Hey all,
I have put it off for years, but for some reason I started to get the itch for an octatrack. But I don’t have as much time as I would like in the studio right now and I am wondering is it really as difficult to learn as I always hear? I was able to get a good grip and start making tracks with my mpc live II in about a week, but don’t know how the octatrack compares. So any honest opinions on how long it would take to get a decent grip on most of its functions?
Thanks!
I think the big problem is people buy this box that will do literally everything and they just start trying to learn everything all at once. I knew better than that and also had a fairly narrow intended use case initially. I am VERY FAR from being an Octatrack expert but I’ve found learning by focusing on one little piece at a time to be shockingly undaunting.
All that being said, to learn everything about the Octatrack is going to be a lifelong affair. Exciting!
I have a very demanding full time job, so I can’t spend time with it every day. I think i started feeling truly comfortable with it about a month in. It’s not hard, but it’s s bit different from other samplers.
There are still functions of the Octatrack that i don’t know well. Like, for example pickup machines – the way I approach music I don’t think pickup machines interest me that much, so I simply never use them. I found it beneficial to understand the main structures (banks, parts, patterns, sound pools) right away, but to not dive into every single little feature all at once, because I don’t need every single feature. I also found it beneficial to learn one way to do something and stick with that way – for example, there are many ways to sample audio, but I learned how to use one-shot recording trigs first, and didn’t want to confuse myself with other ways, because the next time I might touch the machine could be a week later.
I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered the Octatrack, but I think I’m fairly illuminated after spending over a year with it, and not having all that much time to dedicate to music. I can make it do what I want it to do, and I’m still surprised with results all the time (which is a positive thing).
Weeks to months to years. How long does it take to learn a daw? Or guitar?
Coupe of weeks to learn how to use it.
I reckon about a year to properly master it.
If you have experience with modern Elektron device it will be a lot easier
If you are focused, you can learn all the individual functions in a weekend. You need to keep practicing to develop muscle memory and spend more weekends combining functions together in various ways.
If you just want to use it as a powerful FX box or just a sampler, two weekends may be enough. But as you combine techniques you will discover subtleties.
Problems come if you turn on the OT once a month. You will spend more time learning what you forgot than learning new stuff. So try to turn it on every weekend, or for an hour on Wednesday night. The more your fingers can remember, the more your mind will know.
If you like to play with synths with a beer in one hand or while baked, consider switching to coffee or tea while you get the OT down. It is a fun drunken friend when you know what you are doing, but can get surly if you fumble too much.
It took me about a week to learn how to use it on a basic level. A month or so to get it to fully integrate with my small but simple system. Another 6 months or so picking up tricks here and there.
I consider myself to be a below average electronic musical instrument user.
took me 4 years to learn it inside out.
(and also needed to be absolutely sober to perform with it live)
I’ve always thought of the OT as a way to use Live Llite without the computer.
In relation to learning Live, I find the OT extremely simple to understand.
There’s only two things that tripped me up, how recording/live sampling works, and Parts.
Once I understood those, the whole thing is very straight forward.
I think if your trying to use the OT to do everything it does at the same time, it feels more limited. If you use it for a couple of things it does well, it seems incredible.
I like morphing live feeds with effects.
So I use it like that, and I’ve never found anything so capable.
I use a ton of Thru machine to maximize stacking fx, and create scenes, run all my gear as songs using the banks and arranger.
I see a lot of people say it, and I definitely know the feeling, “I feel bad I’m not using it for all the other things it does”
At some point I let myself get over that and use it like a one trick pony.
For me that’s effects and scenes.
Nevertheless I could see myself using it as just a looper, and again feeling like it was good at isolating 1 thing really well.
I like sequencing my other synths from the OT. It does that so well, and it’s dead easy.
However, I have a RYTM, that just does drums. I have and AK, and it just does what it’s good at.
I run both of those Thru the OT and obliterate them with FX.
I’m ok with that.
I’ve had my OT MKII for a few years, and at this point I’m pretty good with my current workflow: I use it as the master transport and tempo source for a Digitone, Analog Rytm MkII, and an A4 MkII. The outputs of the AR and A4 are fed to the OT, where I can sample and add effects, etc. I’m also using it to control parameters on the Digitone and AR here and there via MIDI, which is especially useful when you’ve exhausted your LFOs, or just want some extra control.
While I was able to get started when I first got it (I was coming from a Machinedrum so had a very basic idea of how to run the sequencer), three things have been essential for me to be more productive: first, the manual – well worth the time to study it, and for me having a printed copy is key. Second: Thavius Beck’s tutorials. His videos on Ask Audio (and probably elsewhere) are excellent, especially for a beginner, and do a fantastic job of laying out the capabilities of the OT while not getting overwhelming. Third, I’ve spent the last year+ taking lessons with Mr. Dave Mech, who is an absolute master of the OT. We spent a long time at the beginning establishing a workflow that made sense for me, and once I got that going, everything else really fell into place. I’m still discovering new things the OT can do, and don’t expect that to stop happening until… I don’t know, the heat death of the universe? As others have said, it’s a very, very deep device, but a total blast to use.
In any case, your mileage will obviously vary, but that’s what’s worked well for me.
I also think it’s totally fine to only use a subset of its functions! I find it liberating to not feel like I need to use all the features. In some projects I use one set of functions, and in others I use another set of functions and I think that also applies to other machines.
I write a lot of code at work. Most of the programs i create don’t use every feature of the programming language I’m using – depending on the goal, i use whatever tools are relevant.
On the OT is totally possible to make a great track with a single part, 4 flex machines, 2 or 3 patterns, and a handful of scenes, for example. When break down some of records I love, I don’t usually see a way to recreate them by using every single OT function.
I think learning the Octatrack is like learning anything else. And it’s probably much easier to learn it now, because most questions that come up have likely already been answered on this forum.
As it’s been said, it’s up to you for the most part.
It’s good to remember that there are lots of ppl making electronic music who are just plain lazy and impatient simultaneously. Lots of ppl complaining for having to put in some effort in order to make something cool happen.
The OT mk2 was my first Electron device and it took me about 2 weeks to start having a blast with it, although I didn’t know much at that point.
I don’t understand the amount of comments online saying it’s difficult to approach.
Like with any real instrument it takes some time to master but learning how to use it is fun so what’s the hurry?
It’s not difficult to learn, it just has lots of hidden secrets 
Granted it’s definitely not for everyone, and some people saying it’s difficult is probably because they just don’t like working that way.
I feel like most of the complaints are just people parroting someone else’s experience they read, not from actual experience.
I see it all the time.
The OT sucks because ______
Followed by
I’ve never had one, I just read about it
Yeah that’s true. Still, the amount of great tutorials on YT and of questions that clearly indicate that there has been zero effort to RTFM is quite staggering. 
With the Octatrack you never stop learning, even after many years it can surprise you with new tricks.
Totally!
What’s really amazing is when you get far beyond the point of learning the basics.
Suddenly you’re thinking, “oh I should try this”
It definitely keeps opening doors years after using it.
200 years.
Coming from the Digitakt i could make a cool beat at the first day. A lot of head scratching involved but it’s not that hard to do simple things. Learning all the good stuff takes some time of course.