No, really. “Go.”
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Or not.
The easiest way to achieve complex meters on Elektron sequencers is to limit yourself to one bar only per pattern.
So say you wanted 5/4, just set the pattern length to 20.
For Elektron sequencers with master length you can set any track to any length and scale (multiplier) and set master length appropriately.
With master length set to inf, you have to set change behaviour.
Master length calculator for OT:
https://novinyl.net/octatrack.php?u
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Alternating between two meters on ^this one. (21/4 and 27/8)
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I think one bar of 5/4 is 5 steps and not 20.
Generally i feel that is better not to go over 16 steps for polymetrics or it is starting to be messy.
Well 5/4 is just a complex time signature (as opposed to simple or compound) and is not per se polymetric.
Of course if you want to only have 5 notes in your bar then set your pattern length to 5.
However, if you want to have the maximum possible number of 16th notes in your bar then set your pattern length to 20.
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Then it is a 10/8 bar not a 5/4.
This is for the theory then practically it might be better to double the tempo on the master if you need more resolution.
For instance to set it at 180bpm to sequence a 90bpm pattern.
Wouldn’t 5 steps be a 5/16 time signature?
I don’t think we ever use such thing as a x/16 metric.
Then again it depends how the metric is played/thought according to a relative tempo.
IMHO the best is to listen to music that has traditional odd metrics. That way you realize there are music said to be in 7/8 when they are actually thought as a 3.5. In instrumental music we tend to speak mainly as 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 (11 and 13 being mainly from Bulgaria).
For instance I always use to count in 8th notes.
The main issue I have on the OT is that is thought so much to play 4/4 that if you go over a page i find it very messy to organize things. In the editor also, the detection is easily lost about bar numbers. The link posted above to define a Master Length is very useful.
The default time signature of all Elektron (and most other) step sequencers is 4/4 and yet there are 16 steps in each bar.
A 5/4 time signature indicates that there are five beats in the bar and the beat value is a quarter note. However, that does not mean that you can only have 5 notes in each bar. It signifies that the total note/rest count within the bar must equate to the value of 5 quarter notes.
So one bar (measure) of music which has a 5/4 time signature could contain twenty 16th notes, or ten 8th notes, or three 4th notes plus two 8th notes and four 16th rests.
Note that on Elektron sequencers, as well as setting on which trig you place a note, you can also set the length of a note. So even in the default 4/4 time signature you can have 32nd, 8th, 4th notes etc without having to make track tempo differences.
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In the case of a rhythm in 12/8, if you want to play a serie of 6 32th notes in a raw, i think you gonna have to play with the master length in order to get more resolution.
You can increase resolution without reverting to tempo differences. In a 4/4 scenario a pattern could be 4 bars, where each bar has a resolution of sixteen 16ths, or the pattern could be one bar with a resolution of sixty four 64ths, and obviously anything in between.
Also consider that if you wanted to have the resolution of 16th triplets with a 4/4 time signature you would need 24 steps (trigs) per bar.
Using different track tempos allows you to have different comparative resolutions between two or more tracks. So if you had two tracks where you have set the tempo of the second track to be twice that of the first track you could say the first track trigs at 16th intervals and the second at 32nd intervals. However to achieve the full resolution the second track would need to be twice as long as the first track.
I don’t get that bit. If you consider 64 steps as one bar without changing tempo, then you are dividing the tempo by 4. The pulse needs a change unless you decide the bpm is just depending on the division you want it to be. But if you tell me to play a groove at 100bpm, you can play a bar at 25bpm, it will match but it won’t feel the same as playing four bars at 100bpm.
Tempo is simply tempo and is not directly related to time signature or note values.
I could have a 2 bar pattern in 4/4 which has a resolution of 32 steps per bar. Whether I play that pattern at 120 bpm or 60 bpm does not alter the time signature or the notated length and position of any of the notes/rests within the pattern.
Having multiple tracks running at different speeds will create a comparative resolution difference between the tracks. So if on two tracks you place a 16th note on every trig and then set the speed of the second track to be twice that of the first it will sound like the first track is playing 16th notes and the second second track is playing 32nd notes.
But, if you play the second track by itself it will sound like it is playing 16th notes at a fast tempo.
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Something to note about setting the tempo on Elektron step sequencers is that although the value is given in bpm it is only beats per minute correct when in 4/4 at a resolution of 16 steps per bar.
So if you were to create a track with 24 steps to allow for multiple 16th note triplets, the track tempo multiplier needs to be set to 3/2 for it to be running at the indicated bpm.
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Yes that’s what I meant when I was saying the OT has been thought to be used in 4/4. Although it is possible to change that it is a tricky workaround to wrap your head into as soon as you want a different signature.
You can change the metronome signature in the menu but the visual marks on the sequencer are not helping.
As a musician i can’t agree with you on that one 
3/4 is not the same as 6/8 for instance.
No 3/4 is not the same as 6/8 but they are both time signatures, 3/4 being simple and 6/8 being compound. Tempo has nothing to do with time signature it simply indicates the speed at which the music should be played. Time signature indicates the rhythm and accenting of the music.
I have a limited understanding of music theory. At least i feel that way when reading stuff like this.
But doesnt 4/4 mean 4 quarter notes? and 7/8 mean 7 eigth notes?
And does making a track on the Elektrons 14 steps long make it a 7/8 time signature, or 14/16? Or neither?