Elektron might be cooking something up for the Octatrack

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#285

But the question is if elektron has that. Everyone who shows up on the surface of PR seems to be a pretty sweet and technical guy but none of them seems to be into the whole „design“ thing. And the machines show that too. I mean with Teenage it‘s the other way round. I would say say designed to death and even not usable in that sense.

But If some good design team would take the OT As a baseline and take their time and elektron core ideas it could be big.
Look at the Maschine+ thing. Could be big but its lacking so much and the form factor coming from elektron isn‘t just cutting it. To big. To much bubblegum color on the screens. But working Pads :wink:

#286

Imho, it will probaply be something new and different. All Elektron manuals have this little paragraph about how the instrument came to be. These little anecdotes give a little insight on how Elektron draws inspiration from their existing instruments and how they look at them in terms of future products. Check “The Background of the Octatrack” from the OT manual.

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#287

Agreed. Minor modernisation, to keep an already legendary machine appealing, seems much more likely than a total overhaul of a rather niche and complexed device (tough sell for investors).

Either that or a new sampler / looper incorporating some OT magic, but a bit more intuitive for mass-market appeal

#288

I hope they don’t “dumb it down”. There is the DT for that (which is not to say it’s dumb…not at all). Any OTstan will tell you that once the work is put in it is worth it. And what’s a flagship if not only for the obsessives?

I agree that only “incremental” changes are needed to warrant an OT2 and they are already available: new black box, OB and modern sequencer/fx…maybe even MIDI2 for midi scenes. In the new MKII size they can have all kinds of shortcut buttons and pots and…dare I say it…multiple crossfaders. Open canvas for a new interface…

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#289

And there lies my initial comment. Working on any sort of legacy platform, will be huge undertakings, there are so many things that needs to fit for it to be able to work.

Of course I am not a coder, so I wouldn’t fully know how they deal with legacy platforms, but I know how it is from using old CAD programs which some of our older designs are based on. And I shudder every time I think of having to use CATIA V.4

#290

As I stated in my other comment. Getting OB2 would need to switch out USB components… what is the coding work needed for that? Does it mean a total overhaul of the code. How much of OT’s spirit lies within how the code has been structured? Will a USB overhaul change that structure? Will the code fall apart if they change it?

Again I’m not a coder, but I’m guessing that coding can be just as fragile as CAD work can be (based on some stories I’ve heard) and I know from CAD work that you build a foundation on which your whole design stands on. So maybe doing something as simple as getting OT OB2 ready is extremly complicated without starting from scratch.

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#291

I’m not a coder either but I really don’t think that they would be building on top of the current OT OS: I think that one is done.

But what would a OT-B be but a souped up DT? So I think the foundation has been built…

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#292

I honestly don’t think that there will be an OT mk3.
If you think about it: the OT mk1 vs mk2 is an updated hardware, but same os basically.
Here and there a small update (screensaver) in the last few years, that’s it.
I think there will be a black mk2, if any.

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#293

OT2 = successor
OT mkiii = current OT in some new chasis

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#294

I think it has been said elsewhere on the forum earlier but I think it is likely that when/if Elektron comes up with a new high-end sampler calling it Digitakt Pro (or something DT-related) would be self-explanatory from a marketing standpoint. DT being Elektron’s biggest seller and all that.

Agree with this one. Think about a team in football/icehockey/whatever. There’s a grizzled veteran in the team who still gets the job very much done (isn’t a liability by any means) but the young core of the team wants to leave their own mark, wants to carry the team to success and thinks they’re capable of that. I think that’s natural and something even the old guard would want from a new teammate. For them to be a force that pushes the common cause forward.

#295

That’s understandable but it would still be the successor to the OT. If they decide to retire the OT name, so be it. It’s merely an issue of semantics.

(But I hope they don’t call it DT Pro. That’s too Appleish, imo.)

#296

I just realized the 3 FB posts together read

“From 2010 to eternity.”

Retired.

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#297

Well its pretty obvious their current strategy is carrying over firmware between platforms.

  • Model series gets pattern probability, later added to digi and analog series
  • Class compliant USB added in multiple updates to all devices
  • trig previewing with trig + yes added to digis and now analog series

And Octatrack has always been left out of the fun. Hell, even back in 2014 when it still got updates they could’ve carried over the multi trig edit from the analog series and haven’t.

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#298

Concerning the design of the OT, one of the initial gripes was too few dedicated buttons, resulting in some illogical combos, which, especially in “the heat of the moment” could be easily forgotten or missed.

I think with the MKII a lot of this was addressed, and whilst it is true to say that it does not completely succeed in presenting a transparent and intuitive user interface, it is certainly much improved. Show me a device anywhere near as complex in features with a superior UI, I think you’d be hard pushed to find one, so I think it kind of goes with the territory.

None of this is to say that it could not be improved, but in my experience with gear - and don’t even get me started on software - I am yet to find any complex system which does not have some compromises and a fairly steep learning curve.

I’d take that any day over dumbed down products, or even worse, automatic systems and processes which remove the scope for user input.

Long story short, design considerations are always a compromise, with smaller teams and shorter deadlines than some larger companies I think Elektron do very well, indeed.

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#299

I guess the question is then how much of that will have the spirit of OT then?
A lot? None?

I guess time will tell

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#300

When they discontinued the silver machines they announced a pricedrop and no true successor has shown up to date. Second hand prices have soared. OT fans take heed :eyes:

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#301

Well let’s speculate: what would the DT need to put it on OT’s level?

From where I stand: Stereo, sampling trigs, crossfader.

I think stereo is “easy”, sampling trigs would need new coding and crossfader would be “easy” to tie to its Ctrl-All (or whatever it’s called).

Btw what is the max number of channels the current iteration of OB can stream? I’m still on ARmki so I don’t have the new USB…

#302

Recorder trigs, insert FX, thru machines, LFOs?

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#303

All 8 of them at 24-bit + master + inputs, and I believe its not at max capacity yet either.

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#304

Yesyesyes and yes. I was just shooting off the cuff; was not going for thoroughness.

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