MPC to Octatrack... Thoughts?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#21

Wow! This was great. Tons of great feedback. @archrarchr I sure wish at this point I was in the position to get both, but I can only afford one thing at a time. It’s looking like I’m leaning towards buying another MPC first. I like to play my samples and it seems like the Octatrack is geared more towards manipulation rather than playability. It seems more loop-based live set production. Which is really useful but it’s not what my style is…

I keep playing devils advocate with myself because I do have a PUSH. Ableton coupled with a PUSH IMHO is the best software instrument on the market. It does a lot of AND more than my MPC use to do. So… I’m like do I add an Octatrack to the mix and make things interesting?.. IDK… Still on the fence a bit.

@wouzer I’m see how that could be the case. It seems like a frustratingly beautiful instruments. Which intrigues me some…

All the feedback really helped guys! Thanks for all the input.

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#22

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I also have both and use the iPad as sample fodder, they are amazing together but from the sounds of it you should probably get a 2500 with jjos. But don’t forget to get an octatrack down the road either, you can def pair the 2 once you figure out your workflow.

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#23

I’m not opposed to manuals. I’ve just seldom use them because I normally figure things out by trial and error.

@LyingDalai The video was pretty dope! I can see how it could spark your curiosity. This is one that made me go hmmm… It’s just a simple loop. I was curious as to how the machine operated.

#24

No way you will get anywhere with just trial and error with the OT!

#25

And that’s fine. Like I said I’m not opposed to reading a manual. I figured this would be a situation where I would have to dedicate time to the process of learning the instrument.

#26

not true. the OT does this very nicely. chopping workflow is more intuitive than the JJOS, it’s non destructive and it has some nice features. it doesn’t auto chop… but any head that chops on an MPC never trusts the auto chop anyways…

the trigs are not as nice as pads to play, but you can tap out slices on them in real-time, unquantised as well for that drunk drummer feel.

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#27

@tomes is so right :thup:
I chop my sample chains within the OT and it’s getting rather fast now.
And I always start hitting a bit on the trigs. Same for MD btw.

#28

playing trig buttons as opposed to good pads (with velocity) is not exactly the same. But good point. I only wish the OT had a nondestructive gradual quantization like the AR.

Now that I try to recall things about working with an MPC, it does feel a bit anachronistic. Have to press stop constantly. No nondestructive quantization, negative shuffle or post-rec microtiming (the shift does this while recording tho). AR with a good pad controller is a much more elegant environment for building the basic groove backbone for a track.

Akai would do well to cough up a new standalone MPC. The latest MPC software fixes many shortcomings of the old hw boxes.

#29

you can do this. only 96 ppqn, so maybe not as micro as some might like.

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#30

In realtime, without pressing stop?

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#31

no no, sorry, missed the connection between pressing stop there. You’re right, can’t be done without stopping playback.

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#32

There are many postings here, which I second :thumbsup:

I have an OT, an AR … and a MPC 5k … :wink: … and here are my few cent…

If it comes to jamming or playing live on pads, the MPC is king. Finger drumming on a MPC is much fun. I tried it on the AR … well … it’s okay … but if you are used to MPC pads … not really a substitute.

There is one truth that I can confirm. The MPC is very easy and fast to learn - at least the basics and you can start within minutes - without a manual - to make music. AKAI has done an incredible job creating this man-machine interface and I hope like others that they will come up with a new standalone unit, before my old companion get’s broken.

Soundwise my MPC is great but the OT has much more up in it’s sleeves. To dig into the manual, understand all those machines, effects, workflows etc. and how to make use of them does pay off absolutely. The only rule is that we have to learn the Electron-way of workflow. But once familiar with it, they all are dream machines of outstanding quality - sound and workflow.

If you hadn’t already sold your MPC I would have suggested to keep it and get the OT or the AR too. :smiley:

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#33

Hi,

i didnt read the whole comments (hopefully i didnt double answers), but from my side as an ex MPC user and 70s Sample-lover:

Better on MPC: The Pads… Great to play… but really… thats all…

Better on OCTA:

