Hello,
I received an Octatrack over the holiday and am learning more about it as I work through the manual and online tutorials.
I think I understand the idea of how Sets -> Banks -> Parts -> Patterns work, but I have a question about parts.
Is it possible to have different parts for different tracks?
For example, if I copy pattern 1 to pattern 2 and want to change the assigned sample for Track 2 can I change just Track 2 to a different part? It seems when I change the Part it does it for all tracks. Is there a setting or a keypress combo that I am missing?
“Part” is just a quite unusual naming for (what’s named elsewhere) a “Kit”. There can only be one “Kit”/“Part” active at any time which contains the complete sound setup of all tracks.
Workaround for your example: copy the original part to another one and change only the settings of track 2.
skip the part part for now…
start thinking in chains…and see one bank as one song…with chains, way more important thing to learn, and “only” one part u can get pretty pretty far already…
many people, using the ot since years, still work like that…
parts are always tricky, even for longtime users…
I also avoid part changes in a song, and I’d never change a part to change samples :
Sample locks! I usually use several sample locks for drums in a track, but sample chains are even better (in 2020 I have to make drum kits!).
Thanks for the advice on Sample locks. I am really just working my way from the start of the manual to the end, and hadn’t really come across those yet. Am sure I will have questions when I get there
To be clear though, not a kit really because they are locked to the bank, and not reusable like a kit would be. If you think of a bank like a song, and the parts as parts/variations of the same song.
I think we all are waiting for a true Elektron DAW in a box. OT ain’t that but it’s still flipping amazing.
I think this is the secret weapon for happy accidents though. I have been working on a massive project (all sample slots are filled now) for the past month and have been organizing my in a similar way with the bass, drums, etc each on the same track. After I made a dozen or so of these I realized I could switch parts within the same bank and the pattern would make almost a whole new song. It was basically the moment when the OT took over my brain and now I’m thinking about the three dimensional grid of ideas.
Yes, I bit the bullet and made sample chains for by big OT project and this was another game-changer. It does feel a little hacky, but I am actually starting to be glad they didn’t make it tailored to drum kits. I have been sample chaining scales of noted and making melodies with them. When I change parts, the melody will change it’s scale but you can still make out the sequence. I love the effect.
Also @DYMS, I would strongly encourage you to check out Merlin’s Guide. It was for more helpful in getting me to understand the way the OT is set up than just reading the manual and watching Youtube videos.
I don’t especially like accidents.
What I can’t stand is to change common settings several times. If I want to simply lower track 1, with several parts I have to repeat it for each part. For drastic changes, yes to parts, otherwise I usually use scenes and plocks, having their caveats too!
The level of menu diving is absolutely bonkers. I sort of have to get into the mindset of speedrunning videogames and just get really fast at grinding out the set up of a fresh bank. There is a strong element of delayed gratification, the set up is a chore, but the jamming feels pretty endless.
