Using Octatrack with a Mixer

I have a Zoom R24 Mixer. I have an Octatrack. But as the Octatrack is a great mixer is there any point in a workflow having the two going at the same time if i’m not playng live? Just curious.

If you had other gear, and you wanted to use an effects send to send those effects to individual machines. A traditional mixer can be like a modular feedback effects box… What you have is less a mixer and more a recorder. I don’t use a mixer, mostly because of space and being nomadic…I use the OT for everything. Just got it hooked up to my electric tea pot, so when I hit func-left arrow it starts the boil. :upside_down_face:

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I’ve said it before but octatrack with 4 stereo pairs in would be incredible.

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I had a big Soundcraft mixer and recently sold it to start using the OT as a mixer, mostly in hopes of focusing my attention on a few elements at a time. It’s worked out fairly well. I have a few other things connected to a patch bay and patch in what I want to use to the OT for each track.

I’ve missed the mixer a little at times, but I have limited space and it was just so big. The immediacy was really nice though.

I think it’s a matter of workflow and what you want to do. An external mixer can be great if you want a bunch of things running at once, with not all going through the OT, or to just be set up and ready to roll with everything whenever you want. And have the self control to not let it run wild!

Separate channels tracking? That’s how I use my mixer with my OTs

I like having the flexibility of a small mixer. I tried in vain to stick to OT plus 2-3 synths but can’t! So I can run all my gear into the mixer, then select things to go in the OT inputs, or run the OT through a single stereo channel and add modular and other stuff. I have 2 pedals that will never leave the desk too, so a couple of auxes are important.

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I’m thinking about using a mixer in future live sets to help manage EQ. Maybe I should be more careful with sound design and selection, but having a basic ability to low or hi cut channels without losing an fx slot would be very useful

Even if you are really careful about it with live sets you may need to adapt to the PA of the location (when there is no one around who does it for you). An own mixer is golden in such situations.

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