Brains for DAWless:Octatrack - Pros/Cons + Mini MIDI Tutorial

[@dasa-brainwash850]

I love the steeper learning curve of the OT because it means there's often something new to discover around the corner. Its depth means I don't get bored of it like the few other devices I've owned. So I recommend people buy it to help to keep their GAS under control! 😆

[@MrMarcLaflamme]

One of the hugest draws to me is the live looping functionality. It looks so fun and creative to use!

[@pepejul]

The OT manual is quite good after you already know your way around the OT and know exactly what you're looking for. It's written from a pure engineering perspective, I wish they had put more explanation as to why or for what purpose you'd want to do xyz function. It's like explaining how to change a follangy for a drivewarp in a plasma engine but leaving out the part explaining what the hell does any of that mean and why would I want to do that.

[@G.GordonMidi]

Here’s my impression of the OT manual: Table of Contents: “STATIC MACHINES - page 108” Page 108: “for more info on STATIC MACHINES refer to page 34” Page 34: “for more info on STATIC MACHINES refer to page 176” Ad Infinitum. It’s like an un-fun scavenger hunt lol. It *is* thorough tho. I’ll give ‘em that.

[@BenGeorge77]

I don't know if you're still into the Octa, but I use a Korg SQ-64 (dumb cheap on Reverb now, 130US$) as a three channel MIDI-CV (with a mod lane each!) and midi-clock-to-sync. There's also the hack to use the Octa's CUE out as a clock to sync the modular, route the Octa's metronome super loud just to the CUE and also edit the metronome's pulse rate in the PROJ submenus. Or sample a loud click and actually sequence it from a track routed directly to CUE for wacky timings.

[@justinjones2595]

Big props to Synth Dawg for sure. This was HUGE.

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

Absolutely! Total gamechanger🔥🔥

[@ChristopherOrth]

I believe the Octatrack benefits from that very human bias of "if I don't get it, then the thing must be complex, and thus of high value". The worse a human user interface is, the more it will usually be perceived to be amazing or great. And the best user experiences you have ever had, you don't remember because they were so seamless as to go unnoticed. Thus, the Octatrack mythos. Not enough people really ever get to explore it's true capabilities because they remain forever in the holding area of remembering which multi-key maneuver it takes to do something as basic as copy something from one track to another. Mythos reinforcement again if doing anything, even a basic task, takes a significant amount of effort we as a user often feel we did something significant, when in fact we just worked really hard. Effort is often confused for output value. I banged on an Octatrack for a year and was quite disappointed in it's actual capabilities. There are strengths to be sure, but overall it was not worth the time, effort or $, and many things about the box were a big letdown. I believe more people would feel the same if they had the time/opportunity to get past what is inarguably the worst interface on any musical device ever.

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

A very valid point my friend! Can’t tell how much of the adrenaline comes from when things actually go my way vs the actual utility lol. Then again, I am an avid Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Sekiro games fan, so I love a little difficulty in my entertainment I guess😅 thanks for watching and for the food for thought!

[@rocl420]

Gotta agree. "Hours spent reading manuals and watching tutorials" to figure out the basics, nah man. Props to RTFM dawg for stepping up where the manufacturer failed, but this has sunk cost fallacy written all over it.

[@ChristopherOrth]

@@MidlifeSynthesist I will say that even though I sold my Octatrack and Digitakt, I did keep my RYTM, because that thing is freaking great! Still more kruft and friction in the UI than necessary, but totally within workable realms, and there is lot of unique functionality for a drum machine/jam box that doesn't exist elsewhere.

[@whoadog8725]

The Jupiter XM has a worse UI than the Octatrack by a wide margin. That said, they are similar devices because they both do a wide variety of tasks very well. It seems to me that you never really had a clear purpose for acquiring the OT, which is totally understandable in the current environment of YT driven GAS culture. The OT does it job perfectly as a live sampler, deep sound design tool and mixer. The midi sequencing is basically an XoX/tracker love child and definitely not as robust as a linear sequencer like an MPC.

