Did I get a bum unit?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Long time lurker, first time poster here.

I have and love my Digitakt so I decided to ‘step up’ to an OT MK2. I love the the potential of this thing and fully expected the learning curve to make me feel like a dummy, but man I’m up to my ears in mystery problems. Just wondering if it’s more trouble than it’s worth. I’ve invested serious amount of hours for about 9-10 days now. I didn’t expect to master it this quick, but I do expect SOMETHING to go right once in awhile.

  1. Pickup machines- if I get a loop right, it’s sheer luck. No way am I gonna trust this for live looping. Watched every tutorial, follow the steps, but it’s still a glitchy mess

  2. Cannot get it to sync to my iMac to import/export samples. Sometimes I can see my files, sometimes I can’t and the OT freezes every attempt. Tried 3 different usb cables to be safe.

  3. Samples disappear or get strange sounding as often as not. Just step away for 10 minutes and everything changes.

Can’t believe I haven’t set this thing on fire yet!
Did I get a bad unit?

I know most of this is me being an idiot, but man…

#2

Most likely your unit is ok. Pickup machines are known to have some caveats. With regards to USB connectivity: make sure you don‘t hit ‚Yes‘ on the OT once you‘ve set it to USB mode. About the last issue: does this occur in a vanilla - as in completely new - project? Also, are you running the latest OS?

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#3

Thanks for your reply!
Checked OS and it’s the latest
Got the samples to transfer, but it took forever and I still don’t know why. I’ll chip away at it awhile longer, but this thing is wearing me out!

#4

Your unit is faulty. Send it to me, I’ll make a decent shop…oups…cemetery ! :blush:

cemetery_OT
cemetery_OT.jpg1517×853 355 KB

Is my unit faulty is a common question for Octatrack. 10 days is not enough.

  1. Pickups are usable. Describe how do you use them, sync or not, OT master or slaved, overdub, what’s weird behaviors…
    You can also record and play with Flex machines.

  2. Macs suck for OT’s card reading and other things. Would you use a card reader?
    Connect OT power off.

  3. Common problem. Why I don’t have sound anymore? You messed with settings. If you save your parts / project when settings are ok, you can reload them.

I know it can be stressfull, but you have to take your time. :slight_smile:

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Random distorted volume spike mkii
#5

One fault in that reply…

Macs do NOT suck…they OWN!
:wink:

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#6

Corrected. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Windows sucks too, but I don’t have card reading problems.

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#7

I had similar issues with the card and it all got solved just by using a different USB port, but that was on windows (ironically I used an old macbook for transfers until I figured it out).

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#8

Heck, Linux sucks as well while we’re at it.

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#9

Computers suck, Octatrack OWNS ! :thup:

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#10

I was using the OT standalone when I ran into these problems…I dunno, I’m sure you guys run into noob morons a lot…didn’t mean to become another one on the list :slight_smile:

Maybe I should just learn to record into a flex machine…the pickup machine thing has just been totally hit and miss. Part of my reason (big part) for getting an OT is to record stuff in live with the sequencer running. Been putting in many hours each day with so little to show for it, it’s just maddening. I learned the Digitakt really quick and was able to put together a lot of jams each week and have fun doing it…the OT has been fun maybe 5% of the time and I just have so little to show for it. Oh well, I’ll keep at it!

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

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#11

Tbh pickup machines are a weird side oddity in the OT OS. Some people use them for live looping in situations where it doesn’t make sense to set an initial tempo, but in the vast majority of cases you’re going to be better off using flex machines with record trigs or manual quantised recording. I had an OT for almost 3 years and can count on one hand the number of times I used pickup machines.

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#12

You could very well be right…just had an idea of how I wanted to do this stuff and I thought it could be cool…so far it’s just been a drag.
I’ve been a full time musician for a very long time, but haven’t used hardware in years. Love the idea and have had way more fun on the Digitakt that anything I’ve ever done on a computer for this hobby/side project thing I’m doing. I’ll try to find some tutorials on live recording to flex machines…I’ve looked, but there’s so many different ways to do anything on this machine. Probably good news once you’ve learned it :slight_smile:

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#13

Yeah, I get you, the OT’s flexibility makes it hard to learn. Your best bet is to think about a small or large thing you want to achieve with it, then figure out a way to do that specific thing. If you think too broadly initially you’re likely to get lost.

The good part is that the OT is an amazing FX box and loop machine even without the pickup machines. I’d maybe start by exploring fader scenes mapped to FX parameters on thru machines , then dive into quantised recording using rec trigs and instantly rearranging the recorded buffer with playback trigs on the same track.

If you’re struggling with terminology and understanding how the structure of the machine is organised, check out Merlin’s guide. I personally don’t get on with his approach to scenes, but it’s still a very useful document for understanding the OT.

Good luck! If you get discouraged put it away for a few days then come back to it. People commonly sell the OT too fast and then regret it.

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#14

Absolutely. Done it myself. Think my record was about 5 days haha. Got a really good deal that time though and someone offered me way more £s!

@Snipecatcher - don’t try to replicate anything ITB. Keep it simple. Look at the OT as something to get you away from your comfort zone for now. Just, well, use it. Forget about the end goal for now and just fanny about on it for some hours. Then start building ideas. Everyone uses the OT different, once you find your route you’ll grow to love it.

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#15

Perhaps just connect talk radio to one pair of inputs and leave it running as a constant sampling source while you’re learning, then you can focus on the box

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#16

Never had issue with the machine…but i DID, however, have issues with the card.

The card elektron supplies seems to have a high % of being faulty. Or doesnt do well banging around in the box during ship.

Getting a higher quality card werked for me.

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#17

Thanks for your insights! After a good nights sleep I’m feeling a bit more positive. It really was trying to hook up with the computer that made me think my OT could be faulty. The rest is all just my lack of understanding.
I did read Merlin’s Guide a couple times…might do it again :slight_smile:

I was on tour when I bought the OT. Went to check out Perfect Circuit and had planned on getting a Bastl Thyme, but walked out with a OT. Perfect Circuit is a dangerous place for the wallet!
In the hotel that night I just turned on the OT in demo mode and messed around pushing buttons and whatnot. Loved it. When I got home from tour I just loaded up built in samples in the OT and DT, sync’c em up and had a decent jam done in a few hours. Even live looped my bass on a pickup machine and was super excited to really dive in.
After that, I think I got myself into trouble by trying to do too much too soon. Got a few jams done so far then hit the wall hard yesterday! Just felt like things that worked fine the day before didn’t work at all. Really struggled. I have a few gigs I need to prepare for (I’m a bass player for a living), so I won’t have time to spend with the OT for a couple days. Maybe that’s a good thing :slight_smile:

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#18

No problem with noobs, but the “Is my OT faulty” can be funny when you know it better. :smile:

Sure. I needed a break too when I was a noob :slight_smile:. Didn’t like Pickups at all, changing tempo (you need to set REC SETUP 2 > QREC = PLEN if you don’t want to), keeping my RC505 looper (mainly guitarist), buying another MPC1000. Sold.
I bought a RC202 and a MPC500 recently, I don’t use them.

Check recording + Flex, much more direct mangling possibilities. I would use Pickups for overdub only.

Octatrack can open new sound territories, new ways to create, but doesn’t help me to find a workflow. I don’t care for the moment and still have pleasure using it !

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#19

Bad news turned into better news today.
Opened the first OT jam I’d done and EVERYTHING WAS GONE!!! Took it as an opportunity to start over and learn some new stuff…I knew about Delay Control, but didn’t know just how much could be done with it! I’m sure I just scratched the surface, but man it was fun! Also got two new stereo pedals. The GFI Specular Tempus (delay/verb) and the Earthquaker Pyramids which sounds incredible on drums. Just let the machine run and recorded about 20 minutes of fiddling around into Logic. Got a ton of variations out of it. Today was a good day :slight_smile:

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#20

Also a very common beginner experience, can relate. With the OT, if you haven’t made absolutely sure it’s saved, it probably isn’t saved.

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