So... please help? I accidentally "made it" to getting a big gig but need to organize my live-tracks into a live-set in 10 day

It may be beneficial to take a break from Elektronauts and any other distractions, and get to work ASAP.

10 days is cramming it.

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I recently paid Octaedit, but have generally chosen to focus on just what the octa itself was able to do.

But that will totally be able to help me copy paste everything in the most efficient way from my computer right?

Btw, thank you everyone. Your feedback is really making the difference, in that even if I end up negotiating a different set and saving live for later or whatever, I no longer feel aloen/overhwlmed. Thanks for being so responsive and sharing your experience.

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you aren’t going in blind, that will make a big difference. also, you know it’s not going to be easy so that will help with your endurance/resolve. but remember to sleep, especially the day before. if your brain goes to mush, it won’t help any mental preparation you’ve done. if your body becomes ill, your brain won’t be able to compensate.

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Yeah if you dont have experience with OctaEdit I’d skip that.
Just use copy/paste across projects.
Use the computer to see files copy/paste/rename and move stuff around like banks when looking at folders on the computer.

After using copy/paste across projects on the OT for a couple songs you’ll start to get fast.
Any mistakes you make can be corrected.

Probably good to takes notes from each song about sample slots.

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Thank you most of all, your advice was the kindest and most responsive.

I agree.

By the end of this afternoon I’ll have a layout/plan. It might not be perfect. But the only way to do this is to push through in a single direction with all my efforts.

This is what got me here anyway and I say that in a positive way; I sold my macbook to focus on a single way of playing electronic music. It was the right choice because it wasa this is what I’m devoting my efforts to, period

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everyone has done something. I’m only saying what I think, only to try and help, I don’t know that it’s particularly special or helpful but thank you for your recognition and willingness to take our suggestions.

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Agreed.

I think it clicked how to do this. Thank you everyone. I will make it as live-set as possible and am proud that I put myself into octa and it always gave back eventually; but I’m also going to be kind on myself and remember that a live minilogue is itself one of my favorite things ever even over normal djing. Time to get down to what balance of “full live” vs “hybrid live” this will be.

Thanks.

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If the set is recorded post a link here when it’s all finished, will be very interested in how it worked out! unless you’re not happy with it, but just remember we judge ourselves more sternly than we judge others so regardless of what you feel, many who listen to it live or here might think it’s great either way.

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I’ve moved tons of tracks to a “live” project on 3 Elektron boxes, using only copy/paste buttons.
It can definitely be done!

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Like others have said, it’s very difficult to combine projects together due to sample assignments and other reasons, so I wouldn’t even bother. Instead, while you’re switching patterns on the OT, I’d live play on the Minilogue as your transition.

I do something similar with my Digitone through the Strega and it just becomes part of the show. I keep playing with the Strega while switching patterns on the DN. The audience won’t care if it’s not a Dj-style transition as long as it sounds good.

Do what you can to organize stuff within 2 days. Practice the rest of the time.
If some things are complicated, sample and “cheat”, you’ll still have knobs to tweak anyway. The goal is to play your live set. You need the stress out.

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No advice to give you as I will face the same situation soon or later (but without the short time context which is a really stressing) but I wanted to wish you good luck !

That’s a challenge but not something impossible and I am sure you’ll succeed.

Would love to see/hear the final result of this 10 days adventure :slight_smile:

Oh, maybe one tip : try to get some feedback from someone else: as shigginpit said it, we judge oursleves more sternly than others would. It’s good to take one step back (or have a fresh ear to listen to your stuff while you’re focus on it for hours) to be more objective.

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have been in a similar situation, but with more time and MUCH less preparation. some thoughts for you: stick to your plan, don’t waste time modifying sounds/patterns (organise them, but don’t ‘polish’ them), practice, record your practice sessions and listen with a kind ear. when you’re doing the gig, remember that the crowd won’t get sick of patterns as quickly as you think. you should absolutely avoid silence, but things don’t have to flow together as seamlessly as a dj set. if you make a mistake, no you didn’t. have fun :).

