Octatrack Effects [Mk1/Mk2]

[Grumo]

Delay is a send fx, reverbs can be toggled between send and inserts.
I‘d prefer if the mutes were trigger mutes and not audio mutes, so when you mute a track, it just mutes the next trig and doesn’t cut the audio off abruptly.

Possible workarounds aren’t really doing it for me. Mapping amp vol to a midi controller works great, but you lose the ability to p-lock amp vol.
Using scenes (xvol) for mutes does work, well kinda, it‘s pretty confusing to me actually^^What scene mutes which track again and which one solos the kick?
Great that it‘s possible to mute groups of tracks, though.

In the pattern menu could be an option to select audio mute or trig mute per track, I´m sure this lack is a reason for lot of people not using OT live.

My problem with scenes is that they don´t behave like a ctrl-all, I´d like to kill the bass of whatever scene but the reality is that I fade from that scene to a different one, that had the low end cut.

[roadmoviemusic]

Also, bear in mind that the FX in the signal path, even if theoretically inactive (depth/mix etc set to zero) alter the sound slightly. This has been confirmed by Elektron, IIRC. To compare correctly in/out one must remove all effects (track + master track). Still not a cardboard generating symptom though.

[roadmoviemusic]

I´d like to kill the bass of whatever scene

How would you expect to do that? A scene isn’t something in the main audio path. That’s what the master track is for (the DJ EQ works great for this)

[Grumo]

I mean having a DJ EQ on the master T8.

Imagine the typical scene with only this parameter “locked”, low gain to -63. Let´s say scene 9. Scene 1 is blank.

If I fade from scene 1 to scene 9, ok. If I try to fade from scene 2 to scene 9 it doesn´t become scene 2 without the low end, it fades from scene 2 to the blank scene without low end.

I´d like them to only change that parameter.

[Schnork]

I use a filter on the master track for that.
Scene A is muted or blank, Scene B has one scene (Scene 10) which has width locked to 0 and another scene (Scene 11) which has base locked to 127.
Filter values are set to 0 for base and 127 for width which means the filter has no effect on the signal.
When I want to use a low pass filter, I select scene 10 and move the crossfader to the right, when I want high pass, I select scene 11 and move the crossfader to the right.

Also works with DJ EQ, Delay, Reverb and all other parameters ofc.
Filter just gives the opportunity to use more scenes for resonance, envelope, lfo modulation and stuff.

If you want to use the crossfader to sweep any parameter, just leave one scene blank or muted (or lock other parameters, just not the one you want to sweep) and lock the parameter to the target value.
What you want to do definitely works

[Grumo]

I´ll take a look. Of course the problem was me doing things the way there weren´t meant.

[Kingtiers]

Re: OT effects quality - I think it depends on what your goals are. I see the OT as an instrument designed for performance (it’s in the name). In that regard, the effects sound perfectly usable for live situations and work really well when really pushed as a sound design tool where the OT is part of a larger mix. When it comes to recording and mixing a proper album I would definitely use plugins for everything. That’s not a critique of the OT, though. That’s literally how any high end recording is made. Your favorite band probably used an insane amount of snare drums, mics, and outboard effects. That doesn’t mean their snare drum is trash. If you’re wanting to create an entire mix in a single hardware box that doesn’t have some lo fi quality I would be inclined to ask when that has ever been achieved.

[Grumo]

Ah, another thing:

When I connect my Digitone to the Octatrack (I use a Thru machine) it´s sound is very very different to the Digitone direct to the monitors, for example. Of course it´s “worse”, more boring (boringer?), but it´s what it is.

[arctor023]

regarding the way OT might “smear” the input:
a fellow member of this forum (max marco) has made a brilliant video on how various param’s and FX manipulate the inputs:

back to topic: OT’s FX should be seen as sculpting options, not as top-notch FX. and for mangling sound this is an immense ammount of possibilities you get…

btw: this question feels like nietzsche’s eternal return, like every year someone asks this question again and again…

[Snipecatcher]

I put off getting an Octatrack because I’d heard the Sampling sound quality and effects were sub par. Then I heard some actual tests, got an Octatrack and performed a few tests of my own. It’s just nonsense. Octatrack sounds very nice and performs brilliantly.

