I used to play with an Octatrack in the past but I kinda miss or forget all the capacities it got in term of midi sequencing others synths and in arrangement mode.
I don’t much from digitakt, I think I would prefer the sound quality coming from it. Kinda lost which one would set up my needs. I know the OT has way more LFO available but is it way more powerful compare to the digitakt ?
Let me know your experiences or advices ?
Two words: midi arp.
Extremely powerful feature. Can you assign LFO to parameters from other synth via the midi cc menu ? And parameter lock them.
Digitakt advantages :
Other than that, yes OT is more powerfull, lfos can control all plockable parameters, including arp’s.
I don’t know very much OT but from what I know DT is better for midi sequencing. But if you want sequence something then sample it / loop it / mangle it, OT will fit better. DT sample only in mono (L, R or L+R) and you can’t use FX in realtime (need to sample first, save and assigne to a pad and then you can use FX on it)
But DT have Overbridge (8 output + 2 from analog in) and have regular awsome updates from Elektron team. OT seem frozen in the timeline.
I sequence my digitone from my OT for a few very good reasons.
Midi arp… which is basically a sequencer inside a sequencer. Or generative heaven if you are into that.
3 extra LFOs per track
All those extra plockable midi parameters!
And… sequencing the note data from the OT means I can still use the digitone for trigless locks. Polymetric sound shaping… OOF!
So yeah… octatrack is beast midi
Choice is hard, I think the main feature I would use is p locking parameters from my synth in the Elektron box. My goal is to sequence multi part of my Virus B and being able to tweak and make sequences the most easily.
I won’t use much sampling since I do it on Ableton or in my eurorack case directly. So maybe OT will be my final piece of choice. I remember a great feature of the OT when you can lock a knob to a certain parameters of your synth via midi cc without necessary relaying to he manual for it.
OT is so tempting and timeless machine indeed, the only part I dislike is the sound quality and the fx… but I can get rid of that tbh.
I’m planning to get some Ensoniq old synth so I think OT will be great to easy sequence and tweak them.
Fair enough. Its a 24bit 44.1khz sampler. What you put in, is what you get out. As a midi sequencer, you dont need to run any audio through it at all if you dont want to.
As for the effects, personal taste.
Maybe I’m just getting old but OT sounds great. You really don’t need any specs better than 24bit 44.1k. Few people buy hifi audio equipment anymore. Most music is consumed on headphones and you’re lucky if they aren’t shitty earbuds. Then you have to consider the entire audio chain when you mix and master. Then you have people using old analog mixers to add color, including driving the shit out everything.
It just feels like a pretty arbitrary line
Why not a dedicated sequencer like Toraiz Squid or Keystep Pro ?
Did you compared it side by side?
OT is neutral, DT with extra eq.
I prefer DT reverb, but I prefer OT delay.
FX per track or master (compressor for ex).
A long list of extra fx for OT, eq, comb filters…
Possible to chain 16 fx.
Possible to control all fx parameters with the crossfader.
High quality fx using resampling with feedback as an fx (pitch delay, chorus, flanger, shimmer reverb)
I didn’t really enjoyed the general sound few years back.
Compared to my Assimil8or, it’s day night in term of audio but I will give it another chance soon.
I’m used to Elektron workflow and I don’t wanna dig too much into other type of sequencer now.
I have compare them recently with 2 mates who both own one unit. I know OT has lots of features in the box but I don’t like the resampling workflow and prefer do it in Ableton. Few years back I wasn’t using my own samples and sounds so I guess it might be a huge surprise when I will use one again with my own stuffs.
I did really liked the cross fader with scenes and the 4 inputs, internal mixer capacities. Like a sub mixer in the machine. That kind of feature is super handy for my modular set up.
For resume I think I will go first for the OT since it seems way more powerful in term of midi and that what I’m reaching now. Will for sure give a second chance to the OT in term of audio mangling and sample player.
Agreed. I’ve always thought the OT sounds great. The newer reverbs are prettier sounding, to be fair, but that is just a matter of taste.
I was debating this very question myself but decided to go with the OT’s might
To clarify, yes, DT is easier to set trig conditions, but OT can still do probability on its MIDI trigs (in the microtiming menu)
Yes for TRC but there is no Probability / Chance parameter for all trigs like in DT/DN/MS/MC.
I’d love that feature for OT and all Elektrons. Still a workaround : a random lfo on VEL, and the note with VEL 0 are not sent (using a fixed velocity on the synth).
