Live looping/ studio sampler gear options

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

So , I am looking for a device that will enable live looping and studio sampling including mangling that I can control via a Midi footswitch.
Obvious choice is an octatrack as I can also write / compose/ jam/sequence gear/ use FX
( pretty much everything !!) on this , and I am leaning towards this, BUT have concerns about menu diving/ setup / general complexity - there is something to be said for having dedicated devices to perform one task , however I do have concerns about linking them and the cohesiveness of separate devices/ cabling / PC midi messages and space / setup .

Would a Korg Electribe be a good alternative and would it work at all?
No computer/ software or iPad suggestions please .

I write real singer/ songwriter songs on guitar but back myself with ambient textures and beats and want a flexible setup that allows me to be spontaneous .

Currently I use an Electron Model Cycles and often will use various track lengths - my concern with finding a suitable looper that can be midi clock synced, is how it can be synced but " detached" from what it thinks is the end of the bar , if that makes sense?
How would it know which track length/ rhythm to follow ?

For example:

if I had T1 with 10 steps , T2 with 16 steps , T3 with 18 steps and a BPM of 96 but I wanted the loop/sample of my guitar to span the equivalent of 26 steps how would this work ? - is it even possible on hardware?
I imagine it is possible in Ableton , but cannot work on a laptop for want of trying.

Thanks in advance and any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

#2

I’ll just comment on the menu diving/complexity issue. I had the same concerns with OT before I bought one. And I was surprised to find that once I learned the basics, it’s really not that complicated. I’m only a month in, and while there’s definitely a lot I have yet to learn, my muscle memory for basic things is already there and I’ve been able to make tracks, jam, and sample stuff on the fly without too much frustration. Learning pickup machines today!

I will say, the reason that I’ve had a fairly smooth learning curve with the OT is likely that Ive spent lots of time with the manual and merlins guide, as well as YouTube tutorials before I even received it. So if you’re not into manuals and learning gear, there’s probably better options.

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#3

Cool , thanks Chain.

I ll be looking at a Mk 1 Octatrack as opposed to the MK2 and I understand there are lots of functions that require button combos .

I had a digitakt once and I found the flicking between pages to change a single parameter ok when writing but slow and tedious when trying to perform with it .

Had a controller at some point but this made the whole thing less portable . This was of course a part of the process of discovering what works .

The appeal for me with the Model Cycles is the immediacy of writing and performing - there is the bare minimal to setup, but also heard one of the best things to do is setup a template for the Octatrack to avoid tinkering at the beginning of a project so I guess I could still have quite an immediate experience with this upgrade also.

#4

Chajin - autospell changed it !

#5

If you’re talking live looping there are plenty of guitar pedals out there that will sync to the midi clock of your Model Cycles, and clock sync doesn’t care about the amount of steps on your tracks. You just press the footswitch on the looper when you want to start recording a loop and press it again when you want to start playback/overdub/whatever. The clock sync makes sure your loop will not drift from what you have going on with your Model Cycles stuff and if you time your punch out so that your loop starts playback on the 26th step you should be fine.

I use a Pigtronix Infinity looper with my Octatrack in exactly this manner without any issues. EHX also has a range of nice loopers that will sync to midi clock (although I’ve never used any of them) and of course you have the Boomerang looper.
Most of these more advanced loopers have stuff like reverse, double and half speed, but if you really wanna go crazy with the mangling you’ll need something else. An Octatrack can do all of this stuff as well of course, but I think it’s a bit overkill to get one if all you want to do is some looping.

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#6

Possible with a defined length.

Coming from RC505 looper I didn’t find OT practical to record quantized loops of different lengths if not previously set/defined.

OT is great to mangle recordings in real time.

Not the best to improvise with different lengths, jam with other musicians. I prefer the RC505 for that. It can record small loops and very long loops. On OT it has to be set, it’s not intuitive at all. There is quantization, but with Pickups it can change tempo weirdly, and with FLEX the recording doesn’t start just after recording…

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#7

Thanks Sezare,

That surprises me about the Octatrack , I thought it would be a case of punch in/ punch out regardless of measures and playback would start immediately.
Just when you think you might have nailed it …

If was to go for a looper pedal for live , which then less expensive sampler/ mangler for studio use would Elektronauts recommend . I ve been casting my gear search far and wide just recently and am quite done in by it all so any suggestions would be welcome !

#8

My RC505 does the job pretty well but it works better as master (potential timestretch variation if slaved). And I want OT master…
I’m still waiting for new products…RC505 is pretty fun.

@toddzilla mentioned Pigtronix, good reputation even slaved…

#10

What exactly does this mean?

#11

I took it to mean PLAYBACK doesn’t start straight after recording. is this correct?

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#12

It means it’s not clear! :content:
I meant the recording is not played directly. It has to be triggered by a trig or manually. It’s ok if the length is defined, and if there is a trig.
With a midi controller able to send 2 messages at the same time, you can end recording and play directly.

With a Pickup, the recording is played directly.
But if its length is not a multiple of 2, the tempo can be wrong, the recording timestretched (not possible to disable it).

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#13

That’s what I thought you meant. I just wanted to be clear. So, can I sample and get it to play back while I’m sampling, let’s say, every 64 steps (or 16 or whatever)? I want to sample every time the pattern comes back around to the recorder trig but also have it playing back all sliced up and rearranged. I’ve seen people refer to this but I can’t really wrap my head around it…

#14

Does anyone have experience of the looper on the MPC one?
Is this locked to a set number of predetermined bars ? Or can it run independently ?
For my specific uses , does the sequencer do polyrhythms/ different track lengths?
Thanks guys , this is really helping

#15

Overdub and mangling? Possible with 1 recorder, with pitch up limitations.

For free mangling with overdub, you can use 2 recorders.

For direct mangling only, Rec trigs and Flex trigs suffice, each 2 steps for instance, timestrech off. Nothing to set appart corresponding inputs.
Ex with direct mangling of incoming audio, only source.