Hi,
I am still learning to use the Octatrack and I am stuck with a problem right now.
My first 3 Patterns are connected to Part 1.
For the 4th Pattern, I copied Part 1 to Part 2, because I just wanted to change Snare and Hihat Samples on that Pattern and keep the rest the same.
So I did that, but when I change the samples of Part 2 (Pattern 4), they are also being changed in Part 1 (Pattern 1-3).
What am I doing wrong? If I get the manual right, Parts are made for the purpose of changing samples right?
I really would appreciate it if someone could help me with that, thanks in advance guys!
poonti
2
The two parts refer to the global flex or static sample slot where a sample is loaded. So you would need to have your Part 2 use a sample loaded into a different sample slot than Part 1, if you donāt want them to clash.
To use the OT effectively, you must also possess some āaccountantā skills unfortunatelyā¦ 
one of my main beefs with itā¦
2 Likes
are you absolutely sure youāve linked part 2 to pattern 4 correctly ? did you press ENTER to confirm the link ?
PART QUICK SELECT To link a part to the active pattern, press [FUNCTION] + [MIDI]. The PART QUICK SELECT menu will appear.
The part currently linked to the pattern is shown with inverted graphics. If a part has been altered but not saved it will be marked with an asterisk. Select the part that should be linked to the active pattern by pressing the appropriate [ARROW] keys. Press [ENTER/YES] to link it. It is possible to quick-link a part by keeping [FUNCTION] pressed when selecting the part.
@poonti: I thought the whole purpose of the parts is to be able to have more than 8 sample slots available?
@zeropoint: yes I am 100% sure that the parts are linked as described above. I like triple-double checked it several timesā¦ I not only see it in the quick select menu, but also on the screen.
I also tried it out in a new project now, still the sameā¦
I assign a sample to track 1, set a few steps in pattern 1. By default that is assigned to part 1.
Then I copy the pattern to pattern 2, connect it to part 2, change the sample on track 1 and the sample will also change in part 1.
I really dont get it 
@poonti: I just understood what you actually meant. Big thanks, problem solved!
1 Like
poonti
6
@Herr Rausch, no problem! Iām not the clearest explain-er lol. Glad you sorted it.
But for others new to OT: the 4 Parts all share the Flex and Static sample slots, so if you change a sample loaded in a slot, it will affect all Parts that use it. What I do is reserve slots 1-10 for Part 1, 11-20 for Part 2, etcā¦, so when I change samples for a Part, I know it wonāt affect other Parts.
Like I said: the OT forces you to be a bit of an accountant or you might lose your mind otherwise!
3 Likes
perky
7
ohhhhh hahahaha hohohohoho you dear sir poonti, just made my day. i made an account just to write this and thank you so so much. this have been puzzling me and made me think all sorts of things about the OT. NOW i understand, and i can use it properly.
i bow deep down
THANK YOU!!!
1 Like
poonti
8
Why thanks perky! Glad my post helped. It turns out that after a summer of jamming on my OT, my flex & static sample slots are a complete frikken mess, as I did not follow my own rules, lol. In the haste of the moment, building a groove, I just grabbed the first open slot, loaded a sample, and jammed. So now my OT has become a complete messā¦
Now comes the plug for our friend Rusty!
I can sort out the mess using his OctaEdit software:
http://octaedit.com/features/
Thanks Rusty!!!
āWhy be an accountant, when OE can be your accountant??ā
1 Like
Rusty
9
Iām just glad you are happy.
But wait till you see the actual release build, itās fucking amazing (imho)
Just nutting out those last niggly UI/UX issuesā¦ fun, fun, fun.
Ummā¦ I donāt think Iām goign to nab that as a taglineā¦ you can keep that one 
poonti
10
Iām just glad you are happy.
But wait till you see the actual release build, itās fucking amazing (imho)
Just nutting out those last niggly UI/UX issuesā¦ fun, fun, fun.
Ummā¦ I donāt think Iām goign to nab that as a taglineā¦ you can keep that one :D[/quote]
LOL!! I was never good at marketing.
