Review: Octatrack at year 8 - Is it still worth it?

Yes, SRC3 which itself could be any of the 8 tracks, or cue or main (10 possible routings!)

Maths isn’t my strong point but the rec setup sure has a lot of possible source combinations.

1 Like

Octatrack is so cool… Regardless of what new tech comes out or what I’m using as my main rig in the future, I’ll still want to have one around when I’m 60 for old times sake, it’s just to awesome…
I’ll probably still use it on tracks… :smile:

4 Likes

I hope you were drunk :stuck_out_tongue:
It’s a machine that makes music :elot:

2 Likes

With some Spatializer M/S trickiness and an external mixer I think you could get 6 different mono inputs, although I haven’t’ tried it. It would be down to whether or not the wet signal will null with the dry signal if you set width and depth to minimum and invert the phase of the wet signal. If that worked then I’m pretty sure you could patch a stereo mix of three mono signals panned hard left, hard right and center into a pair of OT inputs and then demultiplex them on three different OT tracks using spatializer in M/S mode. Side only with the right channel nulled using the Phase setting to extract the left channel, vice versa for the right channel and mid only for the center channel. If I were at home I’d give it a try.

Even if it worked it would use up a lot of effect slots and not be that useful but it would be a cool trick.

I tried to cancel incoming signal with M/S without sucess. Didn’t investigate much.

If that doesn’t work then it’s not an option.

When the OT was first released i looked at it thinking what is this crazy machine??? Way too complicated.

But you guys have made it understandable. Thanks!:grinning:

2 Likes

In a way it is kind of funny how the Octatracks flexibility puts a lot of people off, and it reminds me of a story from a synth manufacturer (I can’t remember which one) in the 80’s said that most of the particular synth that came back in some years after manufacture for servicing still had all of the factory presets intact, meaning that most users didn’t program them. I think it was Sequential Circuits and the Prophet 5 but might be wrong.
Anyway the point being that given the comparatively low sales of the Octatrack compared to other Elektron machines, the sad fact is that a lot of musicians don’t seem to want to dig deep, they want more immediate and instant gratification - of course most die hard Elektron users don’t necessarily fall into this category, but I think why the Octatrack hasn’t had wider appeal, (where some of the other Elektron machines have) is due to its depth.

Poor suckers :joy:

3 Likes

I’m going to disagree: I think musicians are the most resilient and frustration-tolerant sample group you could find. How else would you explain spending your time miserably grinding out something the vast majority of people feel entitled to consume passively…

The problem isn’t musicians, it’s the market crossover that seeks to sell music products to non-musicians who enjoy music. Since you can’t sell them records anymore, you might as well convince them that booping a Model:Samples makes them a “top DJ who probably gets cocaine for free.”

:expressionless:

6 Likes

I never said all of them :wink:

1 Like

To one of your points…how do you know which Elektron’s products have outsold which? Not being snarky, just curious if there’s a source for this. I’d be very curious to know. Example…I started with a DT. Loved it and it was pretty simple to learn and still leave room to grow beyond the basics. I would find it very easy to believe it’s Elektron’s biggest seller, but it’s just a hunch. Playing with the DT awhile led me to the OT and A4 as I felt more prepared for the added complexity in exchange for more possibilities. That leads me to wonder if the more basic machines ultimately spiked sales of OT/AR/A4 as folks yearn to go deeper into the Elektron thing. That’s how it worked for me, just wondering if that’s a common thing? I no longer have the DT, btw. I liked it, but I like the OT a lot more

Instant gratification ? Like …

:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

1 Like

It was a comment from @ess that the Digitakt sold more in its first year than the Octatrack has ever sold since released, or that was about the jist of it can’t remember exactly.

Amen. I’ve only had my MKII for a year and a half. MK1 was a bit daunting for me.

I’m sure I’ll have this MKII for at least a decade. 4 outs is just enough to not kick out out of the studio, and it’s hard to beat for live performance.
I haven’t gotten bored with how I use it, but if I ever do, there are 1,000 other ways to use it. That flexibility is the key.

3 Likes

Gotcha, thanks! Not all that surprising…took me nearly a year to figure out why I’d even want an Octatrack, while the Digitakt was obvious to me.
I still have a hunch the OT sales went up after the success of the DT, though I know some much prefer the DT. I’m the opposite, but did enjoy the DT while I had it

1 Like

Its complexity did put me off. I didnt know of its unlimited potential. Ive had my fair share of synths. Starting with the Octave Cat back in 1980 which cost me £1400!! But i went into the predictable path of Vsts which crushed my identity. I no longer was a creator. I was just jumping on bandwagon after bandwagon. Now i know better. I think the OT will help me understand myself better and what i want out of music. It no longer seems complex strangely. It just seems like an open book. Do with it what you will. People said buy a DT or DN first. Its easier. But i dont like these statements as they put a lot of folk off. Perhaps it is a deep end. But you must think big in life. Thats something i have learnt. Viva la OT!

4 Likes

I bet you’re right mate, but unfortunately it’s meaningless to us. The more expensive machines cost more to produce because there’s less of them to produce. The Digitakt was probably a bit of a gamble, but increased economies of scale meant that it’s probably cheaper to produce the small boxes than the big ones…

This is the race to the bottom that all businesses managed by MBA grads and VCs eventually face. They progressively optimize for cost and profitability until either a) anyone can do what they do, rendering their advantage null, or b) people stop buying their products because they’re shit.

Apple under Tim Cook dynamited the goodwill the creative community ever had with a tech company. Everything is progressively smaller, less good, and yet more expensive. Sound familiar?

5 Likes

The good thing is a P12 module has 2 stereo Out, and octa has two stereo input. Also mapable midi CC, which is cool because the P12 module doesnt have that pads that the P12 Key has - mapping the pads to midi cc + LFO gets me where i want to be.

I definatly buy an backup Octatrack before they run out of production. I hope elektron will announce it as they did with the Machine Drum. I currently get the feeling that modern music technology is often a step backwards, offering less and less features. An RS7000 smashes most modern music technology. Old MPC 2500 has more i/o than their latest product, that is kind a sad.

Still i wish that the MPC Force will be a successfully product and mature over time. But i doubt that it will deliver the same musical results as an Octatrack.

The race to the bottom is a race that isn’t worth winning, or even taking part in, for the reasons you mentioned and others, yet people fall for it still and often, it is how some companies gain ground, cheap mediocrity, until someone out cheaps them.

5 Likes

The pad + key selection like seen on the push, or on novation circuit is a clever idea, making music more accessible - nothing wrong with that, i wish elektron would do something similar, but with their quirk to it. Hope a main machine is coming, that integrates internal sound engine and sampling.

For others still deciding - you cant go wrong with an OT.

1 Like