[roadmoviemusic]

But saying it sounds like cardboard is just plain bullshit. I offered to present a blind test to see if anyone can tell any difference (and had no takers) but seems like it has been done already.

Just recorded this, it’s unprocessed, non eq’d, non optimized, not even normalized. Nothing fancy, just what I was working on while participating in this thread. What you hear is the main output of my mixer, while I’m playing back a sequence where the Octatrack is not involved in (apart from the little shaker I sampled). The OT is sampling the main mixer output. The track the OT is sampling is cued, cue outs are sent back to the main mixer but are muted there. The mixer is configured to do solo-in-place, meaning that when I solo a track, it replaces all the other inputs in the mains. So by toggling the solo on the OT cue track, either we hear the live mix, or we hear the OT’s sample of that mix. I do this twice, and finish with the OT recording (using a scene in the end). I made sure I didn’t toggle on a too obvious moment, it’s random.

I could have made a nicer morer hifi sound, but I was busy and I just recorded what I was doing, it was only to demonstrate I can’t hear any difference between direct signal and OT’s recording.

OT blind test

(I might do the same one with a more finished sound, but well, I think the point is made.)

[roadmoviemusic]

I wanted to upload a .wav but the server wouldn’t let me. But take my word for it, in 48k 24 bits .wav you can’t hear the difference either

[tsutek]

If someone makes a test with all of these cases demonstrated, please sticky the thread

[Schnork]

Should I use the compressor on master bus only or each individual track? Is there any rule of thumb? Is it appropriate method to stack compressors, for example use one for bass drum on T1 and have another one on master bus as well? Is there any benefit doing so?

Well it depends, but in general you can stack compressors.
People even put several comps after each other on one track. It makes sense if those comps have a certain character and you want to combine them sonically.
But people might also have a compressor in the beginning of the signal chain and then there’s one again after some fx to compress for example the reverb tail.
But having compressors on individual channels and a comp on the master isn’t exotic.

I’ve read several times, that in the plugin world stacking comps after each other allows to run each of them more gentle and thus reduce possible artifacts. Same for eqs. Makes sense.

On the Octatrack, if you put a comp on an audio track you probaply either have one shot samples and thus want to shape those samples with a compressor (so in this case it’s not about dynamic range, your’re shaping the sound) or you have loops which might need different treatment.
Same for thru machines.
It’s just a question of what you want to achieve and if the source might benefit from a compressor.
If you put a comp on the master track, you probaply want to “glue stuff together”, shape the sound towards a certain direction (i.e. bring out the kick drum more) or level everything towards a more unified sound.
All these compressors would serve different purposes and it could be perfectly reasonable to use multiple comps in the OT.
Just depends if the source needs compression or could benefit from putting a compressor on the track.

[other]

[Cosmic]

Heresy against the collective.

[Binary_Tubes]

Thank you.

I and other users, will really need “Good Luck” to find this post, between the others, to complet informations, about effect values.

Yes, I’am not worry. But When I want to create a sound, develope,
I need Informations like [ms] or [Hz or kHz] . Its normal in this branch.

Why give us other manufactures this information?
And they are based on physic and mathematic.
; )

Do you hear the different of [ms] or [Hz or kHz] ?
How do you reproduce, a sound design, or also tutorials, without this values?

[Binary_Tubes]

Okay, …

… here’s the answer from Elektron.

And they have accepted my desire,
to include the values in a future version of the manual.

Maybe the Santa Claus will come true.
; )

Because of the order, …
… support person, gets a second chance.

Before I post the answer.
I am shocked.

But let’s see what you can do in a few years, …
… if you need parts.
: )

Am 17.09.2019 um 08:43 schrieb Elektron User Care:

Hi Martin,

Unfortunately, I do not have the values that you request, but I have asked for them to be put in a future revision of the manual.

…

Regards,
Elektron support person

[Binary_Tubes]

Upload it to a RegFreeHoster and post the link.

[RobertSyrett]

Those stats would indeed be super useful, but be sure to get the scaling specs because they might not all be linear.