Can the OT compare with these units for looping and FX?
Norns (Otis, Concrete etc.)
Soma Cosmos
Hologram Microcosm
Poly FX Beebo
I’d use the OT to mangle long field recordings and live looping with acoustic piano etc.
I already have DT2 and tonnes of in-the-box FX (when OB is available for DT2).
My favourite FX right now are probably the Soma Cosmos and Otis and Concrete on the Norns.
If you have settled on the sound of those specific boxes, nothing but those specific boxes would work for you.
Perhaps you should ask yourself: could those boxes combined match 1% of what the Octatrack would give me?
Really? I thought OT could get close to Otis, Concrete and Cosmos?
I understand Hologram is a bit more granular, which OT can’t do. But beebo is totally modular isn’t it and OT could do a lot of it?
I often use the octatrack to compensate precisely for the desire to have this equipment!
All the opposite then ;))
Especially the sublime Soma pedal, a kind of ambient looper on several layers etc. (I "study the concept of all these magnificent pedals or module).
The interest of the OT being to be able to build a few things around these “findings” that result from these jams.
He can therefore do the “finding and tinkering” part then the quasi-live assembly part.
The OT however must be more thoughtful upstream although with a template it is fast.
I put a humble example of this semi-immediate use, I use it as a multi tape machine with samples have made before, piano or other live instrument,
in free mode that can loop , then transparently I launch or stop the octatrack sequencer keeping this impression without timeline.
But I also played the piano on top with delays etc of the octatrack + the trig rec and flex machine, giving micro loop effects or pitch effects etc.
And for live perf the scenes etc 
with a pedal in midi.
All this to keep the instant live side of all these pedals even if in absolute (I would like to have all the chassbliss pedals…) i record all in live with mistakes.
So yes it is possible to have semi-random ambient sequenced with redux bit fx etc on live game, a kind of Chass bliss all in one.
But I would still like to have the Soma in the end.
I suspect the OT can do anything in the right hands, but it needs a good level of expertise to get you there.
I currently have an OT and love it dearly, but am still eyeing a soma cosmos. The OT can get close though and does so much more besides.
Also worth checking out EZBOTs Octatcosm template. I have no idea how he builds these things, guys a genius. But it certainly has microcosm/cosmos/granular looping vibes and works well. I’m enjoying using it and he’s currently building the full version. I suspect it will be amazing
Amazing thanks!
I didn’t know people made OT templates. Are there any others that anyone recommends?
Check this out. I believe Matt @mpiecora hangs around here occasionally. I have recently joined his patron having got an OT and it’s the best thing I have done. The templates he has are next level and his instructional videos are top notch.
Templates are a great way to start experimenting and you can always then build your own. Honestly though for granular/ambient stuff check out the Octatcosm video and template. It’s amazing.
Audio or video examples of these ? I won’t search.
OT can be granular…
Guitar straight in, granular approach…
you can remake cheat codes 2 and sort of MLR in octatrack, almost exactly, but the nice thing about the norns is the grid interface/tactile interaction. which brings a whole deeper layer of functionality
the octa isnt going to immediately satisfy what scripts like granchild, graintopia, cranes, grvl or barcode do. but the norns also isnt as practical as the octatrack for making music. its like an additional tool that enhances a workhorse like the octatrack by feeding in more modern dsp loopers and sequencers
ive only owned a few granular pieces of hardware, but even something like nebulae or morphagene is different from concrete. and i was never satsified by trying to make octa do granular stuff, especially when compared to actual granular tools
i dont think it cant do all of the impressive things that the newer dedicated loopers can do, exactly. but those are also less powerful overall
…difference is only the level of tactility…
ot can work in various ways, but it always needs some dedicated prep up time to then do all the realtime tricks and once ur doing so, u always need ur hands or another dedicated, external midi controler to keep things going…
some dead simple looper pedal, hardwired to ot’s individual/physial inputs/outputs would check all ur needs…
I was thinking, you can probably do the same granular stuff in the DT2, which I already have, right?
DT can’t sample and play directly like OT, so you can’t use it to process incoming signal apart from INPUT fx, no possible competition there.
For sample manipulation DT has other strengths, like higher pitch range, grid parameter, direct access to high res start/end/loop (OT has it in Audio Editor), lfo on slots…
Maybe but not as easily as having the real boxes. You will have to learn some technics and the OT.
ot is a mangling machine - i think things like zoai (not sure about spelling) are more effects specific and then there are boomerang and such for looping
ot does what it does
Zoia can do crasy things; it has granular modules, sampler modules (+/- 5 octaves) envelope follower, pitch detection, fm/ring from incoming audio, audio to cv, midi to cv, sequencers, lfos etc…but it takes time to setup.
Ot is easier to setup, can be used as a looper easily if the length is set (64 steps max). With undefined length it gets more complicated…
I think one of the things that cheat codes does really well, which you can’t accomplish on the octatrack, is the ability to trigger sequences independently from one another. And yeah, the grid’s tactile interaction really helps make that possible.
I’m not familiar with cheat codes 2, so apologies if what you’re referring to here is a more powerful feature than what I’m thinking of, but the Octatrack can trigger each track’s sequencer independently if they’re set to “plays free”.
What about OT Plays Free tracks ? They can be triggered independently, with different length, speed…
You can even trigger them with a midi track, random arp…
I’ve had the OT for about 9 years and never knew this was possible 
don’t worry i have lots of experience and also i am a beginner every time i switch on an elektron product