Workflow with two OT

I notice some people use two Octatracks at the same time.

What is your workflow and how do you manage CF cards.
I’m interested in both creating and playing live.

especially from people not using them as cdj’s

I use OctaEdit and a computer to move the pieces I care about around to the other card. A lot of times though I just treat them as two separate instruments

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If you had a second chance, would you buy a second unit today?

If you had a second chance, would you buy a second unit today?[/quote]
At one time I owned 3…
Yes, if I had one, I’d buy a second, but that’s based on how I use the OT. I use the tracks to try out variations on mangling various samples and mostly treat the OT like an old synth that didn’t have presets/patches.
Depending on your typical use, I could see a single unit being more than enough, but I could also see someone with 4.
Note that the various bugs and unfinished parts of the OS make using multiple OTs not nearly as seamless as it could be.

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My bandmate and I use two Octatracks live.
Our setup goes like so:

My OT(#1) is the master clock and sends midi out to my Pro2.
Audio from the Pro2 comes into a Thru track on OT#1.
Midi goes from the Pro2’s midi thru to the OT#2 midi in.
OT#2 has a modular and a Tempest going into two thru tracks.

Midi out from OT#2 goes to Midi in on OT #1.
Midi thru from OT#1 goes to the Tempest.
Midi out from the Tempest goes to the modular.
Audio out from OT#2 goes into a thru track on OT#1.

So basically this very convoluted chain allows either one of us can change banks and patterns on either Octatrack and they will mirror each other. We used to have to call out part changes before he got his OT, which was problematic because we could not always see or hear each other well. Now anytime anyone triggers a pattern change everything else follows.

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Hi DL, I like your work a lot! Also thinking of a second Octatrack, can you share your workflow/setup of scenes, etc with your 2 Octatracks? Thanks!

https://youtu.be/bSb2xnqeoKQ

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I’ve got three… I’m experiementing with a new configuration at the moment…

I’ll also echo this as well. Especially the lack of ability to change parts :confused:

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It doesn’t work with Prog Change and pattern change? :confused:

I sometimes change something, but I try to keep everything simple.I mix from OT A to OT B, they are not connected by midi, rather beat matched by ear.
There are no patterns, I just switch sample chains of tracks independently and alter single pattern on the fly.
Scenes and tracks are almost identical on both OTs, it’s easier to remember everything and use muscle memory :+1:

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I plan on picking up another OT to use as a drum machine on crack. My current live setup for all hardware sets will be Monomachine for bass, A4 for melodies, OT.1 for organic sounds and samples, OT.2 for drums. All run through a mixer with FX sends set up.

Yeah, I use sometimes second OT as a drum machine, but remember it will cut your longer sample tails so it’s not that great for everything.

Kind of want to try setting my Rytm aside and running two Octatracks just to get the 8 separate outputs. I really prefer having separate FX on each voice and prefer to do the non-TR-x0x percussion sound design on my modular.

What are the headaches with this these days, when we have OctaEdit for syncing projects, and can keep the two machines in sync via program changes?

You can sync both fine via program changes. Great fun using 2. You’ll need some time to really use them to their potential though, I’d recommend it if you know your OT pretty well. If I were to do it again I’d make one a mk2 just for the sake of the shortcuts. You’ll end up using one more than the other undoubtedly if only because ones in a more comfortable position. I’d get a mk2 and set it as master for ease of access to metronome and backlit buttons for in the dark. minor stuff like that. You’ll probably want to be more strict on your organisation or it quickly becomes a mess. Decide what goes where, dedicate tracks and try to stick to it. If you think you lose track of things on one octatrack it’s more than twice as bad when you’ve got two. I recommend it if you’re comfortable and you can almost two used mk1s for the price of a new mk2 now so consider that

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You’d rather recommend an MKII with an MKI?
I imagined that for better inputs, eventually shorcuts, but still think 2 MKIs would be safer for my mental health and in live conditions… :slight_smile:

I’ll keep my MKI anyway.
Having or wanting a MKII, 2 MKIIs seems more logical…

yea as much as I’d love a MkII, I could see the UI differences in MkI + MkII introducing more cognitive burden

I’m very comfortable with my OT, 4 years of weekly use here. I’m not sure how a OT+OT would be more of an organizational mess than OT+AR, as long as you stay disciplined about keeping the two machines’ patterns synced ¯\(ツ)

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Same here!
With 2 OTs, I clearly see one with MD, the other with A4 if I want something compact… :loopy::heart_eyes:
With additional friends of course.

Yeah I’d personally go for that, 2 mk2s would be nice but that significantly ups the budget. It depends if you’re fussy about uniformity too. I’m 90% sure they’re the same measurements (don’t quote me on that though) so I’d just bang them in a two tier case. I think they look different enough that you’d quickly get used to any different button combos. I found that having the two machines together really made it feel like playing with one big unit. I still relied more on the bottom level a lot more for comfort so I wouldn’t have minded having the shortcuts there. Two mk1s is still definitely enough. Just minor perks on the mk2.

@Autopoiesis I’ve barely used a rytm but I just mean because OT can be set up any way you want, it quickly turns into chaos. did for me anyway. I dedicated one to percussion use and had a general idea of what id use which tracks for

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Try three… master for vocals, looping, mixer, effects etc; one slave for drums; one slave for synths :crazy_face:

That’s obviously how I keep it all sane and organised.

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So, I have had an OT for years. It has been a fairly faithful tool for years. I use it as the brain of rig, outputting clock and pattern change info to my A4, and Digitone and controlling MIDI controllable parameters in for those devices as well, sequencing other gear, and of course playing percussion and other sample. BUT it is one of those OTs where Elektron could never quite figure out why only one channel of the Headphone Output works, and from time to time a button (the internal switch) needs to replaced. I repair those myself but I must say, I worry each time I do it that I am risking messing it up in permanent sense.

At any rate, I bought a MKII and now I find myself with two OTs. I am not sure I could sell the MKI for much, given the headphone output thing and the home-repairs etc. So, if I keep it what should I use it for? I have an A4, Digitone, and very modest modular rig with Mutable Instruments Ring and Braids as sound sources. When I play I tend to use all the gear. So I could, say, use it as just another sound source, but I do not really need to. I have plenty enough sonic choice. I was thinking maybe routing two Aux send to the two inputs and ultimately passing all my devices through the one OT for sound mangling of the whole rig. Or maybe I could go mixer less and use the two OTs in tandem. I would have enough inputs on the two OTs to do that. Or I could use the MKI as “master sample” sampling “entire pieces” from the rig and very mush reducing the complexity of what I bring to show, or, or…or? What are your thoughts?