The problem with Everything

I love the OCTRK, and am continually amazed by its abilities. But, I must say that I constantly run into the issue where sure I can turn a sample inside out and upside down but what do I do with it? I certainly love creating for creations sake but where to go from there? Elektron machines are remarkably intuitive, especially the OCTRK but sometimes I feel like it’s almost a kind of writers block. For something that can do almost everything, I feel sometimes like I can’t do anything with it. Any suggestions or similar thoughts?

Thanks

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Just cause it can do everything doesn’t mean it needs to do everything at once. Pick a purpose and it will find its way, go in with no goal and it’s unlimited paths to nowhere. It’s a problem that’s not specific to the octatrack, the deeper something is the more options there are to get lost in. I think it’s a self control problem, most of us go through it at some point I’d say. Guitarists with pedals, synth guys with synths, software guys with plugins. It’s best solved by setting intentions

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Truth!

I’m on my third go round with the OT.
First time returned out of frustration.
Second time (MK2), much less frustrating and had my breakthroughs, but had to let it go for finances and no live gigs scheduled.
This time I am only focusing on using it for performances, not track building. And already I am more happy with it, and much more okay when it sits around under utilized.

I blame the MPC One, as it’s announcement made me wonder how many OT things it could do. It made me miss how the OT could mix long stems with short loops, all while mixing/syncing and effecting several other boxes all together.

I looked for a budget box that could do these things and came to the conclusion that the only budget box that could do OT MK2 things was a $700 OT MK1

But I digress.
I find more reward in deep diving on A4 and even on Model Samples (it can be deep, you just get to the bottom faster), that the OT.
And I’ve come to grips with that.
Ultimately this realization has me less frustrated, like the last time I used pickup machines, and more satisfied, like the last time I played live with it.

So find out what you love to use it for in terms of being productive, and focus on that.
It’s a Swiss Army knife. Lots of functionality. But just because it has a cool pair of carbon scissors doesn’t mean you should jump in and find all the cool things you can cut with scissors.

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CTTRCK can’t do everything, but there are usually many (complicated) workarounds with OT! :content:
It can take time…

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I hope it M:S is not too complicated to begin with, I just recommend it to a friend (beginner) who ordered it!
I wouldn’t recommend him an OT. For now.

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Setting a goal or sound is the ideal definitely; and it’s for sure something I’m sure everyone struggles with. I’ve tried to really focus in on what the OCTRCK can do since I’m trying to simply my studio as a family man. So I find that I end up doing too much with my tracks especially since I don’t have a lot of other gear to supplement the sound.

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Ah yes I can understand that.
Trying to maximize.

Self imposed limits are good here since the OT is as capable as 2 or 3 other instruments.

See what you can do with just 5 tracks and a master track.
What if you could only use 1 LFO in the whole song, which parameter would you focus that automation on?
What if you could only use 1 pattern? How would you build it?
What if you could only use 8 steps?
Etc.

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Always an option and something I’ll consider. I think really it comes down to knowing how to do something and knowing WHEN to do something with the OCTRCK. And I think that line of fun/can and function/why is tough and blurry especially with the OCTRCK. That’s kind a why I liked the DGKT in that it’s limiting but flexible, but I can’t/won’t give up on the OCTRCK.

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If possible, use the Octatrack as your source of “creating for creations sake” as you stated it, and nothing more. Pair it with something else that has more structure (drum machines, model samples, etc.). If you want to do it all in the Octatrack (and I certainly can understand the strange desire to have one machine do it all) then try this: Tracks 1-4 of the Octatrack are your steady side. Drums, loops, whatever. Tracks 5-8 are your “creating for creations sake” side. You go wild on Track 5-8 but 1-4 are the steady base that keeps things moving and keeps away the writer’s block feeling.

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And finally, you don’t have to create something if you get enought pleasure to flip a sample in every way. the goal is to have fun.

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The OT is sort of a great mangling tool but also a great brain. Maybe it’s like the Brain Skeleton and Lungs, while piping in other synths gives u the Muscle and Heart.

Of course u can do everything on an Octatrack, but connecting things up to it is when it truly starts to shine.

Writer’s block is something all creatives struggle with regardless of their tools. Some people completely change their tools and workflow to get into a new headspace and move past writer’s block. Some people change where they work, like bringing their tools to a quieter place or just for a change of pace. Others remember the other times in the past that they’ve gotten it, then just realize it’s a temporary thing, so they let themselves feel the frustration, and try again next time.

If you have NEVER felt like you know what to do next, you might just not have it in you (that’s OK, some people are just tinkerers and not artists)… but that’s unlikely. I’m assuming you have felt creative at some point in your past and are at a loss for what to do now. Sometimes the more strongly felt emotions of youth help us create easier, so if you’re older that’s a common reason people feel less creative. Also your life might be more complicated with more responsibilities and you don’t have as much brainspace for art.

