The basics of setting up Scenes in the Octatrack, and then into more creative territory. I hope it’s of interest to the advanced Elektron person as well as the beginner.
Man, I wished I’d seen this last week! I was trying to get scenes set up, and totally missing something important. I’d been thinking that a scene was a collection of all parameters, not realizing that you had to specially assign certain parameters to the scene, just like p locks. But I finally figured it out anyway.
Thanks for making this though- keep 'em coming!
@ seen from space:
nice video, one question to the last thing mentioned:
how do you have the settings, so that starting point 64 means 64 steps? In my case i think 2 or 4 steps in the starting point menu means just 1 step in the seq.
Greetings andajazz
64 on STRT parameter means exactly to start trigger at half of his length.
In the tutorial example the sample is 256 steps (the pattern resolution is 1/2).
So a STRT = 64 would start the sample from step #129 through #256 and back from there.
The correspondance between STRT value and your specific sample is something that you should already be aware while making choices
Well done! Explaining the difference between Level and Amp Volume was especially helpful.
@sicijk Thanks for taking on that explanation! Like a lot about the OT, not easy to put into words.
I don’t get it why when the track 3 is unmuted on scene 2, it stays muted on previous scene 9…
What did I miss ?
@Lying Dalai
Because that was the choice made for scene 9 - to have track 3 muted - and a different set of mutes/locks for scene 2.
That’s if I’ve understood your question right.
Maybe there’s confusion because I’m copy/pasting each scene to the next one, and editing the copy, rather than building each scene from scratch? It’s not mandatory, but I’ve found it’s good for my workflow. It allows the song to evolve better, as this progression of scenes is the basic song structure, in the way I go about it.
Nothing to stop you dotting about between scenes randomly once they’re all built. You get some happy accidents that way, especially with delay tails, using Amp Volume to mute a track rather than the Level.
Great!
thanks for your tutorials. I am already quite confident with OT, even if I will never stop to appreciate this machine.
And your calm tutorial will help new users a lot!
One thing worth is your use of stacked Scenes structure.
A = 1 > 8
B = 9 > 16
Guys…going in the order explained in the tutorial will allow you to build a song from one pattern.
Or at least being smooth and deep in transitioning while knowing where you are actually.
This method was described in detail by Merlin in his “Ot thoughts” paper, something that an Octatracker should not miss
was trying to do some more fun stuff on scenes last night, but in a rush as i was falling asleep on myself. I tried to lock tempo to a scene. Does anyone know if we’re able to lock tempo reduction/increase on scenes?
Nope, tempo is not lockable.
But I think it will work when you use loops on all tracks and lock the rate parameter of all tracks to a scene
Nope, tempo is not lockable.
But I think it will work when you use loops on all tracks and lock the rate parameter of all tracks to a scene[/quote]
@FmSafari. Hadn’t thought of that one! But not suitable if clocking other gear over MIDI. Could it cause problems with loops not fitting the track length?
I hope for per-pattern tempo in an OS update, and so do plenty others if this forum’s any guide! Can’t think why it doesn’t do it already
Couple of questions for OP and you other experienced users, regarding scene stacking.
This vid shows the workflow as (for example):
Start on scene 1
Edit scene 1 locks
Copy to scene 9, then fade to 9
Edit scene 9 locks
Copy to 2, fade to 2
Etc
Seems like the main purpose of this is to be able to retrace your steps through the stages of changes, right? In my head the other way of doing it is:
Start on scene 1
Copy to scene 9
Edit scene 9 locks (while still on 1)
Fade to 9 to activate your changes
Copy to 2
Edit 2 while on 9
Fade to 2, etc
This way all transitions are smoother (as they’re pre-prepared) and you still get to trace your way back if need be. Is this just a question of preference?
Second question is about parts, and when to use them over scenes. Seems like scenes allow you to heavily change the sound of a pattern, especially if you factor in slice locks. When/why would you choose to use a different part for a section instead of just using scenes?
Thanks
With Parts you can alter your TRACKS, choose other machines, samples, effects, etc
Yes indeed, that was it.
You seemed to evolve in unprepared landscape, that’s why I asked.
For a moment I thought there was a trick unknown to me.
Your answer makes sense, thanks mate !
I forgot to thank you for this interesting video, watching people using OT is for me the best way to understand how I can tame the beast.
My approach is : one trick at a time.
I tried to have different pattern scale for each track today, with a master at 128 steps, a drum at 28x2 and a bass at 56/2 : OT is so powerful, I love it !!!
@Anfim - to audition the edits on scene 9 as you make them, you need the slider to be where scene 9 is active. You don’t need to activate it as such, other than playing it back obviously.
This is great. Clear, concise and very helpful. Thanks!
Thanks for this tutorial, it was helpful!
Grateful for suggestions for the next one? I may be able to oblige, but bear in mind I’ve not mastered the whole of the OT yet!