Brand new here. No elektron experience. Years of bands of various sizes (i’m a guitar player). Have a pigtronix infinity looper and last year ended up with a moog sub 37. Havn’t purchased the OT but ready to. I want to play a full background song and be able to add parts in and out as the thing progresses. For instance a solo jazz guitar gig with backing trk drums and bass behind me …for the head i have a tenor sax play the full melody with me then drop out for an extended solo section that I’m able to keep going with or get back to the main part of the song when i run out of improv ideas. Really wondering if the sax parts could be dropped in and out…including possibly a pre recorded sax solo in the solo section…with out much hassle live if/ when i feel like it? Also if the backing section of a song for solos can be easily entered and exited live based on how long i want to solo. This all seems basic compared to what this thing can do but this is the first thing i want to use this for and don’t want to buy and find out for whatever reason it’s not possible. The reason i’m looking at the ot vs simpler backing options is the idea of all the other things I’m not even aware of yet that this might allow me to do in the future. (also do not want to bring a laptop to a show) Especially now that I have the moog synth that I’m starting to love and a looper. Thanks
Your description of requirements is kind of confusing to me. Like -
“Also if the backing section of a song for solos can be easily entered and exited live based on how long i want to solo”
It’s difficult to know exactly what you want to do. If you’re asking can you cut the backing track up and switch easily between different song parts, yeah OT could do that no prob as long as everything is cut tight and to bpm etc. Will be a bit of a chore/prep work cutting all your backing tracks in to sections to be able to have that kind of flexibility tho. But doable.
In general OT is probably the most capable thing out there for any kind of backing track setup outside of computer. Not sure how good it is in terms of ‘hands free’ via midi foot controller etc tho if you’re playing guitar.
So lets say I break the song up into three sections. A) full melody/head. B) solos. C) melody again to finish the song. Lets say I make the B) solo section 16 bars long. One night live i’m on to something and want to continue soloing for another 16 bars or more. Can i easily control/repeat the B) section “loop” behind me in time etc. This is pretty basic …i already do this with just my guitar in my pigtronix looper…but like the idea of adding and subtracting full band or stems with the small footprint box live.
What is ‘head’? Besides the obvious 
You referred to this with the sax in your first post. I’ve never heard of a part of a song or song element referred to as’ head’?
I’m used to thinkinf in 'intro/verse/bridge/Chorus etc so it’s hard for me to envisage your song structure how you describe it. Like why would you need 3 sections if your ending is the same as the first, from how you’ve described it? And are each section just a loop repeated or is each section fluid/evolving?
If each song section is just a loop that you play guitar over then you can equate each section to a pattern on OT and it’ll be easy. Then have your sax parts as one-shot trigs on a duplicate pattern, so you can switch patterns to choose between with/without sax. There are probably more elegant ways to do too it that other users could maybe advise on.
Yeah just jazz terminology i guess. Diff words same idea. The third part would be the same as the first with possibly a slightly diff melody and chord progression to end the song. My question is really how easy …lets just say we have an intro-verse-chorus. I want to play a guitar solo over the 16 bar chorus. Some nights what i play might be great and i want to keep soloing another 16 bars on the chorus before going bk to the bridge. Just want the loop of the chorus to repeat another time thru. I know it’s gotta be pretty easy right? The other question about dropping in diff pre recorded sax parts locked in time as the song progresses is the thing i wonder more about.
I think everything you want to do is possible with OT with some prep work but I’m not sure of the best way to do it or whether it will work out ok for ‘hands free’. For instance the sax stuff might be a case of activating one-shot trigs etc, and I don’t know if that can be done via foot controller. I’d guess so but hopefully someone with more solid knowledge can help you out. I’ve barely touched my OT in 4+ months and my memory is patchy… I miss using it tho, amazing box.
hi, i speak jazz 
i play guitar along with some of my OT-based compositions. a few things you probably want to know:
-you can do what you want, in essence; all you need to be able to do is mute and unmute tracks on the OT. One track might have your bassline, another your sax solo, etc.
-i find it very easy to work with 16-bar sections, because elektron gear allows you to chain patterns together. hold down a bank button and select four adjacent 4-bar pattern buttons with the same fluid motion you’d make drumming your right hand fingers impatiently, and bingo, 16-bar repeating loop.
