knowing the RYTM inside out will help though no? I’m assuming theres many similarities if you’re already familiar with one Elektron box. I’ve always wanted a box to do live sampling and then doing crazy P-locks on that stuff on the fly
2 Likes
great post, totally something to consider. thanks for that
Its like an old school Texas Instruments way of calculating music. When you plug in a guitar you may feel like a rock star, but if you plug in an octatrack, you may feel like you’re back to school. reading the manual you wonder what that trigless trig means, and how many bars are really repetitive, and what happens to your FX tails etc.
What is when you used all the features, do you remember it the next week ? Managing your samples and organizing your set is complicated and not intuitive.
3 Likes
well, minus all the terms learned from the Rytm. We also have trigless trigs 
1 Like
Yes it will help. The sequencers share many options. The logic of p-locks, trigs, etc. is common to Elektron boxes.
The AR is more or less supposed to be used rhythmically. The OT on the other hand is a kind of a Jack of all/many trades. Just remember all those different functions, sampler, sound-mangler, mixer, FX, looper, midi-sequencer etc. etc.
If those “machines” inside the OT and the concept of using different machines for different tasks don’t make you scratch your head, go for it.
The most useres complaining about the OT to be too complicated just didn’t realise that the OT is a multi-purpose unit, which needs to be learned step by step and that the manual should be near by and read from time to time
1 Like
Ok then, for me it was and it’s still the octatrack. I use it only with oneshots short and long materials, i like it to get the groove model exactly as i want it to be. Trig conditions is a major option for me the way i work. I need to be able to sequence ultra huge long evolving sequence streamed from the card and making those even better… i can’t enjoy more in live performance to be able to use elektron sequencer on 4 bars and what i can do with it … when idea or emotions start to flow or speak out of my control … i just let go and i take so much pleasure. Nothing can give me that. Live performance also change the way i think track construction as it’s an experimental way to try takes and keep only the best parts.
I do feel then my music is even better as it’d more human and takes are kept as instant of playing. And not thinked as something who need to be important or different… variations naturally comes and born from esperiment and tweaking. Invaluable when something happen.
I bought an mkI new recently for 870€… 1100€ sounds crazy.
$800 USD is the new price on the used market for the Mk1. pretty affordable! Wonder though if the saved button combos are worth getting the mk2
if you have neck or back problems. This is proving to be a serious challenge for me. Amazing machine though
1 Like
Wow, where did you find such a good deal ?
club DJs have a lot more fun. Girls, drugs, partying. If you buy an octatrack you’ll end up spending 4 hours a day on elektronauts looking for secrets, discussing modulating modulators and helping noobs who think they’ve broken their octatrack cause you feel their pain. If they call it eurocrack OT is sampler heroin, great fun but it’ll ruin everything else cause it’s the deepest thing out there. Pair it with euro and prepare to make no music anyone would want to listen to except other junkies. Choose life
25 Likes
Do not even consider buying an octatrack if you are not prepared to dedicate a lot of time to it. It will require alot of your attention and effort.
3 Likes
I think it‘s only fair to mention that you‘ll see the light if you‘re prepared to. It‘s definitely not the device to get when you‘re on a GAS induced buying spree, though.
1 Like
Is the OT a good sampler ? Seriously it misses all basic features :
- No polyphonic audio track : yes in 2018 it istill not possible to play a basic 3 notes chord
- sample can only be transposed by two octaves (!!!)
- Audio tracks cannot be transposed
- Midi tracks have a nice arpegiator, but of course audio track don’t
And if you are still happy with these limitations, then you have to deal with FX which are average, the lack of kit (anf those damn parts) !! Of course mute-state and tempo are not saved within pattern. So workflow wise it is not that practical …
Honestly I could also list a a lot of positive points, butyou asked ony negative points … 
1 Like
NAMM is in a few weeks, maybe there will be something better?
In Sweden ofc 
after all the mkIIs was announced the MKIs did had a huge pricefall.
Your life will never be complete without it. It’s a life experience like getting married, having kids, partying until noon the next day.
3 Likes
Welcome to France 
Used ones are more than 870€…if you see another one I will gladly pay you 900€
Don’t buy an OT (don’t buy anything, in fact) unless you have a good reason for buying it.
13 Likes
^ Agree 100%
If Ableton is doing all the stuff you need then you won’t find much that the Octatrack adds to your pallete, aside from not needing to turn the computer on.
The fx, track count, polyphony, midi capabilities, sequencing, sound mangling, and almost every other aspect of the Octatrack are vastly dwarfed and surpassed by Ableton.
I love my Octatrack, but I don’t use Ableton or any DAW, truth be told if I did use a DAW I would not bother having any hardware aside from synths that truly sound unique and cannot be easily replicated in a DAW environment, none of the Elektron machines fall into this scope for me. I might have something like Toraiz SP-16 for live jams in conjunction with a laptop though, nice and simple, no cable clusterfunk, no OCD, done.
So if you don’t think you need an Octatrack then you most likely don’t need one.
4 Likes