In my book, there were already two new versions of OT OS in 2015, and 4 in one year.
It’s unfair to say OT is forgotten.
Hey JSZ
Yeah by non destructive i mean like the erase head has tape over it so you can layer.
With External clock you can loop Flex machines but they are destructive.
Pickup machines allow you to overdub but only when running on Internal clock! Clock Externally & you get the infamous ‘Dub abort’ message!
[/quote]
Yeah this is a shame, I am not sure they can fix it though, a tiny deviation in the perceived clock upsets the looper concept.
Even with sample accurate midi clock at the input to the octatrack you will get this problem. My theory is that the octatrack is possibly too sensitive to midi clock changes, so even when there is no change its own internal clocking of the midi input stream detects one and shifts.
I’ve raised the above with them, with an example that highlights it, even without using the pickup machines and they were suprised by the bug and said they would look into it. Just for those interested an example would be:
Sound input to AB on octatrack
Track 1 record machine set to AB, 16 step pattern, 16 step sample length with a trigger on step 1.
Track 1 play machine set to Flex1 Record machine, sample on step 1. playback mode on timestretch is on.
If you have this setup with external sync to the octatrack, even the most accurate of midi clocks will drop the sample recording every so many loops, it just cuts out.
Switching the timestretch off sorts it.
2015 is a puzzling chapter in the Elektron story.
1 Like
Wonder how long it will be before the Octatrack is no longer technically supported- must be well into its 8 year lifespan. Dont panic though, you will still be able to buy the parts they won’t have to fix it with from them.
It’s been a good ride and I’m not holding my breath for anything else. If you wanna ride the update cycle buy an analog machine. I feel like people cheat themselves a bit by getting hung up on the OT’s feature list. Make music and when ya hit an obstacle, be creative about it.
I want something new from Elektron. A mixer. A video synth. Something cheap, like a cute little Elektron machine. Multi fx unit. A flute.
Hey JSZ
Yeah by non destructive i mean like the erase head has tape over it so you can layer.
With External clock you can loop Flex machines but they are destructive.
Pickup machines allow you to overdub but only when running on Internal clock! Clock Externally & you get the infamous ‘Dub abort’ message!
http://www.elektronauts.com/t/pickup-machine-as-slave/6014
http://www.elektronauts.com/t/pick-up-machine-help/1649
http://www.elektronauts.com/t/a-bunch-of-questions-before-i-spend-1-2k/5687page:2
http://test.http://www.elektronauts.com/t/pickup-machines-sorely-missing-functions/12357
[/quote]
I did not know about this, I very rarely have anything else than the OT as master. I thought you meant starting the PU recording synced to the already running sequencer, my bad.
There are very good hardware around that is not any longer build, like the Spectralis or the MC909 or the Octupus sequencer. Most of the new equipment i see, does not have the features of the old era.
If Elektron announces a sales stop without announcing a MK2 version, i would by another one, just for backup purposes.
I just want to see the start point CC actually update the start point without a ~150ms lag (obviously it’s possible because there’s a workaround, although it’s awkward). Oh and for direct trigger to work on MIDI tracks. Other than that I’m pretty happy with it as it is.
I’m suddenly glad i’ve never come home to my OT having sliced and resampled my house.
i sorta stand by what i tried to suggest, as evidenced from some replies - by having these unfocused unseen informal feedback sessions we do ourselves no favours in terms of giving Elektron a helping hand in channeling the little time they may be able to attribute to finesse points and incorporate subtle universally sought user enhancements - i think we can’t expect too much insight from them, but by collectively highlighting genuine verified issues we can at least hope that those would get attention or feedback, especially (as re-stated already in this thread) if they are asked directly - there’s zero point of putting it on here imho
.
there’s no doubt that taking on individual issues and debunking/proving/understanding them is an onerous task -but it seems like the only way to to potentially influence the development path whilst they are busy supporting and developing newer products
.
talking about it here and getting upset that nothing changes is hopelessly naive imho - take for example the discussions (which i have contributed too) on the slice trigging via midi - there’s a lot of user insight there and not one single bit of feedback that i recall from elektron - we’ve demonstrated an unfortunate constraint and suggested workarounds - but nobody’s asked why it may be that way, i don’t think we can assume that every issue has a solution, it’s potentially a valid constraint as much as it may be a fixable oversight - the point i’m making is that we talk about our frustrations on here and keep bringing it up periodically - there’s nothing about this approach which isn’t a recipe for festering frustrations
.
let’s thrash it out (any big issue) and ask directly/collectively if it is something that can be fixed and then patiently cross our fingers rather than regurgitating these frustrations every month or so
.
surely the pre-fx post-fx mute thing has been commented on officially over the years, if not, wouldn’t it be a simple thing to get some quick feedback on (assuming it’s a gripe shared by many and there’s no obvious reason why it is that way once it is thought through) , it may be a simple matter to put to bed one way or another (like most of the impossible feature requests which are trotted out time after time)
.
as before, just my pennies worth - when i get the time i’m hoping to get to the bottom of why the pickup machines got dropped from their pr spec for the machine and to also highlight the areas where it fails to work as expected/described - but ruling out user error, expectation issues, lack of understanding etc takes time and support from the interested parts of the community.
.
anyway, this is a bit off topic in terms of what the op was looking for - but i’d urge anyone who has a particular problem (the midi slice trigger thing is a very good example) to start a Focussed thread that can be linked to in a formal request for support feedback via the devs
Agreed.
Did neilbaldwin ask Elektron?
Agreed.
