Well I’m officially in the Tracker club now…
Really cool device, I love how the rolls sound! And I love that it has 5band EQ and limiter!
As some of you may know I love doing tempo shifts and this machine really does it well, here’s and example…
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Damn man…pretty sick 
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Hey 
Dark, LoFi tune made on the tracker. It’s that’s your bag, take a listen…,
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That sound pretty cool
What’s happening between the tracker and opz? Is one sequencing the other?
Thank you,
Tracker is only serving midi clock to OP-Z
All synth sounds comes from the OP-Z and the vocals sample and drums from Tracker.
I’m using the tempo FX (with chance) to make the pattern slow down, it’s funny how the mind reacts to unsteady clock, it desperately tries to find some form of structure a repeating sound or what not. I think that’s really interesting because every person clings to different things and the loop becomes more abstract and an interpretation for the listener, I’m not saying what you’re hearing you are…
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Quick jungle workout I made when I first got my Tracker. 160bpm, movement break. Visuals made on Magic Visualizer.
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Looks like a cool pairing here
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I had a Tracker and it had some issues with intermittent stuck buttons. It was sent back, but I really liked it and planned to get one again.
After some pondering, I got myself stuck in a loop of thinking about going with either the Tracker again, an Octatrack or an MPC Live II.
I have an MPC One and would use that as a polysynth and midi. The Live II would be sample heavy and individual outs for effects.
The Octatrack (never used one) would be for sample heavy work and effects processing.
The Tracker, obviously a self contained playground for the most part. Fun and easy.
I have watched dozens of videos and read lots of comments on all these machines and comparisons between. Who out there has working knowledge of all three? I can only go with one for the long term, so I need to make the right choice. The Octatrack’s usability reputation is what gives me pause. I tend to like to work quickly. The Tracker is great for that, but I was not a fan of its lack of outputs for external effects.
Any comments are appreciated.
I don’t have any experience with MPCs (though I’d love to try one out one day), but I have a Tracker and an Octatrack. I enjoy working with both and they both have their strengths (that’s probably pretty obvious). Lately, I have been thinking about cutting down my gear setup to be able to focus on learning a few pieces (or even one piece) of gear in depth. I like the Tracker, and I’ve been able to produce full tracks with it. The workflow (and the song mode) really opened my eyes as far as how to work through a project and break out of the zone of creating lots of loops, but not complete songs. That being said, I’ve been able to apply the lessons learned to other gear that I have (namely Octatrack), which is how I’m arriving at this point where I think the Tracker might be the odd machine out. I’m still evaluating it compared to the Octatrack and I’m definitely having a tough time deciding whether to sell or keep. The decision will probably come down to details like ins/outs, connection type (I prefer 1/4"), portability, overall workflow and usability.
They are both powerful machines. They both have lots of FX options. The Tracker has an edge in being newer, with potential for a lot of growth, where the OT is a mature device that can still do so many different things. The design of the OT also lends itself to more to live jamming / performance which is a feature I plan to explore more in the next few months, while also building up some new tunes. The OT does require a little more manual reading and practice, but as discussed in many threads on this forum, I don’t think the so-called learning curve is overly difficult. I think if you can learn the process of using the Tracker, you can get to a similar place with the OT in a similar amount of time. From there, the OT has more capability that you can explore when you’re ready to dive deeper. It just takes a little time, a little focus and committing to the learning process.
I hope that makes sense. Feel free to ask more questions and I’ll do what I can to answer.
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It’s an easy thing to work with, even with a minimal tracker background.
Only issue I’m having, and hopefully will be changed in a future update, is the fact that step volume automation automates the track volume, not the note velocity. So once you programmed in volume changes, it’s near impossible to change the volume of the instruments. Unless I’m missing something.
So best to anticipate and do your leveling before you start inserting volume changes into the sequencer.
This might be quite the showstopper for potential buyers of this unit
Video please!
A little something something for you:
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I have a Tracker and a Deluge. The Tracker is a blast.
I’ve had a bunch of MPC’s and all the other toys.
I would go with a Force and tracker…I like the Force a bit better than the MPC’s but it just depends on what type of sequencing you like.
I like the OT but it was mostly for fun stuff and not really making songs or anything like that.
You mention that you would like to use the OT for effects processing, how important is that to you? If it’s really important I’d say it could be a deciding factor as Tracker won’t offer you that.
I just received my tracker today, I haven’t even turned it on yet because of work.
What are your experiences with exporting audio files on the tracker? I’m not used to doing this. I’m used to class compliant audio with the digis. I want to do everything on the tracker without worrying about a daw too much.
Nice tutorial on remaking one of the best Boards of Canada songs:
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@echo_opera Thanks for the video, appreciate it.
Because you are the ‘ambient pro’, is it possible for you to make a ambient track with the Tracker and Drambo? Would love to see and hear that.
I have plenty of effects boxes, but the scenes are pretty enticing on the Octatrack. I have decided against the MPC Live, as I don’t need a battery and don’t want to pay for it now or a replacement cost later.
“Budget” solution is the Tracker.
Dynamic and deep = Octatrack.
MPC X - going all out and probably not wise for budget reasons.
I’m probably leaning Octatrack, but my time with the Tracker was very enjoyable, minus the button issue that I had.
I think I will be happy either way I go. There are not too many people using the Octatrack as I would. Not making stuff in my zone. It does seem the Tracker tunes wind up closer to what I do. Octatrack just happens to be the one machine I have no experience with.
I did own the original Machinedrum. Was one of the first to buy it and stupidly sold it well over 10 years ago. Always felt like buying another Elektron device and never have.
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Yeah, the scenes are one of the reasons I never gave up my OT during the few phases I went without using it much. Tracker’s performance page is really playable and exciting though! It’s certainly not a crossfader, but it’s pretty flexible and musical.