Octatrack, smooth parts transition tips?

Goddamn I’m starting to love this machine.

I set up the OT to receive audio from my DT and my Neutron, and set up a Thru for each of them. I recorded the input into 32 bar samples, and then I set up two flex tracks on part two for playing back these samples, pre-sliced. Obviously inspired by the wonderful @Dataline. I got all this to work, and was pretty chuffed, but the transition from the thru-part to the flex-part is kind of hard to get smooth. Anybody have any tips for this? I’m guessing theres no way to quantize the swithing between parts?

1 Like

If you link your part2 to another pattern, even just a copy of the original pattern, then you can just use pattern switch to quantize…

You can also have your flexes on the same pattern/part if you have tracks left and make a sceneA that has them muted (xvol min on amp page) and a sceneB (xvol max) that brings them in.

The arranger can sequence part change mid pattern if you dig into it using its length and offset parameters, still using a copy of the pattern linked to the 2nd part…

9 Likes

You’re a godsend for people struggling with this machine. Not so much for my sleep though :smiley:

3 Likes

Any time… I love me some pre sliced buffer shenanigans… My favorite…
Who needs sleep when you gots an Octarack? :joy:

5 Likes

Haha, so true. I just tried the pattern trick, it worked so perfectly to what I wanted to achieve I started laughing. God bless you, sir!

6 Likes

One thing I’m wondering about. I got this weird behaviour where the thru machine is set to record only the input from the neutron, but when I jump to the next part, the drums from DT had been recorded along with it. This seemed to happen even though I muted the DT. I noticed when i tried to re-record that even though the recorder was set to 32 bars, it ran for 64. I reset all the inputs to default, and put it back to just record input D, and then it all worked smoothly again. Seems like a bug, ever encountered it?

Hard to say what’s happening there. OT has lots of little pitfalls to avoid, often weird orders of doing things. Maybe related to different recorder settings on different parts, when and how you switch parts, stopping mid recording, starting on a different parts, that kind of stuff. The recorder settings are saved in the part but the record trig source locks are saved in the pattern.

Might be other stuff, but to play it safe for now I’d set the recorder setups the same for the track recorder your using on both parts and double check all record source locks. I’d set all the source locks the same on the patterns your using, even if you don’t plan to record on them. To be extra safe I’d try not to stop mid recording, and do a double stop before you press play to make sure your current part is fully kicked in.

Once you’ve done this I’d save the parts and save the project, that way you can reload the parts if they get messed and you know your patterns are saved with the right record source locks…

3 Likes

I encountered some weirds thing with part changes and REC SETUP modifications, especially RLEN.

I seem to remember running into something like that too. Pattern length was 64, RLEN was 64, I initiated sampling and hit pattern change (to a pattern with a different part) while sampling. I think somehow it ended up using the RLEN of the 2nd Part/Pattern.

I think it was down to the track recorders, so once again, you were on the money :slight_smile: The recorder in part 2 was set to record all inputs, and it seems that the one shot trigger started to run at times without me manually activating it.

2 Likes

Yeah, I bet there’s some way to recreate what happened. Even though the OT can seem buggy from time to time, it operates very logically and usually with some testing you can reproduce what happened, which from then on allows you to avoid that situation and use a slightly different method.

I haven’t narrowed it down but there’s certain orders of doing things that lead to recorders using another part or patterns settings you switched from instead of the intended one. Like I said above I think it has to do with how and when you switch parts, when you start and when you stop recording, stopping and starting with part switches in between, that kind of stuff… Since I haven’t narrowed it down that’s why I give the “play it safe” recommendations above that basically avoids a chunk of stuff surrounding the issue while still not knowing the very specifics of how/when the issue occurs.

About the one shots, among other ways all of them get armed by simply pressing yes outside of grid recording and also by double stopping, it’s super easy to accidentally arm them. In the personalize menu you can disable the yes/no arm/disarm and also you can disable the double stop arming. This way you must press function+yes to arm them which makes it way less prone to unintended arming…

Just for moral support I’ll add that I don’t have issues using the OT for all manner of sampling and sampling tricks, you kind of learn how to do it but also what to avoid, and eventually you have a project set up that’s dialed in and a method to use that you know is reliable and then your good to go… :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Thanks for all your help :slight_smile: I’m fairly confident I’ll get the hang of this pretty quickly, and also that I’ll be crying quite a bit at times. Disabling the one-shot arming seems like a good idea for projects like this.

Here’s a track I made with that project. Not the best song, but at least I finished it :smiley:

4 Likes

Nice work! I like it…
Definitely got some OT stuff goin on… :slight_smile:

Thx :slight_smile: Yeah, I really love using slices already. Set the slider to scroll through slices, much fun :smiley:

1 Like

Just a tip there’s been a bug that makes your recorder buffer slices disappear after power cycle. I use start points instead, they work the same as if you made slices of equal length…

Using start points like slices for buffers:

Start points allow you to target playback from 128 different positions, 128 slices…
For the equivalent of a 64 slice grid you use the even number start points:
0=slice1
2=slice2
4=slice3
6=slice4, etc…

Key start points are:
0: beginning of bar 1
32: beginning of bar 2
64: beginning of bar 3
96: beginning of bar 4

If your source is a 64 step pattern, you can target points in the recording that are specific steps from the pattern using the equation:
(the step# would be the same slice# for a 64 slice cut)

(Step# x 2)-2 = start point.
So for example:
step/slice 33=start point 64 (33x2)-2=64
step/slice 57=start point 112 (57x2)-2=112

-Major benefit of using start points for live sample remixes is you can change tempo, rerecord, and your remix is in time…
If you change tempo with slices it will work but not if you rerecord at the new tempo, you have to reslice again for the new tempo…

5 Likes

Hey guys great info here!
I’m reviving this thread to ask a question regarding switching parts. I am able to keep everything quantized and working as it should except for the fact that if I switch parts mid pattern, the sound cuts out until it reaches the end of the pattern and starts over. I copied the pattern over made sure the length is the same, but I can’t get the audio to switch mid pattern. I followed the steps exactly as it shows in Cenk’s video and tried the info suggested here. Does anyone have suggestions for a setting that I may be missing?

Cenk may be using more trigs on tracks.

When you change Part mid pattern it is normal the machine cuts sound. One musician stops playing, goes back, new musician comes and… waits for the trig that tells him to start. Even if you use the same machine type in the new part this is the new musician.

image

1 Like

The on,y trick i would see is to set up a delay in order to have the trails playing while changing part and waiting for a new retrig.

Can delay trails be heard in that case?

I’m not sure – try preparing both Parts to have same delay settings.

It should be working better after slicing audio (or using start parameter) and placing as many trigs as possible, but…

Isn’t it what happens when you change pattern for one linked with another part?

1 Like