Octatrack:be or not to be…

I don’t really know enough about the maschine, but you’re probably right. I forgot you mentioned having that in the original post.

I made a M4L device inspired by the OT scenes. Octascenes version 1.01 by chapelierfou on maxforlive.com

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Further to this, I would say that the Maschine and OT would be at odds with one another. Both are kind of designed to be the centrepiece of your workflow, and I can imagine it being really difficult to get them working together in such a way that didn’t significantly compromise one of them. Sounds like a massive headache.

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I think if you had the chance to sit in a dark room all night with the Octotrack then you would understand how deep and powerful it. That machine and a laptop with a sequencer is all you need.

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Yep,that’s what I’m worried about,too many boxes would rather disorient than inspire.

You are not forced to use them all together.
You can use one digi + OT at the time to make a song, or sample your digi loop into OT and use only OT to make a song.
I have the Digitakt and Octatrack. Actually, I use the Digitakt make a quick drum pattern then I sample it in the OT and I turn off the Digitakt for the rest of the track.

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On my side, and this is only my opinion (I use maschine+ with the OT) well it’s just great ;), I make a sketch with the ot in the quiet evening without anything else, I design the atmosphere, then I play with the rest of my equipment, maschine is a sound factory, I love to do fingerdrumming that I loop on the ot to have a more human feeling, or I design the instrument etc, I keep what looks good to me in static in the ot etc then I create the arrangement only on the ot . The ot goes with everything :wink: and takes on a different role compared to other equipment. But to ‘‘play’’ with the finished piece and bring it to life, the ot is really great. But I can do the opposite, create ‘‘stems’’ with maschine or with digi and recover or play with all this on the ot, perform fx from maschine, + the scenes on the ot it’s a d 'fx live! Well basically the octatrack will find a place;)

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with that setup, i would say what others have said. use the octatrack as like a loop grabber, a remixer, or my favorite- a midi brain and song sync device for everything in my studio. if you start your jammy on say the syntakt, just note the bpm, then turn on octa, set it to master with said bpm, and start either grabbing or building or just being the effects master. i use mine with a patchbay so i can change my routing on a dime without a mess of wires.

well, there’s still a mess of wires, but at least it’s behind everything, haha. i try.

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Wow,thank you mate.I was waiting for that kind of example ,really .:pray:t3::wink:

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Yes and no.

Yes and no.

If you want to nail two bits of wood together, you need a hammer. If you want to tighten screws, you need a screw driver. If you want to pull your car apart, you need a bloody decent socket set, a few screw drivers, hammer, and probably a bunch of other tools, and a damn good idea of what youre doing.

Thats the most important bit. Knowing what you are doing. If you do, then you know the answer to your question.

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Another element that is important is that the OT allows, due to its architecture, to be able to switch between different tempos, atmospheres, beats without changing the project. I use a pattern + 1 part (with scenes) = a jam, song etc… there are 4 parts per Bank (x16). it is therefore, understanding how it works, easier to switch from one style to another. Without stopping the reading and having possible transitions or not etc,. so pretty cool, because on maschine it’s still rare to put everything in a project! there are obvious limits on LOt and many things are simpler and more fun on maschine or other digi but as a ‘‘all’’ center and live fun it is indeed the best ! :wink:

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…once beyond three elektron machines at once, u cross another level of expotential realtime complexity that becomes counterproductive for many…

and if ur happy with that machine 3 already, there’s a another big questionmark why u really should add the ot now on top of that all…

so, i’d say…it’s more NOT TO BE…

ot has many tricks up the sleeve…but with ur setup as mentioned i really don’t see any essential advantages it could add to ur ballpark…but i see many reasons why it’s more likely to slow u down in ur workflow…work with what u got for now…it’s ALL there and right in front of u…

if u’ll find one real world point where u say, oh i’d love to this or that but i just can’t because of this or that…then, come again…

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It depends on what you want from it really. In some ways, Maschine is light years away from OT as a sampler. But in many more ways, OT is king. Best to research a bit as it’s an exotic machine, bringing things you didn’t even know you would use.

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Yes,that’s true.My main goal is experimenting with the sound I could take from my gear.
I know there are some limitations,but from what I saw on YouTube on ezbot’s or cuckoo’s Sources it gives some unpredictable results and those fx mangling features could add something Extraordinary.
But as mentioned above, this can be counterproductive.

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…if u only make sure, u can adress/play ur elektron gear via the pads of ur machine as an alternative to all the klak klak zak zak workflow they already offer, to add also realtime recording into their stepsequencers and also be able to sample various stuff from there for further resampling and mangling within the machine and u got one play button that starts the whole ballpark, u’ll have an endless array of sonic options and various workflows to become one at ur hands already…really no need to climb the ot mountain peak for now…

machine worx as a great centerpiece, has some of the finest pads to play and ur digi format trinity from sweden is already topnotch the way it is…so stop thinking, start mangling and creating…

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Thank you all people for your advice!

The Mk3 has to be used with a computer right? If so you can use it to create base themes/your current workflow and then load samples over USB to the OT for live performance or fun experimentation while still being able to sequence/sync your other boxes.

That’s the path of least resistance it seems (if you really want to add an OT)

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Yes,that’s the way I’m thinking about.
I’m sure OT could bring something unpredictable to the process.
I also looked in the direction of push, but having a maschine already, I think it would be superfluous. In parallel topics, I read about push and its capabilities, that in principle it can replace all devices, but I like that in Octatrack a lot can be done without unnecessary dancing with a tambourine, and in Ableton you will have to prepare all this additionally.

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Roctatrack!!
:monkey: :sparkles:

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Some of this depends on finances. If you add the Octatrack, it can start to cast a different shadow on your other gear. Depending on cash, maybe you will sell one or a couple. And then keep the Octatrack a while then sell and head another direction.

However, if finances aren’t much of a problem (which is a great place to be when considering the OT) then the Octatrack simply becomes another tool in your arsenal. Your Maschine centric setup still drives things, but then you add the OT when you need to, or instead focus on it entirely.

OT, Maschine and Push, while all different, all have the effect of wanting to be the centre of a setup, so adding a combination of these can complicate a workflow.

However if you think you can manage this, then you might find the OT can become an excellent live performance brain, while the Maschine more central to a studio workflow.

The OT has about 4 or 5 solid hats it can wear, so it doesn’t always have to operate in the same way every time you power it up. This can be a blessing and a curse, and then, you will always find new workflows with it that surprise you outside of the main ways.

The OT is highly experimental box, offering a lot of ways to work with sound. But it has a DNA of a two channel mixer I think, at its heart.

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