-you also might work the arranger / song mode, as it allows you to loop certain portions of a song and jump in/out of the arrangement as you choose.
in short, you’ve got options here, but the one caveat is: you’ve gotta use your hands to do these things in real time. you might be able to get around it with a MIDI footpedal like the Behringer FCB 1010, which I used for years to change patterns on other gear. worked great, i just haven’t tried with the OT (not playing enough guitar to haul it to club gigs). anyone who has worked with footpedals and the OT should chime in here.
Thanks Much. Good information. I thought it might be an aligned track with just a horn that i muted/un-muted kind of thing. I think i could prob sneak a hand and press a button to mute. Sounds like the arranger/ song mode - looping different sections and jumping in and out is exactly what i’m getting at. If it could be done with a quick one hand button push i’m sure i could manage. In this mode would I still be able to have the "stems- horn or bass"tracks running along side to mute or un-mute? I’m assuming putting a set with multiple songs like this in a row is easily done? If i get the OT I’d have 45 days to decide if it’s too much to figure out and return it. To begin with if I could initially get this simple live backing set up to work for a few songs I could spend the rest of my life slowly adding other things. Tons of time already trying to find anything non-laptop that seems like it could even do the playback with looping sections and different stems in and out much less the seemingly infinite possibilities with my other gear with no real luck. Possibly other dj specific hardware…and I’m no DJ. This thing seems to make sense but looks crazy to get into. Thanks again and any other info is greatly appreciated.
OK, next level.
These options are among some that you have, some/many of them are possible to combine. More or less. However, it´s really is up to you to get the OT to work for you, but any adjustments/changes needed to be done to get to your ‘goal’ are entirely within you. Not the OT.
In other words: it´s not the spoon that bends.
Tracks/Patterns
You have eight tracks, that you can have as playback channels (altough only four physical outputs so you can´t have them all separated into an mixer afterwards).
Within each track you have the option to either use the step sequencer (up to max 64 steps) in full. That is, i e, programming an rhythm of drums of each separate hit. Quite deep control.
Or you can actually use just have one step triggered in any of those 64 steps. With an sample of that ‘full’ beat playing. This trig (in that single step), could be one that gets re-triggered each time the sequencer starts over. Or it could just be an ‘one-shot’ trig. Which means that the first time the sequencer encounters this trig, thanks to it being ‘armed’, it plays the sample/sound selected. But the next time when the sequencer are passing the same position again where this trig lies, it won´t be trigged unless you had ‘re-armed’ it again. This one-shot trig could be played for as long as the sample is (even minutes if you want to), thus extending far longer than the boundaries of the step sequencer with its 64 steps.
Step sequencer rhytms are prone to get a bit boring after a while. However, the same could be said regarding a sample looping over and over. Some are using the LFO´s to get variations (possible to get some level of ‘human’ randomness).
The fine thing is that you are perfectly able to actually use abovementioned methods at the same time by spreading them on two tracks (using the same sounds in both makes them indistinguishable from each other). Regarding patterns. You have lots of them, and they are able to be recalled by PC#. This could, i e, be used for recalling different sample loops or patterns (i e the ‘rhythm’ mentioned above).
Arranger
Is a bit special, since you are extending the level of control of your patterns (and indirectly your tracks).
You can have them in any order you choose to program them (aka the rows). You are able to program which tracks that are muted (with some backdraws though). You are also able to program which steps (even a short section) in that pattern you want to be played, and how many repeats you want of it. Some are using the arranger for song structuring, other are or have been using it for setlist structures. One of the downsides is that since you are having the programmability in this level of control, you are having less control manually (i e using PC#).
A BIG remember: the fader has priority. Always.
This will confuse you many times until you remember that rule. You will not understand patterns nor the arranger at times because of this. It can be de-activated, but I suggest you to really understand its function in various situations.
In general
The octatrack differs quite a bit from other options out there with its complexity. And certainly isn´t for everyone. But invest your time/energy in it with an open mind to see the ‘building blocks’ it actually consists of. And it will reward you many times back. However, coming to it with your preferences in how you want it to work (aka the machine of your dreams) is a recipe for disaster.
