Overbridge troubles should be a lesson learned

We are dinosaurs, I guess :wink: and absolutely un-cool :-1:

but ā€¦ we learned to play an instrument the old way and if anytime power fails, or the ugly-uber-virus kills the computers, we will sit at the fireplace, play our guitar, and the beautiful girls will listen to our play and maybe ā€¦ after the show ā€¦ we and the girls ā€¦ (only dreaming) :wink:

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Exactly what I was thinking.

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Agree 100%. I held off on Digitakt because of the lack of individual outs. Now, seeing all the mess and confusion surrounding it and OB, Iā€™m not sure when, if ever, Iā€™ll get one. I love the looks of the interface and sounds I hear others making on it though. Still tempting.

After owning a Rytm with individual outs I donā€™t think I could go back to just stereo outs. This is not to say I wouldnā€™t use OB sometimes or fault people for doing so, or Elektron for making it. I just wish they would have maintained their practice of multiple outs on drum machines, plus USB audio and OB and all that other stuff. The more options the merrier!

Obligatory ā€œI have the exact opposite experienceā€ comment. Iā€™m always running the very latest OS X, even on older hardware. Iā€™ve actually never had an issue updating macOS, even across tens of machines and years worth of OS updates. Apps occasionally need an update to work on the latest OS, but thatā€™s no less true on Windows.

I kind of find it funny that DAW users would go to the trouble of buying hardware gear for use in a DAW environment - to me things like maschine and push give the tactile feel of hardware, but without the sound limitations, and clutter that hardware sequencers and drum machines bring.

Seriously, if I was happy making music with a DAW Iā€™d absolutely have no dedicated hardware synths, because to me they would be a pointless and unnecessary expense, Iā€™m fully aware of the capabilities of modern software and in almost every scenario a DAW and software instruments are going to blow away any dedicated hardware synth or drum machine in sound, features, integration, cost, space, hassle, cables and other accessories required and so on.

But of course this is just my opinion and people have their own reasons for choosing their set up, although if I was waiting on Overbridge as a key reason for buying an Elektron instrument Iā€™m afraid Iā€™d have moved on by now, really there is nothing unique about Elektron gear that cannot be done better using software, parameter locks, sequencing, sounds, fx, you name it.

Obviously I love Elektron gear, but that is precisely because - for me - it is a very good alternative to using a DAW, albeit less powerful and more expensive :wink:

I am also ignoring the fact that DAW or DAWless we are all victims of GAS and sometimes buying gear that we justify to ourselves for often irrational reasons, blinkenlights and so on.

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Overbridge enabled devices are like Maschine with Stand-Alone capability

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The point of OB is to remove other USB audio interfaces from the signal chain. Even if you have individual outs, itā€™s going to an AD converter and transmitting through USB anyways - it just takes a lot more cables.

In theory it is a lot more efficient in terms of space/workflow. In practice, howeverā€¦

Maybe there is a benefit to individual outs through a separate audio interface if you have high end rack-mount gear, but youā€™ve gotta get pretty high end to justify that.

True!

Just donā€™t forget that people can go through cycles driven by time constraints, stress, job and family obligations, etc. Sometimes, even though one can be a heavy DAW user, itā€™s nice to simply turn on a machine and jam a bit before rushing out the door or heading to bed, or maybe playing on the couch instead of tied to a desktop computer setup. After a while of creating like that, itā€™d be nice to connect, say a DT, to the computer and track everything in separately.

Iā€™d love to see OB and individual outs on a DT-like machine. Iā€™d want to place amongst a bunch of pedals and fx when I wanted and then move it over to the desk and record via OB when I wanted. Options galore! I wasnā€™t strongly pro or anti OB when it was announced, and I used a bit on my Rytm. But I hate to see machines released with only stereo outs, dependent on OB. Gimme some moar options. I do have another stereo out only drum machine but itā€™s a Korg Volca that cost me $130. Anyways, thatā€™s just me. :hugs:

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Exceptā€¦ for the DAW integration :rofl: :wink:

Yeah good point, and it highlights my gripe of no proper battery option on Elektron gear, which I find a strange omission. Imagine playing on the sofa with your OB enabled Elektron machine after a long day at work, no psu needed and just a pair of headphones because you canā€™t be bothered to power up your whole setup, you get a nice thing happening and next time you are using the DAW connect up and work further on the idea. Also because only a USB cable and PSU are required to connect to the DAW it means that it could be hassle free to remove the Elektron machine from the setup for using it elsewhere on battery, then to return to DAW/studio just plug in these 2 cables, done.

