As much as there could be said for or against it, for me it just comes down to the fact that I simply couldn’t do without it. The OT as a combination of sound source, live looper, effects box, and more then anything as a mixer that brings everything together, just makes it irreplaceable to me. Especially if not wanting to use a DAW and keeping the number of boxes in your setup to a minimum.
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Like every other piece of gear out there, the greatness or otherwise of the OT is always going to be an individual’s subjective decision.
I am primarily a synth man but have always owned a hardware sampler, the first being a TX16W.
I have owned an OT but my current hardware sampler is the E2S, which for my needs is actually better than the OT. But, as always, YMMV.
IMHO no hardware is equivalent to a DAW so I would always only compare hardware to other hardware and software to other software.
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Me personally was a bit disappointed from
the FX / the sound and the lack of good MIDI implementation (not off … and other culprits).
So I am giving the OT a new chance in combination with the blackbox 1010 which seems to be easier for sampling and it has polyphony. Will report back this weekend.
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The OT right now is a pure classic. Nothing comes close to it YET in terms of breadth, usefulness, and timelessness. There are obviously some flaws and effects will always start to feel like a certain time period, but this thing is legit. Just as you see people doing real work on classic mpcs, you will continue to see this.
I once thought the Force was coming for it but Akai messed that up so much it’s comical. Maybe one day.
I am weary of the new devices with touch screens as their primary mechanism for depth. Without a doubt the interface let’s you do things that would be so hard on a traditional device. And they open up the UX so that the depth of the machine is more accessible to people. But this also adds a layer between the user and the device. For many aspects, you cannot make the machine an extension of yourself because it requires full operator attention to use. As a horrific straw man, imagine a drummer who needed to focus his attention and eyes directly on the kick drum to play it well. It would significantly limit his ability to do many things at once.
I think even Akai (as dense as they are) knows this. The latest round of mpcs (one and live mkii) have more buttons and more shortcuts. And still while the the classic mpcs continue to get use today, the touch screen ones will fade away with each subsequent generation. The touch screen gimmick and system architecture will necessitate that (along with the greed of the corporation).
These newer devices are literally general purpose computers that have been neutered. They try to hide that from you by doing things like disabling the mouse (while forgetting to disable scroll wheel) or by artificially restricting features like adding an audio interface. These devices want their cake…
This is not to say that the modern devices should be avoided (disclaimer I own an mpc live and would consider a second round on the force or a newer model once they actually complete it) but rather that they won’t have the longevity. They will be trivially outdone by competitors or the greed of Akai. They will fail in ways that are too expensive to fix compared to the latest gimmicks and technology as that’s what is driving them.
So, is the OT worth it? Yeah. It recently got revival in the form of an mkii because people just kept buying it and the parts were no longer easy to get in bulk, not because there were things that needed drastic changing (we did get a few more buttons and shortcuts though). You will continue to see this device on peoples desks and in their shows for a long time coming; it just takes too many additional devices to replace its usefulness.
(Last bit: I own a decent number of other Elektrons that I really enjoy. But I wouldn’t say the above about any other Elektron gear. They are all replaceable and in niches that others continue to build and sell in. People will keep using many of them for a long time, like the heat, DN, and the other classic boxes, but they won’t retain the same level of success.)
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I’m quite the opposite from a lot of people here. I find it fun using my DT, my new microfreak and boss rc202 to jam out songs quickly.
But where I have the most fun, what feels most rewarding, and where I feel most comfortable is using ableton. I play instruments and sing, so recording and manipulating that kinda stuff might make it feel less clickey-mousey than if I was programming everything.
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It’s funny to see them go that way because all the people I knew at Akai used to talk trash about the Beat Thang for running a general purpose Linux variant in a proprietary box, and not being “real hardware” etc.
That was during the run up to the MPC Renaissance though, and since that mess all of them have left.
all true
Also keep in mind OT apparently was designed as a sort of cohesive eco system that follows its own logic and conventions. There is an underlying logic to its complex layout which totally makes sense although it might not be apparent at first glance.
Don’t try to bend it in order to do things it wasn’t designed for. Major headache guaranteed.
It won’t bend, better use something else for that task.
How much headache OT will induce also highly depends on how you use it. For example, midi sequencing:
I’ve been using OT as my main midi sequencer for years (recording audio and midi into daw for further editing and mixing) and while it’s fun to use the OT as midi sequencer for techno and similar styles in which you’re mostly dealing with rather simple midi patterns as soon as you’re trying to work with long, evolving sequences, multiple track length, chord progressions and stuff like that the amount of planning involved can become a little overwhelming.
Stuff like using multiple midi tracks sequencing the same synth for more variation, trig conditions across several midi tracks that interact with each other etc.
Actually I can enjoy building patterns that way, but if I have to change something on multiple tracks across multiple patterns I tend to get lost fairly easy.
This trig on step 13, page 3 has to be changed to to a 3:4 TRC and I need trigless locks on step 5 page 2 and step 15 page 3.
Then I’ll have to put a 8:8 TRC on step 9 page 4 and listen to the whole 1024 steps if everything is working as expected and move on to the next pattern…
But when you got everything set up, press play, turn up the levels and slam the crossfader around OT starts to shine! 
Well worth the headaches^^ 
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I think it sounds pretty good within 10 bpm of the original. Beyond that I think it sounds like granular synthesis, which is fine with me.
I obviously will be happy if/when there are more timestretch algorithms for the OT, but the one we have is pretty good and works in real time.
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I feel these issues in my bones.
But then again is there any other device which allows all that? And handles it any better?
OT is timeless… can’t think of any gear that combines that lot in such a flexible way in such a small box and, although it needs some getting used to.
(mk1 owner…)
For an overview:
https://loopopmusic.com/review-octatrack-at-year-8-is-it-still-worth-it
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Haven’t read thru the full thread but the octatrack may seriously have the least limitations when it comes to samplers that are out rn.
On a real simple level there’s not too many samplers with 4 outputs and 4 inputs. Which can easily bypass the need for overbridge.
I’ve owned mpc’s sp’s keyboard samplers small battery powered samplers Norns too many too even remember and honestly the ot blows em all the out water.
I’m actually planning on selling some gear to get a second one soon. And with two you have 8 individual outs.
Teenage engineering is coming out with some new gear this month which I’m excited about but I can’t really imagine the ot ever leaving my setup.
It sounds pretty ghetto (in a cool way I find) when you slow shit down too much, but when you use it to speed things up (juuuuunglist) it’s not too shabby.
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@oldbills dunno how many inputs / outputs their design coffee table (ltd ed) will have though.
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You are about to go full Stimming?
inb4 it’s a remote control for the OP-Z that is the size and shape of the OP-Z
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Poor guy. Couldn’t even get a dolphin or sea otter to watch his show.
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makes me wonder — is steven an op-1 guy or an octa guy
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(Are you referring to Rone?)
He’d have a drum kit he couldn’t actually play and he’d bang the drums thinking he’s a world champion. Maybe start a band with putin on vocals
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