First steps with the Octatrack - What do you recommend?

aeoner · 2014-08-12T14:33:14.000Z

Hello!

After a lot of research and the help of this amazing forum, finally I got the Octatrack! I´ve already did a first time reading of the manual, and I´ll plug the cables of the OT in the next days. However, as the box is really open ended, I´m fearing that I will be a little bit overwhelmed by it´s deepness…

So, do you have some tips for first time using of the OT? Do you suggest an special template? What do you think I must give the most attention to have a not so rough learning curve?

Thanks a lot!

secretmusic · 2014-08-12T15:06:48.000Z

""aeoner"":

Hello!

After a lot of research and the help of this amazing forum, finally I got the Octatrack! I´ve already did a first time reading of the manual, and I´ll plug the cables of the OT in the next days. However, as the box is really open ended, I´m fearing that I will be a little bit overwhelmed by it´s deepness…

So, do you have some tips for first time using of the OT? Do you suggest an special template? What do you think I must give the most attention to have a not so rough learning curve?

Thanks a lot!

A few tips to get you started (this list is by no means exhaustive)

don’t be afraid to lose your work, just experiment and have fun. Getting bogged down with obsessively saving or wondering about the overall architecture is a trap when starting to learn a new piece of kit. Just accept the fact that you will probably lose some work, and your experience will be a lot more pleasurable.
go through the manual a few times more. Write down on a pad what you think will be useful to you. Shortcuts for copying, saving, etc…
get used to loading samples onto the card, and into slots. Then assigning them to tracks. Once you have that down, you’re halfway there
the OT is incredibly deep, because you can load your own sounds in it. The results of your sound mangling experiments will depend largely on what raw material you start with. Keep it simple at first, don’t try to get too complex right away. Get the basic mechanics down, then slowly work towards the sound you’re looking for.
there are a lot of videos and tutorials on the OT. Watch them and try to follow them. Here is a shameless plug for my own tutorials :
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF3D8CADF642840A7

There are a lot of other talented, giving users who have dedicated a lot of their time to teaching the OT on YouTube, like CatabolicDJ and Tarekith, to name just a few.

above all, have fun, and enjoy the ride, it’s going to be a bumpy, surprising, magical one.
don’t worry too much about not using the OT to 100% of its capacities. It’s just so deep that it’s impossible to use 100% of it all the time. I’d say when I’m writing, I use about 20% of it.
the OT is a swiss army knife. It can be a sequencer, sampler, MIDI sequencer, effect unit, live recorder, DJ/live performance tool, and more. Explore all its roles, one by one, and there is a good chance that it will become the central hub of your setup.

that’s it for now, i’ll try and come up with a few more, although it would be easier to answer direct questions once you have started exploring it.
Enjoy !

PeterHanes · 2014-08-12T15:39:26.000Z

""secretmusic"":

the OT is a swiss army knife. It can be a sequencer, sampler, MIDI sequencer, effect unit, live recorder, DJ/live performance tool, and more. Explore all its roles, one by one, and there is a good chance that it will become the central hub of your setup.

Agreed. Think about why you bought the Octatrack, in terms of what role you want it to play in your set-up (which you didn’t mention).

If it’s as a MIDI sequencer, focus on those functions to begin with. If it’s as a DJ-style mixer with effects, focus on those aspects.

Gradually figure out what settings you would have for a template Project for each scenario in which the OT will be used in your set-up.

Also, read Merlin’s ‘Some thoughts on Elektron’s Octatrack’ document for the clearest explanation I have yet found of how the OT is the way it is.

FmSafari · 2014-08-12T17:58:52.000Z

Just be yourself & DO.

And like the others said,
[ul]
[li]make it simple in the beginning[/li]
[li]work on special tasks like lessons[/li]
[li]be not afraid to lose what you have created before.[/li]
[/ul]

This is what I do every weekend since 2 years. And I felt in love with these machines.

Started with octatrack, 2 months later … shruthi-1. After 10 months I wanted to have more tracks on the percussion. MD (without UW) followed. And in autumn last year the A4 appeared in my life.

hackedtopieces · 2014-08-12T18:03:26.000Z

""PeterHanes"":

[quote=“secretmusic”]- the OT is a swiss army knife. It can be a sequencer, sampler, MIDI sequencer, effect unit, live recorder, DJ/live performance tool, and more. Explore all its roles, one by one, and there is a good chance that it will become the central hub of your setup.

Also, read Merlin’s ‘Some thoughts on Elektron’s Octatrack’ document for the clearest explanation I have yet found of how the OT is the way it is.[/quote]
This cannot be stressed enough. Overall I found the Octatrack to be quite intuitive. It’s my favorite Elektron by far.
These videos were also some what helpful Octatrack MKI | Elektron
Also check out secret music’s videos I learned tons from him thanks Secret.

josker · 2014-08-12T20:36:59.000Z

I think the most instant gratification can be had with loading samples, making a simple sequence, maybe pitch locking some trigs, and adding effects. After that - scenes!!

Otherwise, brilliant replies from others.

alex3368 · 2014-08-12T20:52:44.000Z

there are a lot of videos and tutorials on the OT. Watch them and try to follow them. Here is a shameless plug for my own tutorials :
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF3D8CADF642840A7

Among the best tutorials I’ve seen!

GovernorSilver · 2014-08-13T14:34:39.000Z

When I started out, I picked one goal for the day - like learn how to use the pickup machine with my guitar.

Next day, I learned how to sample from pickup machine recorder into flex machine.

Next day after that, I learned how to assign LFOs to effects parameters.

So basically I just focused on one thing at a time. If I try to learn too much at once, it gets frustrating and I forget what I just learned.

We are lucky to have so many resources available to us. This guy tried to put up a mind map to all the tutorials out there - it might be a bit outdated by now, but it includes links to SecretMusic’s vids as well as others.

http://www.mindmeister.com/310663045/elektron-octatrack-video-tutorial-index

apoc-2012 · 2014-08-14T21:37:43.000Z

I have discovered that I should have saved my first project when I created it. This seems to be the best way to return to a blank project and start over. I got really lost and couldn’t revert to blank because it wasn’t saved.

This machine is amazing.

GovernorSilver · 2014-08-15T19:55:03.000Z

""apoc-2012"":

I have discovered that I should have saved my first project when I created it. This seems to be the best way to return to a blank project and start over. I got really lost and couldn’t revert to blank because it wasn’t saved.

This machine is amazing.

Yes, this is a good strategy.

Another good practice I adopted recently is to save “home base” settings into a Part. Then reload the Part to restore the settings.