great post.
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Awesome. 
Would read again. 
thanks mate, great post, Iām also using the transition trick (pickup machine fed with cues and external minisynth),
thing is when using it, I tend to always do the same tweaks (DJ like delaying and filtering out the 1st song and bringing in elements of the 2nd one), and I feel it could be boringā¦
Shrinking down compositions to āeasy modeā is also what I have in mindā¦
Anyway Iām not home this afternoon so letās get back tonight,
cheers 
Sadness 
On the weekend I learned a very powerful lesson in this āset for live performanceā journeyā¦
Less than 2 weeks to go to my next show and I lost all my work since Wednesday, including a new song I just completed NOOOOO !!
Leads me to my next advice which Iām sure you already know @MonstreJumo ā backup every day all the time hehehe
On another note: Can you explain a bit about how youāre using pickup machine to do your transitions ? Iāve been trying to find a variation on mine, but Iām a bit locked in to my method based on the fact that I need to be able to X-fade to the transition track while itās recording.
The method Iām currently using:
Track 1 - 4 vary per song (vocals, resampled loops, additional percussion etc etc)
Track 5 = Thru machine taking input from RYTM has FX controlled by various scenes
Track 6 = Thru machine taking input from A4, also has FX controlled by various scenes
Track 7 = Flex machine which is Xfade level min on all scenes except 9 (transition scene). I have a 1 shot recorder trig set up on the first step and Rlen set up to 64 steps so when I arm the track it will record a 4 bar loop. I have recording set to just record Thru Tracks 5 and 6 (not master). Levels all set up so that when I fade to Scene 9 (on scene B) it brings up the recorded loop (even as itās recording). I didnāt want it to record constantly so that I can keep the old song always in the buffer for doing little DJ tricks also also so I can control and decide when I want to replace that buffer.
Track 8 = Master track again for FX, but not for recording
So when I have scene 9 active on B after arming the record ā¦ audience is only hearing whats in my flex buffer (IE: previous 4 bar loop). I can safely switch to the next song āfirst patternā (IE: my Bank A Pat 1, 5, 9, 13 or Bank H Pat 1, 5, 9 13). Right as I see that the pattern has changed on my OT screen (you donāt hear the switch if you did it right haha) I start fading from B to A. Which starts to fade out the recorded buffer and fade in all the other tracks on the next pattern (including thru tracks from RYTM And A4).
So the key to the live perfomance is that Scene 9 has to be locked in as the default scene on B for ALL patterns and all parts. If it isnāt ā¦ then when I switch patterns to the next song poof thereās no transition it just fires off into the new music which can be drastically different.
Thats basically it for my transition technique. The reason I use Thru Track only is that I can arm it ā¦ then switch as soon as I see the record start so you hear the recording while itās recording. Iāve tried to use record T8 (master) but the problem with this is you canāt switch to the transition scene until after itās done recording otherwise you hear the old buffer coming out of the master which is essentially āoverwritingā what youāre hearing. Very frustrating.
If anyone has any other techniques theyād like to share Iād love to hear ! Iād really like to find a way to rec T8 to my buffer instead of the Thruās because I donāt hear Tracks 1 - 4 in the transition hehehe itās not that noticeable for many songs because most of the main elements are coming from AR + A4, but it is noticeable if any T1-T4 material gets cut off.
Cheers all,
Walter
PS: not looking forward to tonight trying to pick up where I left off 5 days ago 
Really thereās no going back ā¦ all the material (1-2 hrs per night) came spontaneously and would take me weeks to try and replicate exactly. Better to cut losses and just start fresh.
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How did you lose your stuff? Didnāt save? Bad Card? Just curious, sounds rough sorry broā¦
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Went into āPanic modeā. I was messing with midi tracks and meant to Func+Clear on the track but accidentally cleared the part. I had done substancial work in the project in that session since I last saved the project so I mistakenly opted to āsave as newā and try and reopen the other previously saved project and maybe try and replicate the part using OctaEdit since I donāt think thereās a way to copy part from project to project ? (perhaps someone can correct me if this is wrong). When I loaded the new project it was corrupt - none of the scenes or FX were working correctly on any parts and my record buffers sounded funny, my transition scene was broken or something. Ok ā¦ more panic ā¦ I load up the old project - find itās also behaving strangely also. So I go to back to the last backup I had from last week - load that ā¦everything works but I lose a song + 4 nights worth of tweaking on the live set. BOOO ahh well lesson learned.
A few weeks back I had a CF card error. Couldnāt get it to connect to any machines - in the end windows āscan and fixā got it to read again. Iām afraid this has something to do with it - perhaps this caused a bug somewhere ?. I need to make nightly backups - but I have limited time to play and it takes me sometimes up to 30min to get OT connected and backed up (even using @Rusty 's super speedy OctaZip tool). I have issues where the connect to my mac sequence never seems to work no matter what I try (even trying other cables).
Jeeze, if I were you I would get a new card pronto because of that card error, thatās prob why the project got corrupt. Just last week I reloaded my part and lost all these custom midi arps I had just made, somehow spaced that the part holds all the midi page data as well. I think you might be able to move a part to a different project by copying a certain file, not sure though, I bet you could copy it then load the other project and paste it. Iāve had best results by having OT powered on and connected before starting the computer, but ymmvā¦
Ugh. Sorry to hear that man. I second @Open_Mikeās recommendation to get a new card as soon as possible ā¦ itās a few bucks vs. a lot of heartache.
Not individual parts, but banks can be done. The basic method is go into your project directory and copy the bankās file onto your desktop. (I canāt remember exactly what theyāre called but theyāre numbered 1-16 as opposed to A-J, and thereās a saved and working version of each.) Drag this new file into your new project. All you need to do then is make sure all the samples are assigned correctly ā the transfer only copies the locations in your flex or static list, not the samples themselves.
To save time, I usually wait till Iāve got a few parts in a project I want to copy over and put them all in the same bank before doing it. Also good to keep at least one bank free in the destination project so you donāt accidentally overwrite anything.
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I think itās time to get a new CF card @ON-OFF-ON
Yes. Use OctaEdit. Select the appropiate Part, then just use the white drop menu in the āPartā group of the Sequencer and Copy/Paste. Or Save to the Library for later.
You can use the copy/paste/save/load functionality across completely different Sets and Projects.
Or use the Manager module, and set the Element to be āPartā then just define the Source Part(s) and the Target Part(s); again,you can use this functionality across completely different Sets and Projects.
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Thanks @Rusty You are the man as always !
Going to pick up a CF card right away. Iām assuming OT has a āformat CF cardā option then itās simply a matter of copying my set over ? If Iām heading to the compie store should I pick up a CF card reader and start using that to read it on my mac/PC or should I stick with the method of not ever removing the CF card due to the possibility of damaging OT/Card ?
Going to try and bring a full copy of my set with me on a separate flash drive and do some tinkering on the go.
Iāve never been worried about losing the live set until last night ā¦ hearing all the scenes go haywire on every pattern was unnerving ā¦ 12 more nights to practice before the show
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The elektron gods will bestow upon their operating thetan new and improved songs.
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Oh and I have an OH-shiz backup plan. All else fails pull OT out of the mix for the show and just go on AR+A4 ā¦ no FX, no tricks, no frills, manually do the transitions by bringing elements āup/downā and changing patterns with no prg-chg. Would be hard and sound much less interestingā¦ but good to have a failsafe.
Backup #2 bring the set on my phone and play it through A4 and tweak with filters, plocks and LFOās as it plays through LOL
Backup #3 play straight from phone to PA and breakdance on stage.
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Youāre more then welcome
Project -> System -> Card Tools -> Format Card
Yes, because they are pocket money ($5? $10?); but I advise leaving the card in there, but what do I know?
Backup, backup, backup.
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I might be overly cautious but Iād probably load a project backup from an earlier date than the card error to the new card and go from there, just to make sureā¦
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Iād say thats good advice. But duplicate the backup, then copy/paste as required between the old backup and the latest state.
