Elektron-Users

papertiger wrote:
the best advice i ever received about the OT was to let it be what it is.

oldgearguy wrote:
As others have mentioned - use it for what it does best..

I have been playing the Octatrack, usually as my sole instrument for almost a year now, and I still don't know "what it is" or "what it does best". It does everything excellently, just not all at the same time.

I agree that waiting for track machines that will reproduce experiences of other equipment is probably a waste of time, but I don't see how you can expect someone to use it "the way its meant to be used" when standards of use and performance haven't been established yet. Its core may be based on the sampler and many people use it as a traditional sampler, but I believe that the OT is an entirely new type of instrument. I do not think that its "best purpose" has even been discovered yet.

c0rpse wrote:
papertiger wrote:
the best advice i ever received about the OT was to let it be what it is.

oldgearguy wrote:
As others have mentioned - use it for what it does best..

I have been playing the Octatrack, usually as my sole instrument for almost a year now, and I still don't know "what it is" or "what it does best". It does everything excellently, just not all at the same time.

I agree that waiting for track machines that will reproduce experiences of other equipment is probably a waste of time, but I don't see how you can expect someone to use it "the way its meant to be used" when standards of use and performance haven't been established yet. Its core may be based on the sampler and many people use it as a traditional sampler, but I believe that the OT is an entirely new type of instrument. I do not think that its "best purpose" has even been discovered yet.

as you would append "in bed" to the end of a fortune cookie fortune, append "for you" to the end of the above quotes and, as is the case with your fortune, it will make more sense.

I do not think that its "best purpose" has even been discovered yet.
^ what he said

Duh, the best use of the new machines is for live Elektron artists to be able to more easily Pickup girls. (via seamless transitions, memorizing beats, and magic fingers)

Its core may be based on the sampler and many people use it as a traditional sampler, but I believe that the OT is an entirely new type of instrument. I do not think that its "best purpose" has even been discovered yet.

I'm in total agreement. We're in unchartered waters here, & that's a good place to be!
The reason I religiously come back to this forum time & time again & the reason I chose Elektron machines in first place comes down to the open minded individuals involved & the open architecture of the machines themselves.

If you want a definitive way of working then look elsewhere. The OT is after all the direct result of imaginative musicians using the MD in ways Elektron never conceived!!!

A fun little trick -

set RLEN to 2 or something else real short, throw something into the audio in (I was using some drum hits...), now when the very short loop is in overdub mode, don't add audio at first - instead, adjust the gain down one notch or so - you can get dub-like echoes fading out (or up if you increase the gain), add a filter into the mix, let something fade out then add more audio, loads of quick repeating fun.

Tarekith wrote:
chapelier fou wrote:
One thing i never managed to do with the pickup machine :
is it possible for a pickup machine to be slaved to the OT's tempo ? Not setting it, but adapting its length, start and end to the sequencer ?
Also, where can i find the documentation about the midi controls to be sent by a foot controller ?
thanks !

You could just use a regular recorder for that, set the personalize menu to trigger sampling with just one press of A/B (or C/D). Set the Recorder parameters to the length you want, and for sampling to start at pattern length. Then when you press AB, the recorder will wait until the pattern loops, start sample, and stop after the recording duration you set.

Agreed with Tarekith, though you can also use the same method with a pickup machine to get overdubbing (still in sync with your beat), if that's what you like. Was jamming this last night with great joy - building up epic soundscapes with a synth on top of a beat and then pulling it all apart with synced lfos and effects in realtime as I'm still overdubbing. Literally amazing.

Press Function + CD - set QPL to PLEN.
Press Function + AB - check TRIG is set to ONE
Check DUB is on in the playback menu
Then loop away.

AB starts overdub recording, then CD and AB toggle whether you keep overdubbing or not. If you it to wait until the start of the next pattern to start overdubbing, you can also set QREC to PLEN, but I preferred without - just press the AB button and add a bit of overdub whenever you like - it all stays in sync anyway!

All this with just one pickup track, in it's most simple configuration. What an immense update this is.

I personally love the pick up machine. I agree that the video looks intimidating but it is reall y easy. I applaud elektron for giving us so many options. Once you set it up and save your done fire up the OT and you ready to loop. Prolly time to sell my rc50 now as it is redundent.

Birdsinbranches - I'm doing what you suggested right now and it is incredible.

The video is intimidating mostly because of the narrators style

All props to Elektron, but i really think they should get somebody else, who is actually English (or American), (im guessing the voiceover guy is Scandinavian, but i may be wrong),
to do the explanations,

they could also make the Knowhow vids a bit more fun, it is complicated stuff, but we have so much Fun with the machines, it would be good if the videos reflected this,

Or at least change the voice, i find him really difficult to listen to,