Elektron-Users

bump... i just saw this thread today

where have i been? anyway, great idea. i'm definitely wanting a piece of this one. can't play until thursday though...

darenager wrote:

I did not use any resampling as it kind of defeats the object IMHO, even though it was within the rules, for the next lab I think no resampling, not because its not creative, it is, but because it presents too many possibilities and I don't feel it makes it as challenging, and the idea of the labs is to challenge youself.

Maybe for a future lab go the other way -- use whatever OT features you want except for the 2 FX pages - they have to be set to None and None. So no reverb, no delay, no EQ or filters, etc. Just manipulate the sample with the info found on the first 3 pages.

If you've been working with synths and effects for some time you know that you can do a lot with just effects. Since a lot of folks seem to have a more difficult time coming to grips with the sampling side of the OT, a lab that forces you to sample/re-sample and slice and dice the bits may be educational.

no resampling... Anyway, remember that the OT is a hardware sampler (-and by the way THE reason why I bought one). It can be fun to use a sampler first as a synth instead of a sampler, but using a sampler as a sampler is indeed very interesting. And resampling is a powerful and very creative feature. To my opinion, a lab focusing on resampling is one of the most interesting lab that can be proposed. It is also possible to have two (or more) different labs with different rules in parrallel.
So now, I'm going to try to produce something with this white noise

I take your points gents, my idea of no resampling was not to be mean, but to try to encourage a controlled environment to get some cool shit happening with an extreme limitation - like one source sample.

However resampling is a very interesting area, but not necessarily a very limited one, as it turns out I don't think a single sample of white noise is as limiting as any of us first thought either, having a listen to the tracks so far is a good demonstration of this.

The point of a science lab is to have these imposed limitations, and whilst undoubtedly it would be wonderful fun to use all the available facilities the OT has to offer I'm not so sure that it would teach us anything that we did not already know.

Personally I think there have been some good ideas thrown into the hat so far, the idea of no fx and resampling could potentially be very interesting especially with say a live source that is constantly changing such as a radio connected to the inputs or something.

Of course I'm by no means in charge of science labs, I just put my ideas for one up before as no-one else came up with anything concrete, so I'm more than happy for anyone else to suggest something for the next lab. I'm also happy to organise them for a while if needs be.

The thing to remember is there needs to be a specific limitation, a set of rules, preferably a time limit, a deadline for completion and perhaps some kind of brief.

Then there are a number of possible things, from focussing on specific areas of the machine to source sample(s), to techniques that must or must not be applied, anything outside of this then becomes not a science lab but just a bunch of users posting tracks and we already have an area for that, so I'd see little point if it was too open ended.

Here are a few things that might be worth considering for future labs (IMHO!)

Neighbor machines with 2 samples (1 for tr1 1 for tr5)
No input
No fx
a single single cycle
a drum loop only
remix a loop using just the loop
make a track from just the word spoken 'Octatrack'
just use a specific effect eg chorus
DJ static - 2 statics of considerable difference, make a mix/mashup
Micro music - a track with a duration of just a few seconds

I like Neil Baldwins idea of sharing the files, aside from ensuring no cheating (you'd only be cheating yourself remember!) it is a very nice way to see how they did that.

Keep the conversation going, I'm very interested in these labs and how they will develop, and it is a community thing so keep those ideas and suggestions coming in. I'd encourage everyone to take part whenever possible as it is fun, a good way to get out of a rut, and a way to make sure you are doing something with these wonderful machines, get it recorded, get it uploaded happy days

Oh yeah the current lab closes on the 31st so still time to get something done!

EDIT - Personally I think it is best to have only 1 lab at a time to avoid confusion and keep it organised.

I agree to the idea that rules have to be strict, it is much better to learn and practice. One lab at a time is also better than having many at the same time. Keep on multiplying ideas

Neighbor machines with 2 samples (1 for tr1 1 for tr5) This sounds interesting.
No input

Removing the input removes any chance of the sampled material having a huge difference on the end result which in this lab context is not so great. Vote 1, no inputs.

The point of a science lab is to have these imposed limitations, and whilst undoubtedly it would be wonderful fun to use all the available facilities the OT has to offer I'm not so sure that it would teach us anything that we did not already know.

Bingo. Science Labs are all about limitation and learning since it's inception.


EDIT - Personally I think it is best to have only 1 lab at a time to avoid confusion and keep it organised.

Yeah, we've done multiples before, it was a huge mess.

Honestly, I'm proud to see you guys put this all together. Historically, they have been ran by either myself or the other moderators. The new site will help us shape up Science Labs by how we administer the forums. For example:

Science Labs
- Open Discussion
- Name of Lab (Machine and lab number)
etc

The rules, file handling, voting, etc. all being in the Name of Lab post.

Still ironing out how we want to do this. Another way, is for the SL's to have their on page, that does the same, but instead of a forum, it would work more like a blog, and you could comment on SL. Ultimately, we'll choose the simplest method w/ the least amount of moderating/controlling as possible.

The problem now is simplifying organizing process, considering all the different requests, and polling. I'll talk to the folks at Elektron, we'll iron something out for the next version.

How did I miss this thread!?!?!?

this thread dives deep into the "recent forum topics" list only to jump high out of the sea of oblivion...i have to search for it every day, it's strange.
hey tarekith, there's days to go, it would be great to hear how you mangle 2 seconds of white noise

it's a stickied topic under Science Labs.