I think it has nothing to do with the Octatrack and has to do with being able to draw on the right side of the brain (to quote a famous book on the subject) and be the ‘creative you’ in this moment.

There’s really two ways of making music. #1 see the end result in your head and use the tools at your disposal to get there - this is really rare and more restricted to the uber-talented and genius level composers and producers… most of us are in bucket #2- noodle with tools and processes until we hear 1 thing we like, and try to build on it by making other complementary things. If you’re liking the sound you get when mangling, make that the base of a new piece. The problem is when something is totally arrhythmic and more atmospheric, it doesn’t lend itself to a ‘song’ quite as much, which is why a lot of people start with, if not drums/percussion, then a part with a rhythmic component. You can eschew that and go full on atmosphere but then you’ll end up with an ambient/soundtrack piece - at some point you have to decide the direction to go in.

This probably isn’t what you had in mind when you were asking but I have been thinking about writers block as a composer/producer a lot lately so it’s what came to mind.

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Less is more. I have two projects on the go.

  1. I play Lyra 8 in a band, Octatrack provides a sample based atmoshere, and reverb for the Lrya. Also I can sample the Lyra if I want. I only use three audio tracks for this project.

  2. OT+DN stuff. Octatrack sequences Digitone, and I use 4 audio tracks to layer samples. Thats it.

Both are very light uses of OT. But massively satisfying. Just because it can do everything, doesnt mean you have to attempt everything.

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You can write anything but one isn’t going to blame language for being too wordy.

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Interesting thread to dip into – I think I’ll stick with the limitations of my Digitakt for a while now.

Its (relatively) limited functions force you to work within – and around – certain boundaries, without getting lost in the possibilities of infinite.

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I’ve only had my OT for 3 months, and one thing Ive learnt is because its so flexible I can end up continuously tinkering with it, to ‘perfect’ your setup/project.

my example:
my main focus for the Octatrack is to record stems/samples from my modular, so that I can multitrack/layer.

its a pretty focused task, but Ive gone thru countless iterations of ways to do it, with endless refinements - trying to get it perfect.

using flex machines, using scenes to xfade, ‘live vs record’, manual trigs, one shot trigs, using pickup machines with overdub, with multi tracks, track pattern lengths and multipliers, messing with fin/fout, master clock or slave clock.

don’t get me wrong, my hours of tinkering were not wasted… I can now do the same thing in many different ways, each has its advantages, and each has its limitations - each has its use.

BUT the hard reality is, even my first attempt on day #1, would have been ‘good enough’ to fulfil my goal, and to make music!

as others have said, its flexible… but you dont have to use everything on every project.
one project you might just use it as a simple drum machine, others a loopers, others as a mixer or effects box. (*)


(*) I mistakenly thought for my use - I was going to have one project template for how I use the OT, now Ive started to question this… and learnt it suits me better to setup a new project each time, as it really doesn’t take that long to do, and means I just use the OT for whatever, I have in mind at that time.

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Sometimes it can be easier to approach the Octatrack with a fresh perspective, especially if you get stuck in a rut. Try some of the science labs, or try setting each track to do something different, like PU, flex, thru, neigbour, static, master, realtime record internal, realtime record external.

The more things you do with it the larger the pool of mental resources/skills you have to draw from as you progress, and remember that just because it does all this different stuff doesn’t mean you have to use it all, all of the time as @jb said.

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What destination do you have in mind? Only you can decide. I have two synths and drum machine slaved / sequenced by the OT. I usually build a beat, a melody / bassline, then start building sounds on the OT - percussion, atmospherics, single cycle waveforms synthlines etc. around the bassline / core melody and basic beat.

In a way, the limitations of the sequencer have led my arrangements to be better structured than when working with a linear sequencer. For tracking into DAW (Cubase), I slave OT transport, not clock, and where needed, perform scene changes / fades etc when recording.

I’ll admit that in 3 and half years with OT I’ve hardly scratched the surface with live sampling / looping! This is partly because of all send / returns on my mixer being taken up, and also me concentrating on current setup for live shows. I’ve also spent a lot of time making / collecting samples. But I’m super happy with the OT as a sound mangler / beat machine / quirky synth / atmospherics generator and super-charged midi sequencer. It’s made me more productive, I’ve played two gigs, and got another coming up!

When time permits, my plan is to build a project / template with just OT and Nord G2 and live sample / loop the synth’s output.

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That’s what I do now as well. You can have as many projects as your CF card will fit, and it seems easier to build them from the ground up so you can tailor it to the needs of that particular project. And, as you mentioned, after a few times, you get used to it and it doesn’t take long.

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I think finally it is about creativity with what the machine options offer. Similar to writer block…less to do with the type of writing material , ink environment ( sometimes a factor affecting the mind)

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