I’ve been dwelling in the shadows here for months reading as much as i could and finding as much material and resources i could to feel comfortable enough to get an octatrack, and now that i’ve ordered one, i seem to think that all the reading and learning i’ve done without any machine in front of me does no good and i would love some help from this great community on… where to just start on making a song.
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Welcome, take your time, load a sample and plock parameters with the scene buttons, move the crossfader, have fun.
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I learned by doing.
yes, just try to load some samples to different tracks and build a simple basic pattern.
if you run into problems you can ask for specific questions or look in the manual.
and don‘t forget the search function here. most of what normal people can think of has already been answered in this forum
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wow i have been watching your videos gaining inspiration, youve got a really cool sound to what you make i love it, thank you for the comment ill be sure to look before posting anything, as of yet ive found a lot of my questions here already, thanks!
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You have to be patient with yourself. It is so deep, it is easy to get lost & frustrated at first. But over time, it makes more & more sense.
This greatly aided my understanding: https://www.elektronauts.com/t/a-polished-version-of-merlins-ot-guide-here/42860
Enjoy 
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Patience is the biggest thing here. Don’t worry, it’s worth it… but there aren’t really shortcuts, you have to study and learn. Tutorial vids were best for me - the manual is only really starting to make sense to me now that I already know my round a bit - I found the Macprovideo courses really helpful personally. You’ll make a few mistakes, have a lot of times where you’ll convince yourself it’s broken only to find it’s user error, but also start to have some tremendously rewarding eureka moments with it, and it starts to click. Still learning something new every time I switch it on, but it’s an incredible instrument.
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thanks, happy you gained some inspiration 
have fun!
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May the Gawds of patience and forum searches smile upon your face.
Don’t feel like you have to boil the ocean. Focus on one thing at a time, and bring them together. You’ll start to bookmark threads here that have a lot of great info. I also have a running note of commentary from posts that I’ve copy/pasted regarding how people do things. I didn’t always understand it when I read it here, so I tried to come back to it later.
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Just mess around in a sandbox project with random samples for a while - don’t worry too much about your end goals/result.
Once you’re getting around the machine you can start new sets with samples you know you want to use and approach it wth more experience.
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Practice OT first, it can open your mind to new ways of making music. You can start with @darenager’s One Year Lab!
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Id start with a simple pad drone. Make it several minutes long. Then add to it. If you can forget about measures and timing you will be freer to learn.
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Oh yeah - I forgot I started one too! I should keep updating that document. It started with @darenager post that simplified sampling / resampling. Hugely helpful.
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Glad I’m not the only one! It’s kind of my “starters and experiments” concept list.
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Heck yeah, the ideas flow at all kinds of odd times. I actually keep a small notebook with me most of the time to write ideas and concepts down in there. With octatrack, I have found that I actually do go back and reference it!
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Ha! Exactly the same for me! Glad I’m not alone.
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watch the Thavius Beck videos. Totally worth it.
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That’s the Mac Pro. Strongly agree.
Be patient. Be prepared to get pissed off. Become amazed.
I’ve gone through 5 OTs over the past few years. Finally clicked with me when I got an OT2 18 months or so ago. Might not use it often enough but worth every penny for the smiles it gives alone.
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Man I did the same thing for 2 years. Finally made an account. Welcome to octatrack family.
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do not expect anything from that thing.
just experiment with it and you´ll see (hear).
treat it like a sophisticated? programmable sampling/fx/mix machine first before making it a main part of your setup.
i really was very frustrated with that machine very often but feel so comfortable with it today.
sometimes i just use it for very simple stuff like syncing or mixing other machines without using that dynamic sampler at all.
it never gets boring, it´s a very open system, reminded me of a modular from the beginning. swiss army knife is a good word for it too.
setting the OT up for different tasks is a big part.
if you expect to control and perform full tracks on that machine from the beginning you propably will hate it … a lot 
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