I think the Octatrack has finally clicked for me…

darenager · 2024-03-09T12:32:06.030Z

One day the OT will be discontinued, within 6 months they will be 3 grand used, nothing can compare with it, and yes it has some flaws, but what it does well it does with such finesse and directness, it can be surgical.

ulverine · 2024-03-09T12:36:10.776Z

jeah, i was blown when i saw in his recent video how you can just bounce all tracks (with their rec trigs) to their buffer, save them, usb->laptop. so cool that i dont really miss overbridge now

Speldosa · 2024-03-09T12:47:54.296Z

I’m still waiting for it to really click for me, and I’m on my second Octatrack Can you elaborate on what it was that you realized/heard that went you by the first two times so that I know where I should look?

monsterism · 2024-03-09T13:37:51.374Z

CCMP:

d just shelved it.

For some reason, I spent a few hours with it last night and had a bit of a Eureka moment where it made sense to me! It’s like the veil was lifted!!

I think a combination of using my MPC and Rytm over a period of time has finally allowed me to see the OT’s workflow, and, watching a few Jon Makes Beats videos helped because he has a similar ‘play things in’ approach.

Anyway, I’m feeling enthusiastic that the OT is now in play for me, and thought I’d post this as encouragement for anyone else who’s tried and bailed on the

I still don’t get it, why is he using flex instead of pick up?.

For example, he sets rec trig but he plays his synth but how does the ot know when to stop?. I understand you can set length but it seems like he’s not doing that?

ulverine · 2024-03-09T14:03:56.431Z

not sure i get your question here.
for me being new to the OT, its the easiest to record straight to a buffer!
no setting up of channel, thru, pick whatever.

darenager · 2024-03-09T14:27:44.317Z

monsterism:

why is he using flex instead of pick up?.

Because pick up is head fuck

sezare56 · 2024-03-09T14:39:58.487Z

ulverine:

so cool that i dont really miss overbridge now

OT doesn’t need Overbridge.

vO7q9P480×270 1.63 MB

Me neither, generally !

sezare56 · 2024-03-09T14:44:05.213Z

monsterism:

why is he using flex instead of pick up?

Why using Pickups ?
It can be useful to set tempo after a live playing recording, eventually overdub, otherwise it is PITA, change og tempo, don’t overdub randomly, no trigs, can’t disable timestretch, etc…

darenager · 2024-03-09T16:13:21.467Z

sezare56:

generally

General Lee.

ViolentMeals · 2024-03-09T16:19:24.415Z

Nice…. Nice….

LOHTANGCLAN · 2024-03-09T16:25:44.065Z

I never ditched it, but had been struggling to use it in a way that made sense to me. The recent Jon Wayne vids helped me a lot to find a methodology that I enjoy & not worry about the million other ways I could be acheiving something

lowph · 2024-03-09T16:54:05.911Z

darenager:

One day the OT will be discontinued, within 6 months they will be 3 grand used

Oh man, I’ve been dreading this since I had my own Octatrack eureka moment some years ago!

I was pretty late to the OT party. I only got one around 2020 or so and it really clicked, but at that point it was already on the market for years, so the possibility of being discontinued was already plausible.

On one hand, I think “it’s a product, products get discontinued, that’s life”, but on the other hand I think of this as a unique instrument, so the idea of it being discontinued is quite sad. Like if one day someone told me the guitar was discontinued and the only way to get one was to pay crazy inflated prices, that would really suck.

What makes it unique to me are its 8 independent recording buffers — I’ve probably mentioned this in a few threads around here already, so I might sound like a broken record, but I just haven’t found anything else with that functionality.

When the OT is discontinued I think I need to sit down and patch up something similar in Puredata or whatever. Either that or buy a bunch of Octatracks to last me years, because I doubt there will be a proper equivalent

Ryan · 2024-03-09T17:01:06.581Z

sezare56:

It has a crossfader !

Holy fudge! How long has THAT been there?!

monsterism · 2024-03-09T17:02:25.953Z

sezare56:

tempo after a live playing recording, eventually overdub, otherwise it is PITA, change og tempo, don’t overdu

I thought pick up machines were ideal for looping, so I assume once he has the beat down. He want to be playing his synths and looping it to get ideas?. Guess I’m completely wrong hahaha

monsterism · 2024-03-09T17:03:18.873Z

Yeah it’s fiddly, but I been watching so many OT tuts online and assume the de facto when you want to play stuff to loop.

Snipecatcher · 2024-03-09T17:12:31.234Z

I love that there’s so much personalized functionality just waiting to be explored/discovered. At the moment I’m really trying to get the most out of mine as a live mixer. I’m a bit shocked how many pedals can come off the pedalboard because I’d been under utilizing my OT. My live template (inspired by EZ BOT) is that tracks 1-4 are for my live instruments (bass, baritone guitar, trumpet, violin). Tracks 5-8 are for my Syntakt.

Thru
Neighbor
Neighbor
Flex

Same thing on 5-8. Sounds so simple yet there’s a silly amount of possibilities for experimentation

Snipecatcher · 2024-03-09T17:15:01.188Z

monsterism:

thought pick up machines were ideal for looping, so I assume once he has the beat down. He want to be playing his synths and looping it to get ideas?. Guess I’m completely wrong hahaha

I originally bought my OT for the pickup machines…which I haven’t used in years. Life is too short to mess with those for me

Alice · 2024-03-09T18:10:49.568Z

Jonwayne

GS · 2024-03-10T19:35:58.332Z

Could it be possible that the original concept behind the Octatrack is closer to a step-sequenced Digital Studio Worstation (like the Roland VS-880) than a variation of the Akai MPC ?

sezare56 · 2024-03-10T19:47:28.244Z

GS:

Could it be possible that the original concept behind the Octatrack is…

Machinedrum.

OT MKI manual

When we developed the Machinedrum UW, one of the goals was to allow for a creative use of samples. Once the machine was released it became apparent that especially the RAM machines, which made it possible to record sounds in real-time and instantly play them back, were utilized in ways we originally couldn’t even imagine. Users around the world used them to incorporate live sampled shortwave radio sounds in their compositions, make instant remixes of 12” records and to more or less conceive new genres of music. It was obvious that the RAM machine concept harbored a tremendous potential. This was the starting point of the Octatrack. We wanted to create a machine that would regard recorded material not as inflexible sounds, but rather as something highly malleable. This is one of the reasons why the Octatrack exists. The other one is because of the stage. The laptop computer has quickly established itself as a common instrument in live setups. It is a powerful and highly customizable tool, however, the multi functionality is at the same time a disadvantage. When it comes to audio related tasks a laptop is still a jack of all trades but master of none. The Octatrack on the other hand is designed to be a streamlined, reliable and straightforward machine allowing live performers to really add something extra to their sets. It can act as a backing track machine, a second turntable, a source of experimental soundscapes or simply as an instrument encouraging improvisation and fun. These two reasons converge and form the ultimate raison d’être of the Octatrack: its capability to re-establish sampling as an art form. We hope it will be a trusty companion during your musical endeavours.