Baby, Don't Fear the Sampler: My Creative Process with the Elektron Octatrack

a step by step walkthrough of my process with my favorite piece of gear
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check out my beat-driven work at: synecdochemusic.bandcamp.com

[@allyouracid]

"This is a sampler" → and a mixer, an effects device, a synthesizer, a dawless DAW... it's the center of my setup since years, and for the most part, it even replaced my mixer, It's literally the only device in my device chain which constantly teaches me new things. I don't have this with any other piece of gear... the TR8S maybe comes remotely close, because from time to time, I discover things I didn't know, yet. But with the Octatrack, it's possible to discover whole new "paradigms" if you will, after years of intensive use. I love this device.

[@Hairface123]

This is probably the most entertaining octatrack tutorial i've found

[@AtTheTableGames]

DANG that means a whole heck of a lot to me. i’m really glad you enjoyed it. i hope to remain the most entertaining octatrack youtuber. maybe eventually the most entertaining youtuber. i’m coming for pewdiepie’s neck 😤

[@djturkishicecream4704]

35:08 You can double tap Fx2 and set the dark reverb setting from MIX to SEND. That way, the reverb tail will keep playing even when you pull the crossfader back to the dry side.

[@AtTheTableGames]

now this is the kind of base level knowledge i should (but don’t) have that i live for

[@djturkishicecream4704]

@@AtTheTableGames But I can't finish tracks, so more power to you 😂

[@maousssify]

Best otcatrack video on YT

[@najitin2333]

Never stop doing these! This is infotainment gold.

[@AtTheTableGames]

i won’t, so long as i keep learning stuff about the octatrack and people keep wanting to listen to me ramble about it! thank you so much for your kind words 🙏🏻

[@rhudson3290]

This is the most entertaining music channel on KZbin. I literally LOL. I have no doubts you will eventually reach 1 million subscribers. Keep up the great work.

[@el_dani]

Thanks a lot for calling my attention to this album (Dive), it was the soundtrack of my 7 weeks paternity leave and will never forget this period of my life..

[@caleblaughlin8351]

“.....daddy keep doing his work”. 😂 love it!

[@HarryKelvin]

Okay. This makes me want to pull out my OT that I’ve NEVER BEEN ABLE TO REMOTELY UNDERSTAND. Thank you for this.

[@AtTheTableGames]

thanks so much for watching! i’m now offering one on one lessons on my patreon, if that’s something that might interest you. i’d be happy to sit down and just try to get you up to speed in any case. so glad to hear you’re gonna give the OT another go; it’s an endless joy once you can get your head around it

[@HarryKelvin]

I will likely take you up on that...! Much thanks.

[@robertgarvansnyder4665]

This is the best KZbin video I’ve seen in a decade. And a solid tutorial.

[@PostInquiry]

Are my kids crying or playing... Lol Such a wholesome tutorial, great job

[@swillm3ister]

19:46 Adorable father moment.

[@mayorbruno]

such a great tutorial, and your personality made me stick with it all the way through ❤️

[@qumumusic]

Well, you just convinced me to get an Octatrack! Super chill and entertaining video ^^

[@Tapepusher]

May I ask how your experience went? I’m familiar with Elektron, and I think it’s my destiny to get an mk2 to go dawless but I’m curious how someone 2 years in has found it, anything you would have liked to have known?

[@curtainsinmotion]

Great stuff! Really easy to follow with your digressions here and there ironically making it easier to remain attentive.

[@AtTheTableGames]

thank you so much! i really enjoy digressions but also don’t want them to go on too long or rambly or annoying or anything. i’m glad that hasn’t seemed to be the case. i trust the unfailing brutality of youtube comments to let me know if that ever changes. 😭

[@dudemanxx]

bro I'm halfway through - you are a goddamn riot. thanks for putting this together, I am actually learning plenty

[@photosinferno6870]

Brilliant Octatrack tutorial for ‘the rest of us’ …..love your banter makes it so easy to watch ❤

[@mattkaz9604]

Great video - good explanations, funny lines, cameos from your family. Subscribed.

