Learning to love Octatrack by making it wear all the hats at once

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#21

Ok, friends. I got a new CF card (64Gb sandisk) and was thinking about how to organize the samples and this thread seems like a great place to ask advice and maybe see how others organize their samples.

Ideally, I’d like to focus on building blocks and essential sound design elements. But I’m not sure what should be in sample chains or single segments.

I guess I should also spill the beans about how I use the OT lately, like others in the thread.

T1: Thru - Digitone/modular/minilogue (DN is the most used)
T2: Thru - Digitakt
T3: Flex - For recording T1/T2/T8 and saving to static slot
T4: Static - No default sample, I just p-lock the samples.

T5: Static - Tuned sample chain
T6: Static - Tuned sample chain
T7: Static - Kick
T8: Master - Compression and reverb

I prefer the OT as a sequencer for the digitone, which I mostly use as a synth engine, but I do all the digitakt patterns on its own sequencer. I keep the kick on T7 regardless because I want to honor and respect the beat.

So, to reiterate, how do you organize your CF card? What are your favorite samples for building from scratch and what samples are essential other regards?

1 Like
#22

I have settled on this “template” for everything Using audio tracks only, just keeps my brain from melting
I have OT in “pedalboard” case with Yamaha M6 mixer to inputAB, iconnectivity Mio4, Beatstep for live mixing of cue/main track Darkglass Vintage Preamp, rotating cast of pedals, and OTO Biscuit as loop FX - cue outs for to input > output to CD
T1 - Flex with drum chains
T2 - Flex with drum chains #2
T3 - Thru for mixer
T4 - Flex for looping
T5 - Static for usually field recorder stuff
T6 - Thru return from FX
T7 - Flex for looper
T8 - Master FX
I have lots of depth left to mine, which is why I committed to OT.
I have “expansion” ideas to get this all USB powered , replacing Biscuit (sadly, it is amazing but AC powered) with SA Audio Aftershock> Zoom M70 CDR and a Typhon.

2 Likes
#23

How do you distribute your drum sounds across the slices?

#24

I have made chains of 16 slices. Typical is 4 bass drums, 4 snare, 4 hats, 4 cymbals/fx. I can then mix up beat, resample to loop tracks, mangle and add fx for variety. I try to not make it too complex.

2 Likes
#25

I have started to set up my samplechains with kits spread across the chain. I got the idea from the drum machine on the MnM. If I could figure out a way to take one kit and pitch it across the chain like the drum machine on the MnM, I’d like to do some samplechains like that too.

1 Like
#26

thread is so intriguing. can’t wait for mine to arrive

1 Like
#27

Wouldn’t chromatic mode achieve this? Perhaps I am misunderstanding something.

1 Like
#28

More reasons to love octatrack…
The tubbutec midi mod for SH101 required a pitch bend calibration to be executed upon installation of the new CPU. This command requires PB sent over midi while playing an A, then high B key to be pressed to accept the calibration protocol

The keys from high F and above on my SH101 do not work, the circuits are damaged very badly.

However… this morning I discovered I can send a continious PB message from the OT, to stabilise the tuning and bypass the protocol!

fucking love the octatrack

1 Like
#29

I didn’t explain it correctly. Not sure I can, but the MonoMachine samples are just really low bit rate, one crappy kit, maybe 8 samples in it…kick snare, hh, oh, siren(?), and the usual…But, yeah that kit, spread across the keys, and as you go up in keys, the same samples in different octaves. It really makes for some strange sounds when paired with the filters and distortion ect. I’m sure I could do it to any kit with some sort of software and then make them a samplechain, just haven’t thought how.

1 Like
#30

Thanks for bringing up the MM BBOX, ya’ll.
It’s brought me back to how I used to use it…

The thing that’s great about the MM BBOX is having all those sounds on a single track. It really forces you to concentrate on composition and maximizing the track. If you use two BBOXes, you’ll never hear more than 2 drum sounds on the same step.

Combine that limitation with all the possibilities you are granted with in having an EQ per track, filters, a delay, all those LFOs!, and the flexibility of neighbor routing into some reverb and/or compression.
Suddenly you can push those rather crusty BBOX samples quite far thanks to p-locking the steps. And not just on the BBOX track but the neighbor FX track as well.

This all brought me back to a tune I made with MM by itself. And how having to p-lock so much on a single track made for unique results. Two BBOX track, two neighbor FX, and an FM synth track were used:

And with all that said, yes, of course the OT can do this as well!
Sample chains, neighbor routing, FX, LFOs…
I can’t remember what the P-Lock limit on the MM was, but if I remember correctly the OT is the only Elektron without a P-Lock limit.

So the next “hat” I’m going to put on my OT is an “Ode to the Monomachine” hat.

I often use 3 or 4 OT tracks for drums anyway. This would just be the Monomachine way of doing it, instead. Leaning on neighbor routing, p-locks, and creative sequencing, just like on a Monomachine.
But this time around with the benefit of fills, scenes, conditionals, polyrhythms, and micro-timing.

:heavy_plus_sign: :one:

6 Likes
#31

That’s pretty much how I do all my samplechains, because of the MnM BBOX. Like in the samples from mars 808/909/sp ect packs. They have “kits” all 8 pieces. Thats 8 kit’s per samplechain. Like I said, I would love to figure out a quick way of just having one kit, and then pitching it up and down…But actually, when I think about it, you can’t get super extreme pitching like that on the OT. Oh well…

#32

My latest project is setting up my OT MK2 to sequence, sample and serve as control hub for my new modular system. I am making solid progress but need help to figure out how to send each voice/oscillator on the modular system to separate tracks on the OT as well as how to figure out how play each oscillator per track like piano keyboard with the MIDI keyboard on the OT. Lastly, I am trying to figure out how to use FX from the OT on the modular system. The reverb and delay is nice on the OT but no luck adding these to the modular system. Anyways, I came up with this happy accident today:

2 Likes
#33

Connect the modular voice outputs to the OT’s audio inputs (some attenuation may be required).
Put a Thru machine on one or more of the OT’s audio tracks.

One option: select a MIDI sequencer track on the OT. Set its MIDI channel number so that it transmits to your MIDI-to-CV convertor. Connect the CV & Gate outputs of the convertor to the modular voice.

Use one of the audio tracks on which you have selected a Thru machine (see above). Add reverb or delay to FX2 for that track.

6 Likes
What are you trying to learn today?
#34

Hey. Can I ask, why do people find it better to use drum chains, instead of just sample locks? Is it just to free up flex slots, or am I missing something?

#35

16,384 samples :slight_smile:

256 Slots * 64 Sample per chain

4 Likes
#36

@Rusty
Yeah ok. So the point is to have more than 128 samples in a project … and if 128 is enough for me, wouldn’t it then only be more cumbersome than using one slot per sample?

#37

Sample locks advantage : you can see sample’s name. You can combine sample locks and slices.

With slices you can add variations, crossfader control, lfos…you can change a whole drum kit with crossfader using slices.

4 Likes
#38

Yeah, if that is what works for you, of course it is.

For a lot of other people they may find it better to have a chain of 64 kicks when composing; or maybe they are using multiple loops, with a slice lock for variation, maybe tied in with Trig Conditions for more fun.

1 Like
#39

I think this topic shows what I don’t like about my ot
It feels like i have to do homework,
I want to make music

#40

Homework can be music! :wink:
R-260842-1111886586.jpg

6 Likes