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I always knew this, but I couldn’t afford to keep the OT. I be happy to have a software type experience if needed. I love mangling on the OT but surely software is more advanced these days?.[/quote]
it probably depends on what you like best. software gives you a lot of ‘freedom’ because of the things you can do with it. theoretically, you could develop a piece of software that does everything that hardware does BUT … as mentioned by poonti earlier on, you’ll end up introducing problems related to latency, delays, hardware (you do need a powerful machine to run a piece of software that does a lot) and i don’t know how much that is worth the effort, but then again, it’s all up to your taste
if you don’t mind having to deal with the above issues, then you’ll surely find something on the internet that will suit your needs (the TwistedTools looks pretty good actually)
Cheers, computer isn’t an issue as we got a fairly decent one, well its i5 and lots of ram. I know its never going to be the same as the OT but I need something to just mess loops up and samples at the moment. I be getting a MPC again, so be using that to sequence and midi everything.
I recommend Reaktor + Twisted Tools Vortex. Or you could go for Five12’s Numerology, or Renoise. All very capable pieces of software that shouldn’t even make your computer break a sweat.
If you don’t mind me asking, what was it about the OT’s workflow that you didn’t enjoy?
As many have mentioned There are lots of good s/w things out there that should give the feeling of Elektron sequencing/mangling/etc.
Max4Live gadgets, Raektor gadgets, NI Finger, NI Mouth, the SugarBytes stuff, even IL’s Groove Machine:
Groove Machine’s power lies in its ability to automate every parameter of the sampler, synth and effects channels on a PER-step basis.
^ sound familiar?
I just come from a MPC background but here’s a few things why I won’t miss it.
Pickup machines - no threshold sampling
Step Sequencing - Isn’t my cup of tea
No Velocity Sensitivity Pads
Doesn’t record Note Off
For a sampler its extremely powerful but really fussy if I just want to sample something, its a lot of set-up which should be something quick to do. I gotten fast with it but even then sample limit is extremely short even if you mess around with memory.
Those button combinations eh?, I didn’t like I had to press and two buttons to audition stuff. This is a matter of preference.
Screen is too small for slicing for me, slicing is OK but the a JJOSXL MPC the slicing is far more powerful.
No slice to transients - no biggie to some people but sometimes its good to slice to transients and adjust slices accordingly.
Great things
Great for mangling stuff
P-Locks are awesome
Effects are great, I will miss the filter and dark reverb the most.
Yeah - it’s definitely not an MPC 
Saying that if another OT was available later down the line for a cheap price, I probably snatch it up.
Its a great machine but god dammit if I didn’t have MPC background I could be more forgiven.
Again those effects are lush
I come from a RS 7000 background, and have a OT and an MD. After months of practice, I think the sequencer of the RS 7000 is one of the best of all grooveboxes, mainly for live acts. The OT sequencer is far below, and the MD sequencer is just a bad joke. For me, it’s just a toy that I can hardly imagine use during a live act. So I’m planning to use the MD synced by the RS 7000, and the OT slaved because its sampler and filters are really good compared to those of the RS.
But in the beginning, I planned to get rid of the RS because of its weight an size. I won’t do It, but I regret that Elektron does not work as they should on their sequencers. If they would do that, the elektron machines would probably be more used in the darkstep/d’n’b/experimental scene, whitch it’s not the case: I gess they are used mainly in the electro/house/minimal scene because of the simplicity and the linearity of the musical compositions of those genres. The elektron video demos are, IMO, a symptom of this: press play, and just tweak, but not many breaks, fills, cut-up, rhythm randomization, etc.
I was looking at a rs7000, but not a huge fan of using the media card or limited ram
It’s not an Octatrack, but Renoise is hard to beat for mangling in the software world and the price is excellent.
Plus if you have plugin synths you want to use, you can quickly convert them into sample-based Renoise instruments to save CPU power, and iirc you have per-step samples, per-step effects settings, etc, so you can sort of have your plocks via automation.
An iPad and Samplr would be pretty good, too.
Like I said, not an Octatrack, but you can definitely get some mangling par excellence done.
I have been having a blast recently with Skanner XT frm NI, mangling galore, if thats your cup o tea. 
somebody has made a virtual Push for iPad, i don’t know more than that, saw it on CDM ! Lemur is expensive, but very very good, scripting skills pretty much a necessity if you want to make your own sophisticated interfaces, basic stuff is easy to do - Touchable may be much better now
I picked up Lemur on sale, but admittedly haven’t used it much. I see there are at least two Lemur templates for Octatrack:
This one posted to the old forum:
http://elektron-users.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=28&func=view&catid=9&id=187041
This one posted by KRAFTF from the old forum to the Liine site:
http://liine.net/en/community/user-library/view/291/
A Lemur template on iPad might improve the Octatrack UI experience for some people.
