Convince me on why I should *NOT* buy an Octatrack

Can you explain the aux send trick please?

…sorry didn’t get to the bottom of the page :+1:

For 0.01% the cost of an OT you can buy a used tape recorder.

With the money you save, you can go heli-skiing off Mt.Blanc, or have an ice-cream van tow you on roller-skates along Route 66. Both would be fun.
Or buy a Digitakt, and you’ll have enough left over for the roller-skates.

3 Likes

Digitakt is the gateway drug, I’ve been eyeing this subforum ever since I bought it.

Been thinking about the OT ever since i got going with DT. Watched a couple of Cuckoos videos and realised I am not willing to put in the time with this machine, I want to make music :slight_smile:

Edit: Just so there’s no misunderstanding, I’m not down on cuckoos videos, they’re great. It just illustrated how much work it requires to learn this machine.

Perfect post. Using it as a piece of gear in a larger setup where you might have 20-30 tracks in progress in the DAW… trying to make sure you organize properly to sync up projects and don’t accidentally lose stuff… constant manual naming…it’s all a real chore. It’s not comparable to a synth where you can just store user sounds and send program changes.

It’s great for a DAW-less brain or a live performance but not sure it’s a good choice otherwise.

1 Like

fun i made the exact opposite and felt the same!,

:+1: :slight_smile:

That’s why I got a second one to pair with it mostly. Tried to love 2 tracking but missed things like real sidechaining of different tracks and finer control over the finished product. I cant really get a second pair of ears to have a crack at a mix if it’s in OT and I’m certainly not likely to sit tracking over and over again fiddling with lining it all up. I never found naming to be too much of a chore, Just save to project folder. a lot of the time I don’t even bother naming things cause 80% of the time I’m never going back to it again anyway

:warning: P A R T S :wink:

7 Likes

OT sitting on the shelf while putting together a new recorded project… I am currently experiencing this, and am enjoying how much more productive I am without it in the picture. I can fly around on the OT, but the conveniences of working in a DAW (after seven years working OTB with the OT as the centerpiece) have made the production process more enjoyable, since I don’t need to exert so much energy organizing things.

When it’s time to play live again is when the OT will come back into the mix as a stem mangler and effects processor/mixer. I still don’t want to perform with a laptop, so the OT is the best option for me. I think overall I have more fun with it when I use it as an instrument rather than a production center since I can be more destructive and not have to worry about saving everything.

OT is obviously quite polarizing, but can perform many roles in a setup, and I still have more fun mangling audio with the OT than I do stringing together dozens of devices in Ableton Live. I still love mine and have no regrets regarding the time I’ve put into it, as I have been treated to many wonderful moments I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.

5 Likes

Always record everything, I know it’s not the same but at least you can listen it again :slight_smile: When I try to demonstrate my elektron gear to my friends while being stoned, i fail and perform like I never used it before XD

Maybe make a project template. Or change the bank when you assign new samples to different machines…

2 Likes

That’s blasphemy and you know it! :wink:

rookies

3 Likes

I got more productive when I sold the OT. OT’s great. But definitely doesn’t push one along in the “finishing a track” direction.

More like. Let’s fire the OT up and jam and experiment. Several hours go by and you’re still experimenting…everyday. For months. Maybe years.

4 Likes

The OT is a good sketch pad to lay some ideas down, but the heavy lifting still happens in a daw.

2 Likes

Well, if you’re looking at that, you might actually be alright with the Octatrack.

The unhappiest OT customers/former owners tended to be the ones who bought it expecting it to be just like Ableton Live or an Akai MPC.

The video Game association is accurate. You must learn a LOT of key Combos with the OT. And Not only Function+something…the Key Combos change with the contextual modus operandi of the OT. Sampling e.g. is way more complicated than it is on the Digitakt.

On the other hand, it is extremely versatile.

Why wouldn’t it be more complicated than a Digitakt? It also does a lot more stuff. I own and love both, but just saying :slight_smile:

1 Like

The necessity to Press a couple of Key Combos to Just sample something is for an advertised Sampler, hilarious. Elektron learned from that and made the UI for the Digitakt way more straight forward. A reason why i have no OT anymore, but a DT.

1 Like