Ahhhh… Got it! It makes a lot of sense now. So it is literally like Abelton in a little box (sort of)… I definitely would experiment with the sequencer to utilize the P-Locks. As I said in an earlier post, I play a lot of my sample live to a audio track within Ableton but now that you’ve explain these to me I’d probably utilize the sequencer to see what I could come up with.
Can you play chopped samples live to the sequencer in the Octatrack?
Yep. They get recorded as trigs which can then be further plocked, moved around, erased, copied etc.
yes. little add on… you can even slightly “offset” your recordings to have a natural rytm… at the the end helpful if you like dilla :-))… so you play “in time” and later move some of the “trigs” to a sweet timing offset :-))
i never missed the velocity quality of the MPC while playing choped drum or sample loops… just for complex drum kits i prefer real pads…
Like @nfim said 
Note that you can also use sample chain (e.g. 64 samples placed one after another, if possible regularly to accelerate the cutting) and plock your sample slice in real time by hitting the trig (with trigs in “Slice mode” and running “Record mode”) : very handy to come up with a beat on 1 track only, this way.
But if your samples are not regularly placed in the chain, you can still edit your sample within OT : these days it doesn’t take me a long time to do…
I think upgrading the MPC 1K to the XLCD big screen and latest JJOS XLCD and Phat pads is a must. A stock MPC 1K is pretty bland along side any Elektron Box. So keep that in the budget if you are comparing the two. But in the end its all in the samples I guess and what type of music you would like to make.
awesome to see so much input on this topic, and to hear there are so many hip hop heads using the octa… i knew there must be! if you love samplers and want more than the MPC provides the OT is a natural step… this site tends to focus a little bit more on the dancey side of these machines capabilities…
so please, sound off with some soundcloud/youtube links so we can hear more of your downtempo OT productions.
here is a jam using OT and MPC. At the start trigging some samples from the OT, then playing drums in on the MPC and sampling the audio (no seq). bassline played live from the OP… then rinse and repeat with FX. At the end I resample everything and use OT trigs to reassemble the beat.
apologies to those who may have seen it already. I need to make some new vids, but my octa has gone back to Sweden briefly!
please share your hip hop / down tempo OT beats. : )
There’s a mode on the OT that you can access that will allow you to play back samples on the fly. 128 sample loops or chops. 8 banks of 16 and you don’t even have to turn on the sequencer. It’s called slot mode. You could do an entire hour set like this. I’ve worked like this plenty of times and it’s super easy once you set everything up.
#SoundCloud
Love your videos.
you too pal. <3
epic!
EDIT: any tips on how you’re working?
EDIT EDIT: aside from what you mentioned above
I’m leaning towards having both and MPC and the Octatrack. The growing pains I will have with the OT will be eased knowing that I have MPC around to stay productive. I now see the value of having both. The possibilities make my head spin! 
For now I’m just going to put the money into refurbishing my MPC. The Octatrack will be purchased before the year ends. I’m sold! It’s an amazing device and I’m looking forward to learning it.
Thanks for sharing this!
And yes people… PLEASE keep sharing your experiences with the Octatrack related to making Boom-Bap sample based hip-hop. I’d love to see how everyone is using this machine. It helps a lot!
Thank you all for your replies!
I’ve tossed some rough boom bapy stuff online made with the OT
And this one which gets rough but gives you an idea of some weird stuff you can do attaching the playback speed to the crossfader.
Not boomboombap-y but I recorded this live where every track is from a singular recording of hitting a wine glass with a knife which a shitload of p-locks and different settings. Just the sonic capabilities of the machine. Very fun and set up to be more explorative with sounds. You’re gonna have a lot of fun with it!
This guy does some great straight Boom bap Octatrack Beats 
Love this stuff.
This is EXACTLY what I’m talking about. SUPER DOPE! 
I saw that you posted on here after a while. I hoped it was a confirmation of you ordering the OT…
My favorite piece of gear. I want my joy to be yours(but, you know, with your own OT and not mine)
I will definitely be ordering an Octatrack very soon. I’m refurbishing my MPC first, and then purchasing a unit VERY VERY shortly after. It’s an amazing machine I see. I’m looking forward to going thru the growing pains with it! I will definitely post a pic when that happens.
My best guess would by the end of October. 