As for me, I bought Ableton Live when they were giving away Max For Live for free with purchase of Live Suite. I still use it as a multi-track recorder on my computer. However, the looping and sample mangling stuff I was going to do on Live, I now do on Octatrack. My own struggles learning how to use my Octatrack have been documented, but I now get around on the Octatrack much faster than I would have with software. For band rehearsals and shows, it is much more convenient to set up my rig with the Octatrack than a laptop plus hardware controllers. Also, the headphone output on my Macbook Pro stopped working a couple of months ago - yet another reminder of the short lifespan of laptops in comparison to dedicated hardware like the Octatrack.
At present, I just use the sequencer to play back samples and slices - nothing fancy, so the OT meets my needs on that front.
This thoughtful and civil discussion between these two veteran looping musicians influenced my decision to get an Octatrack instead of sticking with Live:
http://www.loopers-delight.com/LDarchive/201208/msg00407.html
The point was raised somewhere in the discussion that some things that can be quickly done on the Octatrack may take a lot more time to figure out and implement in software like Live.
Which is pretty far …[/quote]
Just by curiosity, name one thing non related to hardware, that is possible to achieve on the OT and is not possible to achieve with Ableton Live + Max + Push.
Please note that I’m not talking about if it is easy or not, I’m talking about if it is possible or not.[/quote]
Ableton + Max + Push combo is almost limitless. There are a million ways to mange audio with it and so many Max devices (granulators etc.) that the OT could never compete. The Push controller goes a long way to help in terms of immediacy and ergonomics. The last update even give you parameter locks in the step sequencer (as well as being able to record regular automation). Plus you have a much more powerful sequencer (or throw in something like Numerology for even more power/generative/weirdness).
I’d agree that the OT is more portable and more self-contained but on flexibility and features it can’t compete with Live. There’s not a single thing the OT can do that you can’t do with Live and you’d still only be scratching the surface of what Live can do.
It’s a silly argument - they’re like two different animals.
And for the record I have both and love them both.
Which is pretty far …[/quote]
Just by curiosity, name one thing non related to hardware, that is possible to achieve on the OT and is not possible to achieve with Ableton Live + Max + Push.
Please note that I’m not talking about if it is easy or not, I’m talking about if it is possible or not.[/quote]
Ableton + Max + Push combo is almost limitless. There are a million ways to mange audio with it and so many Max devices (granulators etc.) that the OT could never compete. The Push controller goes a long way to help in terms of immediacy and ergonomics. The last update even give you parameter locks in the step sequencer (as well as being able to record regular automation). Plus you have a much more powerful sequencer (or throw in something like Numerology for even more power/generative/weirdness).
I’d agree that the OT is more portable and more self-contained but on flexibility and features it can’t compete with Live. There’s not a single thing the OT can do that you can’t do with Live and you’d still only be scratching the surface of what Live can do.
It’s a silly argument - they’re like two different animals.
And for the record I have both and love them both.
[/quote]
Same here.
Respect to those who have the time and expertise to make use of both OT and Live on a regular basis.
If I had a brand new laptop instead of a 6-year-old, I might be using Live again. But my laptop is nearing end-of-life. Mac laptops last about 6-7 years before critical hardware on the laptop starts failing and popular Windows laptop brands like Dell last about the same, maybe less. I bet the Octatrack will still be fully functional (barring horrendously buggy OS update) after 10 years of use.
"I bet the Octatrack will still be fully functional (barring horrendously buggy OS update) after 10 years of use."
That’s a bit contentious. I can give you two reasons that I might not subscribe to that view. They both end with my OT going back to Elektron for crossfader trouble. Repaired under warranty of course but that warranty, whilst generous, certainly doesn’t last 10 years.
exactly…with software you will always have to be up-to-date in terms of the hardware running it 
especially for those apps which require a lot of processing power, whereas, with a piece of hardware that is made specifically for a task, well, you know it’ll be fine for a looong time (even though, the software in this case plays its own role)
i guess this could start the usual debate on whether software is better than hardware… analog is better than digital… in the end what counts is the end result (and what you like most)
exactly…with software you will always have to be up-to-date in terms of the hardware running it especially for those apps which require a lot of processing power, whereas, with a piece of hardware that is made specifically for a task, well, you know it’ll be fine for a looong time (even though, the software in this case plays its own role)
i guess this could start the usual debate on whether software is better than hardware… analog is better than digital… in the end what counts is the end result (and what you like most)[/quote]
Computer Vs Octatrack?
One is a piece of hardware controlled by a CPU with RAM, storage and a software operating system.
The other one is a computer.