[@cold_fashioned]

This was great. Keep 'em coming ! 🙌🏼

[@unsaame9505]

Oh the timestretch... Indeed, full of artifacts but it somehow is part of a "signature" sound which I love! Thanks for the video; very entertaining and informative!

[@FemiFleming]

This is the most fun tutorial ever oh my lord

[@weepwow]

Excellent, great tips...you def. know your way around it. Recently bought OT MK-I (after selling MK-II), both are great, still learning it slowly. Anyone who buys an OT needs at least a year.. maybe 2 years realistically to turn it into an instrument. Best to not try to learn everything at once, just one thing at a time. Be Patient.

[@Josh-kn7lf]

"I'm tired and my bones hurt" 😅 Not sure if I'm watching for the comedy or the tutorial at this point haha.

[@Josh-kn7lf]

Getting Brian Regan vibes for sure 😆

[@atiron6543]

you’re hilarious, seem like a good person, enjoyed your run through here. i just recently bought an octa after having used the original for a while, years back, and the info here is a great refresher. lots of nuggets of humor and good tips. cool stuff was uplifting to find. thanks for making this

[@AtTheTableGames]

man this makes me so stoked to hear. i can’t thank you enough for the kind words and hope to keep being able to offer helpful tips as we all continue to learn this crazy machine

[@domeniquexander_]

Sooo good! Love your videos about the OT. One of the best i have to say. Would love to see more 🙂✊🏼

[@mickpattison7489]

Love the uploads I’m going to enjoy just sitting down with the OT catching up 👍

[@khairitannur]

You said there wasn't a reverse sample button but in the AED you can reverse selected slices. Comes in handy when you know there's a chunk you won't ever play forwards

[@AtTheTableGames]

oh wow that’s awesome! just goes to show you you’re never done learning with this thing.

[@a.r.noureldin4837]

funny dude, after watching this I bought the Octatrack and subscribed keep making these

[@fionakeenan]

really fun and super informative tutorial, what this darn machine needs! thank you 🙌

[@jbustamante850]

Thanks man! Thnak you for making learning this thisg less dawnting for all of us Gonna keep on learning !

[@patrickp9624]

Just recently and finally got my OT and.... dude, you're way on top of the tutorial game right here! Keep 'em coming! Would love to hear your thoughts on the Peak and obviously other drawings your children did. Thank you!

[@georgeredpath5394]

They were playing. Great video. Your content is fantastic I think you will go far

[@haonyoass9556]

Love your videos keep it up man!!

[@bandersong4650]

Got an OT MK2 coming soon, I had an MK1 long time ago but I couldn’t get past how obtuse it was and I also had a lot less experience. Enjoying your content

[@robertsyrett1992]

8:26 I am pretty sure you have to enable slice mode because it changes the mapping for some of the parameters like "start" switches from where in the sample to begin to which slice to play (which is one of my favorite things to modulate with LFOs and scene locks). This was an enjoyable video, thanks for making it. It's sort of perfect for my skill level, I know the things I really enjoy and know very little about certain features. This sort of fills in some of those gaps.

[@Ethyl.breaks]

This machine is a lot of fun and frustrating at the same tine. Just got one about two months ago. Thanks for the videos

[@savnac]

stand up comedian on the weekends?? you’re a natural!

[@regitpaws556]

You're like the dad I never killed

[@AtTheTableGames]

never say never

[@cesarbaca]

I love your jim gaffigan impressions. 👍🏽

[@ron2298]

Another awesome video thank you as always great content. You rock

[@BrianSiskind]

I started sampling on an ESI32 in a time called "the 90's" - been making records for 20+ years - and never enjoyed learning any music tech as much as this. Started in on the OT just 2 weeks ago and have been fully hooked. I feel like many have a hard time with it because it requires effort, creativity, and a curious mind - and there is no workaround - you have to do the work and believe in the reward until you see it. I am middle aged now, so I can say "I remember when" garbage... so I remember when I had to spend weeks hacking an office computer to get it to play 2-3 minutes of 4 tracks of audio without crashing. I remember wanting to add reverb to a track and not being able to preview it, guessing, and it taking 20 minutes to render - just to find out it sucks. We walked to school in the... well... so yeah we had no resources then basically. If people have an OT, and open mind, time, and access to your videos they will learn at light speed, and actually enjoy the process! Thanks so much. I would say "keep being you", but that makes no sense to say and I hate it when people say that. I imagine there really is no other option, which is a good thing. Also long comments are the worst. Oh, and my best friend worked with Tycho on the last few tours doing all their Ableton/playback and tech/production. I will pass this on to him he will appreciate what you made here.

[@jeitoots]

Great video. Nice pink nails too, good colour.

[@BillyMcBride]

Your style of humor reminds me a little of Joshua Cohen's in his book, Book of Numbers (which I recommend if you haven't already read it). Thanks again for your video.

[@huukihuuki]

jfc dude, you're hilarious. I just bought OT and I'm trying to wrap my head around this cursed box, your vid was very helpful

[@Tapepusher]

Can you transfer samples to the CF card via usb connected from computer to the OT? Or can you only transfer from computer to the RAM or something?

[@vvlvmusic]

Really really good stuff, had to subscribe right away. So lemme know why trigless trigs f'ing whip, I need to know ;) Also just bought an OT myself a week ago and trying to wrap my head around it. This has to be the most... esoteric piece of gear I own, and that alone makes me want to hump it. Anyways, keep the vids coming, I for one appreciate them a lot.

[@teknotarot3125]

its def important to dad up every sample. dad up you guys!

[@alias_mino]

are the button and screen really that blue? or does it just look like that in the video?

[@isaac.anthony]

I just re-watched this, you killed me with "and disrespect your parents" I'm dead.

[@isaac.anthony]

BUBBLES!

[@Eric-oq7ly]

This video is amazing and somehow is pushing me to get this thing (even though I have a digitakt, which I’m now obsessed with). I’m going to be depressed when I don’t see the random images appear on the UI though. Also, asked the “are my kids crying or playing” q today as well LOL.

[@badeomusic]

I don't have an Octatrack but had to stay for those sweet gags

[@Imbackoutside]

This was really cool man. Learned at least 5 things. Can you send me a link to those nice bass samples: )

[@saluddiaz]

Great video thanks! I hope you consider doing the same for Digitakt and Digitone! love it

[@aidanvinum]

Cool vid. Is there a way to have all your sample time available in 1 project? I don’t need different projects. Just on place to have a shit load of samples to use at any given time. \

[@AtTheTableGames]

i’m not 100% sure i know what you mean. samples are pretty easily accessible at any given time. if you mean a way to have samples already loaded up into the sample slots, i suppose you could save a template project with 128 samples loaded into their slots, but that would be your limitation. it’s probably easier to just use different projects and pick your samples as needed, just as you’d do in a DAW or whatever.

[@ehinam01]

"Oh my gawd Daniel" 😆

[@AtTheTableGames]

how she puts up with me, i’ll never know. 😭

[@usuwaniestukotu722]

Now thats how you make enganging tutorials :D

[@galkema]

I like it!, you don't suck. Thanks for that. SUB'ed

[@EZBOT_]

Hahaha, this is gold! I am so glad I clicked on that meme

[@AtTheTableGames]

i’m glad you clicked on it too! thanks for the kind words 🙏🏻

[@Chasing_Thoughts]

Dood Dive is a great album!!!

[@tendingtropic7778]

haha same here with regards to kick samples.

[@hellohogo]

6:35 a challenge to the KZbin ethos...I love it 😂

[@AtTheTableGames]

someone put “challenger to the youtube ethos” on my gravestone

[@station2station544]

One of the better videos on one of the most creativity destroying machines ever made. I say that based on reading countless posts in the forums that say "I just put on a pot of coffee and swore that THIS TIME I would learn the Octatrack...and I failed". Does this unit not have swing?