[@lockyp204]

The octatrack is like trying to perfect an instrument. You need to turn it on and study it a couple of hours a day- everyday. But it is pretty uninspiring to be honest. I felt like I was trying to be a data entry clerk as opposed to a musician

[@andrij.demianczuk]

The fact that the unit is a decade old and still a top dog says something. Look at the MPC 4000-s for example. They’re 25 years old and still highly desired!

[@nepntzerZer]

I think the DAC's make this thing sound like shit, maybe works for some genres but it really needs a proper upgrade

[@andrij.demianczuk]

@@nepntzerZer I think it depends how you use it. If I’m live recording, I do so in 24-bits rather than the default 16. Most times though, I’ll sample on my computer and transfer the cuts directly over the CF card. I play mostly lo-fi hip hop and acid house

[@IDMENTAL]

Chheeezus, finaly! First 2 weeks with Octatrack was hell! But im close, so close, i ve got to break thru this hardware geegs shiT)!!! Thx for info! We need it! I need! Who else need it??? ))

[@K.KILLORAN]

Synchronicity. The very topic I have been pondering.

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

🤩

[@bikesbeersbeats]

I moved away from the OT as my main sequencer brain, it just got to be too limiting and I could get things done in ableton 10x quicker. I still love using it for resampling and looping with my ableton setup. For me this has been the happy medium of using it quickly and effectively rather than spending hours and hours in the manual and watching youtube videos to figure out how to get something done. The fact that we are still making videos about essentially the same piece of hardware thats 10 years old is incredible. I feel they nailed it with the digitakt, they took the best of the OT and made it instantly accessible without the complexity.

[@lundsweden]

The Octatrack is great, but the Digitakt is also appealing. The Akai MPC One is a viable alternative, very powerful, yes I get the its-like-a-DAW argument, but still it is a powerhouse. Nobody can argue the fact the Elektron has much better build quality though!

[@CartoonCityKid]

Synthdawg manuals are great!

[@dustyrhodes1655]

Nice video MS. Thanks to Analog Kitchens inspiration my MPC Live 2 is the brains on my setup and the OT is "joined at the hip"

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

They make a poweful duo!

[@krazywabbit]

10 year old device? Not bad. What’s also not bad is the great job of weaving in a mini tutorial into this video. Well done.

[@ktreier]

You have definitely inspired me to start my own channel and use my own personal GAS to good use. Hope you won’t mind the competition.

[@GeorgeLocke]

Need more in this series!!

[@paulmakl6282]

I like the idea of this series! Looking forward to it.

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

Thank you brother! I think it’s gonna be fun! See you soon🙌🏻

[@HelicopterRidesForCommunists]

I use all my gear in Ableton Live with the Push 3. Hybrid ftw.🙌

[@FrankyGun]

Thailand here!!! Nice video and great advice with the special “made for nornal humans” instruction manuals. Never had an Octatrak and rely on my Akai and Deluge... However, Octatrack seems to be a “have to own” gadget... What a wicked thing do do, to make me dream of... an Octatrack... 😁 Keep up the great work, brother! Love and light from Khao Lak, Thailand 🇹🇭 ❤️☀️🏖🌴🥥🐘🌈

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

Hey Franky! Always a pleasure to know you’re here my friend! Lol, sorry if this is getting your GAS going, all I can say is…. GO FOR IT!🤣 Lots of love from down south!

[@FrankyGun]

@@MidlifeSynthesist 👍❤️👍❤️👍

[@olafsigursons]

If you find the octatrak diffcullt to learn, I understand why you want to go dawless, the octatrak is so easy compare to Ableton live. You just have to learn a couple of KB shortcut and that's it.

[@PaulBreitzmann]

Definitely planning on checking out the Synthdawg manuals!

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

Highly recommended! Cheers my friend!

[@hovermotion]

Great vid...I did look at getting one about a year ago but I was put off by its complexity of its menus and multiple sub menus.. I went for the Deluge instead... Still a very unique machine as you say....I may still gey one to try out at some point... Jim

[@montecoucou53]

We don’t repeat over and over that a piano or guitar have steep learning curves. But they have. To master them, you need to put in the hours (years). Same with the OT. We should treat it as a completely different instrument. Not just a derivative of an existing format, That said, Elektron should offer bootcamps. Not just online. I’d happily save up to go somewhere to follow an intensive training.

