MachineDrum or Octatrack?

ctoth666 · 2014-01-04T20:10:46.000Z

I just confirmed a purchase for a Novation Drum-Station. Between the OT and the MD, which is better for sequencing this particular module? Is the OT limited to 8 tracks of sequencing?

Costo · 2014-01-04T23:26:14.000Z

""ctoth666"":

I just confirmed a purchase for a Novation Drum-Station. Between the OT and the MD, which is better for sequencing this particular module? Is the OT limited to 8 tracks of sequencing?

Yes, the OT is limited to 8 tracks of MIDI sequencing (+ 8 tracks of samples sequencing but that’s including p-locks so you can in practice do more with less), but I’ve read that the MD wasn’t as good as the OT for sequencing…
But with the OT, you could record and overdub your sequenced drum tracks just like on this video by SB-SIX : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJhT1MTeP2A

So… Hard choice

prettyboy · 2014-01-04T23:45:41.000Z

get an OT. more versatile.

nirun · 2014-01-05T05:49:28.000Z

What do you wish to improve or add to the music you can make with the gear you have currently?

What do you want to improve in your workflow? What tools or functions are you missing in your current setup that would help you move towards a SOUND/STYLE you prefer?

Although it is absolutely fine to compare your goals with others’ results I find it more proactive to reduce your requirements to simple terms.

Octatrack: known to be a powerful sampler, very useful for live performance mixing and mangling across 8 tracks multiple line inputs/midi etc much more control over external sources but steeper learning curve.

Machinedrum: a drum machine to end all drum machines, if you don’t have a dedicated one now and you want to improve/change the way your percussion elements sound this is a better choice. 16 tracks, but not the best midi clock or flexible controller for external sources but instant UMPH.

SB-SIX · 2014-01-05T10:05:20.000Z

I’m going to be a dick and disagree with some things here :). Imho, the MD is not an end-all drum machine. It has a certain sound thats hard to escape from unless you use samples. You can hear it in the youtube vids to see if its a sound you like.
And the OT has many limits too. With only 8 tracks and 2fx per track, most of us are constantly fighting those limits, solving them with crazy tricks or adding more hardware.
Both have their purpouse, both are great fun though. Having limits encourages creativity anyway.

x0x · 2014-01-05T13:21:48.000Z

[quote=“” ctoth666""]
I just confirmed a purchase for a Novation Drum-Station. Between the OT and the MD, which is better for sequencing this particular module? Is the OT limited to 8 tracks of sequencing?
[/quote]

I use the Octatrack to sequence the DrumStation, and control all of it’s tweakable parameters. It works great! Like others have said you are no limited by 8-tracks. For example I usually use Track 1 to sequence a Kick drum and OHH. Track 2 is usually Snare and Toms. Track 3 is usually CHH, Claps and something else. You get my point. In fact, because of this I don’t usually end up using more than 4 tracks for drum sequencing, saving the other 4 for MIDI sequencing my other gear. If you find you need more tracks for drums or synths just sample a couple of the MIDI tracks and use the loops in an audio track (also good for further mangling).

One thing that is really important when sequencing drums (even in techno, trance etc.) is that you don’t actually want more than 3 or 4 drums being hit at the same time. Things become too busy, and if you want to keep things realistic to the human ear a drummer only has two hands and feet even if I was programming my beats in software I would usually make sure I had no more than 4 hits at once. If I want to add more drums I always try and fill in the gaps. So what you might see as a limitation in the OT will probably force you to think about your beats a bit more and will ultimately lead to more realistic sounding drum parts.

With the MD I’d miss being able to instantly sample my loops. I’d also miss being able to load any 24-bit drum sample from my large collection to use. Polyphonic sequencing for my synths I would also not manage without. That being said I’d love a non UW version to use purely for the synthesis side of things

nirun · 2014-01-05T14:12:05.000Z

i wasn’t being serious about the MD being the best drum machine out right now (especially for its price and size)… or was I

Costo · 2014-01-05T14:20:49.000Z

Can you solder ?

If so, you could get the Octatrack plus the Sonic Potions LXR for the price of the MD UW…

inevitablecrafts · 2014-01-06T13:30:21.000Z

thats like comparing an mpc 60 to a TR808 … kind of

[ul]
[li]one is a dedicated drum synth to design sounds and beats[/li]
[/ul]

[ul]
[li]the other is a sampler to mangle beats[/li]
[/ul]

if you allready got sounds and beats, buy the OT
if you wanna design your own sounds, get the MD

i was arguing with me about the same, then decided to get the MD even without the UW because at that time i got sucked into iOS and found out i can hook up my ipad to my soundcard and thought i would do the sampling part with the ipad, but sadly up until now there is no decent sampler for iOS ^^

then i thought about getting the A4 or the OT, and decided for the A4 over the OT for the same reason.

for me i want an instrument that can produce sounds through sysnthesis, VA or analog. i couldnt live with preproduced samples anymore

so i will always choose a synth before a sampler

udenjoe · 2014-01-07T18:37:01.000Z

I had an MD MK I back in the early 2000s. I eventually got bored of it. The parameters eventually became limited to me. I sold it around 2005. So this is a non UW perspective.

