Octatrack Newbie

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hello

I just received my octatrack and i was wondering if there was a cheat sheet similar to the one for Analog Rytm, that had some apps and a few cool demos/tutorials to look at to save me some time getting up to speed with it. I have the manual of course and i am going to read through it but someone i know said i should inquire with you all and i might get some bonus ideas and input.

I am an experienced programmer [Max7/pd/.Supercollider/Csound] and i use/teach ableton live so i am very interested in using overbridge in conjunction with it but i am trying to fashion a sleeker live setup with an AR/OT with a Novation Circuit and two strymon stomp boxes [Big Sky& Timeline] and that’s it. I really dug the Demdike Stare and what those two cats were doing so i decided to give the Octatrack a go and see if it fits my workflow.

Thank you in advance for any tips/Caveats and hints

Cheers everyone

Patrick

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#2

Welcome!

Merlin’s Guide, always a good start:
http://www.elektron-users.com/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=611&Itemid=30

Packs/Chains/tools

Tutorials+
https://www.mindmeister.com/310663045/elektron-octatrack-video-tutorial-index

Not an inclusive list but should get ya started.
Don’t forget to check out the official Elektron videos on their website, Cuckoo’s tutorials, and Carl Mikael’s Cabinet of Curiosities…
Sorry if I forgot some of y’all, (there’s more)…

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#3

There is no overbridge for the OT, nor will there ever be.

Since you already are a “tech” person I doubt you’ll have much trouble getting to grips with the OT. It is an amazing machine that can be used is a myriad of ways. Just concentrate on one part of it at a time and you won’t be overwhelmed. I’d recommend to wait with the sampling part. Just load samples, make beats and melodies, fool around with fx and parameter locks, etc.

Then perhaps dive into the various ways to sample, or the midi sequencer functionality or even the (mostly overlooked) Arranger.

In my opinion, the best way to get familiar with the OT quickly is to ignore videos and all that stuff, and just explore one part of it at a time. With the manual and this list of hotkeys next to you: http://www.elektron-users.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=608&Itemid=30

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#4

Imma toss a +1 to that. It’s convolutedness leads to confusion, but it’s so open ended that the users can find themselves making the OT theirs; imprinting themselves on how they work the OT’s abilities (or vice versa).

I would also say the manual, plus Merlin’s doc, and MAYBE the Octatrack Know-.How (which are, in playing the Elektron mo, vague enough to not be pedantic…just the facts, ma’am).

The others (afaik) are good for ideas you may have missed (definitely inevitably)

But above all, patience. It’s worth it. I’ve had mine for over 6 months and after using it constantly I know I’m still using only 7% of it. But oh what a sweet 7% it is.

#5

The OT integrates really well with a DAW and IMO it’s pointless to be sad that the OT has no Overbridge (not talking about you here… but in general). Of course you will need a good audio interface and I guess you should have one of those.
Here are the things I use the OT for (combined with my RME Babyface Pro):

  1. Sample from Spotify. This is really amazing!
  2. Send 8 midi tracks to Ableton and have all the midi possibilities. Esp good for drum racks.
  3. Chain those patterns and midi tracks plus develop polyrythms and have different time signatures on each track.
  4. Use midi learn with Reaktor 6 and have lfo’s control parameters. Esp good on complex oscillators. Of course Reaktor has it’s own lfo’s but I like midi learn.
  5. Record my VST’s from Ableton into the OT and mangle.
  6. Record my OT doodlings with scenes and so on into Ableton on 4 channels.
  7. Did I mention chain those patterns and midi tracks plus develop polyrythms and have different time signatures on each track?
  8. Use a small mixer and have the Cue outs as sends for effects.

There are a lot more things I do but I can’t remember them all. But every so often I get a wow moment. Recently I got that with trigless trigs.
The OT is the best music making machine hands down ever. It’s a classic. Some people think it’s just a kind of drum machine. How wrong they are.

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#6

Thank you All so much, So much to learn. i understand so much more thanks to everyone’s generous posts. Thank you for those workflow tips Andrew108, really great ideas. I have been loving Reaktor6 with the addition of the Euro Blocks. I Started with the Demo mode and got familiar with basic functions and setups. I am using the Octatrack with an Analog Rytm and a Novation Circuit plus a Strymon Big Sky and a Strymon Timeline. i have a Mackie mixer to add to the mix [literally] and i am loving this [sort of] minimal setup.

Maybe someone can help me with this though. When i was doing the machine tutorial for pickup machines i get this weird error “P1 dub aborted” and i reset the pitch checked LFOs and still i am struggling with it

#7

I am also wondering what is the general consensus of Octaedit?
I did not see a demo of the program but i am interested in it

#8

This will happen if pitch or tempo has been changed, and possibly if the OT is slaved to midi clock. Try with OT as master(sending not receiving clock), set pitch to zero, set your tempo, enter the recording setup menu and press function+play(while not in grid recording mode) to clear the recorder buffer. Now exit record setup and try again…
About that Mackie mixer. If it has the alt 3-4 bus it’s the OT’s best friend. Send the 3-4 to a pair of OT’s inputs. Set up those inputs for sampling. Attach whatever to the mixer for monitoring and whenever you want to sample something just alt3-4 it. You can even have the OT already monitoring that input pair so when you press alt 3-4 you still hear the sound, but it’s passing through OT now…

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Started using Pickup Machines on stage
#9

THANKS Mike
I DO have the mackie with the 3/4 that you mention
SWEET.

Thanks for weighing in it’s really helpful, gratitude

Patrick

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#10

I have a small modular system (was thinking about building/investing into a larger 9U system) and I think Reaktor 6 is really amazing. I’m actually going to sell my modules because Reaktor sounds sooooo good. Reaktor plus a good audio interface plus octatrack = all you will probably ever need. I especially like the reverb and delays in R6 - very high quality.

#11

I agree Reaktor6 sounds really amazing I’m sure you know about Mike Hetricks Euro Reakt set of Blocks --Amazing, they are free in the User Library --look for "
Euro-Reakt"

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