How do you guys record the Octatrack?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hi All,

TL;DR: Want to jam on couch, considering a flightcase to play with OT / DT on couch. Struggle with recording my OT jams into a DAW. Considering buying a flightcase and suck that con up or to invest in something else as a couchbuddy.

Currently on my second OT which I have been using on and off for about 5 months now.
I use Ableton and a Digitakt next to it and every time i sit down to make music I am endlessly exploring which feels either great or unproductive.

Now with the OT / DT i find myself way less fatigued from the screen (dayjob = screen). So I am looking to put them both in a flightcase to remove myself from my desk & screens. The only thing I worry about is that the jams I make on the OT have to be performed well into Ableton to record them. I did that quite a bit but itā€™s frustrating for me as I make mistakes or record too quickly to end up unhappy with the result.

Should I just accept that this is a OT thing? Maybe do multiple takes / multitrack and arrange in Ableton? How do you do it?
Or should I skip the pain and buy a Maschine + / MPC live 2 as a couch buddy since they allow exporting into Ableton with greater ease?

#2

I used to record it into ableton, but I started to resample the main out into the OT itself. Much more convenient. No computer involved, I just stay focused on the machine.
The recording time usually is enough for my typical song lengths.

I either resample a performance or use the arranger to create a song.
I move the recording to the computer via usb disk mode later and might add some limiter etc in ableton.

7 Likes
#3

As @Unifono, I record OT with OT. For longer recordings, I record several parts to edit later.

I (barely) used a Zoom H2 class compliant recorder, in order to record a video. These days Iā€™d rather use the Syntakt as audio class compliant gear, with Android or iPad.

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#4

Iā€˜m not 100 percent sure but the internal recordings sound better to me than recording it into the laptop. Might be my interface though :upside_down_face:

#5

Maybe try using the DT midi tracks to sequence OT scene changes / x fader / automation etc. You could build pretty much whole track structures. Then if you want to multitrack, just hook the OT & DT to Ableton, hit record however times needed.

#6

No extra DA AD conversions, so theoretically better.
I should receive a TC Finalizer Plus tomorrow. Should improve OT mastering and recordings of external gear.

#7

I use an AH as master effect and usb interface

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#8

ā€¦record the master outsā€¦and via ob the dt which can xtra host otā€™s cue outsā€¦

if u give it a closer second thought on internal routing, what elements u can pair up to record best as stereo stems ā€œonlyā€ in one take upfront, u should be all fineā€¦

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#9

I just record the master outputs that go through oto boum and into playdifferently model 1, wich at the end goes to rme fireface / imac.

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#10

as above or a Syntakt has been looking like a great couch buddy to me.

#11

A Zoom h4n shouldnā€™t cost that much these days and is still a perfectly good recorder (that wonā€™t get sticky like the h5, although thatā€™s also a good one other than the stickiness problem). Triple duty as your OT recorder, field recorder for sample material and a simple USB audio interface if you need something smaller than your main interface for travel or whatever.

#12

Tascam DR40x

#13

Thatā€™s such a simple and smart idea. So basically you have 7 tracks and use 8 to capture the take with?

You could do track by track takes this way as well possibly if you selected the output from just one track and scene/fader jammed over it while the other tracks played as background. I may be wrong there.

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#14

you can have 8 tracks and use any track to record. It records into that tracks buffer, you donā€™t have to keep that track free from playing back something

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#15

Makes sense. Then you just go in and save the sample and itā€™s done.

I really am surprised I never tried this. Lol. It makes way too much sense and quickly captures all kinds of jamming and scene changes either per track or out of the master.

4 Likes
#16

Good call, iā€™ve got a Zoom h1n. But part of the problem is that you have to perform a song rather flawlessly.

#17

hehe the way I see it thats whats being a musician is all about ;-)!

5 Likes
#18

True. very true. Just need to get better. Ordered a flightcase to make a cool creative hub I can move around. TBF the MPC looks just like a limited Ableton in that sense. Figure Iā€™d feel like iā€™d rather get behind the big screen then

Tnx all! And recording into the OT itself is quite smart, I never knew the recording buffer was that long.

#19

Iā€˜m using the Zoom F3. Itā€˜s small and portable with excellent preamps.

#20
1 Like