Everyone needs to read the Merlin Manual

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

i thought i didn’t need to read the Merlin Manual back in 2012.

i was incorrect.

It is the manual to understand the OT manual, and the OT itself.

Merlin found himself confused or somewhat distracted by the wide variety of techniques he learned over six months when exploring OT technique and practise.

Inspired yet needing to formulate an approach that was inclusive of potential yet low in distraction, Merlin started writing. Then released the personal notes as a document after cleaning it up into a formatted PDF. Yay. Not much more to say really. Merlin says it all …

http://www.elektron-users.com/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=611&Itemid=30

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New Guy...Made A Sample, but Can’t Trig It
Different samples on different tracks?
#2

Helped me immensely :heart:️

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#3

Read. Practice. 2 weeks later read again. It’s the “Art of War” for OT users

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#4

Not my cup of coffee.

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#5

lol that is so rebellious of you, Sezare

i totally felt the same way five years ago

but it is just talking about things i didn’t know to think about

well, that sounds patronising of me, putting things that way.

out of interest, tell me why it is not your cup of tea?

i celebrate differences of opinion :slight_smile:
Viva La Difference

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#6

Don’t know exactly. Couldn’t read it. Maybe too literary for me (I’m french). I prefer technical and concise things.
I prefered to take a cup of coffee, practice and refer to manual, as I do usually with musical machines.

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#7

I owe @Merlin eternal gratitude cause he’s the one that thaught me how to approach OT.

The manual gave me all the OT could do.
@Merlin’s “Thoughts on OT” explained how to operate it.

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#8

I never read it. Was too lazy :smile:Also read just small parts of the manual. I learned from youtube videos and by doing. And honestly most of all by reading threads in this wonderful forum.
That said, great that merlin could help so many people getting into it. Many recommend his guide in various forums

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#9

I didn’t read it and nor did i watch any tutorials, and didn’t read the OT manual.

Theory: if i had learned the Machinedrum with Record/Play machines and the Monomachine with Trigless Trigs since 2007, surely i should be able to intuit my way into using the Octatrack.

That approach worked, believe it or now, except i never figured out how to sample onto the OT directly lol.

Track Recorders are not Tracks, it would appear.

Anyway there was the Liptons Iced Tea episode within three months of buying the OT on sale for an insanely low price back in 2012. So … i can’t really talk about that now, too emotional :smiley: haha lol just being silly.

Merlin’s manual does not tell you where it’s at, or what to do exactly.

He talks about the why. From the start. Read it from the start.

Oh … there i go barking orders again … i will show myself the door …

But yeah, i totally had the incorrect approach to the OT.
My approach wasn’t stupid.
It just wasn’t correct.
I still had a lot of fun for three months and made some lovely exotic groove melody interactions.

My incorrect approach had nothing to do with my attitude about manuals.

I just didn’t understand how to understand the values.

The workflow values. Not moral, but timesaving half a second one hundred times saves nearly one minute of creative vibe time.

and the Value of the OT.

it integrates in its architecture of user experience the abstract well thought out ideas of workflow optimisation whilst maintaining flexibility and fun.

But i didn’t want manuals, i wanted to explore by myself.
Enter the new world without a map.

Maybe i bought it too cheap on a super sale.

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#10

Yeah dude, that’s where it’s at.

I found myself saying out loud tonight when reading Merlin’s writings for the first time “yes … ah! yesss … aha that passage reveals and details correctly how Elektron were thinking when they made things that way”

this feeling of revelation happens about 3 times every page. and there are 33 pages so there are nearly 100 epiphany-ready experiences to enjoy throughout the document.

I did actually open the document once in 2012. I remember now. Closed it in five seconds, it bored me.

Hilarious how easy it is to overlook Merlin’s manual.

#11

Thanks for sharing, new OT user here.

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