I found that deciding exactly what I needed the OT to do was a good starting point.
Then spend time on just that - it can do so much, but just focus on the aspect of what you need it to do.
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Yeah i use machine but not as much anymore as i want to be less dependent on my computer/daw of course ill still use them but for the recording/mastering. I like the fact this can work with all my midi gear. And still do its own thing. Its expensive but if it gets the job doneā¦
I think though that im doing to much. Between my organelle m, empress zoia,pico3,thyme and of course the octatrack . I bought them all at the same time about a month ago. And a few other things. I had some spare change. Yey!!
A much needed revamping of equipment.
Just have to get working with the ot much more. As i want it to be the brain ,mostly.Steep learning curve there for me anyways. But everyone been very helpfulp
Will check him out. Thanks!
Iāve said it before on the forum, that my first couple days with the OT were really frustrating and I felt like throwing it at the wall.
However, after finally understanding the logic behind recorder trigs (and the 8 independent recorders), which somehow Iād overlooked in my initial attempts at sampling, Iāve never looked back.
The OT is probably the most inspiring piece of gear Iāve used. If I can think of a sample based idea, no matter how complex, the OT will have a way to achieve it! It definitely appeals to my nature for exploration.
It does the simple stuff quite well too, although I understand the DT may be more appealing for that.
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That right there, the 8 independent recorders.
Until you fully understand this, and the fact that Rec Setup pages are unique for each individual recorder/track, of which there are 8ā¦ setting up to record can be a fraught experience.
I think this fact needs to be hammered into the heads of every potential and new OT owner that wants to record. It somehow escaped me for a period of time, and once I finally got to understand that, I could do so much more, and I felt so much more empowered to tame this ādifficult beastā
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And when you realise recordings can also be played on any track, any step, that a recorder can record itself, you can loose your mind with possibilities. 
Once I made a Megabreak of Doom with OT recorders, not sure if Iāll do it again. 
Loops made in DAW, matrixed in OT.
1-4 RATM loops
5-8 BBoys loops
If you understand without fever, youāre probably sick.
Result, hoping to make a better version one day.
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Funnily I did quite the opposite, but I agree, If you are focused, itās easier. I donāt know what I need exactly, sometimes OT decide for me.
Coming mainly from Roland / Boss / Mpc sequencers and loopers, I was not familiar with that way of recording. Wtf is this Octatrack? After 2 weeks, I realised this thing had a huge potential (didnāt watched any convincing video at that time). I wanted to know everything about it to find the best composing / live workflow. Still working on it after 5 yrs. 
This year I want to find an efficient live looping workflow, still hard to decide if Iāll use Pickups or not. So, no, OT is not difficult at all, especially if you already decided what youāll do with it. 
I got mine in Oct '13 and am still experimenting and discovering.
As a wiser man than I once said ātired of Octatrack, tired of lifeā
Keep Calm and Carry on.
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The OT is a paradox.
āI donāt understand why I bought this!ā
vs.
āWhy did I not learn this months ago!ā
To me, I just bop my head for hours on a few tracks. Makes me happyā¦
I have also described it as Skyrim. You either learn a few cool tricks (like smithing in Whiterun) or you think the game is stupid.
I hope OP finds some sort of peace in learning a single functionality at a time 
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One thing I found hard to get my head around is the interplay between patterns, parts & scenes. Not the logic or how they work, but how these are going to work for me. I use one bank = one song and started filling the bank with multiple patterns, parts and scenes to the point where I was going round in circles repeating settings and variations on the song.
So quite early on I settled for just making one pattern and using one part in a bank and using the scenes for any variations I wanted (my aim is more performance than production). This allows me to rein in the frankly awesome potential of the OT to something I can comprehend and work with while Iām still learning, Iāve only had OT since December.
So my tip is work through all the basic functionality and decide which bits are going to work best for what you want to do, then learn those parts to death. All the other stuff is still waiting for you when you are ready!
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This thread made me keep mine.
Iāll give it more time.
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Donāt want to hijack, but how do you set up one scene while the other is playing?
Donāt move the crossfader and set your scene as usual.
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Octatrack requires a similar headspace to learning an instrument or theory.
Lots of things to remember as well as repetative use.
Once you have repeated operations many times it gets ingrained. You can still pick things up after a break of days, months but can find youself having to work things out again or getting from one place to the next.
In a world where tech promises to do the work for you. Its the very fact that the Octatrack takes work and is physical (not soft) which makes it a useful beast with longevity.
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Im actually just going step by step with it now not try and do everything at once.
Everyday finding something new. Using the manual with it, though. As suggested. i never do thatš
Again its been a month so Iāll get there.
Loaded some hainbach samples into it today.
To mangle up some more.
Everyone stay safe!
Yes it is a paradox selfup. 
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One hour itās the best thing since sliced bread. Next few sessions itās stupid and useless. But eventually you find a path and then for a few weeks itās the pinnacle of your setup. Itās a keeper for sure 
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