To be or not to be? Octatrack MKII?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hi everyone. Been awhile since ive posted on here. I’ve been reading a lot of posts. Mostly just ghosting tho. not responding much.

So, ive had a digitakt for a good bit of time.

(I edited this post because it sounded to whiney, with more of an added question to get to the point)

What features other than the ones listed below set the OT and the digitakt apart?

Is song mode worth it? Do the scenes and crossfaders combined with song mode help to create more defined realistic intros, bridges, chorus…ect ect?

Thanks for you opinions and feedback.

#2

To be! I am. :content:
Will

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#3

I started with a Digitakt, then switched to an OT MKii. There’s too many great examples of people doing amazing music on the DT to dismiss it. That said, after having my OT awhile, I’d never go back.

The Arranger mode is super powerful, though I rarely use it. Between Scenes and Parts you can get a whole lot done. Stereo sample is another bonus to the OT, if that matters to you. It’s also a good mixer. The live sampling and looping options are a huge plus, IMO. It took me awhile to wrap my head around the UI, but now I find it to be way better than the DT.
But I’d never knock the DT. I made a lot of music on it and had a blast

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#4

I just bought an OT recently. The main reasons I bought it over a DT are:

  • Sequencing and Mixing of external gear.
  • The ability to be so much more than just a sampling drum machine.
  • More and varied FX (I love the spring reverb and compression).
  • More than 1 GB of storage and it’s removable.
  • Not limited to sample ram because you can stream off the card with static tracks.
  • Sampling triggered and synced with the playback so it can act like a multi-track recorder.
  • Playback of Loooooong audio files (like, whole songs) from the card opens the machine up for things like live DJ sets.
  • Live looping looks to be cool but I have to confess, I haven’t used it yet.
  • Sequencing works really great with my Digitone. so much so that I just ordered a used A4 to go along with it.
  • Scenes really are the star of the show. You can have 16 variations of your patterns and move seamlessly between them. So much fun.
  • Non destructive Slice mode. Nuff said. :wink:

Basically I bought it to work as master sequencer and mixer for my outboard gear. I should also point out that my main plan was to record guitar loops and assemble them into songs. The more I use it though, the more synthy my music has become. Like I said, I just bought an Analog 4 mk I to use alongside the Digitone so it appears to be going more and more that way. I have other gear like a Minilogue and Blofeld. But the way the OT sequencer can trigger the Digitone sequencer and advance the patterns and banks is such an simple way to work. It’s like, just use the machines for what they do best along side each other.

Maybe oddest of all is that I own an MPC Live that I got last year but never ended up using. It’s just collecting dust. Believe it or not I find it strangely limited in odd ways. Like for instance, Audio tracks are treated as entirely separate from samples. If you record guitar into audio tracks, there’s no way to edit the audio or turn them into loops on the machine. You have to use a computer. The looper is strangely segregated from the rest of the machine too. But by far I find the comparatively large touch screen to actually be quite frustrating. It’s just large enough to be usable but just small enough and ever so slightly slow and clunky to use as a full DAW. The interface for editing is just stoooopid too. Tap the zoom tool, drag on the screen, tap the move view tool, drag on the screen, tap the select tool, drag across the screen several times because it can’t figure out what you want to select, and finally, rotate the knob to move the note back and forth or up and down. It’s maddening. I find the buttons and knobs of the OT to be the main advantage over the MPC. Also, copying and pasting note data is sooo much easier.

I know you probably don’t even care about the MPC but I find it funny that I like the Octotrack so much more than a better spec’ed machine. :wink:

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Editing Q on flex machines
#5

Hey thank you so much for the detailed reply.
I once owned a MPC Live. Didn’t mesh with me at alllllllllll. Got a digitakt and took off like the wind.

The reason im asking these questions now is the OT is $140 off for the next few days. I’ve wanted one, so makes sense to get it now while the sale is active.

Again, I appreciate the response.
Cheers!

#6

I’ve been using an octatrack for four years. I write songs on it, play solo live, use it as a looper in a band, record in the studio with it, sample with it, do midi sequencing, prep samples, the list goes on. Ive never used song mode once. I dont even know how to switch song mode on.
I think of octatrack as a three layer machine, 8track recorder, 8 track audio sequencer, 8 track midi sequencer, mixer, all at once, and you are free to configure it how ever you want.

It is a very special machine.

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#7

To be… https://www.instagram.com/p/B5tE_5ghouy/?igshid=fqbwzzlst9by

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#8

Nice, glad to hear your explanation. Maybe I will use the song mode, maybe I wont. But it does seem there are some more intricate features on the OT that does set it apart from the digitakt.

And hey, listen, I love the digitakt. If I don’t end up getting the OT, im perfectly happy with the digitakt.
but I think there is a lot more to be discovered with the OT. but that’s just my humble opinion, having never touched an OT before.

Thanks again for the reply, much appreciated.

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#9

pfft, dude, that was killer. great job. definitely like the style there. thank you for the demo and for sure, keep it up. :+1:

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#10

And to answer your question, yes, scenes make amazing builds, transitions, breaks, you name it. I usually have 2 types. Cross fader types, where the effect is done by moving the cross fader. And punch in/out types. Where the scene buttons are just literally a switch to turn the effect on or off.

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#11

Live sampling and resampling be da bomb.

The way I set it up I can start building my own sample library really quickly.

Which is the machines other great strength, you can set it up as you need/want.

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#13

So, be it!

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#14

guess you saw that already?

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#15
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Octatrack:be or not to be…
#16

Actually yes I did. This is actually the thing that made me question my decision to get it or not to.

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#17

Thanks for your reply Mircotribe, that’s certainly one of the key features that I am drawn towards.

#18

A thread like this pops up every couple months. (not a criticism, just an observation)
And the usual suspects certainly chime in with anecdotes covering the features that make the OT indispensable, for them.
Lists of pros, lists of cons, a video or two.
Some heming, some hawing…
This is a feature of this forum, not a bug.

Sometimes the topic starts as a transition from digitakt, or an MPC, or even an Analog Rytm. It really doesn’t matter where it started, since all roads lead to the same end.
So I’ll save the next 20 routine posts and say that in the end it is always distilled down to this:

There really is only one way to find out if the OT is for you. Get one, read Merlin’s guide, and really give it a go for a few months.
If it works out, then you will know. And if it doesn’t work out, then you will know.

And be willing to accept that if it doesn’t work out, you may let it go, only to be lured back to it a 2nd or even 3rd time down the road, since it can do so much, but in its own peculiar ways.

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#19

appreciate that AdamJay, you are right, I’ve got one ordered. I’ll give it a whirl and see how well I mesh with it.

Thanks man.

this post can be closed………………………

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#20

As a new owner and made a similar post myself,
it’s the most daunting out of the elektron gear to understand and to know if you really need it. and is a decent amount of money to purchase too,
so pretty understandable people want to hear opinions before they buy

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#21

no disagreement from me!

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