OT vs MnM MIDI Sequencing and Synthe

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

I have the Monomachine, and while I am enjoying it, I’m not enjoying it as much as I would have hoped. I find that I am using it more to sequence external gear than using the internal synths simply because the kinds of sounds I like to create (big warm lush stuff) is very hard to get out of the unit easily.

I’ve been looking at the OT and reading the manual and I’m wondering if anyone has both units and can speak to the benefits of the OT over the MnM for MIDI sequencing.

It seems like, for external MIDI sequencing, I can live record notes from my MIDI keyboard into the OT and then have that sequence my synths, or I can do per note editing of polyphonic chords by assigning the first note and then the intervals after that.

In regards to using hte OT as a synthesizer of sorts, has anyone experimented with loading in single cycle waveforms and then using the OT’s onboard FX and such to create melodies? I like how, when using the MnM, to program melodies a little keyboard pops up. To my knowledge, that doesn’t exist on the OT. Does that mean sequencing melodies with the OT requires p-locking the pitch knob, or can you enter specific notes?

I’m racking my brain thinking about all this, and I’m sure I’ll have more questions as I learn more.

Thanks!

#2

Give the Monomachine a month or two, it needs some taming.
First, is it a +Drive ?
If so, you can load your own waveforms, did you know that ?

Now for the warm sounds, try using DPRO / SAW with a little bit of LP filter, or even GND/SIN to get very simple oscillators…

I really like what I can do with the Mono, it’s pretty wide what it can offer.
One thing to keep in mind : if you don’t manage to get a precise sound, it may not be the machine :wink:
Sometimes a tweaking of one unit on a knob totally change the sound, so you have to read a lot to know where you got to go (check Tarekith EU tricks & tips compilation for instance).

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#3

I got the MnM on my birthday (Feb. 1) and have basically used it every single day since then. I am def. creating some crazy sounds with it, but not ones that I would use in the majority of the music that I write. I find that I’m enjoying using it more as a sequencer for my Virus, Volcabeats, and Fatman analog synth. I have printouts of all the tips and tricks from various places and have read most of them. I know I can give it more time, but I don’t think, at this point, time is the thing.

I think I’m just realizing that, for my sound palate, the MnM may not be up my alley. That’s why I’m curious as to how the OT compares.

There is a lot to love about the MnM.

  1. The arp is awesome.
  2. Programming melodies is quick and intuitive.
  3. You can get crazy sounds out of it, but whether or not they’re useful in my tracks is the issue.

My partner and I are starting our 7th album this summer, so I’m def. going to give it through then to make a final decision. If I end up using it more on the album, then it’s a keeper. If not, then I want to be knowledgable for my next step.

#4

https://markmoshermusic.com/2016/02/27/011-swarm-of-the-nanobots/

That post covers taking, I believe, a sawtooth sample from a Nord into the Octatrack and turning the Octatrack into a ‘Swarmatron’ type instrument.

I don’t have an Octatrack yet. It’s next on my list. I was thinking about midi sequencing this morning as I already have the silver boxes. Just looking at the specs pages and a little bit at the Octatrack manual, it seems like the OT can do more CC automation per track over the Monomachine (10 versus 4) and can take advantage of some of the other newer sequencer features of the OT (micro-timing, etc).

The Elektronauts Youth Code talk’s last paragraph has some cool tricks of using the midi sequencer’s p-locking to generate a number of different samples off of a single single synth in one pass. I’ve done a little bit of this with the MDUW.

http://www.elektronauts.com/talk/view/69

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#5

Quite different machines operationally and sequencer wise truth be told.
I had a Octatrack but went for 2 x Monomachine’s in the end as i just gel with them a whole lot better.
Also remember that i have had my units for 3.5 and 2 years respectively and sound design on the MnM is a bit of a dark art that takes time and experience to master.
The MnM will allow sequencing via a keyboard, and the inputing of chords for midi sequencing too along with the ability to realtime transpose sequences via a controller keyboard as well but it will NOT give you the multiple track division and/or more polyrhythmic features the OT will.
I don’t find warm lush stuff an issue on the MnM (you aren’t going to get analog warm but you can get some really complex pads) and some very clever layering and triggering using neighbour tracks with different arp settings and sounds blended in with the original melodic content and even have note offsets for each track in the process.
I also find using Max based sequencing devices in conjunction with the internal sequencer yields some incredibly complex sequencing I wouldn’t have arrived at using the OT on its own when I had one but each has its own merits.
I just found the OT’s way of working to convoluted for my liking but that may not mean you wouldn’t love it yourself.

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#6

Hmm. I think you’ve just convinced me to stop bitching and keep trying. Haha. I’ll need to really sit with your post and the one above it.
Thanks, everyone!

#7

Plenty of people:

#8

Plenty of people.

But note that you can create melodies just by p-locking pitch or using slices of a single long sample; you don’t need to use the OT’s effects for that purpose.

#9

You can enter specific notes in the MIDI sequencer tracks using the NOTE parameter, and then p-lock the NOTE parameter to make melodies. And enter 4-note chords the same way. Or live record melodies and chords from a external MIDI keyboard.

