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Ive got OTmk1 and Id personally advise going for the mk2 for a couple quality of life improvements:
the numbers on step buttons - this is actually supremely useful because at a quick glance it can sometimes be confusing which buttons are controlling which tracks/scenes/etc. and with numbered keys you will always have a direct reference rather than having to rely on muscle memory or familiarity which may not always be 100% accurate in a moment-by-moment basis while you are doing a bunch of stuff and trying to keep track of everything in your head
the OLED screen… they are soooooo much better than LCDs… its a whole other level… literally night and day
and finally the knobs which are supposedly redesigned for reliability… ive only had the OT for about a year and a half and one of the knobs is already a tiny bit wonky in terms of not tracking movements perfectly all the time… it works fine when you are careful but it tends to slip values in weird ways if you are just quickly using it normally
the only question is how much you are willing to pay for the upgrades… personally im probably not going to dump my mk1 for the mk2 … its tempting but i dont think its quite worth the extra cost just yet. i will probably just keep using the mk1 until it dies, and/or until the mk2 comes down a bit on the used market
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This is a defective encoder, you should contact support for a replacement!
I did and it was day vs. night 
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Ive been a MPC user since the mpc 2000, still use my mpc 1000 hip hop wise…everything…but if I want things to groove on areas ya not having to rely on tech stuff…I sequence it from my Octatrack…cuz in time U will learn why…hey…took me 2yrs to…except it.
just remember to save as you go!!!
?? unless i don’t understand your reply correctly, you are completely wrong. you change trig function to slices (FN + DOWN) to play up to 64 slices
MPC2kxl for drums and deep MIDI sequencing + OT for sample mangling and intuitive step sequencing. Couldn’t ask for much more, personally.
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You can also record step sequenced notes in the Mpc…
I think the biggest thing to take into account when switching from MPC to OT is that even though they are both samplers/sequencers, they are quite different beasts. I think anyone trying to use an OT like an MPC will be disappointed, and I’ve definitely seen my fair share of people on this forum with those kinds of gripes.
Might be worth reading through the manual to work out how to do the things you would expect to be able to do with the OT, and see if you can work out how. 1. Because it almost definitely won’t work like you expect it to, and 2. you won’t be able to use it without reading the manual anyway (no, really)
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I remember initially looking into the Octatrack as a replacement for my MPC1000 w/JJOS, and thinking “its (ot) cool, but no velocity layers and proper kits”…because I was wanting the OT to be a drum sampler.
Then I was looking into a replacement for my Electrix Repeater (a 4 track looper with sample-keyboard tracking). Then I re-discovered the OT. It not only handled the Repeaters duties, but filled the shoes of a couple other units I was looking at (Goethermans and Beatstep Pro).
I guess it boils down to what you want to do, but NOTHING replaces the Octatrack. You just have to figure out what you want to slave to it.
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Yeah, it’s can be a bit frustrating to use as a drum sampler, though sample chains are pretty flexible in that regard, I’ll make up a ‘drum kit’ of 16 or 32 drum samples, and put them on a few channels to get the poly. plus you can do nice things like make a chain of 16 hihats (or similar percussion) with various articulation/randomisation and then randomise the slice to get some nice natural sounding hats. You can also use chains for velocity layers too, but you have to manually set the articulations per step, unless you just randomise it again. I also love recording long samples of weird noises and making morphing percussion tracks out of it randomising the start point, amp length and delay speed. Plus on top of that, you can set the trig repeater/speed to the crossfader and get live IDM stuff. Plus the OT is the only Elektron machine that lets you set different clock divisions/mults per track. I guess it is quite good, but you have to think differently about it.
It’s one of those machines that can wear so many different hats, that i always find a place for it in my setups, i’ve been using it as a super flexible multi effects/mixer for ages, and I kind of want to get back to using it as a sampler/looper again.
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Thanks all for your input.
Ive decided to wait for the MKII to come out to see what that does to pricing because even second hand units are going for that much less than a new MKI.
The idea was to use the OT to add remix/mangling abilities to my setup. The mpc will still be the master for sequencing other gear (although it is getting old now and a bit tired!)
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If you are keeping the MPC - I would say let the Octa be the master, (at least clock). And run the MPC through your A/B IN’s. Live mangling possibilities of live MPC jamming as long as you set up the recorders and a flex track for playback. So many possibilities with both in the mix.
Both hardware units are so far apart in scope of features they will compliment each other in more ways than we could all explain =)
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Ot was master clock for me too.
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i owned a mpc500. don’t think too much about it. It’s not very good. pretty shit imo
Thanks fot the advice. For 150€, I can give it a try, as the specs seems ok for my needs with Octatrack.
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of course you can. I bought it for 500 back then
Yeah, not really the same as building and tweaking a sequence live in a step sequencer but definitely useful. Note repeat + pad aftertouch is really key to the MPC, too.
EDIT: also if you pup in a $15 SMPTE chip you can get much tighter sync with a DAW than is possible via conventional MIDI (never tried Elektron’s turbo-midi thing), great for dumping tracks.
To be clearer, I meant make a step sequence with OT, and record the notes in Mpc.
I tried the Jjos step sequencer with pads but it was weird and inverted for me…
Oh, that makes sense. I’m on the 2kxl so I don’t even have that much step sequencing on it, step sequencing on there is just step entry, can’t even do it with the sequencer running at all.
Your post made me realize that I could also sequence on the MPC and then use the OT’s arpeggiator to process those sequences in real time, without having to hook up the MIDIpal.
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Yep. I thought about using chords (even more than 4 notes) in Mpc + Ot’s Arp too, because even on Mpc 1000 JjosXl, arp is boring. They can compliment both way.
(I have Midipal too)