In a couple of days I’m going to go jam with a friend who has been DJing and collecting vinyl since the 80s. My basic plan is to route his audio into the OT for sampling, mangling, etc via the Flex machines and see what we can do on the fly. For anyone else who has tried this, I’m curious about how you dealt with tempo, and how you set up the Octatrack.
You could try one of the red-sound sync boxes.
It generates MIDI clock from incoming audio.
I used to use one whilst DJing to sync drum machines and delay effects on synths. Worked a treat.
There’s also push / pull functionality on there to compensate for timing anomalies.
This looks like the current equivalent of the unit I have.
What does your friend use to dj?
I use vinyl so i simply use my Kaoss Pad3 for the midi clock and connect it to the midi in of my octatrack.
What does your friend use to dj?
I use vinyl so i simply use my Kaoss Pad3 for the midi clock and connect it to the midi in of my octatrack.[/quote]
As far as I know, he’s strictly vinyl. I was thinking of using my KP3 as a send from the mixer. How are you using it to send clock to the OT, and how good is it? I’ve got no issues sending clock to the KP3 from the OT, but I know the KP3 is wonky for sync.
You could use the tap tempo on the Octatrack. Or get your friend to use the mixed in key software to detect tempo on the records he intends to play.
I use the Auto Bpm function of the Kp3 and just plug the midi cable into the midi out of the KP3. It automatically sends the clock that it picked up from the Auto bpm. You still have to press play because it doesn’t send a start signal.
The only problem is if it picks up the wrong bpm. As long as your friend isn’t playing dnb that should be ok.
The turntable doesn’t run that stable so if you only tab the tempo you will be off after a short time.
If you use the auto bpm of the KP3 it will automatically adjust the tempo.
Practice nudging the tempo. It’s a skill you will need any time you play with a live anything. Locking to other people’s clocks in a live setting is a recipe for disaster.
Yes, tap tempo with nudging is the best way. Even in recordings on the vinyl records could constantly drift.
You will also need to practice with your friend.
If this is purely a techno/dance music type dj it’ll be easy to do.
It’s a ton of fun, but yeah, as others have said it may take some practice.
For beat-heavy stuff, personally I find it’s hard just using tap tempo to be accurate to a tenth of a BPM. Capturing a 4-bar loop won’t be seamless if you’re off by even a couple tenths. When I sample vinyl I figure the tempo in advance, you guys might try that for a few tracks to keep things smooth while you’re jamming.
And Allerian’s right: Learn to tempo nudge! As helpful for you as pitch control is for a DJ.
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I know how to nudge the tempo and tap it, just didn’t know if there might be a more elegant way.
So, the other question is how you would set up the OT for this. I’m thinking I’ll probably set up a flex machine or two for sampling/resampling, and fill the rest of the slots with thru and neighbor machines for added effects, but I’m open to suggestions.
Keep 3-4 tracks for kick, percussion, ambiance, choirs, gating, arps, movie dialogue, man… its a huge world of possibilities jamming with the OT.