Moving on to an Octatrack MKII from a Digitakt

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#12

I made the same move from DT to OT two weeks ago. If you read Merlin’s guide (takes like two hours) then you’ll quickly understand some of the conceptual differences, and from then on you’ll be able to get started and get things done. To me it didn’t really feel like such a big jump, as the sequencer works more or less the same (ok, trig conditions are in a weird place, but hey, whatever). The big advantage however is that, from that moment on, the OT has a mountain of features and possibilities still to be discovered, where the DT pretty much is what it is, as soon as you figure it out.

To me it feels like a much more capable workstation for working dawless than the DT. And the crossfader is easy to work with and will be very handy for live play. Not to mention, if you’re setup is small you won’t need a separate mixer. And it does looping. And slicing. And can playback longer samples straight from the CF-card. And it’s stereo. And it’s much easier to backup your projects (not unimportant!). I’ll stop here, I don’t wanna sound like I’m advertising the thing :slight_smile:

I haven’t tried the arrangement mode yet cause I don’t plan to use it (I rather record live-performances). But in that area a DAW is obviously much more flexible.

8 Likes
#13

Thanks for the advice. Just downloaded it the other day.

#14

OT should be coming in on Friday, can’t wait!

4 Likes
#15

You’ll love it I’m sure. It was years ago but remember an early source of frustration for me was the Function/Bank pages which holds settings for the tracks such as individual scales/swing. It has different options depending on whether record is enabled or not. It took me a while to force that into my memory. It may have changed on mkii if that’s what you are getting, but thought I’d mention it.

1 Like
#16

Congrats!
Read the manual, and merlins guide while you wait! And then read them again after you’ve spent a little time with it, because they begin to make more sense after some hands on experience

1 Like
#17

BTW
Not sure if it really matters but there is a “polished” version of the merlin’s guide here. I thought it was a little better

1 Like
#18

I thought it was a little better

Thanks :wink:

#19

I just got an Octatrack (MK1) a few weeks ago, after having the DT for 2 years.
It is a worthy step up. The extra inputs/outputs and wider range of FX make a big difference for me, even more than timestretch and stereo.

It’s definitely an advantage already being used to the Elektron sequencer. You just have to learn about Parts and Scenes, and the rest is pretty familiar.

The only downside I’ve found is that it takes more effort to get a nice mix on the OT, and it’s harder to get crisp, rich bass sounds for some reason. Certainly possible though. Gain staging certainly takes a bit of thought, as the numerous threads on the topic attest.

5 Likes
#20

Sold my DT a few months after getting an OT, though they make a fine duo. Sold mine to help fund an A4mkii, which for me is a much better duo. OT is still my favorite hardware device for countless reasons :slight_smile:

4 Likes
#21

Agreed! I find using a compressor on T8 as master, very careful gain staging and using a synth for bass gets a great full rich sound.
You can get bass out of samples, but its never as good. Not to my ears anyway.

2 Likes
#22

Yup, that’s the one i downloaded when I searched the forum. Thanks for pointing that out!

#23

Out of curiosity, how did you pair the DT and OT? Kind of curious on how people use the two together. I thought about maybe using the DT for drums and some FX.

1 Like
#24

That was my initial thought too. It worked well, but I preferred the OT for drums as well. If you pair them up, you’ll love it! I just found the OT A4 combo so much more interesting

#25

I’m tempted to keep the DT with the OT, maybe use it basically for drums and bass.
Seems like overkill though. There’s also some mental confusion… it makes sense to program it directly from the DT, much faster than setting up MIDI from the OT. Yet when I’m ‘in the zone’ I’d rather be focused on one machine.

#26

I play wit OT/DT… It’s a blast !

2 Likes
#27

Already running into some newb issues. I have my digitakt output going into A/B input on Octatack, it’s blinking, but I can’t get any output. I’ve selected A+B on the mixer. lol What am i missing here?

#28

On the mixer page, I forget what it’s called but basically you Need to turn up the monitor levels if you just want hear it. If you are running it through a track then you need to place a trig to hear it, it’s basically used like a sample in that situation and passed through the synth engine.

2 Likes
#29

haha thank you! I feel like an idiot. Goal today, read the manual (again), merlin’s guide, then a bunch of videos.

WOW, this thing is nothing like using a Digitakt.

1 Like
#30

It’ll take a while for it all to sink in, just enjoy the journey and try to avoid frustration, I’ve had mine more or less since it was released and still haven’t explored it’s full potential :slight_smile: the DT is a basic but focused machine, the Octatrack is like a box of endless possibilities. The OT is my favourite Elektron box by far, but I really like the simplicity of the DT too. There’s actually a lot less crossover than you first imagine.

#31

Congrats!
I can not recommend his videos enough Thavius Beck
Octatrack MKII Advanced Sampling
Elektron 301 - Combining Machines
His videos and a printed copy of the manual are a great combo.

4 Likes