I have digitakt. And i want purchase real good sampler with slicing/chopping functions, and… sound effects.
Who worked with both machines, where fx is nicer/warmer?
I’ve never owned an Octatrack but I use a Digitakt and an SP404sx as my main setup. I’m just gonna preface this by saying that the SP404sx is incredibly fun and one of my favourite bits of gear. However:
The SP404 is a strange beast. Slicing is even more limited than the Digitakt, you can’t easily change the pitch of samples and there’s no way to record a new sample while audio is playing. This kills a lot of people’s interest.
Forget about any advanced sample managing - time stretching sounds shite and there’s no LFO or anything. Hell, there’s barely even a sequencer.
The effects are what make it really special. Reverb and delay is more than good enough, the chorus is one of my favourites and the compressor gives everything a satisfying lo-fi punch. People say the SX has a gimped vinyl sim compared to the OG but I still really like it anyway.
I mainly use the SP as a one shot generator, sampling in sounds and chord stabs from my synths and resampling them with the effects. I then feed it all into the Digitakt to sequence.
1 Like
Except for the mode of working with the record, i believe that digitakt can not “slicing” generally. (it’s strangely, hope so elektron add this functional to src control or file manager in next version firmware)
So, I always thought that working with slicing in sp-404 is easier and faster.
In practice, this is not true?
There is a thread talking about SPs.
I have an Octatrack since 3 years. I bought a cheap SP555 for my 4.5 old son. Very limited sequencer, slice stuff. Some Fx can be better according to some people but I’m not impressed by them. One Fx at a time. Very Close to Sp404 specs.
Up to 10 different chained Fx with Ot.
Powerfull audio editor for trim, slices, even loop point for each slice.
I’m a long time sx effects lover but ever since Zoom dropped a boatload of new effects in a firmware for the ms70cdr, I’m finding much more life in it’s compressor options and find myself shifting away from the SX. But thats maybe just the novelty of new effects personally.
Thing with the Octatrack is the effects are not going to wow you if you just turn them on and dial the settings in. Once you start adding LFOs and parameter locks to the FX, then they come to life. You can basically invent your own effects in a way, it feels clean and open for anything. Combined with live sampling, you can build some deep delays from the ground up. Work the filter into it, get some free flowing LFOs with some trigger LFOs… like, it’s another ball game.
The one thing I love about the SX is I can just turn it on, hit record and go wild. Pull the files off the SD card later and do something with them. The OT never gave me that freedom.
Remember also, you can sequence the OT FX with the digitakt as well. No sequencing the effects on the SX.
4 Likes