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Thatā€™s on my wish list too! Absolutely. Would be a killer setup/workflow for me. Iā€™ve had two OP-1ā€™s but never really clicked with it. Having a battery-powered Rytm mkIII or Digitakt mkII though would be fantastic.

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ā€œOlderā€ is relative. And if you add older peripherals to the mix (eg audio interfaces) and other non-Apple products, this is not a viable way to go.

Imagine youā€˜re the product owner (in a Scrum sense) for Overbridge. The big wigs at Elektron HQ are willing to give you what it takes to make this fly. What would you do to get the ship into calmer waters? Please no rants, no name calling, no blaming, etc. Iā€˜m honestly interested in the opinions of those that earn their pesos to pay for these oh so tempting swedish music making machines in the software industry. My 2ctā€˜s worth:

  1. break it down into modules you can plan reliably and implement independently, no matter how small they may be (as long as they do something meaningful in the relevant context), Iā€˜m really worried there are to many dependencies between machine OSs and OB implementation as it is right now. This wonā€˜t go away over night, it might get worse down the line
  2. get the commitment from the team to deliver and be open about the road map, the progress and blocking issues, ship updates regularly, go for shippable software at least every 4 weeks, use the feedback you get. Itā€˜s 2018. Shipping once a year just doesnā€˜t cut it anymore.
  3. evaluate whether thereā€˜s a way to build the streaming audio over USB part in hardware, i.e., a small add on that provides the required analog outs and connects to DT, DN, etc. via USB, eliminating platform dependence and a really nasty software maintenance obligation in the process, remember Redmont and Cupertino have a nasty habit of breaking stuff youā€˜ve just adapted to.
  4. Evaluate whether itā€˜s possible to outsource some stuff, maybe work with people that have demonstrated theyā€˜ve got what it takes, e.g. rusty, void
  5. engage with your user base
  6. more of 5), get their feedback early, give them a voice in prioritizing backlog items
  7. be honest about whatā€˜s going on, try to not look like youā€˜re trying to fool people
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These machines work without OB, theyā€™re stand alone units. OB is an interface to allow your stand alone hardware machine to be used with a computerā€¦ Itā€™s freeā€¦

If you have a beef with the way Elektron do business, then donā€™t buy Elektron. If you enjoy your hardware experience and consider the add on of OB to be valuable, then wait for OB.

But trying to corral users into discussing Elektronā€™s business model and how they deliver software is pretty much none of your, my, or anyone elseā€™s business.

Overbridge is great, it works, and itā€™s worth the waitā€¦ but seriously, people need to get over themselves and this idea that by buying into Elektron hardware, youā€™re somehow a shareholder who can drive the businessā€¦

Just waitā€¦ weā€™ve all had toā€¦ be happy Elektron even care enough to even offer this add on.

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You may want to read my post again. Thank you very much for taking the trouble.

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Personally, for me, it feels like Iā€™ve been lied to or that Elektron are unreliable/untrue to their word. I care more about that than OB by itself.

Not to mention, it feels like that temporary transparency was merely a method to quell potential outrage over releasing another product after the mk2 releases.

Sure, everyoneā€™s setup is different. I can only say that staying on the latest OS has been viable for me, and that most of the problems I hear about on Macs stem from people staying on older versions of the OS for too long.

I read itā€¦ youā€™re saying Elektron should do things differently and you donā€™t agree with the way they do things nowā€¦ but, its really none of your business, youā€™re a consumerā€¦ either you buy, or you donā€™tā€¦ but whatā€™s the point of waxing lyrical about all the things you would do, when you donā€™t have any control or influenceā€¦

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Whatā€™s the point in what youā€™re doing? What he posts is really none of your business

This. When I first heard of Overbridge I assumed it was hardware as described here. I was really suprised to find out it was just a piece of software. I believe this would be the ideal solution.

In the meantime I really think Elektron should remove the ā€œSeamless integrationā€ and ā€œOverbridge readyā€ claims from their marketing and product packaging.

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