  • importing samples is 1000 times faster, starting and loading is faster
  • 10000 times more ram/sampletime to use
  • choping samples is super easy and quick within the machine… you can also do that in ableton befor import if you like (watch cuckoos OT walk through on youtube… he explains all)
  • using trigs for adding effects or changes to samples is genius… makes a sample come to live
  • crossfader EFX/Soundsetups turn a whole pattern upside down if you want… amazing
  • if you are not into fingerdrumming but like live recording, its easy to play chopped samples with the sequencer keys live into the sequencer… it doesnt have velocity, but mostly you dont
    use this on a MPC. i dont program on my OT, 99% i play with choped sounds, split into 16 steps
  • you can playback very long samples (even whole backing tracks of 5 minutes) and add drums or sounds or whatever perfect in time… so its a little bit like ableton in a box
  • you can sequence mididevices like your triton in parallel… and much easier than the MPC does

The downside:
the OT structure is very complex… i needed a year to really understand what is possible… so you have to give the beast some time to feel good in your hands :-))

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#34

I can second everyone that says the OT and MPC make a wonderful team.

I come from a sample and chop heavy, boombap-y, MPC focused background (Dilla was also my muse).

I got a OT and ended up using it for live sampling, looping, long samples, p-locking, effects and the MPC primarily for polyphonic/more linear type MIDI sequencing.

They are a excellent combo but… in the interests of having the most minimal set-up possible, and as the music I’m making gets less beat based, I decided to ditch the MPC (2500 with JJOS).

Even with the limitations of the OT (mainly less polyphony, no linear type sequencing) I can’t say I regret that decision.

The flexibility of the OT is a blessing and a curse.

You can make any kind of music with this thing, but its greatness is sometimes hidden behind its slightly abstruse structure.

Sometimes you’ll just have to sit down, think through what you are trying to do, maybe even bust out a pen and do a flow diagram :slight_smile:

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#35

i’ve had the mpc60, 2000, 2000xl and an sp1200

i wouldn’t go back to any of them after using the octatrack.

8 tracks seems like a limitation but with sample locks and chains not so much

the main reason are the PLOCKS, PLOCKS, PLOCKS… did i say PLOCKS

i’m a boom bap HEAD… and i feel like its so easy to do changes to make the beats evolve and constantly change
i have also figured out how to nudge my kicks, hats and snares to get my own groove.

i am a “break” producer… so my drums are usually all one track to begin with YMMV

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#36

Yes, of course the OT chops well. The point is more about pad play and feel. You don’t have dynamics with OT trig buttons and you don’t have overlapping sounds.

#37

I’m sure this is one of those read the manual scenarios… I keep hearing P-Locks. What are they? And why are they so useful?

#38

Plocks are more or less equivalent to Ableton Live automation.

= When you activate “Live Rec” mode, you can really sculpt the loop that keeps playing just by turning knobs.
= You can also push a trig and assign specific values for this trig (e.g. : specific sample slice with mighty delay feedback and different filter freq, plus slow sample playing rate and a different LFO speed)
= It’s a very natural way to record a modulation for any parameter while playing your loop.

Elektron sequencers push this pretty far. Once you’ve tasted it, there is no coming back :smiley:

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#39

I get the notion of being efficient with one’s time, but let me just say, faster isn’t always better.

For me, the process of sampling on the MPC and having to press the stop button to accomplish some tasks is the break I need to restart and refresh.

Plus, I’m not that great of a producer so I’m in no hurry to make another 4 bar loop that goes nowhere. At least if it takes me twice as long to get there, I feel like I actually accomplished something :slight_smile:

Here’s a track I made with the MPC as the sequencer, TR-8 on the drums and AR on the everything else. I feel like the MPC has a nice groove: https://soundcloud.com/djadonis206/xtra00s

Here’s a track I made a few years ago with just the OT. Sample chains for the win: https://soundcloud.com/djadonis206/dontsaynothin

And an MPC only track, sampling all TR-8 drums into the MPC: https://soundcloud.com/djadonis206/90s

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#40

Your insight on the Octatrack really helped me ponder over it some more. My main concern is chopping and playing the samples back. I don’t really care about the velocity, or overlapping samples (if it is what I’m thinking it is…) too much. They are both nice to have but not necessary. SP-1200 has triggers that aren’t velocity sensitive and that machine is one of the cornerstones in hip-hop music.

Now, I agree that when it comes to feel nothing will beat the MPC pads. The MPC will always be the crown king for finger drummers. I’m mainly just looking to have a hardware sampler that I can hook up my turntable to and sample, chop, and play the samples. I don’t need the sequencer in an MPC nor the Octatrack. I play my sample live to an audio track. No quantize.

The Octatrack just seems like it will add more depth to the process. The crossfader and effects REALLY sparked my interest.