Parts

Switchmode · 2022-09-01T01:24:54.548Z

Admittedly I’ve only had Octatrack for a week, but here’s how I think about it:

Project - a collection of songs
Sample slots - list of all the samples that can be accessed by all the songs in the Project
Bank - a song
Part - the samples and FX that get loaded into the 8 tracks to make the song sound the way it does
Pattern - a section of the song containing the triggers that tell the samples and FX in the 8 tracks what to do in that section (e.g. beats and melodies for a ‘verse’). Move through the Patterns to create the song (e.g. intro pattern > verse pattern > chorus pattern > bridge pattern > chorus pattern > outro pattern).
Scene - snapshots of sample and FX settings that can be assigned to the crossfader to change multiple settings at the same time.

Because Patterns are separate to Parts they can be mixed and matched (e.g. change the part to make a different kick sample sound play the pattern).

subdatum · 2022-09-01T01:45:10.504Z

In my mind, parts are different “sonic context” that patterns fit inside of. (That’s not to say patterns are architecturally inside of parts)

The below video helped me.
“Parts are the information you see on the screen” or something to that effect https://youtu.be/pJMNWjD-gNs

Sadly I do not know how to embed youtube

sjvl · 2022-09-01T04:50:52.893Z

Here are my views on PARTS as ive evolved in using and understanding them:

it was helpful in the beginning to think of them as KITS. In that way I understood the parameters they control.
Along with a more traditional Kit view, parts also control the machine type, be it pickup, flex etc.
but then i still remain(ed) confused as to their utility because in the common terminology of PART relative to a song, “ooh i love this part of the song” generally means a pattern change using the same instruments or kit. Thus, i shouldnt think of PARTS as parts of a song in traditional sense.
So in trying to understand whats the point, since i dont usually want to have a whole different band come in on the same pattern?
i thought about OT’s other name: a dynamic performance sampler. When i look at it from that angle, PARTS totally make sense. If playing live in the moment i want to devise some very creative ways to twist up a pattern, this is the way to go! Its just not a typical songwriting flow, which is what took me awhile to get.

Anyways, thats really as I say, how my understanding and use evolved. Because im more of a songwriter, i dont find a use for PARTS very often:).

Caveat: if i want to have more than one ”kit” on a BANK, i have to use PARTS:).

isaac_anthony · 2022-09-01T05:26:37.872Z

Ok, so you CAN use another pattern, but it can be it’s own part, not tied to another pattern, makes more sense, thanks!

darenager · 2022-09-01T08:08:26.809Z

Quite a few users use parts like this:
Patt 1-4 -part1
Patt 5-8 -part2
Patt 9-12 -part3
Patt 13-16 -part4

But you can freely assign them any way you like within the same bank.

Quick way to learn is load the demo project, play a pattern, switch to a different part see what happens when the pattern is playing a different part.

Also read Merlins guide, a lot of users find that helpful.
https://eu5.dh-cdn.net/uploads/db8181/original/3X/b/4/b4e73b0afd5bbeb5f7daf2b176c73e1f7092f6b0.pdf

lowph · 2022-09-01T15:02:44.676Z

darenager:

Patt 1-4 -part1
Patt 5-8 -part2
Patt 9-12 -part3
Patt 13-16 -part4

That’s waaaay too organized for my taste

vblr · 2022-09-01T15:08:05.273Z

Sometimes I do the same, but in my brain it’s just 1 Part - 4 Patterns, then the divider (1, 5, 9, 13 trigs) on the front panel does the rest to understand

sezare56 · 2022-09-01T15:59:04.641Z

lowph:

That’s waaaay too organized for my taste

That’s what I thought at first. It can be an intersting base to remember if you need many parts in a project.
If you only choose patterns 1-4 with parts 1-4, you can be stuck to organize patterns logical order if you need to add more patterns with the same part.

A simple organisation : 1 bank = 1 part.
Don’t forget sample locks. You can make a song with 1 part.

Limiting if you need several songs in a project. And if you are synced to other Elektrons, you can use only 8 banks, unless to change other Elektron gear projects…

lowph · 2022-09-01T16:08:54.959Z

Totally. If you can live with exactly 4 parts / 4 patterns, then it’s a nicely organized paradigm to work in. Unfortunately that’s never how it goes for me

I make such a mess of my projects that I’ve been starting them on the last bank. I use 3-4 parts on the last bank and do all my sound design and layering, and save all these things as audio samples. Then after I have all my samples, i go back to the first bank and try to have something more organized, but using the audio material I generated in the last bank. If I need to change some of that audio in a way that doesn’t fit in the parts on the first bank, i can always revisit the last bank, change things, and sample more. I started using this method recently and then my CF card died , so at the moment I only have 1 project like this on my Octatrack, but I think it works well for my disorganized brain.

sezare56 · 2022-09-01T16:18:33.756Z

lowph:

the last bank and do all my sound design and layering

Good idea. I recorded 50 loops and one shots recently from long recordings (half an hour). Doing it in last bank is interesting.