[@leftmono1016]

Exactly correct. The OT can do many things so it takes time to learn.

[@sebasdv]

Great video MS, I hope some day have one of these for my setup. The LFO creator it's bonkers!!!.

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

Thank you for watching my good friend! Abrazo!

[@sebasdv]

@@MidlifeSynthesist abrazo!

[@williamwallace6508]

How do you rate this vs the deluge as the main sequencer for external synths? Pros cons and overall winner would be nice.

[@Number01]

Great series! Keep them coming. I've been eyeing the OT. I'll check out the handbook first. :) Wonderful channel. Heartfelt videos. I'll be watching this channel for years to come. Would you consider doing a sample tutorial as a b-side video accompaniment to this series? Your way of explaining clicks with me. Thank you!

[@ezoray]

You forgot your intro 😮 very informative video though, thanks👍

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

Lol, I just felt the starting talk was pretty long by itself so decided to skip the intro this time😜 thank you so much for watching!

[@JeffHopkinsMusic]

It was a nice video, but i do think I’d prefer to have heard something you’ve made that highlights this box at the end that highlights the capabilities of the device. Thanks for the upload.

[@josephs2791]

Nice video! I was looking at the octatrack but I ended up going with the mpc one as my midi brain. I spent all of my money on the polybrute lol so money was a big factor but I'm really enjoying the mpc one but I also have a lot to learn about it and am only using a small percent of what it can actually do.

[@josephs2791]

I have the polybrute, minibrute 2s, tr6s and drumbrute impact being controlled by the mpc one

[@afuckinusername]

Thanks again for another cool video! Looking forward to the next part of the series. I am just selling my MPC Live, the workflow is not for me. And I have trouble to decide between a digitakt and a deluge as heart of my system.

[@dgamusic4706]

Great video. I’ve always been intrigued by the Octatrack but never managed to give into my GAS, for once. It’s definitely something I want however given the ridiculous cost (I’m in Australia, we seem to get really stung by price) it’s been my “oh, I want X more than an Octatrack”. That being said, I’ve seriously considered removing a few items from my collection to purchase a ‘main’ device as my hub. This or an MPC X have been burning a hole in my heart and (potentially) my wallet.

[@StefVR]

No Overbridge is the deal breaker for me unfortunately. I really hope for an MK3 version of this device ideally also with more polyphony and midi tracks.

[@Lordxfx]

Dawless and Overbridge? I do get your point on the missing OB interface btw.

[@TheTechnobear]

great video :) I think the (at least for me) OT is primarily about the audio side... its just a perfect partner for eurorack... midi feels like a bonus, but I prefer a dedicated midi sequencer, (Squarp Pyramid)... or in eurorack a cv sequencer (USTA) ... but no doubting, if you want a small compact setup the OT with midi and audio, plus a synth is hard to beat!

[@whoadog8725]

Check out Max Marco’s video on the OT arp. You might find some inspiration for using the OT as a midi sequencer.

[@TheTechnobear]

@@whoadog8725 yeah I’ve seen them , it’s cool … but for day to day use , I find things like the pyramid quicker and easier, particularly when I’m just recording ‘live’ input from keys. ( also not limited to 8 tracks) However, I think all sequencers ( thankfully) offer something different , the OT is no exception . things like the pyramid/deluge are workhorses … whereas the OT can be a bit more inspiring at times. ( same thing with eurorack sequencers) But the OT is king for recording and playing with audio, so I let it focus on that.

[@grayshadowglade]

The arp feature on the Octatrack looks a lot like the software qmidiarp. It has almost the exact same features. I wonder if they derived from it a bit. It's a solid design and I feel more MIDI dedicated hardware should go that route. A customizable arp goes a lot further than any fixed ones. If you need thoughts or details on the Squarp Pyramid in the future just ask. I have been using one for almost 2 years and it's really super powerful as a MIDI brain. I'd be happy to share it's pros and cons with you.

[@HerrShield]

I think the midi sequencing would be better referred to as paraphonic instead of polyphonic. All notes share the same start time and length. Furthermore they cannot overlap with notes held from a previous step. This is a huge letdown compared to the other sequencers you mentioned which actually have polyphonic sequencers. There is also no overdubbing when real-time recording either on the octatrack. I originally bought my octatrack mostly for sequencing polysynths but rather quickly replaced it with something else. If that’s the main use case I’d strongly suggest looking somewhere else.

[@G.GordonMidi]

What did you end up with if you don’t mind me asking?

[@HerrShield]

@@G.GordonMidi I nowadays mostly use nerdseq and occasionally use hapax.

[@domeniquexander_]

Love this thing. It’s my favorite device. I know a lot people would love the crossfader with all the functions with midi. Do you think it’s technical possible with an update? This would be so cool but i think Elektron have other plans.. best, d

[@nepntzerZer]

i think the akai force has the upperhand for a straight forward live brain rig.

[@InkyDaCaT]

Ive just swapped my midi brain....always was Mpc live. I bought a force but having never used Ableton (or mpc) before, just got on with MPC? That is until I was asked to sets? Tried with sequences on mpc...but now know I needed the force? Its far easier to do a longer set?

[@gertumlauf5471]

I just own the digitakt, but i am on my way to be an Elektron fanboy. I like the absence of a Touch screen, i like the clicky Buttons, i like the Encoders... I enjoy playing around with it much more than with the force... Maybe next buy is the analog heat , or the octatrak or the analog 4... Only Thing i dont like is the digitone, but the digitone keys looks so gorgeous, but the FM stuff is nothing for me

[@vince89503]

Does anybody ever wonder why modern outboard midi sequencers are so limited when it comes to tracks and poliphony ? I remember having Casio keyboards from the early 2000's that had 16 track / 48 note poliphony midi sequencers. They cost about $250. Yamaha home keyboards from the same era had these features as well.

[@cesarcarreno_]

Good video! The sequencer is most appealing to me. Do you know how to obtain the same results or experience with another sequencer? Even though I feel I know I will eventually end up buying an octatrack

[@orkunbagatur5055]

Hi ! first of all thanks for useful information about our belowed OT :) but how about changing presets of an external synth while changing the patterns on OT ? for example Nord Drum 3p. I think we are limited only with 4 parts to change the presets and subbanks. Am I right? 🤔

[@tendingtropic7778]

what forgotten fader are you talking about?

[@DarioMiticocchio]

The problem with OT is not learning it, it’s troubleshooting: when something goes wrong it can be in a million different places, some of which you don’t even know exist 🤣

[@blindianajones]

Would be nice if they could find a way to incorporate midi learn on all Elektron devices. I appreciate you making the video but this device is not for me.

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

Absolutely! I think it’s a love it or hate it kind of device and if it doesn’t speak to you, thankfully there are many very cool alternatives👍🏼 Maybe next one in the series will be more to your liking🤟🏻 cheers and nice to see you again my friend! 🍻

[@blindianajones]

@@MidlifeSynthesist Yeah, its how my brain works with different interfaces. I did enjoy the deluge and I think it being a brain is probably its greatest superpower. Im using a keystep pro now because I wanted midi and eurorack integration.

[@kisho2679]

after a decade, why doesn't a hardware update come out to cope with those old known cons?

[@dustyrhodes1655]

The lead designer is no longer with Elekteon. I'm 99% sure there won't be another update not a MK3

[@LunaticDandy]

Everytime i'm considering new gear I ask myself : Is an Ipad can do it ? And most of the time... Yes. Soi restrain my GAS like this !

[@el_dani]

Squarp Hapax for MIDI, don‘t look any further..

[@slowfreq]

2:30 Bruh literally jumpcut one word

[@rashodlewis2918]

1st. 🎚🎛

[@MidlifeSynthesist]

🙏🏼❤️