Elektron-Users

I think it might have been mentionned in another thread, but this is so cool that I'll share it here:

Put a single cycle waveform in a flex machine (which, of course, can be as complex as you want - for instance I took a buchla FMd waveform which is far more complex than a single sine wave).

In the ATTR menu, set the loop to ON (that, I'm sure) and the timestretch to OFF (That, I'm not sure - not in front of the OT at the moment - the idea is that the sample must loop but not stretch to the BPM). Be sure that the start and end points in the TRIM window are at zero crossing points.

Adjust the Attack, Hold and Release parameters in the AMP section. You now have kind of a wavetable synth to play with. P-lock the pitch parameter in the playback menu.

What's incredible is that single waveforms take about 5kb to 10kb each. I loaded 600 waveforms of classical analog synths for a whopping 28mb on my compact flash card.

EDIT : oh and then you can p-lock Flex machines per step for different waveforms on each step...

I added that to the wiki... don't be afraid to do the same with your tricks!

To add to the waveforms trick, what I did was compile loads of short waveforms into one sample (got quite a good glitch one with 54 samples in) using a sample editor.

You're limited currently to a maximum of 64 because you can't create more than one manual Slice (you need to make OT create a slice Grid first and then adjust them manually). Its quite quick to do once you get comfy with the Slice editing in OT).

My best advice would be to use a batch process (I actually used a really old command-line too 'Sox') to add a small bit of silence between each individual waveform, makes it a lot easier to edit the Slices.

The advantage of this is that you can Plock the Start parameter to access up-to 64 discrete samples but it only takes up one of your 128 slots.

I posted somewhere else about doing this with drums to make a 'drumkit' sample. Instead of individual drums, you have one sample with the drums hits placed end-to-end and again use Plock on the Start parameter to play the individual hits.

Actually, another idea for the multiple-waveforms-in-a-single-sample-trick:

In a sample editor, create a blank sample the length of which is a even multiple of a short length, say 0.25 seconds. So for 32 slices you'd have a blank sample which is 32 x 0.25 seconds long = 8 seconds.

Place a marker in the sample every 0.25 seconds. Then you would paste (with a 'mix' method as opposed to 'insert' a waveform/sample at each marker.

Save it out, load into OT, then you can quickly slice it up by creating a slice grid of 32 slices. Adjust end points as necessary (if they are loops). Job done!

I'm off to try that right now.

neilbaldwin wrote:
I posted somewhere else about doing this with drums to make a 'drumkit' sample. Instead of individual drums, you have one sample with the drums hits placed end-to-end and again use Plock on the Start parameter to play the individual hits.

that's very clever, because you could use an LFO to modulate which sample plays using start as the target. . .

HMMMM. . .

There have been many new OT threads those past few weeks, and I remember someone was trying to get a long sample (more than 64 steps at his BPM) to trigger on the first step of a pattern and didn't want it to re-trigger when the pattern looped after 64 steps. We initially thought that we had to put a trigger on the first step of the sequencer (for example) and that once it started we had to delete it so when the sequencer loops, the sound continues without re-triggering. Either that or manually triggering it, which is not always what you want. Since I don't remember in which thread I saw that, I figured I might as well post another method here, which is better IMO.

How to play samples longer than 64 steps :

1. Load a long sample in a static machine and into a track. For this example, I'll use track 7.

2. Go into the scale menu (function + scale) and set the scale to be "per track". Now, every track can have its own scale. Set the master scale to be 256 steps. That will make all the tracks to start back at step one after 256 steps instead of 64. If your sample is very long, you can put a higher value.

3. While still being in the scale window, set the 7th track to 64 steps and the tempo division to 1/4. That will make track 7 play 64 steps at 1/4 of the master BPM, the equivalent of 256 steps at normal speed. That's why I entered a master scale of 256 steps (see step 2).

4. Put a single trigger on the sequencer of track 7 and press play. Your sample will play for 256 steps long before re-triggering (provided the sample is that long!).

If I remember, the divider can be 1/8, which will give you 512 steps before re-triggering (you must set the master scale accordingly). Since you can move a step precisely by holding it and pressing the left or right arrows, you still have a pretty good resolution to trigger the sound exactly were you want it, even if the sequencer at 1/8 of the BPM on that track.

Whoa.

Its actully kind of nice to have one long waves with multiple samples in catagories.

example 64 bassdrums that you can slice and then select, 64 highhats and so on.

it speeds up the workflow alot ! when making single shot patterns.

the same can be applied to loops offcourse.

Audiolog, you've just given me a great idea for using only one track for bringing in and out multiple drum parts without wasting slots.

Audiolog, you've just given me a great idea for using only one track for bringing in and out multiple drum parts without wasting slots.

I have done this with my 808 and 909 sample banks and are about to apply it to my battery sample packs so I know what you mean