I eventually purchased the OT and I’m always finding new ways to use it. The ease of use is much lower than the MD but the possibilities are 10x the MD. Expect some learning time if you are going beyond simple drum patterns.

With all the countless sample packs out there you can have any drum sound and create the same patterns as the MD on an OT (including MD samples). You could potentially have 16 drum machines layered on an OT. Then you have full drum pattern (beat) samples…

ctoth666 · 2014-01-12T04:43:50.000Z

I have an MC303 now. It’s mostly a PITA, but I like elements of it. I love the 909 kit for example.

Here’s a question: could I sample the entire 909 kit on the MC303 into the OT and then sequence it on the OT on one track? Like a dedicated percussion or rhythm track?

And here’s another question: could I multisample a modular synthesizer into the OT, like notes C2-C6, slice it up, assign each sample to the correct key, and save it as an instrument or kit or whatever, and then sequence it on the OT? I’ve done this Ableton.

prettyboy · 2014-01-12T06:08:00.000Z

""ctoth666"":

I have an MC303 now. It’s mostly a PITA, but I like elements of it. I love the 909 kit for example.

Here’s a question: could I sample the entire 909 kit on the MC303 into the OT and then sequence it on the OT on one track? Like a dedicated percussion or rhythm track?

kind of. you couldnt have any of the individual hits play at the same time on one track unless you sampled a kick+snare at the same time.
you could always use all 8 tracks to build a rhythm and sample it as a loop for use on one track.

prettyboy · 2014-01-12T06:09:53.000Z

""prettyboy"":

[quote=“ctoth666”]I have an MC303 now. It’s mostly a PITA, but I like elements of it. I love the 909 kit for example.

Here’s a question: could I sample the entire 909 kit on the MC303 into the OT and then sequence it on the OT on one track? Like a dedicated percussion or rhythm track?

kind of. you couldnt have any of the individual hits play at the same time on one track unless you sampled a kick+snare at the same time.
you could always use all 8 tracks to build a rhythm and sample it as a loop for use on one track.[/quote]
actually, at that point you might just want to use the OT’s midi sequencer on the mc303 if it’s the 303’s sequencer you hate. you could still use the effects of the OT on a thru machine

djadonis206 · 2014-01-14T18:36:46.000Z

I started with the Machinedrum then bought an Octatrack. I’m always learning something new on both. Either way, you can’t go wrong. But eventually you could end up with both.

There’s some nice stereo tricks and compressor settings that makes the MD sound like amazing (huge and wide).

I can’t live without either. But I started with the MD.

heck · 2017-04-28T22:23:28.531Z

MD just really is a character piece of gear i cant get the edgy type of MD sounds out of the OT… LFOs for instance are lame slow in the OT compared to MD… just the sound sculpting ways in general are unique…
…or GND-SN for the bass using HP res for sub boost! just sounds somehow a lot more juicy than doing the same on the OT with a sinewave sample…

elektrobot7 · 2017-04-29T03:34:52.284Z

heck:

just sounds somehow a lot more juicy

Interesting… i feel that this silverbox have so much to offer in terms of synthesis - sequencing.

heck i use this for bass sometimes as well how you set your lfos for the sub? Thanks

heck · 2017-05-01T19:02:57.132Z

i use the LFOs for bass and the HPF reso for bringing out the sub of that bass. Then the LFO usually on pitch or HPF or LFP pretty slow usually… in trig mode…

orangehexagon · 2017-05-01T19:23:27.557Z

If it hasn’t been mentioned yet, the workflow on the MD is unsurpassed. The OT is the most clunkiest workflow.

That being said I’ve bought and sold both twice and here I am with an OT again.

husc · 2017-05-01T19:28:26.342Z

heck:

LFOs for instance are lame slow in the OT compared to MD… just the sound sculpting ways in general are unique…

Slowest LFO on the MD is 4 bars (set speed to 1), there are workarounds to get it slower, but that’s not the topic. The OT LFO’s speed can be multiplied way up to audio range, thus they have a larger range than those on the MD.
For your other comment… one is a percussion synthesizer, the other a sampler. There is no justifiable way of comparing ‘sound sculpting’ on a machinedrum with the octatrack, no matter how long this topic gets to be.

I am not trying to defend one machine, in my humble opinion the best machines are the ones that are used a lot in making music, not compared and discussed online to death!
Go make some music, stop spreading nonesense and GAS on forums and share your results, play gigs, have fun and be nice to one another.

(Edit: spelling and toned down my rant a little bit)

GovernorSilver · 2017-05-01T19:55:53.480Z

I agree - can’t really compare the two machines.

The OP clearly said he wants to sequence drums. That sounds like a job for Machinedrum or other purpose built-drum machine, which the OT is not.