OT - sound quality

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

OT and I got friends.
Nevertheless I need more time to evolve a fluid workflow, but I think some hard nuts are already cracked.
Thanks guys for helping!

What really keeps me thinking at the moment is - after watching Cuckoo´s video where he´s comparing the OT (…MK1) with the Digitakt ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmA2vSoYL94 ) -
the overall worse sound quality of the OT:
Even before this issue was quite obvious to me, but hearing the units side by side, you might get it - the OT it´s pretty mushy compared to the vastly more dynamic sounding DT.
For that, as it will be my personal first verdict so far - a wish to Elektron:
If you guys before anything else invest some time to improve the OT´s algorithms/resolution please - ?
:wink:

2 Likes
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#2

I own both and love both for what they are. I think this “OT has terrible sound quality” thing is way overstated. Or maybe it’s just because I like darker sounds anyway

6 Likes
#3

If you have the OT using 24 bit and have the timestretch turned off, almost all the remaining difference is the bit of treble EQ the DT adds to everything, and that can be accounted for elsewhere.

Everything sounds really mushy with the timestretch on though.

9 Likes
#4

I don’t really get the mushy quality you are talking about. If you’re using 24 bit samples and not time stretching like crazy on every track it’s fine. I think the OT is just a lot more transparent and uncompressed than the Digitakt and Rytm for that matter. If you run an OT in studio mode into a multiband compressor it sounds fantastic. I think the other machines mentioned just have a flavor in the signal chain that the OT doesn’t. I actually prefer that because I want more control over the mix from the beginning. That’s just my ears though.

11 Likes
#5

running 24 bit and no time-stretching sounds great to me. time stretching on any device will give some sound issues.

4 Likes
#6

I sample analog instruments and A/B’d a lot between OT sample and direct from mackie vlz to jbl monitors.
If everything is nuetral and at 24 bits I really cannot tell the difference.

5 Likes
#7

24bit: might be true…
still, between the reverbFX of the OT and the DT are worlds between -

#8

Agree, sure in a perfect scenario the OT sounds clean but there are so many different ways to mess up the gainstaging and make everything bad. It’s a breath of fresh air not having to stress about it on the DT.

#9

Elektron need to desperately update the pitchshift, timestretch and effect algos on the OT

7 Likes
#10

I cannot hear any diff between a sound and running that sound through my OT mk II. Its a proverbial case of ”garbage in, garbage out”.

Maybe your source sounds are naff?

5 Likes
#11

I haven’t got an OT but I’d like to.
I stopped worrying about OT sound quality when I heard Rashad Becker doing a set with one. It was very detailed and deep. There’s someone who’s careful about sound.

2 Likes
#12

Are the people who make these comments people who own both (DT AND OT)? I do and they both sound awesome.

2 Likes
#13

OT sounds completely neutral to me when timestretch is of.
Dark Reverb is perfectly usable for me with the right settings.
The filter sounds great and I prefer it to the DT filter

7 Likes
#14

Indeed, in a thread a while back with a relatively small uptake (not that scientific), folk really struggled to pick an OT recording from a professionally recorded source and indeed a recording captured from the headphone out (as opposed to an internal capture)

The neutrality/transparency is probably what most folk would choose - the fact that a different device imparts an additional bit of sparkle is a debatable point if you’re comparing (is a camera better if it automatically adds HDR? e.g.)

Likewise comparing the OT’s reverb to the DT’s is misleading, the OT couldn’t possibly run the DT algorithm as it can be tasked to run 8 simultaneous instances - it’s necessarily simpler computationally and the OT is known to be maxed out

So sound quality isn’t the right way to phrase the thread, it’s more down to the nature of the algorithm for time-stretching which I believe is from a third party iirc

Either way, the OT is what it is and it’s unlikely to change - I’m not advocating neutrality either, I like what some devices add, plus folk seem to appreciate the DT sheen

6 Likes
#15

You’re right, OT sucks, send it to me, and buy a DT.

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#16

wondering what crazy ideas you’d come up with owning two OTs :slight_smile:

1 Like
#17

Me thinks mushy goes swell with microtonal

#18

Compared to FabFilter Pro-R and the Lexicon reverbs I have both the OT dark reverb and the Digitakt reverb sound shit. Lately I’ve just used the dark reverb to sketch the sound design but turned it off and used a plugin in the mix. These machines sound a lot better when used like an instrument as part of a studio.

2 Likes
#19

That is probably true, but for me they are a lot more fun when used without a computer

4 Likes
#20

I don’t think that’s a fair comparison at all. Those were designed for the sole purpose of reverb whereas the OT has much more in mind.

Taking the entirety of what the OT offers the FX are more than satisfactory.

Edit: by that logic the sampling on the Lexicon is whack.

5 Likes