Iirc it turned out that Stimming had the OT on 16 bit. Plus he made other errors about it. I’m not sure he’s the best judge of the machine. Plus, like @Octagonist said, if he’s making these easy errors his gain staging might not have allowed for the best results.
All I know is that when compared to my Babyface, it’s not shocking how much worse it sounds imo. It’s quite workable, in fact.
not just Moog, even an old ROMpler or something is different with an extra generation of conversion. It all changes the sound. A good, 24/96 transfer of a poorly recorded cassette doesn’t sound as good as the same cassette played on the same deck through the same monitors. Whether it’s better, worse or just different is completely context dependent and subjective, though.
Anyway, the difference between direct analog monitoring and passing through the OT (24 bit, no timestretch) is pretty far from “butchering” as far as I’m concerned. It’s minor.
Analog synths I’ve passed through the OT before:
Juno 6
Matrix 1000
Mother 32
MI Anushri
Kijimi
Jasper (WASP clone)
x0xb0x (with NOS ICs and transistors)
Roland RS-09
The only synth the Octatrack actually made sound different enough to be a problem for me was actually a Kawai K1. the analog stuff still sounded perfectly fine, just ever so slightly “smaller” for lack of a better word. In the room the would sound a little less impressive; as part of a full mix, the coloration from the Octatrack sometimes made the work better; the Mother 32 in particular had a way of being kind of overbearing (part of the reason I ended up selling it back to the friend who sold it to me) - good, but also “hey there’s a Moog with some other stuff around it” rather than “there’s a mix that has a Moog in it” and the Octatrack tamed that a bit. The Anushri handles the Octatrack converters the best of the bunch. In all cases except the K1 it’s been really minor, and this is in actual practical use (i.e. with filters left on), much less trying to make the OT as transparent as possible.
…?
If Ess thinks the OT sound is ‘pretty much on par’ with an RME Babyface, then it’s good enough for me.
That makes sense to me. Anything sampling at 44.1 is going to take away all of the stuff happening above the audible range that produces all kinds of subtle stuff IN the audible range. As far as low end goes that might just be a level matching thing, since low frequencies are what digital should theoretically be able to reproduce the most accurately, but who knows. That’s the stuff that mostly gets EQed out in the end anyway because it ruins a mix, but it’s definitely fun to hear in the room when you’re playing. Sort of like how playing bass in front of a giant 2x18" cabinet sounds and feels great but if you actually want to sound good to an audience, on a recording or with a band you’re better off with some little 10" drivers that sound plunky and disappointing on stage but HUGE from 30 feet away where you’d barely even hear the big speakers that sound good on stage. It’s all context, and balancing what sounds/feels inspiring to you as the performer with what actually works in context (because the two are often different and you need some of both).
The way the Octatrack changes the sound of an analog synth isn’t going to bother anyone listening to you, live or a recording. They aren’t going to notice. In that sense it “doesn’t matter.” But if it bothers you so much that it interferes with your ability to make music, then that’s still important even if it’s completely insignificant to listeners. Even if it’s 100% placebo it still makes a difference if it interferes with your process, and in the case of the Octatrack it’s not 100% palcebo, it does change the sound of stuff that passes through it.
Maybe 95% placebo.
I started drinking coffee again two days ago after having only one cup of tea every morning since January.
I sure can type a lot suddenly.
Ok. I prefer to listen for myself.
I think both are true. @Supercolor_T-120 put it very well.
My journey with music is difficult and chaotic and I’m not sure whether it’s good I care so much for details such as Moog clarity which, to those who know what to listen for, can really move you.
I don’t disagree with @Octagonist (although based on your nick I’d assume that you might be slightly biased towards the OT 
) - if you have a full mix of cool stuff made by OT, the synth would matter less…
HOWEVER. With synths, and vintage analog ones especially, you get the issue of them being totally dominant. Ergo your mix has to be a) really sparse and b) the synth has to be f*in loud - due to lack of natural harmonics. Yes, there’s more to this, but with a paraphonic synth with stereo delay suited more to long complex sounds it’s very true.
And suddenly you’re here with an OT you can’t really use, because Matriarch demands all the attention. Yeah you can work with it, but it’s very limiting when such a dominant instrument gets its top end/clarity muddled by weird converters.
That’s why I mentioned it would be easier to just go with A4. It’s a much more modern concept better suited to mixing and waaaay more behaved (had it on a loan for a month and gosh it’s good!).
As an example, here is an earlier attempt of mine to make something, maybe the only one which feels right:
Echoya - Far Home
You have 80-90% Octatrack running prerecorded Output Arcade samples, live vocals and a tiny bit of Matriarch in the back. It’s not a synth approach, it’s sampling with a bit of synth thrown in.
So I have the options of:
Honestly I feel really incompetent for not being able to get along with those two instruments together, on paper it sounds like the ideal match, but to make anything with them is a pain. But here we are…
The recording you shared is nice! Great work. I thought the synth fit well. It “sticks out” a little, but I liked it; it gave flavour to the otherwise very dynamic and wet mix.
I’m not sure I understand how taking some of the far top & bottom off the synth makes it harder to mix. I’d have though that made is slightly easier: fewer frequency collisions, more opportunity to mix other sounds around it.
I accept that I may have misunderstood, and also that my mixes are fairly rubbish. I don’t have the technique or subtlety to pull off a great mix (for now, hopefully). I do find my Rev2 takes up a lot of space… it often feels like it wants to be the whole track. Sampling it with my OT seems to make it more forward, less dynamic. I also admit i don’t have much skill with ny OT yet. I don’t know how to gain stage properly. I love how it sounds with well made pre-made samples.
Regarding my name, I picked it before I joined. It’s just an attempt to make a distinctive label that sticks out on forums 
I like my OT but I’m not in love with it yet.
Thank you!
Not harder to mix, harder to play and be inspired by. Imagine hearing Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy for instance, but without the whispering soft detail - it turns into a muddy mix with overwhelming low-mid range. Maybe it’s a bad comparison but that “whisper” to me is what that Moog loses through OT. In a mix you can work with this as you describe and you could even consider it an asset, though a strange one. But then you probably won’t use that synth for its best sonic properties, you’ll use it in a complicated context where is just one part of many, like I used it for Far Home.
It’s a fun dilema - submit to OTs workflow and crappy converters (to stay a bit on topic ) and sample away. There is something alluring about going full evil and creating with Arcade samples first, it might boost creativity a lot!
Or to resist and go pure synth 
Crap converters and muddled sound hopefully means you can do the blind test with confidence.
Meanwhile people are still chasing SP1200 sounds. Who cares, make music!
I have no insight to the session but I guarantee whatever whisper you’re hearing did not come directly from her voice through the microphone and was enhanced with processing in a DAW or outboard gear.
It’s very easy to pick out what things can’t do. If you’re sampling a synth for manipulation, why be concerned that the sampling itself may manipulate it?
Right, bad example indeed. I’m not sampling the synth (mostly), just running via Through machine.
But you’re correct in that everything gets postprocessed to 11 anyway.