Convince me that an OT was not a mistake

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#61

Everything he said! :pray:

1 Like
#62

…Great. Now all these comments are making me want to start looking for another OT mk2… which I just sold a few months ago.

#63

My experience as well, I much prefer every other Elektron box and I’m competent with programming and learning more geeky aspects of things. I swear the OT has a “sound” I just didn’t like. People can call me crazy all they want but it was there.

I do however agree with no instant gratification. Rarely can one pick up a classical instrument and be a virtuoso. Same with OT. I’ve taken myself out of the “creating music” phase for a while so I can really, REALLY learn these boxes.

I played orchestral instruments for over a decade and never made my own music until my last year as a small music theory project. I find it humorous that I try and rush myself into creating sub-par tunes instead of taking the time to learn and not feel the need to try and rush into the limelight.

8 Likes
#64

OT will always be love and hate relationship with me . . . on the other words, much much more stable and balanced then with my wife :slight_smile:

2 Likes
#65

That’s called ‘human nature’ for most of us, but patience is the great rewarder in many things. Patience is old fashioned, and does not exist in today’s society, as it was when I was growing up. We live in a world of ‘next’.

1 Like
#66

“As muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone, it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making one of the best possible contributions to a world in turmoil.” - a book from 1957

13 Likes
#67
  • take loops
  • chop one of them, 16 slices, random locks
  • some FX
    Instant groove.done
5 Likes
#68

This! It’s insane how many people (myself included of course) feel the OT as a “traditional” instrument.
It’s the only box whete you seriously need years to master.
It might no be the most advanced box, even tho on some aspects it is, but the effort and the way you interact with it makes you keep using for decades.
Music is feeling and emotions when you find an instrument that makes you express yourself, you won’t care much about better reverb or whatever.

7 Likes
#69

Theres definitely a personality type with this thing. I dont have a lot of extra money, but I wanted one so bad, I used my rent money, and told my landlord he’d have to wait. That was to pay $860 (you got super lucky) for a mint OT mk1. I am a network engineer and systems administrator for a living. I deal with complicated and illogical logic all day long. In the first hour I wanted to put it on offer up. But then I made a trap beat with samples that came on the card, I flipped them and detuned them and made drum sounds out of them. I watched Cuckoo videos, turned knobs, dug into menus and got it done. But I do that for a living. If I didn’t have that mindset, it would be on OfferUp now. Ive had mine a week today. Still don’t know shit, but the work is going to pay off. Maybe you’re just not into a journey of discovery typa dude. I sit at work all day and wish I was at home discovering the octatrack. I have a DT and DN too. Someone told me they were complicated, lol.

7 Likes
#71

Same same same. I got mine a few months ago and have gone through, what seems to be, the normal emotional cycle for new octatrack owners.

  1. Excitement
  2. Intimidation
  3. Revelation

I knew when I got it it was going to be a process, and a long one at that. But my mentality has always been, it is ok to not be good, it’s ok to make bad stuff, this is all learning, and if you enjoy the learning and the doing, that IS the reward in and of itself. It takes commitment and practice and genuine interest. Give yourself breaks! Physically step away, mentally, don’t beat yourself up.
I am only JUST beginning to catch glimpses of what this incredible machine can do, and I am constantly chasing that feeling of learning something new. The octatrack will satisfy that need and give me that feeling for years and years and years.

Long story short, everything is there waiting to be revealed, be patient and you’ll find it.

3 Likes
#72

Literally two days ago I wouldn’t have been able to do this…

6 Likes
#73

I read through Merlin’s guide before my OT arrived, tried it for the first time yesterday, and am in absolute love with it. Was just playing around with the demo project, but I was editing the scenes, the effects, parts, etc., playing with the different trig modes, and just had a lot of fun.

The time-stretching, although outdated compared to Ableton standards, is magical on a hardware box. The OT takes patterns and makes them more alive, and I really think it will be a “finishing” step for most of my tracks going forward.

#74

And performing!
Nothing like messing with some solid groove on OT ^^

5 Likes
#75

Fully agree! I just tend to love the sound! Wish it came in digi form factor dedicated drum machine next to my Octa :slight_smile:

Thick dry dullness that itches my scratch completely :grin::grin: (blasfemy or love affair?:slight_smile:

#76

It’s bizarre but I like the “sound” of the DT so much more than OT but it is obviously utterly meaningless, subjective, and why different music exists :slight_smile:

2 Likes
#77

Removing the filter from the 1st effects slot seems to clear up the sound quite a bit.

2 Likes
#78

Funny to read! I honestly have never since owning the OT for half a year removed the filter on any track. I love the filter. But that makes sense, cause I love the OT sound so never thought about ways to try and clear it up :slight_smile: I’ll try it out out of curiosity this weekend though

1 Like
#79

…simply put…NOT a mistake.

3 Likes
#80

I’ve been doing a lot of stuff lately that starts with some kind of live improvisation on the OT that I build up a full track around with overdubs, and the OT has a way of always sitting a bit back in the mix that I really like.

1 Like
#81

This was already making me chuckle and then I noticed the scale is 0 - Cenk and I lost it lol
Perfect.

3 Likes