I’d start with Cuckoo’s tutorial. Followed by those tips here.
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Ho w ?
@j.c.
Function plus < or > nudges trigs on active track backwards or forwards
As a manual-reading addict, this is baffling to me. I read the manuals for “everything”, even vaguely interesting gear I know I’m never going to buy.
I know people learn differently, and that people with my preferences are a minority around here. For reasons I don’t understand, youtube videos and Merlins Guide seems to be popular. Videos are fun, but for me a waste of time for learning purposes. I’m unable to concentrate on what is going on and my mind almost immediately start to wander. I need to read, in my own tempo, and page back and forth in the text while doing so. Since Merlins guide keeps getting mentioned I read that recently out of curiousity, but I remember thinking “how on earth it this of use for anyone?”
So I guess the best approach for learning the Octatrack depends a lot on the person in question. For someone that likes reading technical stuff then reading the manual back to back is the way to go. Two(?) hours of quality entertainment with an (imo) excellently written manual is all it takes for a solid understanding of how the machine works. Obviously, that isn’t enough to remember every detail, but one know what it can do, and where to look in the manual when something needs refreshing.
What do you want to do with it - MIDI sequencing, sample mangling? Start with what’s most important to you, I’d say. For a bit of everything: hook up your favorite synth. Get it to play a pattern, sample the input, f#ck it up with the fx units, slice it and dice it, put it back together again. Maybe load some drum hits to the CF card for some background beats. If you hit a dead end - check the forums, YT, etc.
Have fun down the rabbit hole
P.s: download the PDF version of the manual and have it handy, it’s a lot easier to navigate than the dead tree one.
As a manual-reading addict, this is baffling to me. I read the manuals for “everything”, even vaguely interesting gear I know I’m never going to buy.
I know people learn differently, and that people with my preferences are a minority around here. …[/quote]
Then I seem to be one of those people … hi
There are some very good and helpful videos out there, but also some, which do not come to the point. The guy is talking, telling stories, talking again … huuuu … 
. It takes a teachers talent to do it well, not only a wobbly camera and YT. From some videos I got sea sick.
I think, the most enjoyable way would be, to have a good friend hanging around with you and sharing his experience. But the second best way is to have a decent written manual on the desk.
It’s funny to have somebody tell us, that reading the Elektron stuff is a silly recommendation. IMO the manuals of the Elektrons are written quite well, have a logical structure, are to the point and clear, and cover almost everything you need to know. The tips and tricks are then to be asked, discussed and found here. I guess, if someone dislikes the Elektron manuals, he dislikes learning from textbooks in general - and - with the Elektrons - he chooses the steeper way to get his head around.
Ho w ?
[/quote]
yes, but you must activate Step Recording Mode
this.
if you don’t know your destination, you don’t know which map to read.
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Octatrack is not so simple as A4, thus reading manual is a good idea. It has big amount of shortcuts and not so obvious features and parameters.
For learning OT, I’d created samples set on PC first and then loaded them to the CF-card. And after that I’d started to create a song using only OT. It’s much more interesting to learn something while you work with it on real task. Keep manual near you and just open it when you don’t understand something.
http://web.archive.org/web/20150226100521/http://wiki.thestaticvoid.net/ElektronOctatrack/ElektronOctatrack
Enjoy.[/quote]
“sound design and effects” has gone - has anybody got a copy?
As a manual-reading addict, this is baffling to me. I read the manuals for “everything”, even vaguely interesting gear I know I’m never going to buy.
I know people learn differently, and that people with my preferences are a minority around here. …[/quote]
IMO the manuals of the Elektrons are written quite well, have a logical structure, are to the point and clear, and cover almost everything you need to know. The tips and tricks are then to be asked, discussed and found here. I guess, if someone dislikes the Elektron manuals, he dislikes learning from textbooks in general - and - with the Elektrons - he chooses the steeper way to get his head around.[/quote]
No they are not. No they don’t. No they are not. I love textbooks. Merlins PDF is great. He’s a native speaker. The structure is coherent and let’s you figure out what’s important first. The Elektron manual just takes you through every single menu item without context. It really is more of a functional reference rather then an instructional manual. Plus it is clearly not written or has ever been corrected by a native speaker. Some sentences I had to read five times before I understood what the author is probably trying to say.
As i said I love the fact that Elektron gives you a hard copy of it. I use it for reference a lot. But I never read it cover to cover and i can’t recommend it. That is unless you’ve never in your life worked with a sampler before and need to have explained what a pitch shift or a lowpass filter is. Then you should probably read it cover to cover.
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Mark made this very useful map - it’s a map to just about every Octatrack tutorial known to humankind.
https://www.mindmeister.com/310663045/elektron-octatrack-video-tutorial-index
http://web.archive.org/web/20150226100521/http://wiki.thestaticvoid.net/ElektronOctatrack/ElektronOctatrack
Enjoy.[/quote]
“sound design and effects” has gone - has anybody got a copy?[/quote]
nobody?
He should be finishing that track right about now!
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Wow!! Its 2019!!!
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lol nice
hello all!
just got the MK2 and am extremely confused. found Merlene’s manual but it’s for the MK1. Was wondering if any of his manual is still applicable for the MK2?
It is all applicable for the MkII.
thanks!