Pure Data and Octatrack?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Anyone messing with this combo?
I just built myself a PD patch that can reset all the parameters of the 5 parameter pages to default settings and also sends ‘favorite’ settings for certain parameters… i.e. rhythmic retrig values, rhythmic delay values and common filter settings.
I also noticed I can hold a scene button down on the Octatrack and send these settings from PD and they get locked into the scene (multiple parameters and pages of parameters). So now I can set up my favorite scenes and zap them into any project, bank, etc… no more knob twiddling to get the same effects I seem to always gravitate towards :slight_smile:

I am loving the pure data and octatrack experience so far, and would be interested to hear some others experiences.

p.s. anyone who owns a keith mcmillen quneo controller and messing with pure data should look for the pure data patch ‘rhythmboy’… flashy lights on the pads 16 step, 8 track grid sequencer thingy that is very fun when set up to hit the octatrack note #'s

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#3

I checked out MobMuPlat and made a patch to do some random midi note and rhythmic value triggering.
I can’t wait to learn how to use PD better… seems like a lot of possibilities.
Hope to post up something useful soon :slight_smile:

#4

Hi Michal, I checked out your slice player, but it wasn’t working for me…

I got inspired to make my own slice player for the quneo controller using pure data.
This patch would be pretty easy to modify for another controller as well.

https://www.elektronauts.com/uploads/default/original/2X/8/8391d3778c855145bbe526049c4223a1b4d20c61.zip

"In pure data MIDI Settings, Set Quneo to Device 1 in and out
Set Octatrack to Device 2 out

load Quneo preset ‘PD grid low to high’ into the quneo using the quneo editor

64 corners of the Quneo select and play the slice
slice 1-8 are on the lowest row
slice 9-16 are on the next row
etc

The up and down arrows on the bottom right of the quneo will select the track to play.
A green light will flash on the quneo to let you know which track is active

NOTE: this does not change the track selcted on the octatrack but it does change the channel that the note is being sent on.
No matter which track is selected on the octatrack, the notes will be recorded to the track selected by the quneo.

There is some funny behaviour when using the octatrack like this.
While you are in realtime record mode the sounds you hear are not necessarily the slices being recorded.
After you lay them down in the sequencer, they will play the correct slice though.

Not perfect, but I am managing to play more sounds on one track this way without having to go and p-lock everything.

Oh yeah, don’t forget you can hold down a trigger in rec mode and then hit the slice pad on the quneo to p-lock a slice to a trigger.

Good luck and have fun,
Musicmagus
10/23/2014

P.S. Please feel free to modify this and share your results… I am by no means a Pure Data expert so there may be an easier way to do this."

https://www.elektronauts.com/uploads/default/original/2X/8/8391d3778c855145bbe526049c4223a1b4d20c61.zip

#5

very interesting!

had a look at your patch in pd just now and will try it out on the OT as soon as possible, although i will have to emulate the quneo, as i don’t own one.

did you get consistent triggering behaviour for all slice playing orders?

i see you’re also using delay objects to postpone the note until after the CC is sent. (in your case, 7ms)

there was a discussion terminating in the “CC vs. note priority problem” some time ago:

http://www.elektronauts.com/t/triggering-slices-with-midi-notes/433/2013

it all seems to boil down to the way note/CC message priorities within OT are assigned. so depending on the order you input notes defined by CC17, the notes can “hang”. it would be good news if you found a solution to this problem.

by “not working for me” did you mean you didn’t get it to work? if yes, what was the problem?

#6

“…i will have to emulate the quneo, as i don’t own one.”

If you need help translating my mess of a patch just
let me know… I left a bunch of extra number boxes in there so it would be easier for someone to see whats going on in the patch too.
I also see that I left a bunch of stuff over on the right in the PD patch thats not even hooked up. Ooops. Thats why I’m a musician and not a programmer :slight_smile:

“did you get consistent triggering behaviour for all slice playing orders?”

Definitely not. When playing any two slices that are next to each other its no problem, 100% accuracy.
when playing through all the slices from low to high in order 100% accuracy.
When skipping slices in ascending order it starts playing a ‘ghost preceding’ slice on the first hit and then fires the right slice on the second hit. this ‘ghost preceding’ slice starts to get gradually farther away from intended slice the more slices you skip over between the first slice you play and the second slice you play.
Descending slices in order works 100%
Skipping slices in descending order works the same as ascending order.

When in Realtime Record mode it gets even more strange as the slices are fighting not just the preceding slice message, but the recorded slice messages too.

edit:{ when in realtime record mode, even though you are hearing the wrong slice, the correct slice is being recorded}

Although its kind of chaotic, I kind of like it. You pound out some beats and get surprised a little bit. I got so inspired by the first beat I made with this I grabbed my guitar and immediately wrote out the skeleton of a new song. I guess a little chaos can be a good thing too :slight_smile:

“it all seems to boil down to the way note/CC message priorities within OT are assigned. so depending on the order you input notes defined by CC17, the notes can “hang”. it would be good news if you found a solution to this problem.”

i saw that, You guys inspired me! haha

I will definitely be doing some more work… I don’t think I will solve it, but I’ve learned a lot about pure data in the process so its totally worth it.

“by “not working for me” did you mean you didn’t get it to work? if yes, what was the problem?”

I’m pretty sure my controller is set for a different
note range than your patch was configured for. Im
using notes 1-64 in my quneo patch and on my Pure
data Quneo template.
Thats the kind of lazy I am… Instead of reprogram the quneo or plug in my keyboard, I made this patch instead :slight_smile:

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#7

I did some more work and am now achieving 100% accuracy playing slices in any order and hearing the right slice on the first hit.
I need to do some more work on the patch before I upload it, but I am having quite a fun time playing my 16 slice drumkits on the 16 pads of the quneo.

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#8

great :slight_smile: let me know when you update, will have a look at it tomorrow!

#9

Being able to dump settings to a Scene and midi trigger slices correctly would be massively useful.

Think it might be time to look at Pd again - thanks for the thread!

#10

mmmm bumping, I’ll try to get deep into this thread.

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