Don’t confuse me now… But of course! When one has clearly been a lazy shite and not RTFM or Merlin’s Guide properly I’ve only ever been using the one part to date. SHAMEFUL!
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I still only use one part per bank most of the time.
I tried using a part per 4 patterns, but it just got to be too much, especially if you want to copy and paste a bank or two.
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I’m kind of opposite…
For a long time I’ve just been using patterns 1-4 of a bank each assigned to a different part, and I just forget about the 12 other patterns… Lately though I’ve been adding some more patterns to the banks and using more than one pattern per part…
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Hi there,
I recently purchased an Octatrack MK2 after 5-6 years working with Maschine then Ableton Live and Push (wanted to get rid of my computer in music making and really get back to the live instrument feeling).
So. I’ve read the manual, seen different videos and I feel quite comfortable with the beast after a few hours of practice, which is great since the internet says “it’s complicated” 
.
However, even though parts are quite clear to me in terms of what they can control / change in the OT behavior, I don’t see clear use cases for them, except for creating build-ups or experimenting then reloading the part (the “basecamp” approach suggested by Merlin).
Would you share your own use cases and ideas ?
Thanks !
Well it’s the only way to specify a midi program and bank message so that’s the main use I have for them. I setup the audio tracks as a sort of sample kit for a specific song. Set up my midi tracks with the program messages I’m going to be using. Then write the patterns for said song.
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and the search can show existing threads …
https://www.elektronauts.com/search?q=parts%20%23elektron-gear%3Aoctatrack%20min_post_count%3A15
I’m reactivating this thread in order to discuss a question about reloading parts and motion recordings:
reloading a part is meant to reactive the previous state of a saved part, including parameter values. not included are triggers and motion recordings, so my question is how to revert a mess of recorded p-locks that I want to get rid off, so that my original pattern is back again?
I just found trig lock clear in the manual, but it’s for single trigs only I guess?!
thanks
My workflow is to copy the pattern to another one and then mess with this, keeping the first one as a save point.
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Yup
You’re the messy! 
I usually tweak with scenes only, but I learned to record more knobs tweaking with MD.
Func+NO in Live Rec erases all plocks of a track.
Func+Knob press in Live Rec erases corresponding parameter.
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thanks, I found your hint in another thread and tried the FUNC + NO combo. this seems like a good solution for now as I don’t have to deal with copy/deleting patterns.
that’s a good advice, too. thanks!
Next challenge is understanding ‘Parts’… still troubling for me. I start working, developing a nice pattern with tweaking samples on several Tracks, then switch to a different one of the other 3 ‘Parts’ and it sounds horrible, disjointed and unrelated to anything I was doing with the ‘Part’ that was set on when I started…(went from Charlie Brown Christmas to Friday the 13th Part 30), not sure what’s going on.
Parts store which machines are assigned to the tracks, which samples are assigmed to the machine and all the track and fx parameters.
The 16 scenes are also stored in parts.
For midi tracks parts store the midi setup (midi channel, program changes), note page, arp page, midi cc assignments and lfos for each of the tracks.
The trigs you enter in a pattern basically play what the parts tell them to play.
A pattern is always linked to a part.
Parts are basically like kits on the other Elektron boxes.
When you changed to a different part the pattern was played back with default settings (Samples 1-8, default parameter settings), that’s why it sounded “unrelated”.
So changing parts give you the opportunity to work within a complete new environment; new samples with new settings and fx, new scenes.
Midi program changes are send when you change to a pattern with a new part.
Since there’s a lot you can do without changing parts, like p-locks, sample locks etc. you don’t have to use a different part when you want to change some stuff.
Program changes are one thing that needs a new part, though.
When you are in the part select menu, [Function] + [Bank] opens the context menu where you can rename, reload, save and sve all parts.
[Function] + [Cue] reloads the part.
Octa MK1.
Always remember to save your parts.
Parts with an asterisk contain unsaved edits.
Save the parts and save the project.
You might lose your work. 
Best to carefully read through the manual and read Merlins guide, there’s so much stuff going on in the Octatrack…
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To understand Parts, read the manual carefully, then Merlin’s guide, then search this forum:
https://www.elektronauts.com/search?q=Parts
Then, if you still have questions, please look for a thread that is close enough. It makes it easier for people behind you to find the information.
Thank you for your understanding. I don’t want to restrain you to ask questions, but this place is a mine of information already.
And there are a few rules to participate:
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Thanks, I get a basic idea, thats a good starting point, trying to get it to sink in. I also have a Machinedrum and when I switch the 2 modes, similar to Parts are happening, but I haven’t gotten that far with MD yet either.
MD Classic / Extended mode? Different, it makes plocks active or not. Parts can be compared to MD Kits.
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OK. thx
seems to me that ‘Parts’ are more for Live performance because you can quickly hit an arrow and Yes… But not sure its a needed feature for just composing a track, but I am a novice, so I am learning the logic behind the OT and other elektrons and why they designed things the way they did.
You have 4 Parts available for each Bank, and you can use it as you wish.
One common use would be to assign e.g. Part 1 for Pattern 1 to 4, then Part 2 for Pattern 5 to 8, etc.
Another one could be e.g. to prepare Part 4 for live sampling / transitioning, so you give different purposes to Parts.
My own use is starting Pattern 1 with Part 1, then I go to a different Pattern. And if I need radical changes, I copy-paste Part 1 to Part 2, load Part 2, then do the significant changes, and so on until I reach the Part 4 (I rarely make it to Pattern 16).
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Changing parts manually doesn’t always work flawelessly, smt it produces a short glitch sound, smt on synths that are sequenced by OT midi tracks notes are triggered in a different way.
It works seamless when changing patterns ofc.
Same here, but I also focus on the synths sequenced by OT, because program changes can only be send with part changes.
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