Gear conundrum - sequencing options (OT related)

OSCar · 2014-03-25T01:43:30.000Z

So I adore my MnM & A4 to bits but the OT seems to be relegated more to sequencing duties than it is anything else…oh and as an effects processor for extra MnM channels.

I also have Maschine, an A5000 and E64000 rack samplers.
So what do these option sound like.

Sell the OT and a rack sampler and grab a second hand Tempest
Sell the OT get a second A4 for analog percussion work
Sell the OT and get another MnM (I love the MnM to death btw) cover sequencing and FM percussion and other general oddness without multi-tracking my MnM all the time.
Sell the OT and one rack sampler get a TR8, Bass Sration 2 & Cyclone TT03
See if I can find someone to put together a MIDIbox Seq V4 to replace the OT as a sequencer
Sell the OT and get a MDUWII with + Drive (used to own an MD and kind of miss it)

Or just suck it up and use in the capacity I’ve been using it in.
I’d love a Cirklon but can’t afford the duties + taxes on with the current shitty Canadian exchange rate.

Thoughts - options, other ideas, throw them out there.
PS: I don’t know if I am really interested in the Analog Rhythm (as it’ll be slamming on 2K with taxes to get one new).
.

natrixgli · 2014-03-25T02:39:03.000Z

I hear you man, I’ve been going through similar issues trying to supplement my setup. I feel like a piece is missing (and a bunch of stuff needs to go) and it’s been driving me nuts trying to figure it out.

I think it has to do with the fact that NAMM and Musikmesse have come and gone and so much of the stuff isn’t available yet. That leads to unrequited GAS.

I am picking up another Maschine and ditching my Push. The pads on it make my fingers hurt. However I will not give up on my OT as quickly as I did last time. I feel like it’s the sort of thing I just need to keep around for a while.

I also have a Tempest. It’s a blast. But don’t grab it if you’re impatient for the Rytm to come out, I suspect the Rytm will be a better drum machine. Think of the Tempest as a Monomachine with analog oscillators and sweet pads. (very similar to Maschine, but even better!)

OSCar · 2014-03-25T03:30:25.000Z

My other option is to upgrade my machine 1.8 to 2.0 and the Studio Contoller. How much of my sequencing hub to is to be attached to the computer ???
Which is where the major conflict is for me.

Geneoart · 2014-03-25T06:41:36.000Z

Maybe you should wait for the AR to come out before you make any moves.

MichalHo · 2014-03-25T09:42:21.000Z

""VennDiagram"":

So I adore my MnM & A4 to bits but the OT seems to be relegated more to sequencing duties than it is anything else…oh and as an effects processor for extra MnM channels.

OK, but which other machine out there does both of those things at the same time, on eight individually configurable tracks?

personally, i use the OT mostly for midi/audio combos with external gear (like you). i could not do these things live (i.e. Volca trio + TR-8 + OT as master/hub) without a full-blown midi/audio interface and a laptop on stage… (and MIDI clock would be a lot less stable, as well as more latency overall) I think you might miss the OT, once you get something like the TR-8, which is a fine unit, but very “dumb” without an OT to teach it some tricks.

i wouldn’t sell the OT – i’d sell maschine first… probably the akai and e-mu too, although they both have very good filters and AD/DAs for being rather old samplers! (used to own an E4K)

PeterHanes · 2014-03-25T10:50:18.000Z

""VennDiagram"":

So I adore my MnM & A4 to bits but the OT seems to be relegated more to sequencing duties than it is anything else…oh and as an effects processor for extra MnM channels.

I also have Maschine, an A5000 and E64000 rack samplers.

…

Thoughts - options, other ideas, throw them out there.

There’s a long post to be written here to guide you through the process of refining your set-up according to what pleases you and delights you, starting from ‘what is the job to be done?’ and finishing with ‘what gear is required for that?’
But I have to rush this morning and say that you might satisfy some of your needs for MIDI sequencing, Roland drum sounds, an expressive sampling, after you’ve sold the OT and a sampler, by buying any or all of my QY700, Roland R8 (with cards), and VP-9000 (with max RAM plus Zips).

Daisuk · 2014-03-25T12:58:16.000Z

""VennDiagram"":

My other option is to upgrade my machine 1.8 to 2.0 and the Studio Contoller. How much of my sequencing hub to is to be attached to the computer ???
Which is where the major conflict is for me.

I went for this option when the Studio controller came out. The MIDI-Out ports of it were super buggy back then (lots of stuck MIDI-notes and the Maschine software freezing when sequencing from more than 1 MIDI port), but have potentially been fixed now. I did use my Maschine 1.0 to sequence external gear some time back, and that worked well, but - and a big but for me, was how messy it was with automation. If you want to automate your external gear from within Maschine, even Maschine Studio, it’s going to get messy.

jonah · 2014-03-26T02:33:42.000Z

you might try making a bunch of preset “effect” banks and parts on the octatrack so you can get on with MIDI sequencing without having to slow down to get nice effect chains setup.

i’m only able to get deep into one side of the octatrack or another if i’m also working with other complex gear without getting totally confused. i can’t be setting up banks and parts and scenes and flipping back and forth between audio and MIDI at the same time.

i do think two monomachines would be totally cool though! i could see doing al lot of parallel processing on one or running a poly machine into it or being able to easily visualize polyrhythms. i don’t think it’d be hard to use 12 tracks (or 7 ) if you enjoy the monomachine. can you send kits directly between 2? i’d probably want the octatrack’s effects though just to give it more variety.

i think the machinedrum is the easiest to do audio and MIDI at the same time because all your tracks are in a row, but i love using each of the tracks on the octatrack to sequence a different track on the machinedrum and dynamically resize the tracks, sometimes i’ll record this into the machinedrum or sometimes i’ll “bounce” the MIDI to the MPC.

i don’t really care about “project management” so i like having a few different sequencers running at the same time, but that’s not to everyone’s taste.

ETA: the octatrack can also be a good way to manage pattern switching on your other elektrons. especially if you had 2 monomachines! but it works fine with any of them.

GovernorSilver · 2014-03-26T23:07:57.000Z

You got me thinking about how I envision the OT’s role in my own setup. I currently just use its sequencer to trigger samples that I recorded into the flex and pickup machines - no drum machines or external synths.

I just got a Nintendo 3DS and Korg M01D, which allows export of MIDI sequences. I’m more likely to write “normal” sounding music instead of just the experimental stuff that I’ve done so far, because I’ve got this little composing/sequencing tool that fits in my pocket. I’m thinking of exporting MIDI sequences created on the M01D into my Emu XL-7 - after I get it repaired. Presumably, the Emu should also be able to load MIDI sequences created on my OP-1, though I need to do more homework on that.

Post-repair, the Emu’s sequencing capabilieis should complement the OT’s nicely:

Emu XL-7: Up to 32 simulatenous arpeggiators with swing

OT: Independent time signatures per MIDI track.

OSCar · 2014-03-27T18:57:28.000Z

Ok well I sold my OT and got a second Monomachine.
One is for percussion and bass and the other for everything else.
Super fast for me as I can fly around the MnM like no ones business.
It’s an older MkII with no + Drive and was on an older OS but I got it for such a good price I couldn’t say no and have been having a blast.
2 x MnM + 1 x A4 is much fun indeed.
And I can do think like run one in 2/3 agains standard time or have one at double speed and the other at half speed and get polyrhythms etc setting bot machines to different step lengths and so on and so forth.
Great stuff.