There are quite some control with MIDI, that get your hands free. But there are unfortunately some functions and control that are only reachable by using your hands. The MIDI side of it requires an good programmable footcontroller. The more programmable it is, the more you are able to ‘tweak’ some functions/features of the Octatrack to your liking. The octatrack wasn´t made from a guitarists perspective although it can be used by those who plays such instruments of course.
There are some functions/features lacking that many of us would have liked to see in future OS updates. Some quite complex and probably not feasible. Others probably more simple. However, I wouldn´t count on any of them to come, and build my rig with that perspective. WYSIWYG.
Thanks for the info and input. Seems more like the machine of my nightmares…but somehow it’s calling me.
Boss rc505 would maybe be better suited for you in terms of price > required features? Haven’t seen one in person but you might even be able to trigger it with feet if careful/not playing dark/rowdy venues. Or grab a footswitch for it. Cool unit, I’d like one…
I guess that all the terminology may sound a bit intimidating at this point. In my opinion OT is not that difficult to learn, but it’s good to understand that some studying (reading) will be required. Otherwise you’re in for a frustrating experience. The machine is VERY versatile for many kinds of tasks, but that comes with a price of learning how to set it up for your specific use. If you’re ready to invest some time to it, I’m quite sure you won’t get disappointed. On the other hand, it’s not for everybody, so getting a used one might be a good option to try it.
Thanks to everyone for the input. Really great to get some perspective before a purchase. I’m thinking I’d like to limit my initial requirements to this. I need to put 10 -15 full 3-5 min tunes into the box and have them play back.Thats all. Instead of initially worrying about internal song loops and diff parts in and out just the simple/solid play back of a set worth of songs to play over. I’ll put all the parts together in pro tools and bounce em out as a wave or whatever is needed. I don/t mind having to push a button to start and stop. Can somebody tell me the easiest way that works in OT. If i get this home…read the manual and follow your simple instructions that simple task will be no problem kind of thing. With that little pre-requirement I’m not worried about the purchase and future time investment. If i can do that …thats really all that pretty much any of the other backing track/ purpose built products can do. With the sub 37 and looper pedal I’m pretty sure after a year I’ll be happy I got the ot instead of something simpler. So…I know it’s prob. hair-pulling basic but Whats the absolute easiest way to play back (10) 5 min pre-recorded backing tracks, samples…whatever they need to be called. Again thanks to everyone
If you’re talking about simple backing tracks {one sample file per song) I’d probably just use slots mode for that. Simple as ‘import backing tracks to OT card. Switch OT to slots mode. Import your backing tracks to static slots.’
Now when you hit the step sequencer trigs (the 16 buttons along bottom of OT) each one will play a different sample (backing track).
You wouldn’t even need to run the sequencer. Just hit the sample.
You’ll be able to use OT for that no probs straight off and then dig in to it at your own pace.
OT is Def overkill for that kind of thing tho so if you end up changing your mind I’d maybe look at a boss rc-3 (99 memory slots. 3 hours sample time. Import via USB. Great little simple backing tracking box) or rc 300 (similar to above except has 3 stereo tracks so you could also do that stuff you mentioned like bringing in sax parts and having different sections on each pedal and play them for however long you wanted to jam on each part). Not trying to talk you out of it, everyone should try an OT at some point, just some ideas in case it doesn’t work out.
You COULD play a full track by loading the track onto a one shot and letting it ride, but you wouldn’t have much control of the song playing with that. Adjustments to its sound, but no control of its structure, in this manner
Sorry if this has already been mentioned
Have to agree that maybe the OT is not the best choice for this task. It can do all of this, but due to its complexity there are many things that can go wrong if it’s not set up right, so you really have to have a deep understanding of it before you can trust it live.
Check out some vids and see all of the other things the OT is capable of. If all that sampling/sequencing/mangling appeals, then the work of learning it will be worthwhile. But if its main functionality will be for backing tracks then save yourself a bunch of time and money and get a boss RC or SP404 instead.
I highly recommend the OT regardless. Learning it made the process of learning fun(again)
Great. I’ll Take a look. Thanks