Older Roland S-550 (and other S-Series) Samplers had a sampling method called “previous sampling”, whereas after one would set a specified length of time (Eg: 4 seconds)- clicking the “Execute/Record Sample” button would automatically save those previous 4 seconds from it’s buffer as the new sample. This made it very easy and fast to capture samples of just what you wanted from live streams where cueing up the sample source wasn’t possible (ie: Radio, TV etc).
Can the Octatrack function in such a manner? Where a specified buffer length is constantly shifted/refreshed until one hits a “sample start” button? Giving you what you just heard as a sample?
Changing pattern doesn’t stop the recording but avoid to trigger again the rec trig. It stops according to RLENgth (theorically). If set to Max, it stops after Reserve Length or manual stop.
I will need the buffer to refresh constantly though, so that the previous set time (eg: 5 seconds) is always shifting in the buffer, unbroken by any “end” or “stop”.
Example- Run audio out from TV to Octatrack, arm the sampler- when hitting a button on OT you will get the previous 5 seconds of audio saved in buffer. This way you can just sit with the TV on (for hours if needed), when you hear something that you want to capture (after you’ve heard it on the TV), hit the button and you have it. No cueing, no rewind or pause etc.
Will your method work in such a way?
Note: I do not have an Octatrack. I am currently looking to purchase a sampler and this is my #1 required functionality.
Not exactly, buffers wouldn’t be constant.
Octatrack has 8 audio tracks, 8 midi tracks, and 8 recorders you can trigger on dedicated tracks with trigs, with a step sequencer.
As @LyingDalai mentioned, you can use 2 or more recorders, loop them , so you can be sure to record constantly more than 5s, a few minutes if needeed.
Max recording time is 8m29s, 16bit, 5m39s, 24bit.
You have to save samples manually before you turn off, no auto save for recordings.
Example with a 4 bar pattern looping at 60 bpm :
1 recorder for bar 1 and 2
1 recorder for bar 3 and 4
If you press stop you have 2 recordings, 1 during 8 s, 1 with various length.
With same principle you can loop 2 patterns, 2 bars length.
If you switch to a pattern without recorders you have 2 x 8s recordings.
If the Octatrack has “multiple machines”, can one be created (a “thru” machine?) that is processing external audio with a delay, and then a second made to grab the sample from that? If so, what is the maximum delay length the Octatrack’s effects are capable of?
This “sampling through a separate delay” is how I have managed in the past with other samplers that did not have “previous sampling capability”.
Can’t the OP just set up a 4 bar looping pattern with a record trigger on 1 set to buffer 1 with rec length of 63 and just leave it looping?
Wouldn’t it just loop round constantly overwriting the buffer and then when the OP hears something to keep, just press stop and edit and save the sample?
That way he has a constant 4 bar buffer for capturing live TV and radio?
Not quite as simple as one button buffer save, but would do the job, wouldn’t it?
If interesting audio is before the record loop point, when it records again, you miss it. If you stop that recording at the beginning of the loop, previous audio isn’t recorded.
Elektron should really add this functionality I am seeking to OT. It is enormously useful and convenient for capturing samples. Hear something you liked? No problem- hit the button right after you hear it and you are done. No cueing up anything, no recording it for sampling later, no need to rewind or backtrack or looking for that spot where you dropped the needle etc. You can relax through the whole process.
Edit: After looking it up- the modern term that Roland uses for this is “Skip Back Sampling” (Fantom Series)as opposed to their older S-Series term “Previous Sampling”
Ok, after some fiddling with things (I am still totally new to the OT) I have a working solution to this.
what I have done is the following-
My live source comes into AB
T1->Pickup Machine
Mixer set to monitor AB
REC1 Setup1 is INAB=AB, INCD=-, RLEN=MAX, TRIG=ONE2, SRC3=-, LOOP=ON
REC1 Setup2 is FIN=0, FOUT=0, QREC=OFF, QPL=OFF, CD=0
T1->SRC-> GAIN=-INF, OP=(overdub)
I start my live audio source and hit REC1 to start the loop recording, then I just let it run and run and run…
Having the LEV=0 for T1 makes it so I only hear the AB source, not what is being looped.
When I hear something I want to capture, I hit REC1 again to stop. Then I hit STOP to stop everything (because T1 is automatically playing the loop).
From there I go into edit mode to review what I captured and set appropriate start and end points to get just the section of audio I wanted. If that section happens to fall across the loop, then I move the cursor line to an appropriate position and select “Rotate sound to starting point”. Then I can set my start and end points on the section I wanted.
