Introducing Octatrack MKII

News
#1129

I’d love to. What I’d say is that it’s a very worthy hardware update, and it feels like something built to last for a long time still, and not a final iteration of a product that’s fading out. Not that anyone ever said it was.

As for workflow improvements, that’d depend a lot on what you use the Octatrack for. Like the versatile toolbox it is, depending on what you reach for, why and when, the MKII might change things for you, or you might not notice at all. I go mostly for recorder trigs and resampling, and it’s convenient with immediate resampling accessible with a push. I also use parts heavily and I found a few neat tricks there as well. I would imagine that a user that really goes for the Octatrack from all directions, there’s just lots of small details, short cuts and tricks that will make it feel somewhat smoother.

The irony here is that I do believe you need to be an experienced user to appreciate these changes. I didn’t see anything that made me feel that a non-Octatracker would become an Octatracker, just because of these changes. Nor do I think this is Elektron’s intention. Some things just have to be done in a certain way, that’s just the price of depth.

The screen and the buttons, though. Man, oh man. When you fire it up, it just glows and flashes, like the boss it is.

It’s really a win win situation. If you’v got an MKI, it’s as great as it ever was. If you’re gunning for an MKII, it’s gonna be as great and maybe greater, but not as in “Whoa, there’s just shit I can do with the MKII that won’t happen on the MKI, due to the vastly improved workflow”. Not so. It’s not like it went Volca Sample now.

The Octatrack remains an instrument that requires your time and patience, like any proper commitment. You show me an instrument worth it’s salt or ivory or wood or metal or whatever that doesn’t hold this statement true, and I’ll sell what little gear I have left and become a farmer.

It remains a unique and amazing piece of gear, and Elektron just underlined its well-earned place in the history of hardware music gear.

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#1130

Thank you for your reply and insights… I appreciate it.

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#1131

Thanks Andreas!

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#1132

Didn’t see THAT one coming!

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#1133

I could be wrong, of course.

#1134

I refuse to believe it

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#1135

I appreciate the changes and i don’t even own a OT.

#1136

I’m leaning toward OT MKII instead of DT.
As a sucker for LFOs and pattern memory (16 banks per project on OT!), I think I need to let go of my appreciation of DT immediacy.
Although I’ve borrowed both an OT MK1 and DT and took to the DT much more (naturally, as it is so immediate and Rytm-like), I am starting to think that OT will take me and my music farther in the end.

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#1137

Yeah, as long as you don’t need OB(I’ve heard your stuff, you don’t) and can give up control all, I can absolutely see you doing more with an OT(stereo samples, scenes, and significantly larger storage capacity). Conditional trigs are cool and all, but definitely more potential in the OT.

#1138

However, that being said- wireless transfer of samples from an iPhone seems VERY convenient…

#1139

I would mostly be sampling my AK or using pre made sample chains.

I don’t mind lack of conditional trigs, as I already have two other instruments that can do that.

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#1140

the head says Octatrack and the heart whispers Digitakt

i think both, although one at a time is often the best way forwards with Elektron gear, with a year or two spacing between investments

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#1141

The Digitakt can only be considered immediate in Elektron land. In all other contexts, it’s still as charmingly whimsical as most other Elektrons.

I never felt the OT to not be immediate, once you’ve learned it. The DT is great, but mostly for other reasons than its interface.

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#1142

I’ve grown very fond of DTs conditional trigs and p-lockable LFO, so unless OT MK2 gets these at some point (which I don’t think is going to happen) I’ll skip.

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#1143

LFO can be plocked to hell, with LFOs controlling LFOs. No conditional trigs but having separate track scaling does help.

#1144

You’ve always struck me as an “elektron power user”, so I can imagine you getting a helluva lot of mileage out from an octatrack. And, like you said, plocking the arp and 3 custom LFOs per track aint nothing to sniff at! :diddly: Only thing I can see that might be vague at this point is, how well will you get along with the “no kits, 4 parts per bank” paradigm…

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#1145

Only LFO speed and depth can be plocked on OT.
All LFO parameters can be plocked on other boxes.

#1146

Oh dang, that is wild.

#1147

No arguing about that. Still I find being able to change LFO parameters, such as target a lot of fun. The same goes for conditional trigs. Of course on the OT I can work around their absence, but A4/AR/DTs way of handling them is a lot more convenient. I still love my OT. I just don’t feel compelled to get an MK2, which would be different if it had those features.

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#1148

When faced with:
sell my OT mk1 for €x, add €y and buy a mk2 for €z

I should just buy a digitakt for less than €y and keep my OT mk1!

Perfect reasoning to allow myself buy a DT

4 Likes