I recently added an octatrack to my setup. I have read the manual in steps and also the merlin’s guide. But I’m confused of how I should use the octatrack in my setup.
My setup is like this:
1 analog Rytm
1 analog Four
and now an Octatrack has been added
I use both A4 and RYTM to make my Beats/percussion and melodies while jamming. I save them on the same patterns. Example:
Analog RYTM BANK A pattern 1 - 4
have the same kits and I use these patterns to build my track. (pattern 1 is intro and outro, pattern 2 build up, 3 break, 4 …)
Analog FOUR BANK A pattern 1 - 4
have also the same kits and these patterns matches with the corresponding patterns of the Rytm. I mean, together they form a TRACK. When I’m happy of the sound, I record these tracks seperate into my DAW and I finish and mix the track there! So far no problem with my setup.
But now, because I don’t always use 16 patterns for 1 track I sometimes start a new track (with obviously another kit) in the middle of the BANK (Pattern 9 to 13 for example) so I can have like “16” or more tracks in 1 project. This is where my first problem comes in. The octatrack has 16 banks per project and works with parts within a BANK! Damn. The best thing to do is switch my rytm and four in 1 track per bank, but then I only have like 8 tracks per project wich is nothing. Especially if I’m planning to do some live gigs.
I bought the octatrack for these reasons:
I want to route the audio of rytm and four thru the octatrack and effect them with effects. I also want to add some loops, FX or vocal samples to it in my octatrack, or use a sample kickdrum if I’m not happy with the ones in my Rytm. So far the only problem is still the different banks and parts method of the octatrack.
But the 2nd problem is the SAMPLING in the octatrack. I have a feeling this is one of the strongest features of the octatrack. I saw some videos of mr. Dataline how he works with a volca beat & bass thru the octatrack (for me = rytm & four) but I don’t quite understand how he works in general. Is this a one time setup for jamming for 10 minutes? The recording loops he sliced up sounds very interesting. That’s why I’m a bit confused how I can use the octatrack at its best in my situation. I know you guys won’t have a clear answer because this is something personal, but maybe you can share your ideas or your simular setups and I can see the light! I really like working very structered. I basicly want to put the 3 Elektron devices on, then select the matching projects (example project techno on al the 3 devices) and I can play and work a bit further on my all my previous tracks in that project while jamming and saving (studio angle). Do I have to switch my point of view?
i’d say make a few tracks with just the octatrack and once you are feeling comfortable with it, start to integrate it with the others as it occurs to you, or in a way that you know you need to/are ready for. it’s so open ended that just throwing it into a setup without knowing how you want to use it can be overwhelming.
get extremely comfortable with it and then you can use it however you need to or want to. mine moves around all the time depending on what i am working on.
…using always similar preset and bank spaces on all machines is leading to a dead end road at some point…
since the octa track works best and most solid if it’s not slaved and has the most pattern and bank options, it should be the master…
dunno how the rytm is handling incoming midi data for pattern changes…
but there must be an option like in the a4, where you can tell any pattern to react on certain midi notes to change to that specific pattern…
starting with the ot and make it the master means…you can easily run four compete different tracks per bank…each part offers you complete new machine, parameter, scene and sample settings…so each part can be easily contain a new track…
keep in mind how many changes you can do on all machines on the fly…
so there should be usually no need to have that many different patterns on the rytm and the a4 to get along within one track…
to keep it simple and always have some space left for changes i have the dogma rule…
two tracks per bank in the ot only!
so i got always eight patterns to get a track done…
that’s 32 tracks max to perform in one rush…which is more than enough…if we talk live…
in the studio you can mess around anyway…but on stage you’ll need some fixed rules to get along…
on the a4 i use only 4 patterns max per track…so i end up having 32 track options there, too…
That means 16 BANKS x 4 PARTS = 64 SONGS in one project but I’m affraid I’ll never reach this number. And that math is without SCENES which brings in substantial variations into the PATTERNS.
After much experimentations, etc. I now sample everything into the OT (MD/A4, along with other non-Elektron stuff).
I started off with MD and A4 going to Thru machines into OT and syncing. I find I get much better results running all sounds through a mixing board and other effects and recording to the OT (directly). I make use of the OT sequencer for all hardware that doesn’t sequence on-board.
Performances of a song for me basically require round about 48 loops of 64 steps, so a song is 8-12 patterns in one bank with a lot of scene changes etc., I generally use 3 parts per song, 4th part and remaining patterns are for transitions and other variation stuff (still working that out).
Just my 2ct and experience. No strong opinion of what others should do. The machines have a million uses, have fun
Ehrek, your post is closest to what I had in mind. About the pattern and parts issue, I think I can handle that or find a way that fits for me. But for the sampling …
I want to effect the A4 and RYTM with effects while they keep playing (think as a live performance). But I also want to record them so I can slice and chop them up and listen to that result in the CUE outputs and then when I’m happy with the result play that chopped loop back, but not on top of the original sound coming from the A4 and RYTM.
So I had this in mind
T1 = Thru / AB / RYTM
T2 = FLEX (or pickup?), with source only T1
T3 = Thru / CD / A4
T4 = FLEX (or pickup?), with source only T3
With scenes where I crossfade the volumes to the main outs like this:
SCENE 1 T 1 --|—T2
SCENE 2 T 3 --|—T4
SCENE 3 T 1 T3 --|—T 2 T 4
Don’t know if this is the best way to handle it, but now I have something to start with. If anyone has got a better way, Let me know!
That’s my process with the A4, AR and OT. Except I don’t sample the AR into the OT, just the A4. This process allows me to get a bunch of tracks out of the synth. Plus, I get confused really easy and prefer to arrange/perform with one or two machines.
Moreover, the sample mangling in the OT is second none.
