Can the OT MkII perform all these functions at the same time?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Dear Eektronauts,

I am the proud owner of an AR MkII and in the process of learning synthesis and playing keyboard. I’m saving up for both a mono- and a polysynth to accompany my analog rhythms.

The AR doesn’t have any MIDI tracks (for sequencing) and the sequencers on the synths I have in mind (Take 5, Grandmother) are weak compared to the Elektron sequencer.

Obviously I need a command center for awesome sequencing and a mixer to perform dawless with this setup up. I wonder if the OT MkII can perform both functions in the way I want.

This is what I want to do:

Monosynth

  • Use one track to play and live loop a bassline or lead sound
  • Use another track to play another sound or live loop a second sequence
  • Us a third track to MIDI-sequence a third sound and sequence that I can either modulate via the OT or with the knobs on the synth
  • Use either the OT or synth arpeggiator while other tracks are looping

Polysynth

  • Use more tracks (at the same time) for live playing or live looping chords or more complex sounds and sequences
  • Use either the OT or synth arpeggiator while other tracks are looping

Mixer

  • Use song mode on the AR for transitions in drum sequences, but use the fader on the OT for changing synth sounds and sequences and even modulate the drum sequences on the AR if I want to
  • Use both the synth and OT effects

So basically I want to test the limits of this machine and use it as a mixer, looper and sequencer. Oh, and obviously fill it up with samples for p-locking and further destruction.

Can anyone give me advice if the OT MkII can do all of this at the same time? If not, do you have any suggestions for me for making this work?

Let me know please! Thank you in advance.

#2

Yes it can.

Would take some time to learn how to set all that up, but it could be done.

8 sampling channels available all the time at any time to sample any source.

8 audio tracks available all the time any time to play back any source

8 midi tracks available all the time any time to send midi to any source

So in reality, octatrack is a 24 track machine.

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#3

I also want to add that one Midi track can sequence 4 notes at once. So you only need one of them to sequence entire chords. You’ll also find the Arpeggiator on the OT to be more powerfull than most synths.

I use to OT as you mention here, and the “end of chain” for my setup. It does all midi sequencing, and takes all audio, adds compression on master, effects on through tracks etc.

I also have a Eurorack setup I Sequence from the OT through a MIDI/CV module. What I frequently do is to make sounds on my synths or Eurorack, and sample them on the OT for later use or further manipulation (reverse/pitch/effects etc)

#4

The fader on the OT will not do all that.
Internally you can use the fader to simultaneously morph multiple sound parameters of the 8 audio tracks.
Externally the fader can transmit a single CC.

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#5

@VCFX can you do all these things at the same time ?
Octopuss ? :octopus:

There is an arp per midi track.
Live recording on midi tracks can be frustrating. No overdub, weird quantize. You can erase the first note if the last one is too long. That’s problematic with all Elektrons.

It’s a Tetracosatrack in fact.

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#6

EDIT: Whoops, misread you - thought you said “cannot transmit a single CC”
[Well, technically the crossfader can be set to transmit CC 48, but that is probably of limited use in this set up (I’ve mostly found it useful for recording live Octatrack stuff and being able to replay what I did).]

I’d also note that Octatrack is not that good at poly midi sequencing, and has some odd quirks like a max length note that is lower than the length of the sequencer lane, which requires fairly unnatural hacks to get around. I did use it as a central brain for a while, and loved it, but replacing it on sequencing duties with something more modern (Squarp Hapax) and that was a big upgrade for me. But of course a ‘more modern’ sequencer is not gonna have all the sampling goodness, so YMMV.

One more thing: probably already aware of this, but since you listed three pieces of gear (Rytm, Take 5, Grandmother) note that this requires more inputs than Octatrack has if you want this to be the mixer for everything. You might be able to chain stuff through Rytm’s external inputs, but I know that can be a little tricky with gain staging.

#7

Thanks for all the quick responses! This is helpful.

Maybe I should get the Octatrack and the Take 5 and be content with that for a while.

@glennbech how do you make transitions between songs?

@Stickhit it can’t morph between two running sequences?

@sezare56 aren’t the audio tracks there for recording live?

@dokev what actually happens with the machine when sequencing poly? And if I do want another synth and not ditch the OT, then I could send clock to it from the OT and get a decent mixer to bring it al together?

#8

Sure. Just a warning for midi live recording. Works better with an MPC for instance.

#9

It can’t morph between two different sequencer lanes of trigs, but you can radically change a sequence by setting up scenes on either side of the crossfader, and the crossfader will morph between those states. Scenes (mostly) affect parameters on audio tracks that can be plocked. But where the trigs are on the sequence will remain the same in both states. You can do some very funky stuff to simulate morphing between two actual sequences by cleverly setting up scenes with LFO depths at particular levels, but this is fairly advanced Octatracking. Note that scenes/crossfader do not interact with MIDI tracks, just Octatrack’s internal tracks.

There are audio tracks that can have different kinds of machines on them (sample playback from card, sample playback from RAM, looper, process audio from preceding track etc). There are also 8 record buffers, which are associated with, but not fixed to, each track. You can have track 2 playing the audio from track 1’s record buffer and running it through its own effects, while track 1 is playing a kick drum sample from the card for example. Think of it as 8 locations in RAM that you can record to, freely assignable elsewhere for playback, with the number 8 and the association with the tracks mostly for UI purposes (track buttons can get you to a corresponding record buffer through key combos).

The main limitation is that you have a max of 4 voice polyphony on the MIDI tracks. This might be enough, depending on your needs, but it is a fairly large restriction. Note length has a maximum, beyond which you can only select inf length (which will be escaped from the next time the sequencer sees a trig). You can’t overdub - your trigs will get overwritten with the new things you play. Overlapping notes can have (what might be) unexpected behaviour. Say you hold a note down, then a few steps later you hold two more notes down while still holding the original note. The Octatrack sequencer sees these as discrete events and what actually gets recorded into the sequencer will be the first note stopping on the trig where you held down further notes. What you play is NOT what you get. You may be able to adjust this behaviour using the legato parameter, but it’s a bit of a headache to have to program this stuff when you’re playing stuff in with keys. It is a very good sequencer (plocking MIDI ccs is great) in spite of this, but this kinda thing might be a dealbreaker for some - it was for me eventually.

Absolutely. My take on the Octatrack is it’s in a league of its own in one area (the workflow for live (re)sampling and performance with the crossfader), and it has many other features which are pretty useful (MIDI sequencer, mixing capabilities, ‘pick up machine’ loopers etc) but cannot compete with a dedicated device that’s designed specifically for that task. Somewhat related, but my personal experience is that trying to control the Octatrack when it’s doing all the kinds of duties it can do at once can be a little tricky/overwhelming, and my most enjoyable times with the device are when I had it doing only a couple of things at once.

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#10

You can set several midi tracks to the same midi channel to get around the 4 note limit. This ofc would mean, that you‘d have to split your chords between tracks, can‘t easily live record onto a track, but it‘ll work fine.
It will also let you utilize the additional lfos and midi cc for midi control/modulation.

You can also make use of several midi tracks outputting on the same midi channel to manually ,play‘ variations by muting/unmuting tracks, use them for built ups etc.

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#11

Thank you for the info! I’m gonna have to do some more research before making this decision. But I guess there’s only one way to really find out how it fits in my workflow. Experiment with it.

If you have some tips/links for further studying, that would be great!

#12
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#13

This.

OT can . But can the operator juggle that much stuff happening all at once?

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#14

image

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#15

Maybe I should consider this setup: