Howto: Octatrack Banks, Parts and Patterns

Today lets look at banks and parts on the Octatrack and what they do and what you could do with that. You can basically store 4 completely different beats into a single bank. Full demo begins at around 7:13
This is my attempt on the subject. There are many like it, but this one is mine. I hope the demo makes it clear how each layer works.
#elektron #dawless #jam
If you wanna support this channel, please visit: / cellrok
My Gear:
- Roland TB-03
- Novation Peak
- Behringer Neutron
- Behringer Model D
- Arturia Beatsteap
- Arturia MicroFreak
- Elektron Digitakt
- Elektron Digitone
- Elektron Octatrack
- Elektron Analog Heat
- Elektron Analog Drive
- ModeMachines Cerebel
- Behringer FCA1616
- Beyerdynamic DT-770

[@levinsonl]

I feel like this is how the OT was intended. Resample 1 shots and midi instruments into loops. Sequence the loops with patterns and parts. Using 1 shot samples with parts didnt make sense to me but this doe, really well done

[@blankgen8003]

Major revelations at 3am today thanks to this VIDEO. I got it thanks and won`t be selling my toy

[@canigetuuhhh]

I just understand now that parts are like kits from the analog four... Thanks for your tutorials, they really helped me to learn the Octatrack faster

[@JesCarlskov]

Happy owner of an OT that I bought last week. Thanks so much for this very clear explanation! And great jam at the end.

[@tele_visiones]

Thanks for the tutorial, it really help to understand how it work. Sometimes this machine is really complex.

[@mindexpansionpuzzles]

Really loving how concise your approach is. Keep it up!

[@station2station544]

a valiant attempt to explain the near impossible.

[@howardanderson3061]

Wow another super helpful "Howto", thanks once again. You have clarified so many OT concepts that I was having trouble with!

[@SONWU]

Hi Howard :) Great to see you here..you got an Octatrack?

[@midinerd]

Set at the end was awesome, thanks for the explanations as well!

[@JRoecker]

Jams at the end I almost expected to hear, “Bruce Willis is dead!” Great information and music!

[@Motikaa]

This was beyond helpful! Thanks a bunch! Keep them coming.

[@rspmusic796]

Great tutorial. I am glad that i am understanding the instrument better with videos like these. Thank you !!

[@patoise187]

excellent demonstration

[@ernestpall1665]

Thank a lot, your video was helpful in many ways! Nice fluent dance with the OT to outro the video as well.

[@j.shelton5147]

First time I've understood that. Well done.

[@weepwow]

Excellent, thanks for the tutorials, just got my OT mk2 , have to admit my head is spinning,,, info overload, but thats OK, thats why we're here...

[@rhudson3290]

Excellent tutorial. thank you.

[@imalasound]

this was very helpful for me atm :) thanks mate! Also cool track :)

[@sunshine_primo]

love this - super clear - cheers!

[@stephanechamotif_rblackwoo4528]

Oh yes it is because since akai s750. . Samplers allways a pain in the ass. Always. Im into it since 89. For HOUSE. For Techno. Bhut we all made it a bit.

[@MrBlueHaze]

Stellar tutorial

[@noizeguerilla9136]

Solid tutorial! Thx! And some propper vibes at the end!

[@cellrok]

Glad you liked it!

[@mrpawel4742]

Thanks for Great Tut

[@piotrjanowski454]

great tutorial! Thank You! You could experiment with the shutter speed of Your camera. Since You are probably in Europe than You should try any multiplication of 1/50. That should get rid of the flickering of the OT screen.

[@specialcharactersgilesdick8876]

That track at 10:48+ is super dope dude!

[@iwishiskated1562]

Super helpful thx!

[@cellrok]

Glad it helped!

[@benoitdewandel]

;-) always clear

[@andrzejolejnik991]

great!

