Need help and recommendation

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hey folks,

“silent reader” here and finally made an account. I need advice regarding new hardware.

First of all: I´m “new” to Elektron. Had a Digitone for a few months but couldn´t really learn it because of certain circumstances, so I sold it. I guess I liked the thoughts behind the Elektron style and that´s why I focused on their hardware.

Music styles:

  • I´m into spacy styles and ambient. I love Tycho (!), Boards Of Canada, early Aphex Twin, LoFi stuff, Last Step or Trickfinger, some old school hiphop for example
  • early electronic stuff, I guess early techno and acid (house). And: Tycho, again :slight_smile:

What I want to do:

  • well, create music. The process itself is satisfying. While I like to record (got an interface and reaper) and finish tracks, its with no intention of releasing it or anything. Sharing with friends? Yes. But it´s not that I´m a professionel or need the highest amount of perfection
  • Moving away from hardware or software synths and using samples is my aim right now.
  • Using samples with a good piece of hardware can result in some nice tracks, Board Of Canada style maybe? Tycho tends to have more complexity in his song structures, I guess you need a DAW and f.e. OT can´t really build these song structures? I know that Tychos songwriting is huge, thats why Scotts music became popular. By no means I would assume I will or can do the same.
  • creating some hiphop style for fun would be lovely as well

How to achieve that:

  • I love being limited, really. I used an OP-1 for the most amount of time. While it has a lot of options, I loved having one device and making music. Sometimes recording stuff and putting it together in DAW, sometimes finishing tracks in the OP-1. I had other synth which I used to “jam”, just tinkering around for an hour with no goal.
  • because of that I favour a piece of hardware capable of achieving that

What I want to avoid and dont need:

  • well, I could buy a drum machine or midi keyboard, use my laptop, DAW, buy hardware synth and would have a good arsenal of weapons. But I want to be limited somehow, thats why I had look for grooveboxes.
  • I know the Octatrack is damn good live tool, but Im not a live act or anything. Recording “perfomances” would be an option of course, as it´s a pretty pure form of creating music

Advice needed:

  • I really love the look and ingredients of the Octatrack. What I dislike: no overbridge support. From time to time I would like to record the stuff, so overbridge would come in handy to record separate tracks
  • The Digitakt has some more mordern components, though its not that complex as the OT. The reverb seems to be better than on the OT?

I watched several youtube videos and read a lot of threads online, comparing the two. Maybe I´m on the wrong path with Elektron and should look for other hardware?

Im leaning towards an Octatrack or Digitakt + Minilogue XD (which could be a nice combo for BoC or Tycho style), though I would favour having just one piece of gear and learning it extensivly, knowing that its limiting. I guess part of the legend of the old Roland stuff were the limitations. Todays offering is simply overwhelming and I guess one could easly move away from the actual intention: making music.

Your input is very much appreciated! (and sorry for some bad grammar)

#2

If you are more experimental, maybe an octatrack and a microfreak would be something good together. But maybe an deluge with your op-1 together would be better for you.
Maybe a reface cs and a boss looper. Who knows?

For me - I made my first tracks on the op-1 too, the deluge is my creativity booster. I made a lot songs of it. Anyway, I would choose in different aspects:

  • do you connect to that pice of gear
  • would you invest time to learn your gear, or do you need something easy to grasp like the op-1?
  • do you want a one-box-does-it-all, or would you stick more than one together?
  • songmode?
  • note input?

It’s hard to answer such questions. Everyone is biased.

#3

Thanks for your answer. Shouldve added I will sell my OP-1, don’t like the sound anymore and I feel I cant be creative anymore with it after a few years.

„One box for all“ would be the great. Im willing to fully focus on it and having a DAW additionally could be used to structuring songs I guess.

#4

Maybe you should concentrate on your daw then in the first step, and decide later what you want?
Sounds a bit anti-hardware atm, but there are good controller out there that can provide nice haptic feel. And if you end up in the daw anyway, why not just use it? You would gain unlimited sonic possibilities with a myriad of vsts…

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#5

Octatrack or Digitakt - no computer setup

#6

Well, I thought about that. Its inspiring being limited and I fear having endless options will be to distracting. Instead of making music you could geht lost in finding the „perfect“ bassdrum…

So its defo hardware.

#7

Another good way: do you have a synth store anywhere around you? maybe you need to get your hands on some things and see that way if you could connect with a box. :wink:

Hard to answer…

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