Elektron-Users

22tape wrote:

i used to own an MD. i know the concepts behind elektron's design. and i do love it. but if it doesn't work for me, it doesn't work. it's okay that elektrons machines don't work for everyone!

Sorry for assuming something that wasnt true - I was jumping too early to conclusions.

gliiitches wrote:
Well, I for one am not disappointed by what I've read so far.

I'm a bit surprised (and maybe that's me being naive) that people are talking so much about using the OT for sampling classic drum machine sounds, and wanting a machine that sequences/samples in the same way as other gear out there.

That's not a criticism - please don't take it that way - it's meant as an observation. It's just... Where's the spirit of adventure, people?!

I think whatever perceived limitations the OT has, I'm sure people will find a way round them and it will end up being a classic instrument for sampling and sequencing in a unique and new way. I guarantee that given time people will be producing tracks on this thing and saying that they could only get those results on an OT. No way will this thing be relegated to live-use only.

i understand and appreciate this sentiment. but just because it's an elektron box doesn't mean that when i recieve it, it's suddenly going to have panning per sample.

i don't want it to be any other sequencer/sampler-- i wish i had a dollar for everytime i said/read that.

i understand taking risks, broadening horizons and all that. and i agree, when we're talking about jamming or composing or arranging, but i'm talking about mixing issues. all that innovation, to me, is seriously hindered if i can't mix it properly.

Toni wrote:
22tape wrote:

i used to own an MD. i know the concepts behind elektron's design. and i do love it. but if it doesn't work for me, it doesn't work. it's okay that elektrons machines don't work for everyone!

Sorry for assuming something that wasnt true - I was jumping too early to conclusions.

no worries mate!

this 128 samples per track thing is actually a veeeeeeeeeeeery powerful feature!

for example, imagine this polyphonic pads issue someone mentioned in this thread. now just sample 10 different chords, e.g. Cmin, Cmin7, Csus, C, Cmaj7, inversions of those chords, whatever and pitch them up and down as needed. just one example. i would rather see the full strength in handling 128 loops with just one track!

this mute group monophony thing is also very useful in my opinion. you still have the option to use several tracks. with polyphonic tracks it would be more difficult to create mute groups than it's now to create polyphony.

the potential of the audio features, slice points timestretch etc, we haven't even touched yet in our discussions. it might be the case that, in the OT, you don't need to properly divide audio material to different tracks like in a DAW, because the audio material can be disassembled easily. so you might mix an audio soup in one track and afterwards pick your hihats etc. out as if it were stored in a clean warehouse.. in the MM this can be done very well already with filters and gating and the OT has been developed on that knowledge base!

and i'm very sure it will be possible to create full tracks with just the OT, because it's already possible with the MD, which is in fact just a drum machine

Ok, I'm still a bit confused here. So far everyone is talking about sequencing drum beats but what about standard multi-sampled instrument playback? It seems obvious that this is why you can load up to 128 samples per track but it does not make sense that such a track would be monophonic. This would make it very difficult to play, for example, a multi-sampled piano.
I mean fine, so it's monophonic but I think a lot of people are going to have a hard time seeing the Octatrack as much more than a loop manipulator if this is the case.
I'm going to assume for now that some sort of polyphonic mode must be in mind for a future update...

ok playing the OT as a piano with multisamples would be very useful of course. this would really be a nice OS enhancement. but now, there's not even MIDI capability, so you can't even plug in a keyboard to play that kind of stuff properly.

gurulogic wrote:
Ok, I'm still a bit confused here. So far everyone is talking about sequencing drum beats but what about standard multi-sampled instrument playback? It seems obvious that this is why you can load up to 128 samples per track but it does not make sense that such a track would be monophonic. This would make it very difficult to play, for example, a multi-sampled piano.
I mean fine, so it's monophonic but I think a lot of people are going to have a hard time seeing the Octatrack as much more than a loop manipulator if this is the case.
I'm going to assume for now that some sort of polyphonic mode must be in mind for a future update...

Video soon, in about next half hour, keep it loc'd

Really looking forward to it!

i think the "problem" with the OctaTrack is that right now we don't have a conceptual paradigm that covers exactly what it does or what it's designed to do. Many are approaching it as a drum sampler; many are approaching it like a traditional sampler (think Kurzweils with multisampled pianos, etc.); some are looking at it as an MPC replacement.

so which is it?

none of the above.

I alluded to it when I first posted my experiences with the OT, but you have never used a sampler like this. Some things are familiar *generally*, some things are familiar becuase they carry over from Elektron machines -- but the point is that it is it's own thing. AND THAT'S OK. while it is possible that future updates may make the OT more like one type of sampler than another, you should only buy based on what it does now, or what has been *officially* announced. if it doesn't work for you, save your money and wait for the possibly forthcoming Linn or look for another solution. THAT'S OK TOO!