[@densebutton]

It does indeed have swing, and you can enable/disable it per step too. I also don't get how so many people hate on the OT for being so hard to learn, it's really not that bad imo, you just need to have some idea what you want to do with the thing, and actually use the manual.

[@astralscare1124]

I love this video. Please make more octa videos and make me spend money on it so it can join the digi brothers in my setup. I can relate that 99.9% of all kick drums sound like shit and it makes me sad.

[@347thetim]

nails are sick!

[@pablix809]

this is only straight weird truth. thank u

[@AT-eh2eo]

Here is the best answer a kid could give lmao

[@garrettdebell]

Nice! Repping the nail polish! I got some weird toxic flak for black nails on one of my old OT vids lol. ✌️

[@AtTheTableGames]

man that’s such nonsense. why would you not want to wear nail polish? it’s the best! my two boys ask to have their nails painted and love it too. no need to reinforce arbitrary gender norms, we should be past all that. solidarity, my man 🙏🏻

[@ChristianHuygen]

@@AtTheTableGames Another upvote on the nails. Also you said "abundant joy." I like this video a lot.

[@RapidFlow_Shop]

808 likes… preventing me from liking this

[@Nhiimusic]

fully agree on Naruto

[@chriscopeman8820]

I would like to like sampling, but I just don't get it. During my rather longish life I've become fond of opera, I learned to love jazz and there is even some rap that's okay, but help find a way to like sampling. What should I listen to? It's jarring the way it stops and starts. Is that the point? If someone will explain "why sample", I will be grateful.

[@micedevice2389]

I think rap (or hip hop) relies on sampling...so there is a chance you already like it ;)

[@fathead3840]

If you want to learn a little about sampling I would recommend listening to donuts from j dilla. He has a way of making everything super smooth. Sampling doesn't have to be jarring, alot of the time you might not even notice it's a sample.

[@rustikinc63]

Sampler on this device is the best sampler I never figured out how to properly use...lol

[@Tapepusher]

may I have that sampler of yours, I’ll give you hugs, k pls k tanks

[@housemachine509]

Ha ha subscribed

[@kristjanvolcini2249]

lol my fav dbz character iz Frieza ,,, that was unexpected :D hahaha

[@xc3n]

Yes I'm a dad, yes life is bad, yes I am sad... #fire

[@playgroundofsound7683]

Omg 😂😂

[@huukihuuki]

GOD DAMN FUCK I DIDN'T SAVE THE SAMPLES

[@TheDjFac]

Digitakt + XFader...

[@808pacificstate]

“Esoterica”

[@TheFlippertube]

Make it my own and..... profit. LOLLLLL

[@johannesnystad1355]

Spoiler alert: Sasuke gets some nine tailed woop ass...

[@RevTheAcid]

Jesus fucking Christ😂😂😂😂

[@xivivix7195]

You should stop producing and just be a rapper. Those bars are 🔥🔥

[@alienanxiety]

As someone who also has misophonia, you will understand why I can't watch this video past 30 seconds because of the dry sticky sound of your mouth. Your other videos are fantastic though!

[@AtTheTableGames]

yeah i really learned to not put my mouth so close to the mic. the audio is less consistent level wise but ideally it won’t torture people sensitive to that kind of stuff. for what it’s worth, the video gets less close and quiet as it goes on. i really did try to edit out all the particularly nasty stuff! 😭

[@alienanxiety]

The Messy Desk thanks, bud. I will def check it out later. I find some days sounds don't bother me as much as others. Maybe I'm just sensitive today! Thanks!

[@TheRealDanMac]

pink nail polish? is this trend of some type? because it needs to stop

[@salamandersam1299]

booooo

[@AtTheTableGames]

no 💕

[@benhall2235]

Happily the Digitakt does timestretch now (sort of)