Did neilbaldwin ask Elektron?[/quote]
my point exactly - plus when it’s done collectively and illustrates a real issue it’ll be more likely to solicit a response - i can predict the response to a solitary user’s conceptual query, but there’s often been some good insight coming out of gothenberg voluntarily so you never know, but here’s not the place
I’m honestly surprised that the reaction to wondering why there is so little communication from Elektron about the OT is ‘well, it’s bad for business to communicate about it’ or ‘it’s up to them, don’t worry about it.’
Companies maintaining ‘radio silence’ about development is a very modern phenomenon, I think more-or-less brought up by the re-Jobbified apple. It may have worked to ‘generate buzz and speculation’ years ago in their case, but for most businesses, it’s a toxic way to treat customers.
For some counter-cases of instruments I’ve owned: Access has been very open about the fact that, other than bugs, TI is done - and they do have reps on the fora helping people out. Back when I had an MPC1000, you could email JJ and actually get a response from him on features. He’s an independent dev, so he knows his business relies on a good word-of-mouth reputation. Same story emailing Julian about the LXR. From what I’ve read and heard from friends about the Tempest and DSI, they might have been slow to get their features out, but they were open about what was and wasn’t in the works.
These are stellar guys, and they prove it doesn’t have to be this way. I’m pretty happy with what the OT has now, but there are features I know would be a development cakewalk but no news that they are even considering such things. It’s just disappointing and makes me think twice about ever getting another piece of Elektron kit.
This ^^ very well put
You want to know why Elektron never speaks about what’s going on? Because they get their balls busted no matter what they do or say. If they promise a release date and then miss it, people turn into turd flinging apes around here. If they announce a certain type of machine, they get flooded with feature requests and more flying turds. People threaten to never buy another Elektron product again because they think Elektron is going to be intimidated by idle threats. But they’re not. They never have been, and never will be. They know people will stay with them because the products they make are so damn good. They make some of the best gear in the market, as well as having had introduced several products that can’t be found anywhere else. Elektron is a force, and a force does not bow down to address the squabbling of hens. Just trust that they will, as always, surprise and dazzle with killer products and years of ongoing updates and support.
Sorry, the word ‘force’ is way out of context! Elektron is about creative minds, and for us it’s about to liberate our ideas with these creative machines. The fun with these machines is the inspiration factor! So in this case ‘fuck force’!!!
make up your mind 
do they get their balls busted or do they not waiver or care about the noise? 
some might say you are bit to enamored with their “balls” and turds. 
Agreed.
Did neilbaldwin ask Elektron?[/quote]
my point exactly - plus when it’s done collectively and illustrates a real issue it’ll be more likely to solicit a response - i can predict the response to a solitary user’s conceptual query, but there’s often been some good insight coming out of gothenberg voluntarily so you never know, but here’s not the place[/quote]
If I had and had received a response I’d just paste it straight into this thread. This way I’m cutting out the middle man. Or giving Elektron the chance to do that.
Once again, I respect your idea avantronica but unless there’s some kind of sign from Elektron that they’re remotely interested in hearing curated feedback like that, what’s the point? We’d just be wasting a whole lot of time and effort.
i think we all sorta feel your pain Neil, but the only thing we know we’re encouraged to do is contact support about issues; everything we users ponder here is just speculative and informal afaik
.
my suggested approach (to shaping the roadmap) isn’t something that guarantees results either, i just think it is more likely to on two counts
- it’s direct - it gets read & gets a response
- it’s compelling because there’s evidence of an issue and a consensus from a broad spectrum of committed solutions-focussed users
.
I also agree it could be a waste of time - but at least a constructive thread discussing issue X could then be linked to when a new user asks the same old questions/FR time after time - as it stands there’s a lot of frustration, but I don’t see much grounds for that frustration as merely voicing those frustrations here is futile imho - this is an informal chat platform and imho it’s rendered impossible for Elektron to meaningfully join in periodically as it descends into comical territory all too often - it is probably best served exactly the way it is, so that leaves support for the more searching enquiries that the elektronauts can’t answer, like this one
.
leaving aside all our issues and questions of roadmaps, I’m not sure we are entitled to feel neglected because questions/requests/bug-reports on here go unaddressed - this is one of the usual justifications for retrospective bitching, I just think that’s wasted energy
.
not trying to pop anyone’s bubble here, we’d all love to know
if nothing else this is a free bump to aid your slim chances 
There is a well established and successful “community solution” for curated feedback that Elektron could use if they were interested - it’s used by many hi-tech, software and device manufacturers - here’s a couple of simple examples:
https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Requests/idb-p/features
http://community.skype.com/t5/Windows-desktop-client-Ideas/idb-p/Windows_Ideas/tab/most-kudoed
These type of dedicated feedback widgets are successful because they provide many of the things a Product development team needs to efficiently track user requests in a way that is transparent to the community.
Crucially, the success of this type of approach is largely based on its transparency - end users can see how “popular” their request is based on community votes and comments - the Product team can reject or stall even hugely popular requests via the “status” field with reasoned responses.
Typically, the implementation rate (requests that make product) for these initiatives is between 1-10% - so it’s not a huge undertaking in terms of development resource - most ideas are on balance unpopular or unfeasible - and the best ones that bubble to the top, give the business a clear view of what a broad base of users really want.
Unfortunately, while a widget like this is cheap and easy to add to a forum, it requires the business to embrace the notion of greater transparency and recognise the business value of “co creation” with its best users. It seems Elektron are quite conservative in this regard - they are an innovative 21st Century company that are stuck with grey 20th Century business philosophy.