I guess this question is born from part curiosity part frustration.
I may be wrong in my assumptions, but since owning an OT, I’ve not seen any software updates, despite numerous requests and ideas being put forward on here.
If I’m honest, I rarely need all 8 channels and overbridge doesn’t interest me as I’m totally otb.
I do have some issues however with the ot, even with my limited experience with it.
My set up is OT, 303, 606, vermona retroverb and a future retro swynx, I record a jam onto my zoom h4 recorder, then import the file into live to refine and chop out any sections I don’t like. It’s a very new way of working to me as I’ve no previous experience of working totally otb. I really enjoy this way of working as it feels much more honest and real. I’m averaging about 2 tracks a day when in full flow however some things about the OT really get on my tits.
Why oh why must I resample in order to have more than +/-12 semitones of pitch control?
Why aren’t there any options in the amp section when using ch8 as a master channel?
I want to be able to create chords from the single cycle waveforms I have, but in order to do so I have to dedicate 3+ channels to the same sample, choose the pitches and resample them. It’s laborious and tedious.
So my question is, taking into account elektrons seeming neglect of OT updates in recent times,
Are the getting ready to release a new machine, or should I get a second one to dedicate to these duties?
Cheers for reading.
Marc
Sounds like a real fun setup you have going. Feels good to be out of the computer for composition eh? But then you run into that limitations problem, and how to navigate it.
I think the consensus as to the lack of updates for most Elektron boxes is that Overbridge is taking up a lot of resources.
As far as an OT Mk2, I wouldn’t expect one before late 2016 at the earliest, if ever. If you really love the OT, and just wish it had more channels, then start looking out for a good deal on a used one. I see them for $900-$950 every once in a while.
If you’re wanting easy use of single cycle samples, maybe consider a MonoMachine Mk2 or Mk2+ to accompany the OT, rather than a 2nd OT. Second hand prices are about the same.
You can load single cycle waveforms into the digibanks and easily get chords with the “DENS” machine, or mix two waveforms with the “DDRW” machine, plus so many other things to do with it from there with the neighbor routing.
I think the question “are they getting ready to release a new machine” is a good one. Does anyone here have any idea one way or another?
You have to admit the OT screen looks pretty dated compared to Teenage Engineering’s OP-1…The folks at Elektron must feel that burn.
I had a mm and an md previous to the OT and I hated them, the sound just wasn’t right for me, so much so I ummed and ahhed about buying an OT for 2 years before pulling the trigger. Boy am I glad I did. It sat as the main hub in my studio for about a year before I had to move house and downsize my setup (it’s the only thing that kept my 808 from drifting)
Since moving and going 100% OTB I’ve been using the OT daily and love it, though I’m sure I’m just utilizing a fraction of its capabilities, I rarley even use more than 1 pattern and haven’t even looked into the parts section yet!
Considering a 2nd OT is about the same price as a mm I don’t really see the mm as an option (thanks for the suggestions through)
I really hope they pay the OT some attention soon
I watched the used gear listings here, on eBay, and craigslist and ended up picking up a second OT for $800.
What I like about 2 OTs - I can get something running on 1 unit and rather than worry about saving parts or changing the pattern or forgetting to save something, I just turn on the 2nd OT and work on a different idea there. At the end of the day I can save things to CF card, fire up Rusty’s editor/manager and move around samples, parts, and patterns to consolidate my ideas.
I can also run pickup machines on 1 and flex stuff on the other and not worry about the pickup machines screwing with the tempo of the other.
Finally - I have an audio patchbay for all my gear and I have the CD outputs of OT #1 normalled to the CD inputs of OT #2 in the patchbay, so that way I can send stuff I want to further mangle out CD of #1 and it shows on on OT #2.
What I hope for is a comprehensive OS update rather than a new machine. I think there would be a huge negative PR hit if they left the original OT alone and came out with a new/improved one (unless of course they were offering free hw upgrades to all existing OT owners). That’s just my personal opinion of course.
Why not? Second OT is very good thing in setup - you’ll have 4 stereo outputs (and inputs too), but A4 is 2nd variant… Or AR? or something more…
Yer I fully agree, however if they drop the OT 2 a year later I’m gonna be mighty sore
two octatracks sounds like a good idea… i tried that for a while too but it made me confused because of the complexity/flexibility of it… plus i like to work from the OT as the single midi control hub for all the other synths etc. so one OT usually just sat there doing one shot samples which any $300 sampler could do really. the suggestion for using the monomachine for the single cycles stuff is a good one, it’s more fun and powerful than using the OT with those types of samples but it does colour the sound in a way, sounds softer/smoother & less bitey than other German wavetable synths.
its not going to see any significant update, look at the last one
(a pretty lame attempt to say “see we havent forgotten it”)
its obvious with a delta OB blackhole, and serious calls for OS updates on the analog series, they will/can not assign the time and resources.
i’ll gladly munch crow pie if i’m wrong, but dont see it happening
the best we can hope for is Rusty’s OE taking up the slack
I think it makes more sense to get something that fills the gaps with the OT. In my case, I went for an MPC 1000 with JJOS2XL, and it was the right choice.
The OT is designed for running stereo program material on each track. It’s a bonus that it can also be used to make synths from single-cycle waveforms.
The master track is designed to primarily be a master stereo bus, so additional envelope capabilities were unlikely to be useful in that scenario.
None of the instruments has seen significant updates while Elektron has been focused on creating Overbridge.
Elektron never pre-announces new instruments. There was a newspaper report that said that they would bring out a new product next year, but there is no guarantee about the timeframe, or whether it would be a hardware instrument, or whether it would be a sampler. Even if it were a sampler, it would likely be as different from the OT as the AF is from the MM.
@CountingToes what you seem to need is some kind of synth that deals with samples/waveforms to play chords better than the OT does.
For half the price of a used OT you can get a new Blofeld and control it from the OT.
Maybe it’s not the right piece for your workflow, but you may look this way : the MIDI side of the OT is much fun as well 
Edit : what Accent said 