Is OT still a good buy in 2024? (Upgrading from DT)

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

I’m a seasoned DT user and have decided that the mono samples, lack of time-stretch and lack of performance effects (all of which the OT has, as I understand it) are sufficiently annoying to convince me to at least think about upgrading.

But the OT is a good age by this point. Of course, there’s no way to know if Elektron have a replacement (or similar product) in the works, but would you still consider the OT value for money given its age? Yes it’s the same amazing machine it ever was, but is it showing its age (if so, how?), and are there other (non-Elektron) devices you might buy instead these days for the same function?

Many thanks!

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#2

I just upgraded to an Octatrack from a Digitakt. Very happy with the OT.

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#3

…apart from the fact that this question is almost as old the ot itself, it remains as timeless as the device itself…

the dt is the most easiest acces to all elektron devices, the ot is the most complex way of all elektron devices if we’re talking sampling and sound mangling/mixing since it has sooo many different aprroaches and ways how to use and abuse it…
so if ur in for a trade but willing to accept, that what u’ve learned from the dt is only it’s sequencer basics that are pretty much the same, while anything else needs a little heads up first upfront and that for at least a little while, ur in for good trade…also in 24…and also in 25…and beyond…it’s truly a timeless sonic thing of it’s very own kind…

end of the day, the only things ur maybe about to miss, is dt’s mono punch no matter what in default normalized 48k and it’s dead simple straight forward sampling workflow…instead u get truu stereosampling in 44k max in 16 or 24 bit, with endless fx and morphing capabilties and realtimesampling capabilties of many sorts that need some preparation first to think about and to set in place and action…

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#4

Especially now given the ( i don’t know if it’s reasonable ) speculation about.a Digitakt replacement in the What’s-Next-For-Elektron thread, it might be a reasonable time to pause and wait the few weeks to Superbooth.

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#5

OT is still a good choice but I wouldn’t consider it as an upgrade for a DT. They’re very different beasts. Different workflows, different features, and so on. They are similar in a way that they both are samplers and they both have Elektron sequencer.

As an option, you could consider adding SP404mk2 to your DT.

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#6

Thanks everyone - appreciate the replies. Interesting re: possible new Digitakt replacement - will watch this space.

My goal has always been to make complete tracks away from a PC (I’m hazy on whether I need to export to a DAW to do some exotic task called “mixdown”, the nature of which I don’t know yet, but that aside I just want a box I can make the whole track on). I understand the OT is probably better for that, from what I’ve read, and for some of the reasons mentioned. (Not sure if the OT has a compressor, though? I’ll go look that up.)

#7

Goodbye or Good Buy?

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#8

…and nope, there won’t be any next level dt mk2 or a truu new ot anytime soon, just to spare u the long read of endless speculations…to wait until superbooth has little point, but not really…

u can easily trade ur dt for an ot without loosing a dime…but be aware of the fact, whatever u got in great samples for the dt, they won’t do any trick on the ot…

but no one can stop u from just record them to a daw and retransfer them as pseudo stereo files back into the ot…only thing to consider out of date here is that 44k thing…but even if it’s no relevant format anymore, cd sound quality was totally valid until yesterday for decades…and people listen to cd’s sometimes and will still for years to come…no matter if the world is finally over it in music production…

#9

I heard OT’s sound is crap and it stopped being relevant in 2021 for some reason.

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#10

…no worries… @berlin 's comment …he’s referring to an internal joke and just missed the :wink: to clarify…

and sure the ot has a bunch of fx, also including a compressor… wait until the next one tells u, that they’re not that good and kind of outdated… :wink:

which only tells u…the ot is defenitly not for everbody…those who mastered it, will never let it go again, those who lost the plot along the way, will always dismiss it…

not to forget those, who are never happy, no matter what they get…they’ll always find something to blame…

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#11

Sorry, but I have to:

:slight_smile:

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#12

Not necessarily, no. DT you have Overbridge, so can record your tracks individually to a DAW for mixdown, which you probably will want to do at some point when you start finishing tracks. OT has no facility for this (ie doesn’t use overbridge), so you’d be doing all your mixing inside the OT (and bear in mind that you have limited amount of FX per track, so you may not be wanting to use those FX up on EQ and compression etc), before recording the stereo output. This is totally feasible, but is something that many people seem to come up against as a barrier/obstacle, as you lose that element of fine control over your mix that multitracking to a DAW gives you. The OT is better viewed as an instrument and not an all in one production centre, in my opinion. It’s definitely more enjoyable when viewed that way. As a full-on production solution it can be a bit of a headache and you will need to make compromises

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#13

I went through a version of the wait-til-Superbooth-to-upgrade-from-DT-to-OT dilemma last year, decided to learn DT better and I … still haven’t upgraded.

The big update helped I’m sure, but it’s time I’m really glad I’ve spent digging deeper with the Digitakt. That said, I’m still interested in what happens at SuperBooth 24…

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#14

Thanks for the replies, everyone, super helpful.

@christianlukegates that clarifies what the OT is good/not so good at, thank you. Seems I was wrong to consider it a workstation a la the MC 707, MPC etc. With that in mind I’ll probably stick on the DT. Exporting to a DAW for mixdown is something I’m procrastinating on simply because I haven’t yet learned what’s involved in any of that. (In a separate thread I’m trying to ascertain to what extent the “export to and mix down on a DAW” step is necessary, vs. doing everything on the DT/OT itself.

Continued thanks.

#15

Have you looked into an iPad as DT companion? Solves all the issues you mentioned, adds a lot of functionality and is relatively low-cost, while also being a handy general-purpose thing to have anyway. Drambo in particular would cover a lot of OT territory and provide synth voices and whatever else you might want.

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#16

I haven’t, simply because I’m trying to stay hardware only; I work at a PC for my day job and would rather avoid screens/DAWs/tablets where possible. I get that an iPad is hardware just like an external box is, but it’s just preference.

#17

Fair enough. I also held off iPads for the same reason but found I didn’t look at the screen very much cos I sequence everything from the DT

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#18

I know there’s a lot of talk of a DT mk2, but it’s all pure speculation. I personally think it’s a bit silly to make purchasing decisions based on what might be available in the future. When I purchase something, I decide to get it based on which features it has, not based on which features other hypothetical things might have in the future or which features a device might get in firmware updates.

Can the OT be used successfully in 2024? Yes, of course it can — there are thousands of us making music on the OT right now.

I’m yet to find something that has the same functionality as the OT’s 8 independent recording buffers. I don’t think there is such a product on the market. Granted, maybe that’s not what you’re looking for… if it’s just something that can timestretch you’re looking for, there are plenty of other choices.

Long story short: the OT is unique and I don’t think there’s a true “OT replacement” out there, but there are other products that can do a subset of what the OT can do (and then probably other things). Which features do you want in the OT? I think that’s the real question.

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#19

they complement rather than replace, IMO the octatrack FX and crossfader scene warping is irreplaceable and the best and most efficient implementation i’ve experienced in any software or hardware :slight_smile:

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#20

If what you’re looking for is specifically stereo samples, time-stretching and performance effects, I’d suggest getting an SP404 MKII and pairing it with your DT, rather than ditching the DT for an OT, which is twice the price of a (used or b-stock) SP and has the famously steep learning curve.

The DT and 404 II complement each other’s limitations very well.

But then, I’m biased. I’ve tried learning the OT twice and each time I was barely able to figure it out, beyond using it like “a really big digitakt.”