I’m using the Octatrack purely for production. My usual process is to build a track and eventually move everything into the arranger, including setting up fader scenes.
So far that part has been really fun and powerful.
However, I just realized that it’s not possible to record crossfader movements (no motion sequencing for the fader), neither in patterns nor in the arranger. That feels a bit limiting, because the crossfader is such a big part of shaping transitions and effects.
Right now it seems like it’s either Scene A or Scene B, but you can’t capture any of the in-between movement. Ideally I’d like to “perform” the fader and have that recorded as part of the arrangement.
Even recording into a DAW doesn’t really solve it, since I’d have to capture everything in real time and potentially in multiple passes if I want separate stems.
So I’m wondering:
How do you approach crossfader usage when working with the arranger in a more studio-oriented workflow?
Also curious if this is one of the reasons why many people don’t fully rely on the arranger.
You could also try resampling any live performance, either the main output or individual tracks, or even the cue bus if you’re not using that for something else.
one week later I finally got around to trying everything out.
First of all, thanks a lot for pointing me to that older thread!
I ended up going with the Ableton method and it worked almost flawlessly. Honestly, it barely feels like a workaround at all. Recording the crossfader movements into a MIDI clip and then running that alongside the OT while recording multitracks worked really well.
I still wish it was possible to record crossfader movements directly in the arranger, but this comes surprisingly close and feels very usable in a studio workflow.
thanks again for all the help this solved what I initially thought would be a pretty big limitation and it actually works with almost no issues at all.
