I have had my OT a while now and I am getting used to it but no matter how many times i read the manual I cannot work out what on earth parts do or are for?
Confoozed!
Think of them as kits for each bank. Oh, and there aren’t enough of them.
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So they contain different samples? or at least the potential to contain different samples ? for example part 1 track 1 through 8 all static machines lodaded samples 1-8 part 2 is all flex machines loaded with samples 1-8 part three a mix of the two etc?
I kinda started to “get it” when i started to look at parts as “dividers”
if I do 1 song per bank… I use the parts for “intro” “mainpart” “climax” and “outtro”
if i do multiple songs per bank… each part contains settings for a song.
but Tib has a point. if you had 1 part per pattern… or even more weird 4 parts per pattern.
u be able to an insanely amount of extra weird things… not sure if its my kind of weirdness…
There was a huge discussion on elektron-users about the subject… some people loved the part system… some hated it… both sides had merrit points…
I kinda started to “get it” when i started to look at parts as “dividers”
if I do 1 song per bank… I use the parts for “intro” “mainpart” “climax” and “outtro”
if i do multiple songs per bank… each part contains settings for a song.
but Tib has a point. if you had 1 part per pattern… or even more weird 4 parts per pattern.
u be able to an insanely amount of extra weird things… not sure if its my kind of weirdness…
There was a huge discussion on elektron-users about the subject… some people loved the part system… some hated it… both sides had merrit points…
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Still not sure I am clear on what the parts actually contain? just different effect settings like a scene?
Here is how I am envisioning that they work and I may be miles off.
So I have a project that is 8 tracks long. some flex, some static some thru machines.
Each track is one layer to the song, but lets imagine I want to add more layers on top of what I already have while keeping my original 8 individual tracks.
So I use record buffer 8 and mix down all 8 tracks to one wav.
Then in part 2 I can load that mix down wav as a static sample on track one and continue to add other tracks using other open flex, static slots etc? all without changing anything in part 1?
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Hi nedavine!
Your approach seems perfectly fine! It is similar to some workflow related to parts and patterns as described several times in the forum.
The basic idea is to use one pattern with Part 1,creating, programming and recording (e.g. one-shot recording trigs for “main” or “cue” source), and another Part for playing the sampled sounds.
It is easy to assign the new part to a new pattern, where up to 8 tracks of flex and static machines can playback the same(!) recording-buffer. This is a very comfortable approach for instant variation and build-up of a formerly created pattern.
I use this way of working more and more, since I saw Datalines video, where he mangles the korg volca! When I saw it, it finally “clicked” 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okdZFgxFxjQ
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…and I am back to being baffled.
Actually I think I might be getting it, the pattern trigs are not effected by the part setting? So if I have, say, a flex kick drum(a) on track one with trigs on 1 and 9. and then I can change part and the trigs will still be on 1 and 9 but the flex kick drum can be a different flex slot file (say kick drum(b)). That also means if I load a different part then alter the trigs I will mess up the previous part that I made?
Sorry I know this is basic stuff for most people on this site, but its the part I’ve often found most confusing.
This is more or less correct. A part contains info about which sample is being used on the the tracks, the parameter page settings for those samples, as well as 16 scenes.
For example:
Pattern A01 contains a basic beat and is linked to part 1. This part contains a kick sample (KICK1.wav, located in flex sample slot 1) assigned to track 1 and a snare sample (SNARE1.wav, located in flex sample slot 2) assigned to track 2.
Pattern A02 contains another beat and is linked to part 2. This part contains a different kick sample (KICK2.wav, located in flex sample slot 5, assigned to track 1), but the same snare sample (SNARE1.wav, flex sample slot 2, assigned to track 2). The snare sample is however pitched down in this part, changing the sound of the sample.
Changing between the patterns will also change the parts. Going from A01 to A02 means part 2 will become active as soon as A02 starts to play.
If you select pattern A01 and change the part to part 2, the beat you have programmed on the sequencer will remain the same, but will now trig the KICK2.wav kick drum and the pitched down SNARE1.wav snare drum instead.
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Parts are sort of like banks within banks. Each part has its own unique set of track / sample assignments.
Here’s how I use it, which might help it make sense. My band does electronic pop music, so we usually have standard verse / chorus / bridge structure.
I like to always keep the bassline on track 3 for instance, so let’s say my verse, chorus and bridge are on patterns A1,A2 and A3.
In order to have 3 sets of samples assigned, I can assign parts 1, 2 and 3 to those 3 patterns. Meaning on A1, I’ll have the verse bassline assigned to track 3 on Part 1; on A2 I’ll have the chorus bassline on Part 2, and so on.
The nice thing is you can completely change the track types as well so unlike just using the sample assignment P-Lock, you could switch a track from static to flex or so on.
Hope that makes sense.
Thanks guys. Finally got my head around it. That’s made my life much easier lol.
Just need to dive the manual and work out how to link a pattern to a part and boom. Fun times to be had.
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[li]Hi elektronauts … now i hunderstend… I can use 4 parts for 1 bank …4 parts for 4 patterns x parts… If i wont change the sample i must change sample slot… yhea!!! [/li]
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Thksss
I have had a similar idea for a while. Actually, it was one of the reasons I bought the OT. I bought the OT for different reasons that most probably. I needed to replace a hardware sequencer. Being able to mix down to audio was the thing that kept only having 8 midi tracks from being a big limitation.
Now I haven’t gotten around to getting this whole mix down thing set up yet, but I know it can be done…
So im really hoping someone can clear parts up for me.
My understanding of parts is to be able to swap through and change the samples on triggers between different patterns, but not getting why there are 4 parts to each pattern.
i get you can make changes on each of the parts, but you cant jump through the parts while they are playing, so are the parts just save points within a pattern.
all that doesnt make sense aswell as that would mean you can only create 16 patterns per song
surely that isnt right
please help me understand
The short answer is that there aren’t 4 parts per pattern, but 4 parts per bank.
I typically use different parts for different sections of my song structure. One part for the verses, one for the chorus, etc.
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i dunno if im really confused still but why 4 parts per pattern, if you can only use one part in a pattern
all the other drum machine sequencers i own its very simple to have say a snare on pattern A1 copy that
pattern to A2 select the snare and change the sample.
it just seems what the point, i think im missing something with being able to use 4 different parts per pattern
or im just not to smart
I think it’s worth stepping back and reading this guide which helped me comprehend the Octrack structure :
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yip
gonna do that
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