Hi folks,
First time poster here. I’m relatively new to the Elektron world but came across a little $ and decided to go “all in” after getting blown away by the OTmkII a few months ago - my rig now consists of the OTmkII, A4mkII and the DT.
My plan has been to use the OT arranger (or at least pattern switching) as the means for controlling the patterns on the other gear - i.e. when I switch from pattern A1 to A2 on the OT, the A4 and DT also change from A1 to A2, etc. My “performance” will mostly be using the xfader/scene switching, perf mode knobs on A4, fills on DT/A4, and occasional track muting/unmuting.
It seems to me like this is how the Elektron boxes are supposed to be used together (at least for those who like to compose structured songs with elaborate changes etc, rather than the Cenk live-jamming type approach).
The problem with this right now of course is that the DT has this often-discussed behavior where the pattern changes too late on the DT whenever the master device switches patterns. It’s really a show-stopper.
Welp. Today DT 1.05 came out. I had been waiting for weeks, like many of you, hoping that the fix would be there. I’m still at work but from reading the forum and release notes it appears it is not. That’s… really frustrating.
SO.
This thread is NOT intended as a way to further complaint - there are plenty of threads about that already - but rather to try and find a workable solution. What workarounds do I have if I want to continue using this setup, and if Elektron doesn’t get around to ever fixing the DT (or if the fix takes so long that I simply can’t wait for it to happen)?
Here are the options I’m currently considering:
- Use the OT’s 8 MIDI tracks as a way to program the DT using note messages. But what will I lose here? Do I lose out on, for example, the DT’s new sound locks feature? I haven’t researched this much yet, because I didn’t think I’d have to, but it sounds like it might make for a pretty tedious workflow. I’d also hate to do a ton of programming work this way if there is an OS fix coming in the next few weeks.
- Use the DT as master. This is not an appealing option because the DT sequencer is so rudimentary, and particularly for the fact that you can’t even save pattern chains. I guess I could switch patterns manually from the DT, but that takes up one of my hands that I’d rather be using on the xfader, or a fill button, or an A4 performance knob.
- Get (insert name of sampling drum machine here that doesn’t have this problem) instead of the DT and use it as the slave drum machine instead. Like an Electribe sampler or MPC etc. Hoping to avoid that. Part of the point here was to have the synergy of the Elektron workflow. ARmkII is a possibility, now that you can load samples into it, but I can’t stomach giving Elektron $600 more for a workaround to a bug that they should have fixed by now.
- “Just use the Octatrack for drums.” Yeah… just not enough polyphony for me. I’m already using two tracks (Master and a THRU track for the A4), and the other tracks are used for things like long vocal or riser/impact stems, sampled basslines off the A4 (so I can xfade the thru input without the bass dropping out), etc. I mean the extra 8 channels was one of the main reasons I got the DT in the first place.
At the moment I’m inclined to temporarily use the DT as master, and write my songs accordingly, hoping that a fix is coming and I can switch back to using the OT arranger to control pattern switching. This is pretty limiting in the short term though.
So… I put it to the smart folks here on the forum. How have you modified your workflow to get around the late-pattern-change issue? Any advice for little old me? Thanks in advance, any tips appreciated.
