Octatrack MKI - Arranger Mode Input Volume Bug

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

I’m having a problem with the Octatrack MKI arranger mode. If anyone has lots of experience with the arranger mode and has ever experienced volume issues with it, please take a read and see if you can help me out!

I have a long, complex arrangement for an hour-long live set. As of only recently, I’ve started getting a pretty consistent volume drop on one pattern only: pattern 9 from bank B. As far as I can tell, it’s only the stereo input C/D that’s ducking in level (routed through a thru machine on track 3). Even more strange, it only seems to happen when quite a lot of the preceding arrangement has played first. If I jump straight to that row of the arrangement, or to the start of the song, which is about 10 rows back, it plays correctly. The pattern also plays correctly outside of arranger mode. There are no trigless trigs or anything like that controlling something on the thru track that would explain this behaviour.

But it still seems like whatever is going wrong is happening on the Octatrack, as I’ve tried routing the stereo input straight into my interface and don’t get a volume duck that way. It sounds like the whole input is being pretty aggressively compressed for that pattern only. But I don’t even have a compressor loaded to any track in any bank!

So I’m totally stuck. I’ve tried loading a different arrangement then reloading, and have done the same for the project. I also tried deleting those rows from the arrangement and then reprogramming them in. No luck. Is there any potential non-bug explanation for this? Anything I may have failed to check? Or is it probably just one of those things?

1 Like
#2

If you’re 100% sure it’s nothing outside the OT causing it, try copying the pattern and part to another bank or maybe try to save the project under a new name (save as new…) and then test again.

Are you sure that pattern 09 is not linked to another part?
Also sure there’s no midi coming in?

#3

Thanks for the reply! I copied across to a spare pattern, changed the arrangement to look at the new pattern instead and saved as new under a new name. Still not working. And I’ve only used the default part for every bank in the project. I don’t think it could be looking at another part as the track configurations would all be wrong.

And yeah, no MIDI coming in anywhere - at the moment, just MIDI out from the Octatrack to MIDI in on the synth (which is what I’m inputting back into the Octatrack).

For a bit more context, it’s happening on row 115 of the arrangement. I have a blank pattern on row 1 which arms the inputs and that I always start with. In my testing today, I’ve experienced the issue every time I’ve jumped from row 1 to row 82 and played through to 115 from there (starting two songs in advance). But it’s not happened any of the times I’ve jumped from row 1 to row 95 and played through from there (starting one song in advance). Why should that make any difference?!

#4

I see…Part change doesn’t make sense as a potential source when the pattern plays perfectly ourside of the arranger anyways…hmm…saving both part and project (to force OT to write into memory) and then starting the arranger also doesn’t change anything? You still get the volume drop?

This part you wrote might point to a bug, maybe.

I tried to search for arranger related bugs and found this post which sounds like what you are describing.

Can you reliably cause the volume drop by playing a certain part of the arrangement before switching to pattern 09?
Then I’d say you report it to Elektron.

One thing worth trying might be to put pattern 09 on a totally different arranger row, first or last one maybe and give it a try…

As a potential solution for your live set, try dropping out of arranger after it played a few patterns, then drop into arranger again and continue. No idea if this helps, just a thought…
Maybe by dropping out and back into arranger every, i don’t know, 10 rows or so it won’t bug out…

#5

As a solution for the gig today I’ve just recreated 3 songs in a totally new arrangement, totally from scratch. From one quick test that seems to have fixed it! Running from the same point in the original arrangement never worked yesterday, so that’s a good sign that this should work now. So I’ll switch out to that arrangement for a little while.

That also seems like more evidence that it’s just a bug with that particular arrangement. That thread you linked on part issues was interesting - it might just be a memory bug somewhere in the parts. I did have a compressor on that input track a long time ago. Maybe it’s related to that.

Thanks for the help! Will investigate further in future but at least I have something I can do for now.