I’m actually quite excited about the Force, it seems to have the things I like about the MPC Live and the things I like about Ableton Live in a standalone box.
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this just popped up:
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Gosh the Push 2 was huge, the Force is enormous.
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Is that pic to scale, because the video didn’t show the two side by side? If that is to scale, then yeah it’s huge and not exactly something to curl up on the couch with for sketching. I complain all the time about my Push 2 being too big - the encoders being at the very top, far away is a bit annoying.
I think I would get bored quickly by lack of open vst support for the Force. Otherwise, looks fun.
Edit: Sweetwater lists the Force dimensions at 15.3" x 13.8". So about 3 inches taller than Push 2, which is 11.96" x 14.88". So I guess the pic looks right.
I was thinking about buying the OTmk2 but now im not so sure anymore. Force looks so much more capable and fun. Pls convince me otherwise!
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Force is way bigger than an Octatrack. Way bigger.
I have similar feelings… But I’m going to wait awhile to see how the OS is coming along. I preordered my MPC live when it was announced and I’m still waiting for multitimbral MIDI… Might be similar annoyances with the force, to early to say
That really depends on what you want to do. If you want to quickly and easily build live sets or beats, the force is probably the better bet. But if you want to do a lot of sample mangling, the OT is probably going to be superior. At least for now.
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I’m also curious to see how Clips will be implemented on the Live.
I wish you can connect something like a Launchpad Pro or Mini and use it to laugh clips or for the Force-style stepsequencer…
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Octatrack can stream backing track from its drive, the Force can only play from the ram. Also the sequencer has no probability trig, and there are no scenes possible. (OT can do multiple scenes per part, which is quiete a lot of possible sound morping capability. Every FX, sample paramter , LFO can be shifted to ones liking.) That is very very powerful.
NI Maschine can do scenes too, also for MIDI, which the OT cant do at the moment. Midi isnt that good at transporting data, so its still limited in the amount of CC one can shift seamlessly.
For me the OT is still the winner. I think the sample stretching is a bit better on the Force, if they make streaming from SSD possible, and implement scenes, and it works without glitching too much, then it might be viable.
There are a lot of “if” currently with the device. (Still looks interesting, though, and the interface also resembles a bit of the Novation Circuit but far improved.) In comparison to NI circuit i would say dream machine. MIDI implementation is also limited. Midi routing on the Octatrack is fine for me.
My buying decision depends on further development, and how soon they could implement an intuitive arranger work flow.
Maybe a nice sketch pad, if one can use the internal sounds, and replace those with recordings of their favourite VST or hardware synth.
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You don’t have to use two at the same time, you just can. It makes total sense. My workflow will be to create and generate ideas (good and bad) standalone then export to Ableton for final arrangement and editing. It is nice to be able to use the device in controller mode for hands on Ableton control but not necessary.
If your goal is just to use Ableton, get a Push. If you want a standalone Ableton like workflow get this.
That’s the most in depth explanation I’ve seen…and still it makes no mention of the current RAM limitation and the lack of disk streaming.
And how many scenes can you have in a loaded project ? He touched briefly on there being a “larger aperture of tracks that exist” but I only saw 4 extra scenes". Was that just because he hadn’t created any extra scenes for that project ? Because if the scenes are limited that’s a BIG difference between the Force and a Live / Push set-up (or an OT set up for that matter in terms of managing a continuous live set seamlessly)
I see that the looper doesn’t steal one of the audio tracks so that would be a step in the right direction, but again no mention of whether you can load a new project in the background while that looper is playing or whether you have any FX / Filter control over that captured loop before it is assigned to one of the tracks.
Did I miss something ? I’d love to be corrected…
That seems like a ton of money just as a sketch pad, especially if you plan on changing out most/all of the internal sounds with VSTs. For the same money one could buy a touchscreen laptop with Ableton Live Intro and a used Push 1. Even though it’s a bit busier and bulkier its way more versatile.
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after watching that last video, gotta admit its looking formidable… dayum
But it’s got no mouse support and there isn’t a way to change the phase of a sample, this is not a real sampler!
(That was a joke btw)
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ahh yes, you read that post too ahem hehe
I think mr manic has some points I agree with but overblown drama too (even if coming from someone with a toothache)
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!!!
without songmode it doesnt compete with live, because you cant arrange anything on the force
unlimited midi tracks is cool, i think the 4 fx slots will be the tightest bottleneck
the sound of the internal synth seems to be very different from the elektron stuff.
maschine mk3 (600 euros+a laptop) is probably the closest competitor in terms of sound and usecase. it brings an audio interface and can be controlled completely without a mouse. its 600 euros vs 1500 euros.
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You can export to .als
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Unlimited scenes