I pretty messy too, but after 8 years with OT, I want to be able to find the right patterns. I usually name their parts to be sure…And name projects of course.

Some people like @Schnork use last bank for part templates.

lowph · 2022-09-01T16:28:42.961Z

Templates sound like a good idea, but personally I don’t use them. I like starting a project like a “tabula rasa”, because I’m very reactive the way I approach creating sounds.

Yeah, another reason i like this messy bank idea is that i don’t care if I “waste” tracks. Like if I decide i want a bunch of thru/neighbor machines, plus a master track, I don’t feel like I’ve used too many tracks.

I end up creating mostly loops on the messy bank. I like resequencing and layering breakbeats for example. I can have one of these messy sessions for hours and generate dozens of interesting loops to be used in multiple projects later on.

It’s pretty cool you’ve used the OT for 8 years! I only started a little over a year ago… I could see myself still using it 8 years down the line. I’ve never been bored with it so far.

bodymechanics · 2022-09-01T17:22:15.032Z

I used to use 4 Parts per Bank as suggested above.
However copy and pasting Banks on the OT only make that a lot more clicks of buttons.
These days I definitely think of Parts as kits.
Banks are usually 1 or more songs for me.
I ONLY use more than 1 Part per Bank if I absolutely need to.
I generally try and use 1 Part for each song.
I’ll use more if the song requires a kit change.

For me this method is a self imposed limitation I work within.
If I need multiple samples per track during a song, I use sample chains.
Most of my songs are designed exactly the same.
Same track routing, same effects assignment per track, same Machines per track across all songs.
All that changes from song to song, is the Scenes I create, and the samples I use.

This approach sets things in stone, making muscle memory/navigation solid.
I always know how Trk 1-8 is designed, what effects are there, it’s completely predictable to me.
All I need to remember is what I did to my Samples, Scenes or Patterns from song to song.

If I do decide to step out of my own paradigm, I do it in a whole new set, and establish another set of limitations and work within that.
This makes templates more useful for me, keeps my workflow more organized, but more importantly simplified.
Each Set gets dialed in over the years, and I end up understanding my workflow perfectly.
I rehearse sets, making me way less confused when performing live.

So I may have a set thats based around live sampling of Thru tracks.
I’ll have another set that’s mostly Thru and Neighbor tracks.
Maybe another set that’s mostly Static Machines playing Samples.
Another set thats based on the Breakbeat of DOOM process.
The more I understand these principals contained, the more I can make new Sets that mix these things together and are more complex.

lowph · 2022-09-01T23:04:16.297Z

That’s interesting how you organize by set. We have such different approaches to the same machine! I think that really speaks to its flexibility.

spssky · 2022-09-02T01:37:11.377Z

I find there’s two major schools of thought with organizing the octatrack:

Those that think in loops and those that think sequentially.

Folks who use loops tend to organize by patterns and scenes, and those who work predominantly with sequenced thinking tend to use more patterns and trigger locking samples and machine data and ignore parts and scenes.

Obviously you can use both, but it can be a heavy task to keep track of everything.

Microtribe · 2022-09-02T01:46:12.785Z

spssky:

I find there’s two major schools of thought with organizing the octatrack:

Me too.

Those that understand Parts.
Those that dont.

lowph · 2022-09-02T03:39:54.878Z

spssky:

Those that think in loops and those that think sequentially.

I don’t find myself exclusively in either of these groups. Maybe that’s why my projects are so disorganized i needed to create a strategy to separate the mess from my actual compositions

sezare56 · 2022-09-02T07:09:27.097Z

spssky:

Those that think in loops and those that think sequentially.

I think sequenced loops…

spssky:

Folks who use loops tend to organize by patterns and scenes

By scenes you also mean parts changes ? Otherwise you’d mean nobody uses part changes.

I avoid part changes within a song in order to set common settings once. If I just need a sample change I use sample locks and if I want fx setting variations I use scenes.

I use part changes for breaks that need a fx type or machine change, eventually rec setup change.

Microtribe · 2022-09-02T07:20:43.377Z

sezare56:

I think sequenced loops…

I think looped sequences. Sometimes I resample them and re sequence the loops.
I use parts for all sorts of things, typically I work in 8 or 16 bar phrases, so parts are very useful for that.

Its all personal preference though innit? Do what ever works for you.

sezare56 · 2022-09-02T07:37:56.928Z

Definitely. Seems hard to categorize OT users workflow.

Octagonist · 2022-09-02T10:02:18.957Z

Microtribe:

typically I work in 8 or 16 bar phrases, so parts are very useful for that.

Are you swapping Parts to change “section” or “phrase”? So you have minimal trigs, just to start loops or open Thru, and the Part change swaps the loops?