Another thing is its as far removed from a DAW as you can get in what it does. To me that is huge. Sometimes you want nothing more than you and your thoughts. No distractions.
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It’s all about you workflow, looks like you don’t really need OT at this moment, your other elektron devices can cover most of your needs.
It’s not bad or good.
For example DT is better suited for some tricks and if it work for someone, why should he switch to OT, just because it generally better machine?
Of course you can force yourself to make something more octatrackable (based on my experience thought) or wait until something changed in you music)
I do also think it’s been oversold, with many reviewers selling it as a DAW replacement which it totally isn’t. You can very well make a full song with just samples on the OT, and you can record into it but it’s no DAW, nor do I think was it supposed to be. It’s a swiss army knife, multiple very convenient and often inspiring features in a box that you can mix and match in a way that’s more similar to a modular than a tradional sampler.
I mean it came out before ipads or before touch screens really took over, before the line between computer, hand held device and instrument was blurred. That happened years later. It’s still very much an old school device, although a very unique and beautifully realised one.
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Mainly to play samples (acoustic instruments, ambience/field recordings, some oneshots/loops) and as a unit I could collapse all my other gear into and use solo.
Speed and editing functionality… answering myself here slightly, speed for me starts with an instrument I play, so for the OT to be my central hub I think it has to have a midi keyboard at the front of it.
A4 I love for what it does. I use it constantly. But it doesn’t give me poly voices and I can’t control more external synths from it via midi.
I have an AR for drums… I feel that if the AR gave a 4 or 8 channel midi sequencer it could be THE perfect all in one Elektron box for me.
Yes, I like having arps and pads to support things. I have a Novation Peak and a Behr DeepMind 12 on general pad/poly duties… I tend to control them from a KeyStep Pro, and this is what I’m ultimately trying to get done with the OT.
I took a break from music making over the time when the iPad became so powerful and well regarded as a music tool. There were apps, synths, drum machines before I dropped off the radar, but the scene and workflow was finicky and disparate.
However, even though iPads are now a more established part of people’s toolset, I’m currently happy to skip it. I’m happy to trade the limitations of the OT for not having to keep it up to date; for having actual knobs (and the x-fade); for having it all wrapped in one metal tank rather than separate computer/tab, interface, controllers. For now. I reserve the right to feel differently in a couple of years. 
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Doesn’t have them midi out with one of the latest firmware update?
https://www.elektronauts.com/t/analog-four-keys-1-40-analog-rytm-1-50/108037
Sequencer MIDI Out
With Sequencer MIDI Out you can link up to the rest of your gear with ease. Control velocity, note, and length on every step of the powerful Elektron sequencer, and breathe new life into old machines with conditional trigs. Say hello to one big, happy family of synths and drum machines.
Whelp you’re in luck: it offers 12! Though admittedly pretty rudimentary.
So is the problem that the samples you’ve put in it get boring? If you could do anything to them, what would you do? One of my favorites is to put a Random LFO (Hld) on start and have it retrigger a different place of the sample with each trigger.
So you’re trying to play these instruments with the OT or do you want to program your sequences?
The OT is not a KeyStep Pro for playability. Nowhere even close. So if you’re having a better time controlling your instruments with the KeyStep and not getting anywhere with samples, it may be time to call it a day with the OT.
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Hmm… I’ve been using the OT mk2 for about a year. Had the DT for almost a year before it. I can say I’ve mastered the workflow I had gotten into with the DT and am really just feeling stuck lately as getting that comfortable with the OT does for me at times really take away the in the moment inspiration. But I know I need to start experimenting with the features that I thought were worth the switch, like mixing multiple recorded skeletal tracks together and that will get me learning internal sampling. But that has been the kind of weird place I find myself with it. I still have to ‘learn’ what I’m doing to progress and then that takes away from my enjoyment.
I know I won’t sell it. I graffitied it up to make sure I couldn’t. So even if I don’t get to that part soon, I can just enjoy what I have down so far when I can get away from the idea that I have to make a track and get to I just want to mess around with it.
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Exactly this. If you are bored of Daws and computers etc there’s not much better for what it can do.
Life is short, listen to your internal voice and follow.
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I had one for years. Used it minimally, mostly for routing multiple sources when I ran out of mixer or computer ins.
Started to use the midi a lot a couple of years back and then found value in it as a live looper.
Just bought a second one to use as a DJ tool, essentially hacking up my MD/RYTM loops on the fly. Hell you can almost scratch with it!
It is complex, frustrating and annoying at times. It has its own way thats different from the other Elektrons. It when it clicks it’s just as simple.
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Yup. Hardest parts are figuring out what you want to do and gaining an overview of its structure, once you get that it is easy.
Most people who fail don’t grasp the topology (which to be fair can be complex) you definitely have to figure out how to fit it into a given project due to its flexibility and the necessary associated setting up.
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They definitely updated the topology on the MkII with the Rec 3 and direct access to the Sample menus.
The button combos on the MkI were like Street Fighter and menu conditional.
Now I have a later version, I can definitely see why the prior version didn’t gel as well for some.
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Yeah mk2 is much nicer to use, last few updates have been awesome too.
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seriously getting carpal tunnel in my left hand from my ring finger constantly on the function button while my pointer finger does gold medal gymnastics floor routines between the midi/part button and the bank/edit button.
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Ditto on MK2!
Following on from my earlier comments about the OT, I’ve replaced it with an MPC Live 2… 
I had my first test-run set up with it last night to see how intuitive it is, and, for what I’ve been looking to do, it seems like it’ll be ideal.
I’m not discounting using the OT in the future, or as part of another dedicated rig, but for this set up right now (which is geared towards composition), it wasn’t doing it for me.
Having the A4 tracks, the Rytm and the Peak laid out as MPC tracks was cool to work to.
Early days, but so far so good.
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I’d be really interested in seeing how you set up the OT for this
As in depth as you’d care to share 
don’t give up keep jamming
my all time fav how to tips & tricks
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This is great, thanks. 