Using OT as looper for live shows

Elektron Gear Octatrack
1

Hi All,

I’ve had a machinedrum for years and have finally invested in an OT which looks to be quite amazing. Granted it’s gonna take me months of use, manual, tutorials, and this forum to help me explore and understand this complex, complicated, versatile machine.

My goal is to take my linear songs stems (kick, snare, perc, bass synth, synths etc.) and chop those up into 1-4 bar loops which would then be loaded into flex machines and triggered/re-sequenced.

I’m using the idea that each BANK is a SONG with 16 different patterns then to have available to load/manipulate live.

A few questions that I’ve not be able to answer with the manual or via this forum. If it’s already been discussed… maybe first point me to it and I’ll start there… thanks!

  1. At first I thought that each pattern could different sample loops loaded into each machine assigned to the tracks but now I see that’s not possible.
    If I have a loop assigned to T3/Pattern1 and try to assign a different sample to T3/Pattern2 it changes the Pattern1 assignment as well. This is sort of a bummer. Am I doing this correctly? I figured I would have to use the 4 parts to be able to assign different samples to the machines for each of the 16 patterns. But there are only 4 parts?! Why not 16 parts, 1 for each pattern? With only 4, I have to plan very carefully which loops are loaded which is proving to be limiting. Maybe I’m doing something wrong?

  2. If I trigger a 1 bar loop on the last 16th note of a pattern, but then load a new pattern to play, when it jumps to the new pattern, the rest of that 1 bar loop plays out. Is there a way to “clamp off” loops so that they stop playing when a new pattern is selected? the only way to get it to not play is to put a trigger for that track on the downbeat with it’s volume set to 0, but that seems like a bad workaround. any ideas?

thanks all! sorry if I’m asking really newb questions. I appreciate the help…

Kasson

2

Hi symbionproject

to 1) You are doing all things right …

yes, 4 parts per bank only. This is different compared to other elektron gear. But as usual, you can make use of the trigs (sample locks) in one track to have different one-shots or loops started. A part defines the master-sample for a track and all the other settings for LFOs, effects etc…

So you might want to overwrite the master-sample by setting a sample-lock. But this would not help, if settings for the effects, or the LFOs should be changed at track level too.

If I need more different parts than 4 for a song, I use more than one bank.

to 2)

I don’t exactly understand, what you want to do, but you might find the answer in the “control sequencer” and “pattern settings” menu. There is a contol for “silence tracks” Each track can be set independently how to generate audio in case of changing patterns AND parts. But it seems that both have to be changed to make the silencing.

Hope, this is a starting point and a little help :wink:

3

This is fantastic help… much appreciated!
Yes, upon greater investigation in manual I see that sample locks allow different samples to be triggered by a single machine. I’ll experiment more.

And I’ll dig into your ideas about how to silence long loops from playing into patterns where I want them to stop. thanks!

4

It was a pleasure to be helpful :smiley: