Different notes from Octatrack Sequencer vs Analog Four sequencer

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hello everyone,

I have setup the Octatrack to sequence my Analog four. I setup a trigger on step 1 and send a C4 note. I hear the output come from the Analog 4.

I then disable this trig, and place a single trig on the Analog Four sequencer directly. I hear the output come from the Analog 4.

However, both sounds are DIFFERENT? I have set both to be C4, and I have disabled all Transposing.

What am I doing that could cause the two notes to sound different even though they are both sending the same note (C4)? What settings am I missing?

Thank you.

#2

Note that if I transpose the Octatrack sequencer down -36 semitones then it sounds about similar (same pitch) to the note from the Analog Four. Both though are C4 notes.

It’s as if the note scales don’t match between the two sequencers?

#3

Different velocities, maybe?

#4

Velocities are the same. It just seems to be pitched up/down differently despite the same note being sent… (and same velocity).

#5

The note labels used on the two instruments are different.

#6

you´re withholding some crucial information here:

WHAT EXACTLY “sounds different” ?!

is it the same pitch, but different TIMBRE?
Or is actually a different NOTE you´re hearing?

#7

OK, thanks Peter, thats what I thought…

Why on earth would Elektron do that?

Where are the note labels documented so I can learn more about what the equivalents are?

#8

Same timbre, same instrument. Just different pitches… hearing a different note. If I set both to C4 and transpose the Octatrack down -36 they sound the same more or less.

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#9

oh okay - I also saw that Peter has replied since, I forgot to hit “send” on my reply for a while there, hehe.

yeah, basically what is happening here is that every other synths defines “C0” as a different location.
on my Microfreak, “middle C” different than on my Novation Mininova last time I checked.
there´s a settings somewhere to change that on some synths, but not on all.

most of the times, I just learn to live with it… :-/

It is super weird (and annoying!) that Elektron doesn´t even keep this consistent between 2 of their own boxes, though, yeah.

#10

I’ve also noticed a lot of small differences in the Octatrack workflow/nomenclature/OS firmware. The way things are implemented are slightly different than on the Analog 4 and Analog RYTM.

Probably just an artifact of developing the Octatrack first and refining the OS more in the newer products. Too bad they can’t back-port a lot of the changes to make everything more consistent.

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#11

The MIDI standard says that note message values range from 0 to 127, where 0, 12, 24 etc are Cs. But the standard did not define octave numbers for the note labels, so that some manufacturers use the label “C 0” for note number 0 and some use “C -1” or “C -2”. Elektron has adjusted its behaviour throughout the years to try to achieve better compatibility with other gear.

For the OT, you can see the system in Appendix C of the manual where it is shown that “C 4” is MIDI note number 60.

Otherwise, it has to be inferred from the labels for the lowest and highest ranges in the Note settings on each instrument.

It’s also worthwhile searching for previous discussion on this forum before posting questions:

I am surprised that you would see three octaves difference in pitch between the two instruments; please make sure that you don’t have transpose on your tracks and also check the OT’s MIDI sequencer arp settings.

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#12

There should be exactly one octave difference.

On the OT the lowest note (MIDI note value 0) is named C-1 while on the A4 it is named C0.

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