Elektron dropped a massive update after everyone thought OT’s memory was maxed out (IIRC that statement originally came from Elektron) and there would, if ever, be small bug fixes.
So who knows…but don’t buy something for an update that might never come.
Buy it for what it is.
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You’re 100% missing the point.
But no. To answer your question.
Do not expect any updates.
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That is not an easy question. Would never sell my octa. This thing is just fun even thou I still forget half of what I learned.
I would still think about tonverk. Pretty shure timestretch will come. Sad that they missed the fader. Still looks like a fun box.
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Sounds like another thread where OP just wants to try out the OT. Might click, might not. It has time stretch. It loves long samples when used in static machines. The way I work with the OT these days, I load up 128 long samples (wierd modular, or ambient experiments) into my static slots and use slot mode to trigger them with the 16 step buttons. Then, I can annihilate those original sounds into new sounds…It’s endless really. Especially if you want to come up with your own custom workflow…But, I would bet bored of it as a groovebox, just triggering stems. If that’s what you want it for, it would work great.
Exactly, but I think Toneverk has not yet been through the ringer of initial community development. I’m pretty sure the OT went through this phase, where it didn’t have a lot of the functions it has now. In a couple years I bet the TV will be a beast, and might be one now, I just don’t have one. The Octatrack is is done. It’s what it is. Amazing
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I almost forgot this thread exists.
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There’s probably a thread each year… worth it in insert year here
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By far the funnest piece of gear I own/owned. It sometimes takes a lil bit to make magic but when I do I giggle and think it sounds too good to be my own. That crossfader is just brilliant.
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Ah, wisdom, finally supplanting relevancy as the key metric for buying an Octatrack in 2026
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I just made a thread like this and yeah it’s wise if you need a sampler. An MPC is a totally different thing, it’s just not the same experience. You get the OT if you really want to get weird with sampling and sound design and stretch out the possibilities. It also can take your live audio and wreck it in real time, just really nothing like it.
So many ways to use it too - record sounds into and make variations with the crossfader. Remix your existing tracks with it. Use it as a live looper. It can power a mini setup because it has the i/o and the 8 midi sequencer tracks. Just really nothing like it, which is why I keep coming back to it.
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I mean … it isn’t the most intuitive device.
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None of those are facts.
They are opinions.
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Not for this … as others may already pointed out … the OT is a multi-purpose swiss-army-knife for live sampling and controlling external gear. Just check out the different “machines”.
If you don’t need this, you might not need the OT. But if you like it’s many features and have use for it, it might be the only solution to provide it 
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The Octatrack is not difficult for people who can pick up information by reading a lot of text (the manual, Merlin’s guide, SynthDawg’s notebook, the forum etc.).
But neurodiversity is a thing, so not everyone’s brain works that way. If you have to understand things through watching videos and/or experimentation, the process might take a lot longer, and some people will give up in frustration.
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I for the most part agree with 2 and 3 and have my problem with 1.
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If you use it as a basic utility (stem player, FX box) I think other cheaper straight forward boxes are better suited.
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Mostly agree, but I would add that it’s probably also in comparison to modern more polished DAW productions, which is kinda the wrong way to look at it anyway.
But back to 1.
Compared to what? Not many boxes need you to have a proper grasp of the internal gain staging, quirks that time stretch etc are on by default after loading, the many shortcuts and combos that are not written on the front don’t help, some of the UI shortening s are confusing if you are not aware what they stay for, many moments when it does something you do not expect van have multiple sources, and the ‘trigs needed for recording/playing’ is also an octatrack think.
But I think what gets most is the managing/wiring/configuration of the recording buffers.
Is it as complicated as many state? No.
Is it definitely with a learning curve and more complicated then the average hardware device outside of arrangers? Probably.
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Okok, it costs more but consider Tonverk together with the S4. New Firmware coming that seem to timestrech pretty well. Both of those you should be pretty feature complete and you have then stuff from this decade.
Got a new one two months ago, it’s sick, just get it if you want it
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For me it’s pretty much the most intuitive Elektron box. Probably because it was my first Elektron and I had already read the manual twice before I bought it. Or idk…there’s an underlying logic to everything, how all the buttons and all the functions work and relate to each other, but someone else might just think it’s confusing as hell or a boring ass machine.
There are no absolutes in this game.
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it’s easy when you know how. all the little things like understanding memory allocation (just turn it to dynamic), studio mode, the (not actually complicated) difference between flex & static machines, setting up recorders etc, to a complete novice can be confusing. and a lot of them should be sorted first thing when you start a new project.
they become second nature but totally can add complexity before you figure em out.
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I spent so much time learning the thing and designing a hardware setup around it only to realize that I’m not entirely happy with the effects/routing, especially the delay and reverb. Not comparing to an Eventide but to a Digitakt 2 which is what I now use instead in combination with other things.
I really like huge dubby delays but have a hard time to get the results that I want, for example the delay doesn’t have a proper ping pong function. At one point I even used an external FX loop but it felt too tedious.
I sometimes wish I’d just spent the time learning to play the piano or writing music, but on the other hand I enjoyed it and I learned things to apply elsewhere. I guess it really depends on where you want to spend your time and what you get inspired by.
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