Slice questions

Bummer. Did you have an unsynced lfo controlling sample/slice start by any chance?

Yes, indeed, I had several LFOs to make the playback interesting. But these shouldn’t have screwed up the OT file itself, unless there’s some bug I need to know about.

Because the only way I am going to make the music I want with this device is to a) use slices and b) modulate them.

Question: did you apply different settings to different patterns in the same bank?

I feel for you. I think most OT users have had this experience at least once (myself because I am a slow learner, many times!). The good news is, once you figure out what happened, you’ll always remember how to save your projects properly. Dumb question- did you save the part(s)?

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I only used one pattern, the default A01. This pattern triggers slices once per (long) bar. Three tracks together then play samples that overlap into an ambient field.

It would help me to know if there is any problem with doing what you say?

I haven’t used any parts, which is the same as saying I am using the default part. No, I didn’t save it. The manual says you save a part to have a reload point. A Part is a component of a project, and the manual explicitly states “all changes to a project are automatically cached on card”. Besides this, I explicitly saved the Project.

If I need to be doing something different, please tell me what it is.

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In any case, I have found it to be a good habit to save the part any time I make a change I want to keep (Merlin’s guide is excellent in relation to how parts work by the way).

Just to see if it works- try saving the part itself.

The other possible question that came to mind is- were the samples you had loaded in the flex machines from recorder buffers? If they were (i.e. you had recorded the samples in your session then used them in the flex machines) you have to make sure you save the sample because the recorder buffer gets wiped when you turn off the OT (another painful learning experience!).

Also worth double checking that the slider hasn’t budged over a little bit, which can wreak havoc if you have different scenes loaded on A and B.

Can you check what happens if you turn the related LFO depth to zero and then trigger the slice?

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The question was: “did you save the parts” . Your answer should simply be “no I didn’t”. That is something I learnt about the Octatrack. It’s a very rational machine. I too made assumptions when being puzzled by a WTF moment because I had a preconceived idea of what the problem must be, and instead of following advice I didn’t understand, I gave answers that tended to confirm my own thoughts.

It’s like going to the doctor. Answer the questions, don’t elaborate: you are the patient, not the doctor!

Many topics on the subject of parts saving, for instance Saving the project save the parts? ( that doesn’t mean the root cause of your particular issue is parts saving, but it’s relevant to the actual discussion)

Also, prior to saving, always check one last time that your project plays OK, then do not touch anything and save parts and project. The encoders get whacked out of position really easily and depending on what page you’re on this can have serious consequences (but almost always reversible at the expense of a bad WTF moment). Having the OT hooked up to a midi set-up is a dangerous thing to to do as well. If you don’t need midi control, switch off “audio notes in” and “audio cc’s in”

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I learned to save Parts very often just to have the reload point. Almost after every progress step.
If something is suddenly messed up and I don’t know what/when/why => Reload Part. And try again from that point.
Same with samples’ settings, edits, slices.

’All changes to a project are automatically cached on card’ is true. But reading them back automatically is (in my opinion) quite buggy in OT.
That’s why saving/reloading Parts helps to refresh/correct cache code messages.

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I had the impression that some of my projects were different after power cycle when I was young. :content:
I don’t save parts. They are saved with banks, which are saved with projects.
Saving parts is usefull if you want to reload them in live conditions, but if you reload them buy error you loose your settings…

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How are/were you dealing with wtf moments? Save/Reload Project?

Yesterday playing with midi loopback, to my surprise, double/triple [STOP] command suddenly stopped reseting CC values to those set on page (0) and started setting p-locked values from trigless trigs (127).
The opposite was while ago.
Save Part command was also reseting values (0).
There must be something behind Parts.
:exploding_head:

Good grief, man, I answered the question! And then provided more info. Because I don’t want an endless series of questions and answers here. I do this at the doctor’s too, by the way. He/she is quite happy to have a conversation.

Exactly what I thought.

No, the samples were not from record buffers. And I did save my edits. On a computer I am a maniac for saving my work, and this tends to carry over to other devices I use.

Yes, I noticed right away that the fader had moved so pulled it hard left.

Until now I hadn’t had any!

me neither. Never lost anything :thinking:

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Just had a chance to try this. It makes no difference to my manual playback of the slices, nor the fact they are all incorrect.

Thanks for all the help so far, by the way. At the moment I will assume the answer is “solar flares”, and try again from scratch when I have the time.

There definitely seems to be something weird with part- and pattern saving behaviours. I always save parts because I am certain early on in OT life I have lost part changes when assuming ‘save project’ would cover it. YMMV seems the perfect internet thing to say here.

Weird, I thought the LFO might have been modulating the parameter even without the sequencer running.

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Yes, but if the LFO was changing the start parameter when the settings were set to slice, then all it would do is play different slices. That’s how I left it. I don’t get how the slices themselves would be different.

All the project contains is three such tracks, using one pattern each, that have overlapping content in this way. T8 is master for effects.

I set up scene A as the default and scene B with every volume faded down… just to learn the basics of Scenes. I am a newbie with this box!

My next step would have been to use T5 to T7 in a similar way to T1 to T3, but on a different bank.

EDIT: Just read that other long thread and it confirms that saving a project saves parts. In fact, it is better not to ever save parts to keep a clearer idea of what state your work is in. And, secondly, because it’s too easy to hit [Func] + [CUE] and accidentally reload a part.

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:content:

I don’t think so after almost 5 years with MKI.
Unless you use oftenly part reload. It can be efficient in live conditions, but I prefer to know by heart what parameters I modified, and revert them to their position.

OK well to take a break from my gig prep, I went back to the Octatrack and set up a new project with a new sound on T1. This time I sliced it manually into 16. Added some LFOs and effects. Set up T8 as master and added reverb. On a second track I added a long background sound with a one-shot trigger.

I didn’t save the part, but did save the sample settings and the project. Rebooted. The project worked fine.

So I went back to the problem project and it is still in the same state. This time around, I noticed that the severe audio glitches were not just happening at slice boundaries. I had assumed the slice start and stop had slipped from zero crossings, but the issue is worse. Even in the middle of a slice there will be glitches.

So I copied the file onto my computer… and it plays fine. The file itself is not damaged. OT is just very confused about it.

Not sure what this tells me. Nothing really. :wink:

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:woozy_face:
Weird. What can you tell more about this track?
Is it named with funky accents?

What about the CF card you’re using? Is it the one provided?

I never had such kind of problem.
But definitely had my share of other wtf moments :tongue: