Desktop / rack synth paired with octatrack

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

Hi Folks,

i used to sequence my Virus C with octatrack and really loved playing 8 different patches with chords and SFX at once. now im searching for something similar, since i want to sell my Virus C. the plan was getting the TI, but yea… its pretty expensive and now im considering something like a Blofeld or maybe a Korg Wave station? or Yamaha Tx81z?

well i loved the Virus for playing multiple patches at the same time and for polyphonic patches since im lacking pads and atmospheric lush stuff. so wich synth would be suited for pads and sequenced by octatrack…
and can you recommend me a sequencer fitted for chords? is anything like this out there?

greetings Dennis

#2

Blofeld is THE synth for pads.
But you’ll miss your knobs, be ready to dive in the numerous menus to set your Modulation matrix.
With time it’s getting easier though.
And it does sound well with OT.

One trick : don’t use Blofeld FX too much.
They are not that good and eat CPU.
Blofeld is pretty cool with a high end reverb.

#3

Don’t sell the virus. I considered it for a minute, then u woke up. It’s so deep. You’ll be hard pressed to find something to replace it. My virus c is my baby.

1 Like
#4

Have you considered a Kurzweil K-2xxx? I see the rack version pop up for $300USD somewhat frequently. It’s a fantastic synth and sampler (sampling option not needed for sample playback!) and can be refreshed with a SCSI2SD upgrade for a modest investment. VAST remains absurdly capable in my opinion.

You could probably pick up a K-2000R, add the SCSI2SD card, buy a Yamaha SY35 and still have $200 left over after selling the Virus C for what they are going for right now.

#5

yea i think its hard to replace it… but since im lacking pads maybe i should try a high end reverb like the eventide space for some pads with my modular…

if money wouldn’t be a problem i would totally go the TI2 route… formant synthesis grain synthesis and a lot of power :smiley: but i need money first :-/

‘‘pads’’ from my analog 4 don’t go into that throbbing deep punchy territory i always find it lacks some punch (even in unison mode)
the mono machine is a lot thicker and packs more punch but still not what i imagine…

the kurzweil is too big for me sorry i need something in the desktop / rack size
but i will slam some reverb pedals onto my modular rack and see what happens :smiley:

#6

Blofeld is a deep wavetable synth and it does all the regular VA patches. I recommend it strongly reading what you want out of a desktop synth.

I sample it and restructure everything inside the OT, but there is a multimode that seems straightforward.

Have fun!

#7

Hi,

im planning to scale down on equipment and wanted to use a Virus TI with my Octatrack. But the octatrack can only sequence 8 Midi tracks. Do you know a sequencer wich can complement the OT or something i could sequence more than 8 voices of the TI?
(hardware only - suitable for live use) is there another way except a DAW?

greetings, Dennis

#8

On the Virus you have parts that correspond to the the tracks of the OT. Each part of a multi has its Midi channel. So, each multi can have up to 16 voices. If the sounds use many voices (eg nice pad sounds), I found that four parts is enough in case the Virus CPU needs to steal voices. The OT should thus be more than enough to sequence a Virus TI2. I think :slight_smile:

#9

You can run almost any MIDI sequencer in synchronization with the OT to achieve this. Just from Elektron, you could use Machinedrum, Monomachine, a second Octatrack, or a Digitakt. You might need a MIDI merge box to get the messages from both units into the Virus.

#10

I think my old mpc2000xl could so maybe the newer mpc live???

I use OT and 5 voices is most ive used as well as the 8 audio tracks on OT. Sure u need 16?

#11

hey thanks for the fast response :smiley:
yea i thought about that, but what if i want to sequence a big ass long song / album / live set with many different tracks, then i would have to change the Midi channels while playing…

i just had track 1 - 8 send midi signals to channels 1-8 but for the other tracks. i don’t want to layer 5 voices onto 1 channel. its important for me to have many different sound patches in one song (like in glitchy / hitech psytrance music). the Midi merge box would be an idea worth trying (maybe something like chaining multiple arturia beat steps together :smiley: )

#12

You have 4 Parts per bank…each of these parts can have a different set of 8 sounds

Just set the midi track to do a program change to desired patch…

I always have Track 1 on midi channel 1, Track 2 on midi 2 etc but use program changes to choose new sounds.

You have 16 banks x 4 parts x 8 midi channels per project… 512 sounds per set is more than enough :wink:

#13

hey thanks, but how to i set that up i really don’t get it trying to work something up with the manual

do i need to enable program change and multi program change in virus?
it changes a program whenever a midi trig plays but only for 1 trig… ripping my hairs out :smiley:

#14

I use a octatrack and also a squarp pyramid with my blofeld and other gear. excellent sequencer

#15

The Blofeld has 16-part multimode but i found, without an editor it is a pain in the a%# to edit. However you can get some very deep synthesis out of it.

I use the Radias with the OT quite often - by far not as deep as the Blofeld and rather slow envelopes, only 4-part multimode, mellow filters, but knobs!!!, a sequencer (with three knob-motions to record) and a nice fx-section, maybe outdated by recent standards, but sounds overall great

#16

The Electribe 2 can sequence 16 midi channels and you can input up to 4 notes per step.
The OT plays nicely with the E2 in that it can switch E2 patterns and (if switched on last) ensure the E2 starts at the correct pattern.