To hear/sequence what you sampled immediately without saving - for example if you are experimenting, do this:
- double tap the track button
- select flex machine/the flex slots
- navigate to the very top of the flex slots. Once you are at the start of the flex slots, you’ll see 8 more slots named recorder 1-8, select the recorder that you are sampling into - normally the same as the track you using.
Now the flex machine on that track is using the track recorder as it’s sample source.
Think of it this way: a normal sampler has a sample buffer (a temporary memory area to store the new sample). When you record a sample it goes into the buffer. Before you can use the sample you have to save/assign/whatever per the particular sampler you are using. If you navigate away from the “record sample” page on your sampler you loose the sample you recorded.
On the Octatrack you have 8 buffers all available at the same time. Octatrack sampling will make a lot more sense if you think of the Octatrack as eight separate physical stereo samplers. Like a normal sampler, each of these 8 samplers has a buffer to store sounds you just sampled.
On the Octatrack, the sample buffer can be accessed at any time - even while you are sampling into it (ie. you can trigger the buffer while you are sampling and hear the parts of the buffer (the playhead) that are about to be overwrote (by the record head)). In particular you can have a sequence playing, sample and hear the results immediately.
At some point you do need to save the sample in the buffer but you don’t have to immediately.