I’m torn between an octatrack and mono machine to compliment my MD.
Both are entirely different beasts, I know… but I want to use whatever I choose a lot in my productions in ableton, (as well as for live jamming of course). For this reason I was gearing towards the monomachine because it is an actual synth, whereas the octatrack seems better suited to on the fly live performance type stuff… maybe I’ve got this completely wrong?
Any tips on either would be much appreciated:)
I own both the MnM since it came out and the OT about 18 mths
Probably not what you want to hear but imo:
I would get a Tempest, or an A4 which i also have,
both are better for synth jamming.
They are currently my “go to” gear, they go on first and make up the bulk
of my tunes.
They both have on the fly pattern switching and performance controls.
The OT is massive for sample loop scene weirdness but just slows me down with its awkward OS, and doesnt sound anything special
The MnM is great to but a little long in the tooth as far as no micro timing
, pattern switching or easy performance set ups, can sound amazing (takes effort though).
If you can try any of them out, with someone who can show you what they can do, or you might have to buy and then sell if they dont work for you.
cheers
Do you have your synth needs covered but not your sampler needs? Or vice versa? That’s probably the main factor to consider.
If you are set on using Ableton, I would definitely recommend the Monomachine over the Octatrack.
I got an Octatrack a year ago and struggled to find a way to reintegrate it with Ableton. I even tried Cubase, Logic and Renoise but there were always issues (on the DAW side). Essentially you just need a host for soft synths and fx to run into the Octatrack - the rest is overlap. I ended up using Reaktor.
I wanted to switch from Ableton to a predominantly hardware setup because I felt that I was spending too much time obsessing over tiny details of the production rather than going with the flow and recording mixes as ‘takes’ like I used to do.
The Octatrack solves that problem by encouraging a performance-based approach. However, it didn’t stop me from getting stuck on listening to 4bar loops and I found it difficult to finish tracks without an overview of the entire timeline.
About 2 weeks ago, I got a Monomachine and everything just clicked. It helped that I had spent a year learning the Octatrack - most of the UI is the same, if not very similar. After a couple of days I had a workflow with the Octatrack sorted and was actually writing and finishing short pieces.
The Monomachine is absolutely incredible. It’s bursting with character and has an even more modular architecture than the Octatrack - there are so many ways to play it.
You may still struggle to find a way to integrate it into your Ableton workflow, but it won’t require you to completely change the way you record, as the Octatrack would.
If this is your first Elektron, you are going to want to switch off the computer altogether and just sit with the Monomachine and some headphones for the first few days / weeks. The secret is to give in to the Elektron way of doing things and not try to shoehorn it into your existing setup until you know what it is capable of.
Long-winded reply but, my advice is start out with the Monomachine and see where that takes you!
EDIT: Ah, you already have an MD. Missed that bit of your post. You’ll be up and running with the Mono in no time. If you’re unsure about the sound palette, get one 2nd hand and you can always resell it for next to no loss.
Sterling advice, cheers:)
MD my only hardware synth so far. I have ableton and an APC40 to control it. No hardware sampler either.
Also, seeing as the Octatrack can perform pretty comfortably as a sample based drum machine, I thought that if I was coupling it with the Machinedrum, then it might not be the ideal pairing?
I’m not selling the MD so is the mono machine&machinedrum combination the best?
hi, what a funny profile pic you have… is that the users manual of the md ? hehhehe … better mark everything red 
…
I would buy the MM instead of the OT … try to find a second hand one (try not to get scammed ) … see how the mm clicks with you … the OT is a kraken … the MM a screaming tamable bitch … throw that bitch at the kraken eventually …
like another user said: MM plus headphones, plus a steady hand will do the trick …
tl dr: you will have to buy them all, start with the MM (no particualr reason why, except I have more fun with MM than OT, but had more fun with OT initially)
Thanks TrabanT… but does the MM work well say if I want to record some synth sounds from it into ableton in my productions?
the output of the MM MkII are, as all Elektron gear , phenomenal, … so input quality depends mostly on your cables, and audio interface!
bear in mind you can run the MM through the MD if you only have a stereo input on your DAW like me! …plus I have a mixer …
MM will work well for recording things into the DAW, but the real beauty lies in creating and messing with reverb mix busses, plocks and the all praised arpeggiattttorrrrr … did you catch the latest work flow videos from dataline?
also check the product presentation vid from elektron …
Yeah watched:) It’s just nice to know I can record with it too for when I tire of using virtual synths in ableton.
I have had a few failed attempts to buy one or the other since I posted last;)
Ok so I bought a cheap Doepfer Dark Energy 2 yesterday, with that in mind which is best machine for my setup now with a view to sequencing the Doepfer also?
Apologies for the ndless questions!
Cheers!