Loads of OT Questions

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Happy to be doing these science labs, because I always end up running into a challenge/quirk of the Octatrack that I need to learn about, so I’ve got a list of notes here:

  1. When I record a sample and save it, I can assign to self, free static or flex. When I assign to self, that rec buffer gets named after the sample, which can then be weird if I record another sample on top of it. Is the general rule of thumb to not assign to self? Sometimes I’d just like to avoid the rigmarole of assigning to flex/static, then picking flex/static for the track, going to the sample and selecting it there.

  2. Sometimes there is a little x next to the rec buffer, why is this?

  3. I take it there’s no way to speed up a sample other than changing the BPM/number of bars in the file settings? i.e. I can’t automate a speedup? Not even a cute little Octatrack hack?..Now that I think about it and say it out loud I guess I could double the speed in the file settings, then set the rate to 32 for half speed, and automate it that way. Neat.

  4. How can I guarantee a sample stays at the same volume once it’s recorded? For example: Track 1 is playing a bass part. I tell rec buffer track 1 to record track 1, and it does so, but the recorded audio is now quieter. Why is this? What is the best way to ensure my levels are even for this kind of stuff?

  5. Any way to get a ping pong delay without panning the source? I know it typically works by feeding back opposite (then back to same) the side of the source, but what if I have a clap up the middle and I want a delay to pan left and right? I tried setting up a neighbor track with a delay and setting the LFO to pan, but that didn’t work.

  6. Lastly, I posted this in the OT Noob Questions thread but I may as well copy and paste it here. I’m trying that wavetable thing for the science lab and I can’t get the start time to be modulated. When I move the start time in the audio editor the timbre changes and it sounds cool, but moving it in the playback does nothing, sending an lfo to it does nothing, setting it to a different start on scene b does nothing. It’s a static machine but I tried in a flex and nothing happened. I played with all the playback setup parameters and they didn’t make a difference.
    Whats going on here?

Thanks dudes

4 Likes
#2

Good question. Interested as well! (Won’t interfere with the gurus, promised :wink: )

#3

I can’t answer any of these, but naming the recording buffers like this can be handy, as you can hen just add 1, 2, 3, etc. to the name next time you save one.

#4

I’m no expert but my thoughts:

For 2 - I always figured the x represented something to do with the buffer having something in it? Probably wide of the mark there though.

3 - All I could think of was recording a sample already sped up and use scenes to play with the sample rate via the cross fader.

4 - Isnt this one of the OT flaws? It’s a little “bumpy” with levelling and difficult to be even across the board without a load of practice. Track 8 as Master will probably help “even” the volumes.

#5

You might do this if you want to use the “save everything” button after a session. It’ll write your recorder buffers to the filenames you’ve given and you can switch off, having saved your recorder buffers with one command. Time saved!

(@sezare56 taught me this)

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#6

Excellent question, asked all the time, search: https://www.elektronauts.com/search?expanded=true&q=Gain%20staging%20%23elektron-gear%3Aoctatrack

@Open_Mike posted the settings he uses here: Internal gain stage recommendations

2 Likes
#7

Hmm. Not sure. Check that you haven’t got slices mode set on your flex machine? (Double tap the SRC button) tho if it didn’t work with static … I don’t know…

PS you ask the best questions!

#8

  1. I use Save and Assign for each, I don’t like Assign to Self.

For Pickups it’s replace (vs overdub)

  1. Possible to speed up with timestrech off (track 1)
    If you want timestrech, you can a track 2 recording track 1 with timestretch on, and pitch it one octave down. Tested and approved.

  2. Try Level 127 (many threads about complicated gain staging).

  3. Stereo delay neigbour track?

All answers in thread below no? :wink:
Or ask again in it…
Wavetable synthesis

#9

The start modulation of the playback start parameter unfortunately does not move the start marker as the same way as in the audio editor, I asked Elektron to implement this some years back but it hasn’t been done, it would make it much better for granular and wavetable stuff.

As I wrote in the lab notes doc you can use slice to access upto 64 wavetables but they will obviously have fixed start points according to the slice points, so no interpolation or morphing.

For 1. I just tend to save and assign to free flex or static rather than asssign to self, otherwise you effectively lose a record buffer. It does require 1 extra step of going into the slot and pointing the track to the new slot you created though.

As usual with the OT there are different ways to do things, so other people will have their own preferences or workarounds.

2 Likes
#10

Works with 128 start points and crossfader. (@Hades_of_Spades post 5) :slight_smile:
Wavetable synthesis

#11

I think Gir means the crosses that appear next to the rec buffers in the slots list, not on the main screen.

I use SRC=CUE as my rec3 source. Then I increase the CUE lever in the Mixer to +10 or +12. This makes my resamples the same level as the originals.

The only downside I can see is that, if you send the CUE out of the actual physical outputs, it’ll be louder than the master out.

#12

Ahh yes, slightly different approach - it would be great if one of the highly talented software forum members could create a app to automate creation of a 128 point wavetable, I came across a web based tool which might do it but I don’t recall it at the moment, I’ll post back later if I find it.

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#13

This got me thinking how slide trigs would work on slices in such a scenario - I’m thinking it (interpolation) won’t work but I’ll try it anyway.

#14

Yes, slides, good point. Lfo don’t work properly from what we tested but crossfader modulated by midi lfo works… :sketchy:

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#15

Absolutely. It’s totally logical, because what goes out goes in. Any other playback setting than full up is attenuating. Not so complicated…

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#16

I think Audioterm does that.

#17

So am I finally not asking OT noob questions anymore? Do I get a medal or something?

Thanks for the responses! Pointing out that anything less than 127 is attenuation makes sense. I figured the starting point (111 I think?) would be like a fader set to 0, which I don’t think of as attenuation but rather unity.

As for adding slices to the wavetable, I saw that in the lab notes too but wasn’t sure how to go about getting them really tiny like the instructions said.

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#18

Yep this is what I mean. They flash too.

#19

This maybe?

4 Likes
#20

That’s probably it thanks

1 Like