Question about scale per track

Elektron Gear Octatrack
1

I’m using dynamic sampling and using the Octatrack essentially as a multitrack recorder at first, filling up tracks with song elements, then variations across parts using the part 1 - Pattern 1-4, etc. modality.

Then I chop and mash these loops up across patterns and mostly banks, then arrange them into songs.

My scale settings are varied … drums 16-32, bass 16-64, and then I’ll have chord progressions at 64 1/4 and some improvisations or recordings of tape loops at the full length of 64 1/8.

My questions:

Is 64 1/8 the longest I can play a sample/loop in the octatrack before restarting it?

Does the master track always have to be matched to the longest sample I have playing? For example I find I need to have the master scale set to 64 1/8 in order to not restart my 64 1/8 sample on say track 5.

I use a combination of very short loops and very long ones. Can some experiences Octanaughts enlighten me as to the scale details that are maybe not deeply covered in the manual? It seems to breeze iver this complex topic pretty quickly.

2

No. If you use a 1ST trig condition it can be triggered once, and played looped. Up to 2GB files (3h30mn) for Static, 8m28s for Flex (using all available RAM).

You can set Master to INF, and AFAIK loops should loop individually…
Otherwise I’d say yes, it should match the longest or a multiple.
@Kalimari’s handy calculator
Elektron Octatrack: Track Trigs/Multiplier to Master Length Calculator 237

I have no interesting examples coming to my mind yet…maybe below.
One thing to know is that recorders RLEN don’t follow track scale.

So you record with long lengths and chop in Audio Editor?

Do you use QREC? It’s possible to record 32 bars, matching 64 steps at 1/8. Easier to chop with 64 slices, half bar precision.

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3

I set master seq to INF.

Then in the sequencer settings I set pattern chain length to my desire, say 128 steps. ( pattern is default)

So I can have an INF master, various individual track seq lengths, and pattern chaining every 8 bars, or 16 bars.

This allows good balance of polymeter, and musical phrases.

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