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Iām going to attempt to play through the set as it is on a fresh card and see if plays through fully. I need to rehearse anyways If it gets bugs Iāll swap to an older backup.
Luckily the main music originates on RYTM and A4 and Iāve intentionally kept all the parts similar across all banks and patterns. Track 1-4 varies with each song, but it never the main elements - itās always āflareā like shakers, vocal chops, noise woosh etc etc. If I had to build it all again from scratch I could ā¦ but Iād be hard pressed to make it work in 12 days hehehe
Tonight Iāll know the extent of the damage!
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Hi, sorry for your loss 
My transitions are not very different from yours,
Using track 8 as a pickup track, recording cued tracks and input A for a little monotron synth.
In all my banksā parts, scene 16 is XMAX for pickup track and MIN for all other tracks,
When I need to transition, I manually trig the pickup recording with one touch on the left red rec button just before the pattern restarts and then one touch on the right red rec button, so as it records 4 bars. then I xFade to scene B16, mute some unwanted tracks (I usually let kick and sub unmuted) and switch pattern or bank.
I have to save all my first parts with scene B16 active so as to be sure all is ok when transitioning.
When the next pattern is playing, and some tracks muted, I usually filter the loop, maybe delay it, and I xFade to the left with no active scene. pickup track still playing, and I progressively mix the FXed loop with unmuting tracks, when Iām finally ready to switch to the next pattern while finally muting or fading the loop out.
I can use the external synth to feed the pickup track, live playing synth wooshes and blip beeps thru either the synth delay or pickup track delay, and I can also record the synth while recording the cued track. I can use this pickup track either for transitions, or add some layers where I want, but for now Iām not used to it enough, my transitions are a lot buggy, too long, and with lots of errors ah ah! And I also feel all my transitions follow the same scheme, a bit boring, Iāll have to add some spice here and there, maybe some more ābuild-upā samples and some vocal snippets maybe,
there Iād love to have an OP-1 for these improvisational transitions!!!
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Very interesting - thanks for the explanation.
I havenāt thought of using Pickup machines yet for transitions, but perhaps itās worth a try.
In my personal experience Iāve found that anything (for me) thatās complicated during live can lead to mistakes. So I try and simplify movements as much as possible. Iām even removing lots of little ātricksā and things I did in my last performance for the next one - I found the complex scenes and āmassiveā changes (IE: remix tracks with re-sampling, filtering, and reverse playback, stuttering etc) sounded too abrupt on a PA. The subtle gradual scenes, changes, performance elements were most natural. Iām also playing chill tech house, not hardcore glitch or D&B or something wild hehehe
Ohhh and PS: almost back to where I was before I had the CF card error ! hehe Full steam ahead !
Cheers Nicol !
-Walter
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I use pickup transition trick because I want to be able to monitor my external synth and play it when I want, but i just realised I also could use the input with a flex machineā¦ because Iām not actually layering loops in the pickup machineā¦ (I tried it an it was nice, but I wonāt do this live anywayā¦)
and I realise, if I can still use the external input with DIR=MAX on a flex machine trackā¦ then all my problems are GONE!!
problems with pickup transition trick :
-
scene-locks WONT WORK, and even without scene-locks you can have FX bugs on pickup machinesā¦
-
you got to manually trig the recordingā¦
So I may get back to āclassicalā transition trick with flex machine ah ah!!
Gotta try thisā¦ got a gig next saturdayā¦
Gotta work more!
Thanks Walter and all thread members!
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this is what i would suggestā¦ all CF cards are slotted directly onto bare metal pins inside the reader - there is no āconnectorā type plug which protects the pins, and they can get bent extremely easily by just pressing on them the wrong way - its just part of the design of CF cards, which is to say, shitty
also, CF cards themselves may or may not be more susceptible to EMF type corruption, and behave more like floppy disks as opposed to a USB flash drive in terms of how vulnerable they areā¦ i think this ultimately comes down to the brand and manufacturer and specific model of card, but from what I understand that kind of failure is more common on CF cards than on things like SD cards and flash drives and so onā¦ so in that case, you want to limit the amount of time its hanging around outside of the machine
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