Calibration of scene crossfader?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#5

I wonder if the calibration procedure could be abused by people who want to use the crossfader for DJ style stuff. You couldn’t adjust the curve (as far as we know) but if you calibrated it with the fader set somewhere other than the end of its throw, it seems like you could probably set it up t go from A to B across a smaller range of its throw, and that combined with the existing LFO trics for changing its response might help get it to work better for quick cut and things. I’m not a DJ so I don’t have the knowledge to really test if it’s helpful or not, but it seems promising.

I would love to get hold of an Octatrack service manual and see exactly what can be calibrated on it. Encoder sensitivity? Screen contrast? Input LED sensitivity? Who knows?

3 Likes
#6

This just saved me a 2 hour trip in LA traffic…I thought my new OT was faulty as it wouldn’t go all the way to 100% A, and was backwards on CC data…Function and Scene B fixed it right away. Thank you!

1 Like
#7

Perfect! Thanks :slight_smile:

#8

Hi all, so after four years or so away, I finally bought another Octatrack (this time the MK2). I fell right back into it and it felt like reuniting with an old friend…until about 2 hours into my first real use when I realized that the crossfader wasn’t moving the full range to the left. Some research here led me to booting up in Test Mode, which confirmed that the crossfader was stopping just shy of the full range (between trigs 14 and 15…also confusing was that moving the fader to the left causes the trigs to light up going the opposite direction and vise versa). What’s worse is that the crossfader stopped working entirely after booting into test mode, confirmed by the animation on the screen showing no movement (ie, it’s not an issue of assigning scenes or anything, since the fader animation in the UI should still show movement even with no assignments).

Is it possible something happened while it was in test mode? More importantly, is there a way to recalibrate the crossfader? What I’ve seen so far is saying to check the behavior in Test Mode and implying it can be fixed, but I’m not seeing any way to actually try recalibrating it myself. It was a new, factory sealed unit and I have already contacted the retailer regarding a return and replacement, but if possible I’d really prefer to get this unit working properly (especially since I’m taking some days off from work this week and was planning to get some real work done with the OT).

Also, hi…been a while since I’ve been around these parts because I’ve been focused on modular, but with getting a Digitone recently and now another OT I expect to be a more regular contributor around here again.

#9

Why not just utilize the search function?

https://www.elektronauts.com/search?q=calibrate%20crossfader

The first hit gives the answer how to calibrate … :wink:

3 Likes
#10

Dude, you are a lifesaver. I was searching for answers via google, but none of the links I found for the forum explicitly stated how to solve the problem.

For posterity:

  1. enter Test Mode
  2. hold Function + Scene B while moving the crossfader across the entire range. The trigs should be green on trig 1 and trig 16 once you reach the full range on either side.
  3. reboot normally.

Nothing I came across spelled out step #2 explicitly. I was moving the fader and holding Scene B, but nothing I saw said you needed to hold function while doing it. Looks like everything is perfect now. Thank you. I am so happy I could kiss you. :rofl:

5 Likes
I just bought an OT Mk2
#11

I’m exactly in this case !! Could we calibrate the cross fader to get a DJ CrossFader, with the right curve of variation ?? It would be very helpfull…
Or another way to make transition from one track to another ?
Thanks a lot…:slight_smile:

#12

Nope. With the calibration you can only adjust the position of the end points. The crossfader itself operates always in a linear fashion.

2 Likes
Octatrack OS 1.40A: bug reports
#13

anyone had an issue where the fader keeps loosing calibration?

I keep resetting it in test mode with Func+B, and it works fine for a while…
then I come back (say next day), and its mis-calibrated again.

I’m wondering about open it up and seeing if I can change the battery?
(though test mode indicates battery is OK)

edit: octatrack mk2 - anyone know what the battery is off-hand :slight_smile:
edit2: ok, found mk2 uses CR2450 - yah, I have one, so thats a possiblity.

#14

MKII?

Seems a bit early to replace the battery (didn’t change mine after 6 years, third hand MKI).
Never heard of relation between battery and calibration, but why not…

1 Like
#15

yes, mk2

Im not sure this is the cause either… as couldn’t see any other talk of it… and no other symptoms of battery issues.

also, earlier today, I think it occurred whilst the OT was powered ON…
(only noticed this today, so I need to confirm this still)

In any case, I’ve created a ticket with Elektron to see what they think :frowning:

3 Likes
#16

Hi! I’ve experienced exactly the same issue. I opened a ticket in Elektron and they sent me a new crossfader and didn’t work. Sent the unit to to a technical service (not the official, I live really far from USA) and didn’t find any problem. So again, it sometimes work, for some minutes and then fail again…I think I gave up, it’s not working and won’t work as it should so I cried buuuuut…I found a workaround so I won’t cry again (lie): I found that the problem is when you go back from B to A…so If I work the other way, setting that the initial level is B and A is the modified sound, it works. You “just” have to get used to do things the other way…

2 Likes
#17

ouch…

my plan is simple…
open up OT, clean fader contacts, replace battery

await response from Elektron…see if they have any suggestions
if my attempts above do not resolve issue, it’ll be going back to Elektron to be serviced/fixed…

:frowning: not good, as I’m in a really good ‘zone’ with OT at the moment ,
perhaps I need to get a 2nd OT :wink:

1 Like
#18

MKII too. IIRC mostly MKII have crossdader calibration need.

#19

i have an issue, and callibration doesn’t fix it. when i moove the crossfader all the way to the left, instead of remaining lit on trigger 1, it jumpes to 9. function + b doesnt solve it.
any other ideas?
i can do dj style cuts with it now, but i dont wanna :smiley:

#20

Did you move the crossfader in both directions to max, just after?

#21

Thanks to @tnussb for directing me to this thread :slight_smile:
I did enter test mode and did what @Accent recommended…
At first, the xfader was giving me a green trig on 14 and 1 > REVERSED.
Rebooted, re-entered test mode and did the same, this time with scene A.
And VOILA :slight_smile:
Thank you guys. A LOT

2 Likes
#22


OK, here is my crossfader and calibration attempt. On the scene a trig 9 lights up, and the calibration doesn’t help. Do I need to change the fader?

#23

Good idea !
I did it with a midi processor, mapping scenes depending on crossfader position. 4 areas with 2 scenes per zone iirc…
I didn’t experimented more since. Very efficient. But depending on midi loopback with a midi processor, which I wouldn’t use everyday !

#24

That sounds great, I’m not sure where recalibrating the crossfader incorrectly on purpose comes in or how exactly you changed it from normal calibration, but it works!

I was just thinking of stuff like recalibrating it with the maximim value only a few millimeters away from the minimum value on its throw, so you could do DJ-like quick cuts, but the problem is you can’t really recalibrate it live so you’d probably have to commit to using it that way for an entire set. I guess the logical answer to that is get another Octatrack.

1 Like