I agree, a Digitakt might be a good option.
There are some features missing that the OT has, but OB for tracking out to DAW is huge, especially if you don’t have a lot of recording gear. It’s also faster to learn and easier to make it sound really good.
Yeah, OT users seems to have some trouble to pick up the difficult parts without making a scene on a forum with arranging people to support them. 
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I see what you did there…
Nice.
Comb thru the manual and you pick up machines in no time, stretch it out over a few days for each part, and you’ll be set.
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I’m a programmer so going through documentation is in my blood. Looking forward to it.
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Then you should definitely buy an Octatrack.
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Sick
can the octatrack sample audio over usb? just thinking of how to integrate with my iPad Pro M1
Main advice I’d give is learn the structure, especially slots, samples, parts, banks and how they relate to eachother, it is simple enough but needs to be understood.
Also that the track recorders are available at any time, they are tied to their respective track for recording, but not necessarily for playback. The contents of the track recorder buffers is easily lost if you are not mindful of this, however saving the contents is very easy, this frees them up for reuse.
A lot of people complain that the OT is difficult to sample into, but there is a quick sampling mode (quantized to beat/length if wanted) which allows to sample just by pressing one button.
A lot of people complain about the sound quality, just make sure to get a good level going into the inputs (experiment with it to get a feel, you can even use the audio editor to see input level) and if you do not need timestretch turn it off, as it is on by default.
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If you have access to a computer (which…er…you seem to 
then you’ll get the latest firmware. Which Elektron keeps generously updating (though I don’t think for much longer)
According to the music references you mentioned, the OT should do you well. Don’t go into it with expectations for immediacy; take it slow and without pressure. And definitely have a copy of the manual ready and give Merlin’s Guide a read.
Enjoy!
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No, the USB is only for transferring files to/from the CF card (i.e .copying WAV files from the computer to the card, or backing up samples/projects from the Octatrack to the computer).
There is no audio and no midi over USB.
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if I decide to go the other way how would it be best to get started with producing on an iPad Pro?
Like how do you recreate the octatrack’s features with an iPad. I wonder if this needs a new thread?
iPads are very capable of doing professional music production in a “small box”. The software is relatively affordable compared with hardware … but it’s “in the box” and IMO lacks the fun of pushing real buttons.
If you don’t shy away from the complexity of an Elektron device, and as a programmer there is no need to, the Octatrack could indeed be a nice first step to built upon later.
Just keep in mind that the OT is a sampler in the first place. But the OT is also providing a couple of interesting functions, which can be used like a mixer (and more), and there are eight MIDI tracks, which call for controlling other external devices … maybe to be resampled in the OT.
Whether an OT makes sense to you or not, depends on the styles of music you are interested to create. If this fit’s together … why not … my first groove box was an OT and I love it.
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If you have a collection of samples, are capable of getting a collection of samples, or have the facility to record samples into the Octatrack, then I’d get one. It’ll be a steep learing curve, but just try one function at a time and get familiar with it before moving on.
It’s a magical box that doesn’t gel with everyone, but if you do ‘get it’, you’ll never want to part with it. For me, it’s an old flame that I get out occasionally and instantly fall back in love with.
The Octatrack is a gift that’ll keep on giving. If you like learning, reading, researching, thinking, tinkering, then the octatrack is for you.
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Just in time for the big update too!
Drambo really is an OT for the iPad and then some
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Whilst Drambo does indeed look amazing, it isn’t the same as the OT - it betters it in many ways for sure, but you don’t get the hardware interface (inputs, outputs, knobs, buttons, fader) but a touchscreen and then add a midi controller, audio interface - then it gets a bit less streamlined and a bit cluttered, IMHO.
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Agreed. The best thing about Drambo is the price and the fact that OP already has an iPad. Since the OT is so hard to find (they still have MK1 stock), I worry about support
I kind of feel like your first piece of hardware could be the BEST time to get an Octatrack.
A lot of its reputation for being hard seems to come from people who have experience with other hardware trying to apply what they’ve learned from their other hardware to the OT, and finding out that the OT workflow is unique enough (even among Elektron machines) that coming to it with preconceptions from other gear - especially other samplers, it has very little in common with any other sampler i’ve ever used or learned about - can make it harder.
IMO the easiest ways to get over the learning curve would be either to come at it with so much hardware experience that you already know how to use gear that you don’t know how to use (if you know what I mean), or to come at it as a complete hardware beginner and learn it on its own terms (it’s not the easiest thing in theworld to get started with but it’s also not nearly as hard as its online reputation).
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