Introducing Octatrack MKII

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#1875

It’s a cool approach, but I don’t do it like that, and it’s probably a lot easier to just use one or two of them first…

What he’s doing is making a progression of parameter changes that are additive, meaning each one has all the other changes done to the ones before it included, so as you progress through them they keep steadily changing the sounds and don’t jump back to where they were previously in the progression.

He’s setting it up in a way where you progress from scene 1-8 always on the left of the fader, and scene 9-16 always on the right. This is sort of a way to keep things logical, 1-8 are on the left so use on left side of fader, 9-16 on the right so use on right side of fader. Progress through each numerically.
So the progression goes 1-9-2-10-3-11-4-12 etc… Each dash is a fade…

So there’s that, but I wouldn’t worry about that so much yet if it’s confusing, just use a couple and check em out…

1 Like
#1876

It’s definitely a creative approach I might try one day, but it seems like a mental strain.
Maybe after extended use you can get that muscle memory down and it wouldn’t feel so awkward.

Currently I use 15 scenes per bank
Always have Scene A muted
Trig one has nothing
Most of the Scenes stay the same across banks and projects. Those scenes are delays locked/unlocked.
I always use the same 4 scenes for pshasy comb filtery stuff. These get dialed in per project.
I always use the same 4 scenes for really washed out fade to grey type things. These get dialed in per project.

That’s just what I’ve worked towards, and multiple projects use that set up, making the OT feel comfortable over time. Memorization etc.

That’s what’s so cool about the OT though. I could find a completely different workflow and exploit it over time, really understand it, and the music kind of reflects that process in a unique way.

1 Like
#1877

Another weird thing I do with scenes is “mirror” them visually.
If I’m splitting the trigs visually on the left and right, it makes more sense to me that trig 1 represents upmost left, or scene one for the left side.
Trig 16 represents upmost right, or scene one for the right side.
All meeting in the middle.

All these ideas stem from running the Rytm and A4 into the OT using it as an effects box mixer thing with minimal sampling though. Very L/R 1 2 kinda thing.

3 Likes
#1878

I would just go with this then.
That’s what’s cool is that we can all set it up in a way that feels good for us…
Really you can do it any way you want.

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#1879

My OT2 arrived on Monday. I’ve only had about 20 minutes with it :frowning: much sadness.

This morning I stole 10 minutes while the boys ate their breakfast. Spent about half of that time trying to remember how to get into the sample edit view! Then I noticed the dedicated button - bliss!

Got Friday night to myself this week. Planning creating a fresh set with no samples pre loaded and seeing where things take me.

6 Likes
#1880

I want to be able to change scenes A and B at the same time, with one hand, while playing the crossfader. I can do it with my keyboard. Maybe doable with Arranger. :sketchy:
For example, I can be interesting if you want a momentary and common setting like pitch.

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#1881

i made a restriction for myself with Parts, to not get confused.

viewing them as Kits, i assign one Kit per four patterns, no matter what the scenario.

Pattern 1 is Part 1

Pattern 5-8 is Part 2

Pattern 9-12 is Part 3

Pattern 13-16 is Part 4

even if say Patterns 5-8 are using the same set of samples initially as Patterns 1-4, i just go and copy Part 1 and paste to Part 2 when working on Pattern 5 onwards. Strange, but it somehow made everything a lot easier to think about and arrange in some librarian fashion.

not quite sure how to arrange Scenes, always got confused and eventually didn’t use the xfader at all after a while with the previous mkI, and that is kind of sad and ridiculous.

as regards Unicorns, the only Unicorn is the original Monomachine Keyboard with the magical joystick. Octatrack is kind of like an existential Diva.

A bizarre and beautiful limitation i have placed on myself is that if i ever leave the studio, the Diva must accompany me, in a strange little Star Wars carry case, with the word ‘war’ coloured in so the words just say Stars. Hopefully by this walking meditation, the previous scenario of the Diva being kept away from the rest of the world won’t happen again. The unplugging of leads and walking about with the instrument somehow encourages the eventual activity of going and doing gigs with only the Octatrack. Sensational silliness perhaps.

5 Likes
#1882

I wish you good vibes on you musical journey…
Take your stars case out to a dance party and buy your OT a drink, loosen it up a bit and show it some glimpses of its future.
It’ll be like “Thanks preview, your the best. My cousins always just get put right to work and treated like a machine, but you, you took me out dancing and bought me a drink, and gave me my own custom Star peace home, I will forever reward you with super groovy tunes…” :loud_sound:

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#1883

Once I read about doing this, I did the same.
Overtime it seemed like overkill to do it, “no matter what the scenario.”
If you’ve ever copy and pasted patterns into a new bank, this makes for a lot more work.
Based on this I started using banks, instead of parts while building a project.
After a while, if I need to consolidate things, I will start to use parts per bank.

1 Like
#1884

Fascinating, very cool :slight_smile:

i must say the startup lights and action is incredibly attractive.

the colour combination is creating an auto-response of a nuanced serotonin-dopamine mix, very enjoyable when viewed next to the all-orange Machinedrum; natural complement.

