Sound Quality OT ;)

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#189

Looking back, the OT has a sound with character and you either like this slightly lofi-like airy sound or you don’t.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that the sound from the OT sounds different than, for example, from the DT. The DT has this really nice punch and pressure when it comes to sound reproduction. On the other hand, I personally think that the samples from the DT can also sound very harsh. why is that always the case - rytm is the winner for me anyway :slight_smile:

I once read somewhere from a guy who builds synthesizers that you couldn’t necessarily predict what the final sound would sound like. In any case, it has nothing to do with imagination, the devices all sound quite different. Old, proven analogue devices are still unbeatable?

OT is an amazing box, because all this MIDI control is part of it, etc.

Wouldn’t it just be smart for elektron to refresh this box again with new chipss perhaps, several inputs and outputs (really for each channel), OB compatibility and new effects? Except for the digital filter, I think that’s really nice?

and but really stay focused on the fact that OT is a pure midi control machine and sampler with decent sound reproduction and polyphony.

1 Like
#190

Just for the sake of conversation, what do these actually mean?

3 Likes
#191

That 24 bit, 44.1khz is lo-fi now?

5 Likes
#192

Hmm, I would say lofi means when the sound sounds like 12 bits or even deeper and also has a certain character, by which I personally mean warmth, because it’s not too high but also not too low or in the middle in the frequencies is.

By punch I would say it means when the sound is really present (kick, assertive), as if you have an amp connected in front of it and at the same time it bangs like if you have connected a compressor in front of it, but in a musical sense, so nice.

#193

Thanks

1 Like
#194

I’m talking about factory preset loops, nothing fancy at all. Press play and it sounds crap. This should not be the case but it is and this is this sound of the OT.

#195

Dusty lo-fi, and crap? I think your octatrack is broken. That’s not how it sounds.

3 Likes
#196

If it were lo-if and 12bit sounding, the angry “I prefer the old MPC sound to the new ones crowd” would be buying Octatracks in droves.

2 Likes
#197

It clearly sounds like OT and that’s that.

It definitely doesn’t sound like using, for example, a push and playing samples of it without editing.

So the ot has its own sound that just sounds lofi, how else can you explain it. It’s certainly not 12 bit, but somehow similar in a positive sense.

I would even say that I would pass a blind test if the producer used effects from the OT etc.

#198

Still zero proof or examples of it sounding bad. M’kay.

9 Likes
#199

I‘d say 75% of sound quality complaints are due to improper gain staging, the other 20% fall on the FX. The last 5% tends to be FX on the master track.

OT sounds quite nice to my ears, recorded or uploaded samples coming through the OT unchanged in quality if properly gain staged before and FX chains taken out for the track.

The OT doesn‘t have that hifi sheen that the DT has - or to a less balanced quality to my ears, the current MPC series, but it definitely doesn‘t sound lofi at all if properly used I find.

4 Likes
#200

if Mr. Tinez really didn’t adulterate here, then they all sound different lol.

Which one do you like best, from minute 2:40:

1 Like
#201

ot doesn’t sound so good here. A is best.

#202

These all are on completely different volumes to begin with, which definitely affects on how they sound compared to each other.

Since Ricky stated that he gain matched these clips and they’re not matched at all, I wouldn’t count on him getting the rest of the process done properly.

I really don’t hear the OT sounding bad in any way here. Listened to these examples many times.

4 Likes
#203

Not sure YouTube videos are the place to make objective sound quality comparisons, given how everything sounds like shit with YouTube’s compression algorithm applied to it.

The only properly recorded blind test I’ve seen done with the Octatrack resulted in pretty much zero appreciable difference in sound quality to the recorded audio.

If properly gainstaged, the OT is about as neutral a sampler as you’re going to find. If you don’t like the sound, it’s either because you’re not using it properly or you’re mistaking other samplers and their tendency to impart certain characteristics or EQ to sounds for higher fidelity.

Now whether or not you can be arsed with using the Octatrack properly is another argument altogether…

12 Likes
#204

Repeat and fade.
Thread ends.
Thanks for participating.
Good night.

8 Likes
#205

Didn’t read through the thread, just came to say: WOW we almost made it to 200 comments on this topic AGAIN
Come on guys, imo this shit has been talked through enough

10 Likes
#206

Pointing out the futility of a debate still counts as participation.

9 Likes
#207

I never feel that Ricky is one of the technically more gifted synthfluencers or particularly knowledgable in that department. Which is fine, not every synth head on youtube needs to be technically versed.

The other OT thread had a null test somewhere though (or maybe it was on Gearspace), and there source and the OT‘s playback nulled out.

I also thought at first the OT had a sound issue, but as stated above, once I eliminated user error, it just sounded clean. It doesn‘t have a particular sound signature with proper gain staging and without FX on the tracks, it‘s just clean/fine/accurate.

1 Like
#208

all good points. Personally, I have nothing against the OT. It’s just interesting how different a sampler/DAW can sound.

but I have to criticize one point:

If, as you say, the OT really produces a neutral sound, why does it sound completely different than the DAW in the video? the DAW is also 16 bit here, so set very similarly. Of course the video compresses the sound again, but come on, the sound is clearly different.

On the other hand, this is a very nerdy conversation :slight_smile:

ot is nice, no ifs and buts.

1 Like