hey guys, first thing: this community rocks, now into business:
i’m considering buying a new audio interface with more inputs since i had an apollo with 2 ins, along with the sub37, minilogue, and rytm mk1 (sold recently, will buy the mk2), but also deciding how to sequence my gear, ableton as master or a hardware sequencer, can’t make my mind. suddenly it hit me, octatrack? 4 ins, sequencer, cool instrument. what are your thoughts?
how the octa communicates with ableton, can I send audio from the tracks to ableton via usb or any other way?
The only USB interaction the OT has with a computer is to transfer files to and from the CF card.
The OT is NOT:
an audio interface
a USB MIDI device
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Mr. Bernard nailed it
got it ! thanks for the straight answer
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Also, the Octatrack sequencer, while very good at doing what it does, is also limited in a lot of ways, so whether or not it’s suitable as the center of a MIDI controlled hardware setup is VERY dependent on how you plan to work. It might be the perfect hardware sequencer for you or it might be completely unusable for you. If you’re thinking about using an OT as your main MIDI sequencer you should absolutely download the manual and read through the MIDI sequencer parts carefully, to get an idea of its limitations.
Sounds like in the OP’s case it wasn’t what they needed anyhow, but for anyone else who might find this thread, be aware that the OT’s MIDI capabilities are idiosyncratic and you really need to know what you’re getting in to. It’s a really cool sequencer but it is in no way comparable to a DAW sequencer or an MPC, for example. It’s a different tool entirely.
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Truth be told, rekordz, I cannot use the OT as my sequencer for my stand alone gear. It’s basic and works in a pinch for laying down some stuff but I need more than it can offer so I don’t use it that way. Regardless, it is a nice feature to have and I’m glad they included it.
I use the OT to sequence 2 stereo midi synths then run the audio back in for live jams and record the audio of the synths for further mangling. When it comes down to the octatarck vs ableton battle that’s a really personal decision and maybe you should just grab an old mki OT and check it out and have ableton open as well and compare and contrast yourself and see what’s best for you. Yes the octatarck syncs to ableton but only over midi clock so your limited in that spectrum. But for me I just got an octatrack to replace ableton and use it as the master brain of my setup and only use ableton for recording at the moment. 
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Is the Pyramid far more advanced than OT?
No idea about the Pyramid, I’ve never used one.
The real key to understanding the logic behind the OT’s sequencer (on both the MIDI and the audio sides) for me was realizing that it’s more or less a hardware implementation of an old-school tracker. Once that clicked, a lot of the things that seemed kind of counterintuitive and limiting about the sequencer all fell in to place. It makes sense, too, Elektron’s beginnings with the SIDstation suggest that they came from a tracker, demoscene, chiptune sort of background.
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Wise words!
Some comparisons of Octatrack sequencer : classic tracker
track : track
pattern : pattern
trig : note
plock : effect
arranger : order
trig count : notecut (SCx)
etc etc etc
Retrig is straight out of trackers.
Microtiming is straight out of trackers.
On the MIDI side, the not2/not3/not4 parameters work like the arpeggio effect (Jxy) in a tracker, except that it allows limited polyphony on a single track by giving you the choice between playing all of the notes at the same time as a chord, or arpeggiating them. Even though you can lay chords this way, it still makes sense to think of the MIDI tracks in the OT as monohonic (in comparison to conventional MIDI sequencers). Chords on a single track still behave monophonically, if that makes sense.
The live-sampling capabilities of the Octatrack put its sampling engine way ahead of classic trackers, but there is still a lot of overlap between tracker effects and the parameters of the flex and static machines.
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