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#1885

I would think the way Merlin is describing the way he does it that as you progress, you’re going to wind up with a mess at the end.

#1886

It’s actually a great way to get really out there with the OT. It makes it so you can smoothly move from a basic groove and incrementally move towards a totally warped out bizarro groove…
This can smoothly take you to really far out places, but I see it as something to try after a few weeks/months of getting to know the machine. I’ve never tried it, I want to try it now!

I tend to stay more in the traditional band sense of beats/bass/melody/lead. I do warp things out a bit and sometimes a lot, but not 16 scenes of parameter changes deep, that could get insane, but in a very good way…

I usually have maybe 4 scenes on each side of the fader, mostly for mixing and fx, and I don’t necessarily progress through them I just use them when needed.
I only say what I do as an example, there’s many ways to go…

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#1887

I think Merlin is a great wise naut with lots of insight who has apparently helped many o OTist begin their journeys… I respect his offering very much.

That being said, I never really got into it much and just read it in the beginning and decided it wasn’t exactly right for me. It did give me some insight and helped me out to realize some things, but I didn’t hold onto them like they were written in stone…

I say if it clicks with you go for it, if it doesn’t go for something else and maybe check back later. If you do go that way realize it’s only one way, albeit a very thought out one… Things can also be gleaned from it to be used in other methods without nessecarily doing things the way he describes…

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#1888

The biggest issue I find with the thing, is forgetting what I already know about “other” similar devices and starting from scratch with this one. Rather than compare the OT to other things. It’s an animal on it’s own. The greatest difficulty I’m finding is getting a grip on the underlying fundamentals of the machine. That, to me, is the hardest damn part. The rest is just muscle memory. The other issue is I approach things as “how do you do this” as I want to do everything absolutely correctly in my OCD driven analytical mind. With this thing, there is no right way, but 20 ways to do everything. Having only 1 hour per night to dedicate to learning this thing is kind of pissing me off at the moment. To think I have the other 2 on order as well, really has me discouraged.

#1889

When I first got an OT I had lots of other gear.
I took the advice to make some tracks only with the OT for about a month.
It was good advice.

Then I got the other boxes, they were simple to understand.

I will say, I had to actively try to not “plan” how I was going to use the OT for my master plan.
Just tried to explore it without overthinking everything.

4 Likes
#1890

Well, maybe take some steps back and breathe.
You just bought yourself one of the most powerful hardware combinations that’s out there, this should be super exciting and not discouraging…

You’ve set yourself up for a lot of learning, perhaps too much with three at a time.
It’s just been some days though right, I’d give it weeks or months to sink in. When it finally sinks in it stays there and your good to go, you still learn more details but the structure clicks with you. Things that make you scratch your head you realize eventually are brilliant once you get it, then you never have to think about it again…

If you could learn this really quick, it would not be the capable machine that you wanted…
The Rytm is easier to pick up, not sure about A4, it’s probably in between. If you switch to learning an analog when it shows up you’ll probably find it more straight forward and things learned on it help to understand how the OT works… Or you might want to send 2 back and just learn 1…

The things that make the OT hard to learn are the exact things that make it so powerful and capable, you can’t harness its powers without putting in the time and effort needed, as with any good instrument. If it were easy to pick up, it simply couldn’t be the amazing multi faceted device that it is…

1 Like
#1891

Well I figured I’d order them all while I had the cash. Initially, sweetwater told me 2018 for the other two.
I can easily program the thing to make a song and do most functions. Sampling I need to work on a bit. Parts and scenes, I need some solid time on. I’m watching Dataline videos and the guy is so damn fast, I’m wanting to get to 1/2 his speed and I’ll be good, LOL. I plan on keeping these other two devices in the boxes for a while when they come. Setting them up and configuring them all to play with one another is going to be a whole another project in itself with all the various configuration scenarios. I put up a post on FB and have about 20 different opinions on how to set them up.

But at least I have them and I need to remember the reason I bought the OT, which was that I am bored out of my mind with the limitations of my MPC Live and Toraiz :rofl:

#1892

When I added the A4 and RYTM, all the things I had planned for the OT, went out the window.
With all 3, it really simplified how much I was using each one.
For a while I would struggle with the idea that I wasn’t using each to it’s maximum potential.
Finally I got over it and really dialed in a way of doing things.
For the last year or so I simply use the OT as a mixer fx box that can sequence external things too.
I rarely use it for live sampling. Maybe one day ¯_(ツ)_/¯
On the RYTM, I rarely use more than 6 tracks, and I use a single cycle sample to beef up basslines against the A4.
I do use all the tracks on the A4, and invest lots of time into perf macros.

I’m sure others are doing similar things, but I felt weird for a while using a sampler and not really sampling, or using the RYTM for basslines because the A4 cant quite get there.

2 Likes
#1893

Yeah I need to remember with 3 of these devices, things can turn to sonic mud real quick, especially in the bass department. I’m stoked to be having them all. Now I just need to figure out where I’m going to set them up. I need more space.

#1894

It’s a bold move but much more fun than spending on rent and living expenses…
I’d keep em for sure. Whether it takes days weeks or months to learn them I’m sure you’ll be stoked to have em around for years to come…