Octatrack and Analogue 4 as a combo

Having a huge sounding poly next to the OT doesnt appeal as it would dominate the set up. Sort of push the OT into the corner. Thats not a good combo i feel.

I myself use : AK + OT + Peak.
Peak covering the poly category, A4 used mostly as 4 monos but with the occasional voice stealing/unisson featureā€¦

Thatā€™s what I am concerned about too. But ā€œhuge sounding polyā€ doesnā€™t mean you neccessarily need to play majestic 10-finger chords on it either :wink:

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I wouldnā€™t say that the ā€˜rationalā€™ way is necessarily the better way, but the A4 is just more versatile in the ways you can make use of it. If you cannot, like me, afford a lot of gear I would say its more rational to get a swiss army knife instead of the greatest machete in the world because it is more likely that it will be more useful. But, this also depends. If you know you will exclusively go hiking in the jungle, better get the machete.

Digitone got multimap too with the 1.20 update!

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Yes that makes a lot of sense. The versatility would be immense. More than anyone could handle. Thats a good way to cure GAS if at all.

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True.

personally, I didnā€™t gel with the AK interface. thereā€™s too many pages, and secondary pages, and then global pages. I have mostly analog gear (new and vintage) that is one knob per function, no memory, everything is ā€œliveā€ and I prefer that. I can get along great with OT, RYTM, MD and MnM but for some reason not the AKā€¦

anyway, if I were going to slim down to just one analog synth and the OT, Iā€™d probably go for something like the Vermona Perfourmer instead. sure, itā€™s a lot simpler and more limited synthesis architecture, plus you lose the sequencer, memory, effects, and all sorts of other bells and whistles. but the interface is better for sound design. for me, anyway. and if youā€™re sampling it/sequencing it with OT anyway, a lot of those limitations can be overcome. otherwiseā€¦ a small eurorack setup could give you a similar synth architecture to the A4, and would provide ample sampling fodder.

but on the other handā€¦ at the prices the MK1ā€™s go for, you could always just grab one and see if you like it. you can definitely resell it without taking a loss (or a very little one).

This is a challenge Iā€™ve had as well with the Virus TI. Obviously not a true analog but the Virus makes such a BIG sound that itā€™s super easy to overwhelm the more subtle OT/A4 combo. But the different sonic palette of the Virus really adds some textural variety to what the A4 produces if youā€™re smart with your sound design/EQ.

I recently purchased the Moog Sirin and that little device is an absolutely stellar companion to the A4, IMO. Highly recommended to add a more straightforward analog sound to the A4.

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Yeah, I was interested but they made a production run of only 2500 and itā€™s sold out!

The Sirin is almost the same as the Minitaur. If you have not a problem to play notes only up to Midi note 73, The Minitaur is a relatively versatile little synth, but only, if we use the software editor. Many sound parameters are under the hood only.

Get a Keystep and enjoy your setup. :slight_smile:

I LOVE the combo of Octatrack and Analog 4. I think there is no better or more powerful hardware sample mangler out there than the Octatrack. And re the Analog 4, I feel it is one of the nicest sounding synths for thick pads and interesting out-of-the-ordinary sounds.

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I kind of made up my mind: Iā€™m now looking for a used AK, and a DSI Tetra. Iā€™m not producing tracks but am working on a live gig including other musicians. The AK is playable, I didnā€™t like the A4MkII tiny keyboard. Also, I have a pretty complicated midi routing already, so I like the idea of adding a self-contained unit: keyboard+soundengines+performance tools (joystick). I have a Novation remote25SL midi keyboard controller, but even if Iā€™m not a ā€œrealā€ keyboard player, 2 octaves is a bit short. The 3 octaves of the AK will be quite helpfull: I donā€™t need a full keyboard, 3 octaves is fine. I understand that the A4MkII is not very different from the AK circuitry , except for the screen and button layout, and thatā€™s fine with me too. Besides, I quite like the looks!

The small screen is not an issue, I made a test running Overbridge on Windows, but using RDP on my iPad and it works great. So I basically have a great touchscreen with OB on it for confortable editing. On stage, I will use the performance knobs mostly, just like I use scenes and the crossfader on the OT.

The Tetra, if I can lay my hands on one, will fill that DSI GAS I have built up. Basically 4 voices of a P08, and can be, like the A4, 4 monos or a 4 voice poly with individual outputs. Letā€™s see how that goes!

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Just like to say ive ordered the Analogue 4 mk2 to go with my OT2. The shop said theyd give me two official lids for both units as ive ordered both units from them. Well i did ask first but if you dont askā€¦
Thanks for all the advice its all been very helpful. Great community :grinning:

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Silly question. But do i need a mixer for using both together for simplicity sake. I know you can route the A4 through the O T in stereo but im just wondering if a mixer would simplify the process. Thanks.

cant really see why youā€™d need to

You donā€™t need a mixer, and the pair gives you some flexibility in HOW you route them to one another.

For instance, you can run the OT out into the A4 inputs and this puts it into the FX track. Here you can do fun little p-locked reverb sends to add some A4 reverb lushness to the OT (A4 reverb being a bit warmer and dense than OT reverbs)

A more traditional approach is to run the A4 into the OT, and just use the onboard mixer. This doesnā€™t require using an OT audio track for the A4.
If you want to effect the A4 with OT scenes and such, youā€™ll want to use a thru machine or a pickup machine, and thus, use an OT audio track for the A4.

Pick your poison :slight_smile:


Since using an Octatrack on stage, I no longer use a mixer. It is my mixer and means I can leave a good bit of gear at home.

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Thanks Adam. Thats really helpful(and will save some money). So i may go the route of the thru machines(track 8)?. I may try all the methods you mention though as they all seem fun. Is the traditional mixer route on the OT the best place to start do you think. I just want to jam with both at the same time with some sort of level control. Cheers again.

Yep, thatā€™s best and will do what you need. You can grow into the more FX-centric routing schemes once youā€™re ready :slight_smile:

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Cheers!:+1: