if you are reordering... its the same as re-ordering a scene.

I think the only thing you get an advantage of is the parameter locks and the crossfader... but check this... if you spend $500 on an ipad and Kapture iPad... you have almost the same thing with way more capabilities. (more on this soon to come... just got ipad )

As far as sampling goes... its quite capable, but you will never be as fast sampling on this as compared to ableton.

You can do all the stuff you mentioned but after a couple months of using the OT i'm feeling that the computer+ableton just really has the advantage.

The biggest thing i think with it is the ability to do fucked up musical sh!t without thinking about it. thats the advantage most elektron stuff has over the computers, you can just get hands on grab any knob and parameter lock it. then use the crossfader and do some even more stuff on it. but thats about it IMO. I'll make another post about it when i get the OT more integrated or if its sold.

I think the unit is pretty sweet otherwise. if i didn't have a computer OCTATRACK would be essential. if anything i'm glad i got a lot of this hardware to only realize that I actually enjoy tracking/midi on the computer and working that way. Its fast the the mouse gui is actually pretty tight to some of the complex programming you have to do with a chord on the OT. click+click+click VS hold button down, turn knob 1, turn knob 2, turn knob 3.

also there are some good OT tutorials here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SecretMusicUK/featured

Cheers!

[AK]

Cheers.

Yeah, I'm kinda getting things together slowly to cater for the kind of workflow I know will be beneficial for me. The Octatrack was an idea, I'm not really that sure now to be honest. I'm getting the things I know I want first but have ideas to be able to sequence effectively away from the pc as well. I have a Korg triton Studio in here which has a sequencer but I don't like it one bit. I have been checking out the Yamaha QY700, which seems to be one of the very best hardware sequencers of its kind and reasonably cheap. I saw an Electribe SX for £180 and wondered how that would fair up as a sampler coupled with the QY700. The thing about the Yamaha sequencer is that I have an old Yamaha RM1x as well, so I'd adapt to that pretty quickly I imagine. I'd use the RM1x to do sequencing now as it's a really nifty little sequencer, sounds are terrilble but that wasn't why I got. That's damaged though, a lot of the function buttons don't respond so I can't access midi editing and other necessary things.

It also crossed my mind to consider a Yamaha RS7000 - which would give me OTB sequencing and sampling to boot. The Octatrack is obviously more advanced as a sampler but I'm wondering just how much loop mangling I'd actually be doing. Most of the samples I'd probably be triggering are stems and parts from saved projects and idea etc. I'd just be recycling them into a track, not trying to mangle them beyond recognition. For this reason I reckon I might be barking up the wrong tree with an Octatrack. I mean I can always do 'mangling' ITB if I so wiished, I just want the capacity to be able to work completely out of the box whenever I wish to.

My basic set up idea was around this:

1. Drums - Machinedrum + small library of sampled analog kicks
2. Bass stuff - Analogue monosynth - SH-101 ( & looking like an SH-2 as well ) Via converter on Super Bass Station rack
3. Korg Triton - EP's, Rhodes, bread & butter stuff -already had this but hardly use it.
4. Polyphonic synth stuff? Not got this far yet. I have juggled over getting a Monomachine or a Virus for chords and other strange synthy sounds, also an Alesis ION but then I'm wondering whether my software like ACE, Surge VST, Korg Legacy will do just as good.
5. Something hardware with the ability to sequence and use samples. QY700 +sampler? Juggled with Octatrack & RS7000.

I'm on number 5 in that list, everything else I have got now ( apart from a VA - which I'm not too sure about ) but I'm not sure the Octatrack is gonna fit in with what I need.

[satavarma]

I think the unit is pretty sweet otherwise. if i didn't have a computer OCTATRACK would be essential. if anything i'm glad i got a lot of this hardware to only realize that I actually enjoy tracking/midi on the computer and working that way. Its fast the the mouse gui is actually pretty tight to some of the complex programming you have to do with a chord on the OT. click+click+click VS hold button down, turn knob 1, turn knob 2, turn knob 3.

Octatrack can also get step input from midi, so you can enter the note(s) using a keyboard. For me this is the simplest and fastest way ever to create melodies: just hold a step and input the note or chord that should be playing there. I've never had something like this in software world.

I've had mine nearly 2 weeks, still trying to find the way to do my stuff the Elektron way. I already know enough to create music, but I have to practice on some things that require me to "think different" using the OT. I guess this machine's philosophy is to balance simplicity of use and limitations and now I have to find a way to live with the limits.

I'm liking it so far, the worst thing at the moment is that midi sequencer params can't be linked to scenes but I guess this is something that will be provided in a firmware update.