Any good recording methods for iPad with machines?
Beatmaker 3 has excellent MIDI sync, so you can record into it quite easily.
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Cheers. Do you recommend any specific interface to hook up the iPad with the machines?
Cubase on iPad is pretty decent. It is very DAW-like if you prefer something like that. Iāve bought it but Iāve only played a single stereo in and have not done anything comprehensive (been too busy with Bitwig Studio and constantly rotating my setup because Iām never 100% content with any setups.
However, to answer the OP question: the idea to use Overbridge enabled machines for input is a great idea that I got (probably from @craig) right here from this forum. It allows any device to become āOverbridge enabledā In a way and itās just a single USB cable for each device.
Usually my setup is Digitakt and Digitone with a Volca Drum running into the Digitone because I want the stereo image intact. The reverb and overdrive are just really juicy and brings that extra little something. So usually one or two tracks from there and the input is a separate channel as well.
Then the Digitakt can stream the 8 individual outputs and itās input separately which is a Korg Monologue. The Monologue has an input as well so itās possible to input something there as well to let the filter affect it and still youāre using 1 usb cable to do it.
So you can see how flexible this can be and the many different ways to set things up in different chains. I also have a mixer and my setup stayed tied into that for a while as well and you just get your mix as best you can and stereo out to the DAW. Basically there are no wrong answers here and half of the fun (and frustration too haha!) is finding what works best for you and your setup.
I swear I pick up a good trick or two every single time I read the posts here! A dose of Electronauts a few times a week is way to increase your technical toolbox AND lighten your wallet. Itās a win win!
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Anything that uses class-compliant audio will work.
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Not how I imagined I wouldā¦
I either do it 1. live through a mixer to stereo or 2. track by track without internal FX and a bit of added bite from the mixer sends added.
Either way is a hassle and takes lots of time. One is more fun and natural (sometimes) while the other gives you far more control.
Everything recorded live and is usually a TR-8S through A4 and all tracks in to Overbridgeā¦
or TR-8S, A4, Behringer Crave, Arturia MicroFreak, and some Volcas into a Focusrite interface.
yeah I kind of enjoy the separation of this approach though. jamming with the machines for a while as the āwritingā portion and then multi-tracking and fine-tuning an arrangement and mix as the ārecordingā portion. I get into a different mind-set for each one, and itās nice to have the variation.
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OB 
Itās great.
I use an Ultralite MK4 with a Traveler MK1 hooked up over ADAT light pipe. Thatās 16 inputs. Exactly enough for OT (4), A4 (2), MC (2), MS (2), and AK (6).
Overbridge is used when A4 or AK need macro mappings (way faster with OB), or I need the A4 multi-tracked, which is rare.
Previous setup was around an Allen & Heath QU-Pac which had 18 inputs. The main difference there was I recorded to a USB stick then moved it over to Live for tweaks.
With the MOTU setup I record directly into Live, and I switched over to this system so that I could use better sounding processing (VSTs), carefully chosen for its low latency performance.
I also used to just jam my OP-1 into my Duet 2, as a stereo performance, and then finished the live recording with some soloād tracks at the end that I could splice in and out, transposed, effected for break downs, later in Liveās arranger.
Do whatever works for you. Preferably whatever has the least amount of friction and will keep you productive.
If you have a solid computer setup, lean on that.
If you donāt, consider something a digital mixer that can multi-track to a USB stick or SD card.
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Tape out from Mackie 1202 in one take. OT with synths running into it plus AR as stereo inputs, plus virus, modular, pedals, mic as needed. No editing or mastering, rough jams all the way:
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Thanks a lot for all the input!
I bought Ableton years ago, yet I havenāt really used it too much for recording. One thing that always bothered me was all the hassle with the latency and that the tracks never were 100% tight in timing when recorded. Does Overbridge overcome this issue? And do you run Overbridge stand-alone or inside a DAW? If yes so, what DAW do you consider best for recording? Reaper was mentioned above.
I make a bunch of patterns on the OT (bounce down any track coming into the OT separately), then use the arrange mode to make songs. Analog Heat Overbridge stereo out to Ableton. If i want to arrange the recording, I go into Ableton and find the first kick, and warp from there.
As I do more demos and collecting ideas than arrange songs in a DAW, I just arrange everything with the analog four or digitone. Make different patterns and record it live via Overbride. If I had a good run, I opend the one file in FLStudio and give it a little eq and compression.
I have tried a few times to record the tracks individually and it works good but Overbridge only records the master overdrive in the send effects and not on every single track. Or did I miss something?
Agreed. Iāve also had some really nice āhappy mistakesā and nice masters come out of the ālive-to-stereoā approach while also mixing tracks into the groundā¦
I guess itās all part of the journey of mastering your craft.
I do. Thereās like 5-10 minutes figuring out what is going on and how everything works. But it makes it super convenient as- instead of having to deal with audio cable routing, its all just a USB cable away from recording in your DAW.
You also have the ability to split off individual tracks for extra processing. Even just recording the mains- its super convenient and you donāt have to worry about running out of inputs on your input. and actually, all OB enabled boxes extend your inputs as theyāre all enabled to pass audio through to your DAW without replacing your interface in the DAW.
Also, if you have a very interactive/performative recording process- those knob movements get recorded as automation into your DAW so you can tweak them to perfection if you so choose.
Its well worth downloading, and spending the small amount of time to figure it out. Elektron have done a great job of cutting out the initial understanding
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How do you set this up?
Super simple.
- Download and install the software
- Maybe do some setup in the Overbridge control panel(play a pattern to make sure audio is being passed thru(and turn on the tracks you might want individually tracked at some point)
- Load the plugin in your DAW after rescanning
- Once the plugins are loaded, your Elektrons should be syncād to your DAW(this can be turned off if you want them to play at their own speeds)
Once you record your Elektrons into the DAW the automation should be recorded as well.
Its magic. I was floored when I realized how much Overbridge captured.
Rytm goes into the adat expansion with 6 channels. The main outs go to the patchbay in case I use performance macros, then they are routed to the main audio interface. Two channels ot go the other two free channels of the adat.
How I record depends on the track. Sometimes x-bar long short patterns, sometimes long. Depends. Performance macros, random triggers, lfos for movement. I think of how I can capture the experience the best without losing what was programmed.
If you donāt have a multi-input interface, overbridge can really come in handy. Iād say just do it and see what bothered you. Then see if you can improve it. Repeat.
I record main stereo output of the Octatrack to my DAW along with a metronome track from the OT sequencer. I do this for each track, overdubbing. Then I align all tracks by the click takes, zooming all the way in so it is sample-acurate. This is tedious but works perfectly because the timing on the OT is completely accurate, unlike any other equipment I have tried, there seems to be absolutely no drift in the sequencer clock.
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