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Hey @esclavomidi - I’ve crammed for performances in much shorter time before. You have 10 days, that’s pleeenty of time to get prepared. You have all of your musical material already so it’s just a matter of doing the project editing work (tedious but not anything that difficult), deciding on a general track order, learning how to transition, and practicing a bit.

  1. Use OctaEdit to help move all your projects into one “live set” project. It would be my recommendation if you’re using the arranger utility to simplify and streamline here. Just pick the “main” loop from each song and transfer it. Each song/project gets one bank/part in Octatrack. You’ll have to mess with the sample slots, but just make yourself a spreadsheet that has each song as a row, the 8 tracks as columns, and label the sample name for each, then check and make sure each song has the correct sample. Again tedious work but nothing groundbreaking.

  2. Decide on a track order. Listening to your music you posted, I would allot something like 3-5 minutes per song on average, including transitions. This is where some creativity comes in, but generally progress from lowest energy to highest energy, and then end with your more off kilter/left field stuff. Listen to some Drumcell/Blawan/Sppedy J/etc. sets and emulate the arc and pacing of tracks.

  3. Learn how to transition between songs in Octatrack. Look up the Octatrack transition trick on YouTube, Ricky Tinez has a video, I think EZBot as well. This will let your set follow the general flow of: 1.) build up a track, bringing in elements, opening filters, etc., 2.) record loop of current track, 3.) switch project to the next track with everything silenced except the loop playing, 4.) slowly bring in elements from the new track while filtering out parts of the loop to clear space for new track elements, 5.) repeat. You’ll need to allocate 3 scenes in each bank/part to this as an FYI.

  4. Practice, practice, practice! You’ll have to practice the Octatrack transition trick a bit to get the hang of it. Make sure you can get through your set a few times, and if you mess up just roll with it and get back on track. Critical that you play through to the end to emulate the real thing. Record yourself performing, ideally with an audience there (even if it’s just your dog :slightly_smiling_face:). Listen to the record and make any tweaks as necessary.

One more note, I would not heed the recommendations in the thread to have very loose transitions where you play a synth during a transition. It wouldn’t fit with the style you’re after and loses the energy you built.

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You’re over thinking it buddy. Get your shit organized to the best of your ability. Have a practice session with it, and make sure it works well enough. If you get into your own head, you’ll find yourself constantly looking for the perfect setup, it does not exist. Just set something up that works and go with it. Those nerves won’t go away till about 5-10 minutes into the gig. It’s natural, but you’ll be fine. Most people probably won’t even care wtf is going on. To be honest, chances are there won’t be as many people listening as you have it in your head, at least that’s always been my experience. Just get worked out how you like it, practice, do the thing, learn from your fuck ups, celebrate the success, and then see about the next gig. There you go. Its that easy.

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With that short notice, I would use a DJ deck with maybe some external gear for solo parts if needed. Live rig or DJ Deck >> the audience doesn’t really care nor know the difference. : /

I’ve been in that situation as well. My option was adding a sampler player (iPad, phone, Roland SP,…) and use it for transitions. Choose some pads, drones, speeches,… that fit the key of your tracks Transition every track, fading out until you bring the sample to play. Then, change project in the OT, and bring the next track by building it up, then fade out the sample. It’s a cheap and quick solution, and also can bring some storytelling and coherence to your set by choosing the right transitioning samples.

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TLDR but if not mentioned before, i’d recommend to Purge your slots from the unused samples within the projects you wanna copy and to not forget to list the Plocked samples (tricky if not).
Having all in the same project is a relief for transitioning (still praying every now and then for ELEKTRON to one day allow us merging banks without hassle).
A looper on the side is always handy.

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I have no useful advice but congratulations :raised_hands:

Remember to have fun yea :ok_hand:

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And if you “cheat” by recording your own material, you’re still being like 10x more creative than most DJs that play hours-long sets! :wink:

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