Pickup Machine Help

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

I’ve been playing with my Octatrack in a live setting (as opposed to the studio, which is where I’m normally holed up).

Inspired by the recent Elektron video (Jam #6 I believe) I’ve been investigating the usefulness of Pickup Machines.

The video says that a click is being fed to the musicians, and that the pickup machines are locked to it. Everything that I can find states that the first pickup machine sets the tempo. How does one lock a tempo in before using a PU Machine, forcing the “master” PU Machine to be at the original tempo?

I tried to search for this, but as other have stated, the search function of this forum is basically useless.

Thanks for any insight. Happy to follow links if this has already been covered, just couldn’t find the answer myself.

Andrew

#2

The way I would do it would be to have the sequencer running and feeding the click from cue out. Then you can use the qrec parameter on the Pickup track to quantize your loop start and end to happen on the next completion of 16 steps for example, using the one2 rec mode.

#3

If the sequencer is already running the pick up machine won’t change the tempo, rather will stay in time with the tempo already set. The Pick Up machine will change the tempo only when using the tempo sync … I use the pick up machines all the time for guitar looping and never use the sync. I play with a drum machine and some synths so I usually have at least some part of those running with the OT sequencer before starting the guitar loops.

On page 56
The Octatrack sequencer can be tempo synchronized to a Pickup machine recording. This is useful if you want to mix pre-progammed tracks with Pickup machine loops and don’t want the sync of the sequencer to drift.
Press [TRACK] + [TEMPO] to sync the sequencer to a Pickup machine loop. The BPM value normally shown in the top left corner of the LCD will at the same time be replaced
with information about which Pickup machine that is controlling the sequencer BPM.

#4

Hello I need some help with Pickup machines
What i would like to do is this

Record the return from the CUE that i am sending out D to my strymon Timeline coming back into the OT on AB.
I am was using a Thru machine on OTrack 8 to send the Novation Circuit [on D] out to the looper.
I would like to send it out D and record what is coming back in on A-B and sample it but the sample restarts after 10-14 ticks.

I KNOW i am doing something wrong but i was using the thru machines with Studio Out set so i could send whatever i wanted out the CUE and loop it in the Styrmon. I would like to bring that back in as a Transition/Etc for my set but i am just not grokking the Pickup Machine yet. How do i have the recording last maybe 10 seconds in stead of a 14 count?

Is there an online tutorial? The manual example has two machines and i am constantly getting some error when i change tempo/Dub aborted and i think i have finally solved that issue. Can someone give me some support so i can understand this cool feature finally ?

Thanks Awesome peoples

#5

Getting the pickup machine to capture circa 10s or so, you need to look at the RLEN value, if it’s set at the highest specified value, 64, you’ll get roughly 10s at 90bpm, so if you set the trig mode to one all you need to do is tap A:B then C:D after it’s started looping back

Not sure if that’s what you want to know, but it was hard to discern the exact nature of your query

#6

i think that’s part of what i was doing wrong. I think i was also perhaps thinking C:D was it’s own recorder so i was in effect clicking C:D/C:D Instead of A;B/C:D. I think my brain was fixed on the THRU machines and i just needed to snap out of it. I THINK i understand what you have offered and i am going to try it when i get home.

Thanks

Patrick

#7

The Pickup Mode buttons have no relation to the labels (abcd etc) of the button

Have a look at this which also details the midi commands required to get all the functionality from the PUM

There’s a lot of good insights into getting something from PUMs if you browse older threads