You knew that I was going to say this, but it’s worth downloading and reading the OT’s manual to find out more.

#10

That’s what I wanted to hear :smiley:
Now if you’re mostly sequencing gear, OT is just the best for it : sequencing and sampling your external gear + adding FX greatly expand what you can do with it.
Plus you have 8 MIDI tracks x 10 assignable CC and 3 LFOs which makes it quite a beast.

Creating sounds from samples is very interesting as well, you got very different sounds from pure synthesis.

About wavetables : you can use it with OT, but as you cannot easily make chords out of it, you cannot really switch from several mono synths to one poly synth. It’s just not where it shines.
It’s a lot better to sequence your Virus and sample a chord from it.

Now MM is a great synth. Try to upload wavetables and dig deeper to find your warm sound, you should get rewarded.
The best discovery I made on the MM : as soon as you begin to plock the hell out of it, it suddenly comes to life !

Have fun, mate !

#11

I swapped my Monomachine for an Octatrack and could not be happier (even though I am a synth man at heart).

I spent a lot of time with the Monomachine but I was never really happy with the sound unless I used external FX.
[font=Calibri","sans-serif]The Octatrack is good for sequencing other synths and it makes a nice mixer (with two stereo inputs). I find the FX to be better than on the Monomachine plus you can do a lot with samples, even if you are not into the really glitchy stuff.

#12

Groovy. Any examples of stuff you’ve done with the OT? What’s your workflow like?

#13

[quote="“slicetwo”"]

Groovy. Any examples of stuff you’ve done with the OT? What’s your workflow like?[/quote]
If this helps any or maybe it doesn’t -
Track done sequenced with the OT (still uses the MnM + A4 and Nord Modular + extra analog) in this instance. Percussion is all OT on this.

And two tracks done with gob loads of Monomachine (no Octatrack) one with external FX processing and the other without.
MnM processed through Reaktor + A4 / Drums all MnM+TR8

This one is kind of largely all dualing Monomachines + the MD when I owned one.

They both do a certain skewed thing quite well but nothing I have ever owned quite wonks and scuttles and does oddball like my two Monomachines combined. The workflow is also way more immediate on the MnM that the OT IMHO but whatever floats your boat. If one is a better fit for you then be my guest, it’s all gravy,

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#14

Groovy. Any examples of stuff you’ve done with the OT? What’s your workflow like?[/quote]
If this helps any or maybe it doesn’t -
Track done sequenced with the OT (still uses the MnM + A4 and Nord Modular + extra analog) in this instance. Percussion is all OT on this.

And two tracks done with gob loads of Monomachine (no Octatrack) one with external FX processing and the other without.
MnM processed through Reaktor + A4 / Drums all MnM+TR8

This one is kind of largely all dualing Monomachines + the MD when I owned one.

The both do a certain skewed thing quite well but nothing I have ever owned quite wonks and scuttles and does oddball like my two Monomachines combined. The workflow is also way more immediate on the MnM that the OT IMHO but whatever floats your boat. If one is a better fit for you then be my guest, it’s all gravy,
[/quote]
Lovely music Venn, especially that last tune. Great showcase of the mnm.

#15

Yo Venn,

Your tunes are real cool. Thanks for posting them.

#16

[quote="“slicetwo”"]

Groovy. Any examples of stuff you’ve done with the OT? What’s your workflow like?[/quote]

I use the Octatrack with an Electribe and a Virus Snow. It works well because the Electribe patterns and Virus multis align with the Octatracks patterns. If I switch the Octatrack on last it will automatically set the Electribe and Virus to the correct pattern/multi (I name the patterns/multis to match the Octatrack bank/pattern numbering). Fortunately the Virus has a midi soft thru option which overcomes the single midi out limitation of the Octatrack.

I totally control the Virus from the Octatrack but only use it to start/stop and tempo control the Electribe sequencer, plus Plocking parameters on 4 tracks of the Electribe. I feed the audio outs from the Virus and Electribe into the Octatrack, using thru engines as this allows me to use scenes and the crossfader to affect the audio. I use track 8 on the Octatrack as a master track as I find 5 audio tracks to be sufficient and you can get a nice sounding mix.

Generally the Virus provides bass, lead and pad sounds, the Electribe provides drums and I use the Octatrack audio tracks for vocal snippets, loops and some harsher synth sounds using single cycle waveforms.

I have only had the Octatrack a few months so have not completed any songs yet, I have only created a few short riffs so far (been too busy finishing tunes ITB, my all hardware setup is for the summer months when I go away and don’t have access to my computer).

[font=Calibri","sans-serif]I don’t know how Venn has embedded the audio otherwise I would post a short example?

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#17

Awesome.

I got the MnM cause I wanted to have synthesis and sequencing in one box. I had eyed the OT to compliment my other gear, but I ended up not rocking it because of the lack of synthesis. I’m gonna keep experimenting with the MnM for a few more months and see what happens.