Hi all, since weāre talking about the complexity/frustration of Part/sample slot assignmentsā¦ I was going to start a new thread but perhaps this questions might help me and others on how the OT deals with slot/part issues.
My plan was to use each Bank in a single Set/Project as a song for my live set. AFAIK each bank stores the 16 patterns and the 4 parts which contain the machine assignments, sample slot managements, param locks, scenes etc.
I donāt have more than 16 songs for the set, so this seems like a good way to go. Plus, I can switch between each song/bank on the fly without having to stop the machine which makes it more like a DJ set, rather than having to stop the OT, load a new Set/Project and then restart with downtime of 10-15 seconds for changing/loading.
So using the Bank = Song methodā¦
One thing I donāt get though is when I load a new bank, which comes with its own parts, why are the sample slot assignments still using the old banks setup? Iām primarily using the flex machines, so if there are only 128 sample slots open, Iāll run out before even 2-3 songs/banks are assigned.
My assumption was that each bank contained 4 unique Parts (I can name them differently and save them independently) so why are the machines assigned to the part using the same sample slot assignments from another Bankās Parts?
any insight into this would be super useful. Totally agree that my āaccountingā skills are being seriously put to the test along with all the UI memorization my brain is getting filled up on 
thnx
Kasson
The sample slot lists are per Project, not per Bank. In your situation, you will need to use the static sample slots as well as flex, but that will not be a problem.
If the number of samples that you need to use in your live set is really so large, you will soon need to find out about sample chains, which will be a fabulous experience for you. Sample chains will greatly multiply the number of samples that you have access to.
Peter, very informative! Iām now neck deep in sample chains to streamline the number of slots Iām using.
I will say though, having used samplers since my first (Ensoniq EPS back in '89) through SampleCell then on into Reason, I canāt believe some of the weird limitations of the OT. The fact that I have to do labor intensive prep on sample chains is a bit ludicrous. Every single bank should be able to have itās own 128 slot for samples, or the ability to switch between projects or sets without having to stop the music. For a box built for LIVE usage, this fact is pretty frustrating!
Anyway, back to sample chains! ha. thanks
.k.
1 Like
OT is definitely oriented towards spontaneity in terms of mixing and re-sampling.
In your situation, spontaneity will require preparation.
Fairly new Octatrack user so I would liike to know if my understanding is correct:
So like the OP I copied Part 1 to Part 2 & also to part 3 because I wanted track 4 to remain the same. So in Parts 2 & 3 I filled the other tracks from sample slots not used by track one.
So what I gather from this thread is that for track 4, all parameter locks, Trigs and Scenes, will be the same for Parts 1, 2 & 3.
Have I got the correct?
Iām not near my Octatrack, otherwise Iād explore this before askingā¦
Thanks in advance
The easiest thing to do when you arenāt sure is to refer to the diagram at the front of the manual as to how the layers work.
The flex and static sample slots are shared among all patterns, parts and banks in an entire project. This means that if you use slots 1-10 and then change them in another bank or part, they are changed everywhere.
However each part can use any of the samples in the pool. so part 1 could use 1-8 and part 2 could use 9-16. bank 2, part 1 can use 17-24, etc.
To recap:
A pattern contains all of the steps, the time signature (if project is per track), and an assigned part.
Each part allows you to assign a sample for each of the tracks, the track parameters (lfos/effect/etc) and 16 scenes.
each bank contains 16 patterns and their parts.
each project contains the assigned sample slots and (16? 8? banks, i forget how many) and the bpm (annoying that itās a per project). Also all of the project settings (recording settings, project settings, midi, output, etc.)
a set contains multiple projects (no limit i think?) and an audio pool, which is really just a file system of samples that you can use for the sample slots.
Iām sure iāve missed some details as this was all off the top of my head, but hopefully this makes more sense. I would strongly urge you to keep rereading the manual every month or two. Things make more sense, you pick up tricks that you didnāt notice before, and the octatrackās possibilities will start opening up to you. Itās also good to refer back to it whenever you want to do a thing you havenāt yet done, or havenāt done for a while. Itās also worth watching all the official tip videos, and checking out others from around the place.
