Hey guys. Ive been researching creative sampler/sequencers for “live” and feeling drawn to the Octatrack but wanted to put this up for any wisdom or input. Im sure this is a well discussed topic already.
Ive got an ambient album I want to prep for live - all the original files have been lost so Im going to sample off sections from the album and overdub with re-created parts and lines from my laptop and logic .
Octatrack seems to offer the most but will it handle 2- 8 bar sections of stereo samples ?
Is the Digitakt a viable alternative ? or even the Rytm ?
MPC range seems a but straight laced and too beat oriented despiet the memory capability - Octatrack looks complex and time consuming to learn but seems incredibly creative for live .
I will also be playing live guitar which I will loop and capture. Will Octatrack handle playing sequences and sampling live at the same time ? or am I better getting a looper which will sync somehow ?
all and every thought welcome
many thanks
Ambientnun.
DT can’t do stereo samples (it converts them to mono by dropping the right channel I believe)
Also DT not as friendly for doing other “hands on” stuff as the DT kind of wants all the attention in that regard. There are some tricks where you can kind of turn it into a “push play and walk away” machine but it’s really not meant for that, and if you find yourself going down that path why not just use something that’s better suited for it.
Having said that, I know there’s at least one guy on here @jefones that is using it for ambient stuff and personally I think it is definitely very capable of that style in general. Just maybe not for your requirements.
for what you are looking to do the best elektron device to use would probably be the octatrack. it can be setup as a good live looper (@Open_Mike is quite knowledgeable on this), handles stereo samples, and has the longest available sample time.
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The OT sounds just right for you. Used sometimes for 750€, just check one out. You can play hours of samples, have a good cuing option and usable reverb algos. Not great but more than ok.