Upgrading from DT to OT - any gotchas?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hey all. Long time lurker, first post. Tons of valuable insights on here, so thanks for that.

Current I have the DT/DN combo but have also got into modular. I’m thinking of selling the DT and replacing it with the OT. Here’s what I hope the setup will look like. I’d like to know if there are any “gotchas” I might run into as I dearly love my DT but don’t really want to keep it if the OT will pull double duty.

The setup:

  • OT: Drums, Samples, Mixing, Live Looping, Clock, Midi Channels to Modular
  • DN: All synth stuffs, slave of OT, audio out to OT
  • Eurorack: Midi in from OT for clock/sequencing, audio out to OT

The OT would then be my usb interface for recording to laptop.

Thanks for any tips or suggestions!

#2

Toi can’t use the OT as an interface.

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#3

Maybe I’m using the wrong terminology. I can’t take all the audio out from the OT over usb and record into DAW? I currently do this with the DN and it works amazingly well. I’m surprised the OT wouldn’t have that.

#4

You can record into the OT though (~4/~8 minutes in 12/24 bit rate) and transfer the wavs to your computer via USB, but it does not work as a proper interface for recording.

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#5

sure you could resample onto a track on the SD card?

#6

Oh man, now THAT is a gotcha. Glad I asked. I suppose I could use the DN as the interface then. Something like:

Eurorack => OT => DN (Headphone Here) => Laptop.

Good to know I could sample onto the SD though, so thats another option especially if I don’t have the laptop with me. I prefer to go to Reaper though so I can clean up compression etc in post.

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#7

Buy a used 4 input focusrite, theyre around 200 euros. The OT has 4 outputs.

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#8

Digitakt’s older brother is called Analog Rytm. And I vouch for his brother… If you ask me: Consider an AR mk2.

4 Likes
#9

Yeah, you can record whole tracks onto the Octatrack CF card, and it sounds fine if you’re careful setting it up; I wouldn’t recommend it though, the workflow is awkward and it limits your mixing options down the line. As suggested above, using an interface with multiple inputs is likely the best long-term solution, can’t be beat for flexibility.

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#10

Don’t sell it. I have the DT which I love, then upgraded to the OT. The OT is amazing but I still enjoy using my DT. Even if most of things can be done on the OT only, the DT have this familiar feeling I enjoy.

So, if you can, keep the DT and buy the OT.

This.

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#11

A possible gotcha compared to DT/DN: When sequencing over MIDI, the OT does not allow for overlapping notes. Each new trig silences the previous (on the same track)

#12

Good to know about that! Maybe I can continue to use the DN for that stuff and the OT for my simple rhythms.

Great idea, going to look into some interface options. All this needs to fit on my desk so space is a bit of a premium but I think those focusrite’s are pretty small (I used to have the solo).

Honestly haven’t looked at the AR much. Will check it out!

#13

I agree with the other guy who said don’t sell the DT. I started with a DT and bought an OTmk2 with the intent of eventually replacing the DT once I got to know it. I discovered quickly that the DT has several features that the OT lacks, and vice versa. They compliment eachother as a very capable sampler duo. OT is better suited to handle loops and time stretching, while the DT is very quick and immediate with one shots and ease of use.

Also as someone else stated the OT’s only USB based function is file transfer, no MIDI over USB or Overbridge. Multi input audio interface is the answer here.