I kind of agree with this?
Its a very good idea to start with just one, but if the two are OT/A4, then that makes a nice combo, yet still not easy to learn at the same time.
But at least they can throw some drums in the OT, whilst concentrating on the A4, and vice versa, have a simple bass pattern on the A4 whilst concentrating on the OT, no?
Any more then two, well… only got yourself to blame in that case 
It’s not just about knowing the instrument, it’s also about finding one’s own path, one’s one way to craft tracks within the limitations of one beast.
Personally, I found it hard to find a productive workflow with the OT alone, whereas it was immediate with the AR.
But if OP is used to sample and use samples / sample chains then OT might be the right way to go.
[quote=““Lying Dalai””]
It’s not just about knowing the instrument, it’s also about finding one’s own path, one’s one way to craft tracks within the limitations of one beast.
Personally, I found it hard to find a productive workflow with the OT alone, whereas it was immediate with the AR.
But if OP is used to sample and use samples / sample chains then OT might be the right way to go.
[/quote]
Wise words 
[quote=““Lying Dalai””]
It’s not just about knowing the instrument, it’s also about finding one’s own path, one’s one way to craft tracks within the limitations of one beast.
Personally, I found it hard to find a productive workflow with the OT alone, whereas it was immediate with the AR.
But if OP is used to sample and use samples / sample chains then OT might be the right way to go.
[/quote]
Your advice is truely useful, especially for a Elektron new comer like me. Thank you!
Wise words :)[/quote]
Thank you sir!
I would recommend the A4 as the perfect partner to the OT. The machine drum is very amazing, but you will probably get more mileage from the A4 overall.
As mentioned above, the A4 will provide a lot of food for the OT from drums to bass to leads to weird glitches. Plus the additional FM stuff that is soon to drop will open the palette up wider.
Running the OT through the A4’s filter and overdrive could give you some tempering to the digital sound.
Finally, you could sequence the A4 via the OT and get multi scaling and tempo and still have 4 midi channels free for a future purchase.
Mmmmmmmm.
+1 for OT/A4 combo.
I think it gives you the most flexibility sound wise. Only reason I haven’t bought the Rytm yet is because I feel A4 has better synthesized drum sounds than the Rytm.
Rytm has more performance features than A4 but with the OT, you also get plenty of performance features.
I’ll echo everyone else saying to only buy one Elektron at a time, doubly so it it’s the Octatrack. As much as I thought I knew when I got my first Elektron device (Machinedrum UW), it took 6 months to get comfortable with it, and it caused me enough of a crisis that I thought about quitting making music entirely a few times. I’m glad I pushed through all that because it helped me to become a far better electronic musician, but my point is that there’s a whole lot to take in if it’s your first time with Elektron’s workflow. Once you get the hang of it, it’s very easy to adapt to their other machines; it took 2-3 months to get to the same comfort level with the Monomachine, and just a few weeks to start flying around the Octatrack…but even years on, I’m still discovering new things in all of them.
If you’re dead set on the Octatrack (and it’s great), I would just get that, and use the spare cash in your wallet to get some other gear to sequence/sample with it, like the Bass Station II or new Korg Minilogue or something (both come to mind because they have lots of midi CCs to p-lock). You mentioned having quality drum sounds, and pretty much the only drums I’m using these days are the Driven Machine Drums Vol. 3 pack, which is still on sale for $77 and an absolute steal at that price; plus, it comes formatted for the Octatrack with some sample chains and a whole bunch of Machinedrum samples.
Give it a year with the Octatrack, and then see what other Elektron gear you want.
OH you’re talking’bout a very bright future!!! Thank you!
Thank you sir, really appreciate your advice!
Been thinking more about this… wondering about sending the CUE outs to the A4 running it through a Track (filter, distortion & FX) and then back into the OT. Could this be done with minimal latency & no feedback?
Might have to give this a try over the weekend.
[quote=““OH/EX/OH””]
Been thinking more about this… wondering about sending the CUE outs to the A4 running it through a Track (filter, distortion & FX) and then back into the OT. Could this be done with minimal latency & no feedback?
…[/quote]
Yes. It’s just like any other effects unit in that situation.
Nervous giggles… Nice!
Well, I’ll give you a unique answer. MD (UW or not) and A4. The MD is really dead simple to use. The complexity is only in sound design. The sequencer part is a little simpler to use than the other boxes. The screen is nice and big (as opposed to RYTM), and the menus are easy to navigate. You can get a Mark II non-UW for less than 700 used. The sound is really nice and you can make so many different types of sounds on it. Get the UW if you are really into samples, but personally, in making this type of music and for simplicity, I went against having the sampling capability. You can fiddle with samples and loading them for a long time. Plus when you have samples, it is harder to change the sound on the fly.
The A4 is just a beast, great sounding effects, great (simple) workflow, “modern” sound, in an analog sort of way. You can get some nice drum sounds out of it as well. It does a full range of sounds – only problem is you might want two given only 4 voices of polyphony! The smaller screen on the A4 isn’t as big an issue as on the RYTM, in my opinion.
This combo will get you running very quickly and making good music.
I would like to even suggest the MonoMachine, but the effects are pretty bad, and the sound doesn’t hold up super well, still a fun box and can make tunes on its own which is nice.
Octatrack should come later in my opinion. Or like others say, if you do buy it, buy it alone. But it’s really a different way of creating music versus the spirit of the other machines.
Personally I am not a huge fan of the RYTM, it is the most expensive Elektron box and not great value for the money in my view. The sample loading is super archaic, the sounds aren’t bad by any stretch, but somewhat one-dimensional. Not a fan of the clap, but the BD and toms are good. I would buy an MFB Tanzbar before a RYTM, personally.