Like I said, just connect MIDI Out to MIDI In.
Having just got on Octatrack a couple of weeks ago after a year with MD/MM, I can say Itās different enough. Itās certainly recognizable but there are some differences. Iāve been thinking about doing a YouTube video of āOT terms explained for MD/MM usersā but I have no real capacity to do so. So!
- OT Parts are like MD/MM Kits. Part management is a bit simpler in ways - you donāt have to go through a lot of āload kitā and āedit kitā setup. Managing the machines is much more direct.
- Pattern Banks are a bit more important. Part of the simplified āpart managementā comes at the cost of you can only have four Parts assigned to a whole pattern bank. Upside of this is you can do quick-changes of parts instantly while a pattern is playing. And it forces good organizational skills.
- Parts are saved automatically (no need to do a āsave kitā equivalent) but you can manually save parts which gives you the quick-reload functionality of the Machinedrum (equivalent to the MDās āfunction-classic/extendedā button).
Beyond parts, there are a lot of new behaviors that tracks and things can have, such as free play (being independent from the pattern), one-shot play, and more, but those are the more advanced features. In my couple of weeks with it, I havenāt even messed with such things yet. But itās in these options where you can set up behaviors about individual track length and how the whole pattern should behave when you have tracks with different lengths.
Yes. This is pretty easy and very effective. You can even use this as a way to make chord samples from an external monosynth.
I havenāt, yet. When you have MD and MM alongside it, youāve got a LOT of things available to you. And you can use the OT as a mixer for those without taking up any of the audio tracks, although you canāt then use any track effects. When you start using āThruā and āNeighborā machines to process input, it can get a bit crowded. But unlike MDUW, you donāt have to sacrifice tracks to recorders for doing sampling.
No, but the LFO designer could probably be used this way.
And, strangely, I havenāt found any transpose feature in the MIDI or other settings. I was hoping for one just to do that āmake chords from a monosynthā trick easier.
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Awesome. Thanks for all the info!
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Whatās your basic concern, though? What is it that youāre afraid you wonāt be able to do, that keeps you from getting the Octatrack?
Itās an amazing piece of gear. If youāre into samples, what it can and canāt do doesnāt matter as much as its truly unique character. You will create grand things with it, if you put in the time.
Iām really just looking for a new piece of gear that will let me get creative with a hands-on tactile interface. Tired of mangling shit in the computer all the time.
I hear you. Donāt worry. Itās all that, and more. Just go for it. You will love it, Iām sure.
Put aside any conceptions you might have on sampling, sequencing and recording and take the plunge.
āWould I be able to play slices chromatically if I had one of Adventure Kids long 64 wav tracks that Iāve seen in some videos? Will I only be able to play an octave down and an octave up (24 notes)?ā
You can use a single-cycle wave as a looped sample (turn AMP Release down so itās no longer infinite). Set all tracks to the same MIDI channel. In this way you can play notes via MIDI keyboard. Only 2 octaves.
You then have an 8-osc monosynth with each osc (track) having its own amp envelope, panning, 3 LFOs and two effects. I like to do a 7-osc synth with the 8th track running master effects. Each step can have a different waveform (via sample locking) to create cool temp-synced wave-sequenced-like effects. Connect the OTās MIDI In to MIDI Out and set Audio Note in and Audio Note Out to INT+EXT to play the synth via the trig keys, without a keyboard.
Another favorite of mine: Call up a mono phrase that has no bass (such as a string ensemble passage) then use the audio editor to select the first 169 samples. Itās your own single-cycle wave. Turn on looping, turn AMP release down and play. While youāre playing use the E knob to scan through the sample phrase. Live-record your playing.
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Perhaps not āofficialā polyrhythmic, but I believe you can accomplish something like say a 5:4 polyrhythm (or similar ratio) with the OT via careful placement of trigs (microtiming function is essential) over the span of the larger number of the ratio. I havenāt tried it, though, so I could be mistaken.
Edit: Iām really keen to try this now. And just found this:
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You can have up to 6 or 7 octaves lower with Rate parameter. It is possible to map notes to Rate CC with a midi processor.
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Well, so shoot me (again, Iām taking a lot of bullets these days), but I picked up an Octatrack now. Got a good deal, a couple of euros below market price. Itās been way too long since I parted with it, and all this DigiTakt talk kept reminding me how awesome the Octatrack is. It was just time to bring it back home.
And the irony, all the MPC Live talk reminded me just how much I prefer buttons and clicks and tiny crap screens, before them flashy touch-stuff bright lights.
Fossil fuel powered vintage sampling, here I come.
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Aha just sent mine to Gothenburg for encoder repairā¦ I miss it so much already !
Glad you pulled the triggerā¦ Whatās this thing about bullets ?
(ahem I moved our posts to a more appropriate topic) 
I wonāt shoot you !
Bullets for Esx1 comparison ?
My boatās name is Sea Bullet (Ciboulette) so I like bullets.
I thought you wanted A4, OT and Digitaktā¦
Woo! I bought an OT and it will be here by next Monday. Thanks for all the input on this!
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Haha, nothing 
itās just something I say sometimes, and if you keep saying it, thereās gonna be a few bullets, eventually
i like your boat already.
Iāve restrained myself, for different reasons, to one instrument and one recording environment. The Octa will be my recording environment, and Iām thinking that when the DigiTakt launches, itāll be my instrument. The A4 is nice, but I just think the DigiTakt will appeal to me more.
Iāve been eagerly waiting for delivery of an octatrack since last october 15ā¦ Wonder when it will be deliveredā¦ Delivery time is being postponed every time the proposed dealer deadline comes close.
Seen already a lot of tutorials and read the manual a few times, and although i feel intimidated, i canāt wait to put my hands on it. Iām totally new to this but also totally excited. I hope i can cope the machine once itās there.
Ha! I spotted a comment of yours on another thread and though āhe hasnāt gone and got himself an OT after all that has he?!ā haha. Gave me a chuckle. Funny thing is Iāve been feeling the pull of the OT again. I think I have enough to resist for now.
In truth, the ARās abilities might be enough for me or MPC Live more suitable but I think Iāll always have a soft spot for what was my first proper serious musical instrument purchase some years back.
Good luck on this OT journey!
I sure did it was a good deal, and I felt it was about time. Canāt keep saluting this piece of gear and yet not having touched on myself for about a year. Itās just not credible
After having spent about a day with this fine piece of gear now, getting to know it again, it strikes me that I remember everything. The muscle memoryās intact and Iām finding everything exactly where my fingers want to go. I know itās popular to slam the OT for its interface, but I wonder. If a yearās absence still means Iām back in the flow right from the start again, Elektron mustāve done something right here.
Except for swing. Canāt find it not for lack of trying Iāve made it a point not to google it, or look in the manual. If I can sample, p-lock, add trigless stuff, copy pages, create and copy scenes, build polyrythmic patterns and whatnot as if time never passed, then goddamit I should be able to find the swing.
Havenāt yet, though
Maybe itās me just not being funky enough yet.
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Heres a hint; remember things are sometimes different in record mode.