[@markov_process]

I've had mine for about a year at this point, have wrapped my mind around nearly everything else at this point but have still not gotten comfortable with parts!!!!!! Wow this is something I've really been wanting to do be able to do to quickly be able to spice things up with the same pattern (even with modulation) gets boring very quickly. Hot swapping sample kits >>>>>>

[@cedric2280]

parts are good but it's a little problematic because if you modify something it can affect other pattern by accident... 128 parts (16 per bank) can be a very good update from elektron i think

[@LimGiong]

Thanks.

[@someonestudio8624]

brilliant

[@cellrok]

i'm glad you found it helpful. more tutorials are in the works. let me know if you want me to cover a certain feature of the OT.

[@M.Philips]

Thank´s ;)

[@ginorossi4231]

Thks u so ,uch,

[@Dt3kno]

But what if you need this idea to work with other elektron gear, for example an analog rytm and an analog key? How this idea will work with all those gear together?

[@isaacanthonydj4124]

Is there a way to send CC message to pattern change an external midi box? it would be nice if my tr8s and mc707 could advance pattern from octatrack parts change?

[@danraiche4823]

thanks great video!!! i was wondering, when i change to a new bank why do the samples follow and it doesnt start completly blank?

[@cellrok]

The number of sample slots is shared with every bank on the machine. By default an empty bank/part starts at sample-slot 1 for T1, 2 for T2 etc.. up to T8. So if you already populated Slot 1-8 in another bank/part then the next bank will show you those because it uses those slots too (until you change them to another free slot). What i used to do, because i found it misleading, was to NEVER put anything in Slot 1-8 on a new project. That way, when going to a new Bank, all 8 tracks show me the "~" sign, indicating i haven't used it in this bank yet. Of course i shouldn't use it in the new bank either.. Keep them empty. Instead i started using slots much higher by increments of 10. So i have 10 free slots for any given bank (8 tracks + 2 extra). Bank 1 starts at slot 11 - 19 Bank 2 starts at slot 21 - 29 Bank 3 is 31 - 39 and so on... You can use the same system, because it helps not accidentally replacing a slot with a different sample, that may be used in another creation (bank) and mess it up. But of course that amount of management might be overkill. Just remember to not put anything in Slot 1-8 and every new Bank/Part will start in a empty blank state.

[@danraiche4823]

@@cellrok great tips thank you so much!!! cheers from canada!

[@isaac.anthony]

So you can do 4 parts of a song, and then 4 songs per bank. Or at least that's how i am going to segregate my banks/patterns/parts now... Thanks for helping MY comprehension of how parts are tied to patterns, appreciate!

[@isaac.anthony]

On part 1 i will have a THRU machine for my EXT boxes to play thru. Then i can record those inputs onto FLEX buffer. Then assign PART 2 to the FLEX buffer that i just recorded into from EXT, now i have loops from my gear as well as loops on other channels of the OT, which means you can go to mangle-town on any of your lanes, including the tracks where you sampled from. Then assign part 3 to have all your samples play in reverse, and channel 4 will figure out a different EFX scheme to setup, reverb and chorus instead of filter and delay?

[@rustikinc63]

Did you discuss the banks in this vid?? I am wondering can you load/save banks without stopping playhead?

[@cellrok]

Yes, you can go through all banks and patterns and parts seamlessly. That's 16 banks x 4 parts x 8 tracks with individual configurations. And then there is also parameter locking to go even further.

[@nunsc]

Does the rytm have parts?

[@miguellucasmendes201]

You change the parts on the patterns? So you have distributed 4 different trigs per part? If you want to change the complete set up, let’s say to another BPm and machines. You that in the bank section? Many thanks

[@rustikinc63]

"For simplicity sake...lets start at 30" Great vid. joking. Did you update firmware for latest?

[@Dt3kno]

What if I use the octa to sync with analog key analog rytm. What‘s easier to have the octa as slave and let the rytm be the master or to have the octa as master?

[@cellrok]

I'd use the octa as master.

[@Lepetitortu]

When i change parts, the triggers always copy? Why is that?

[@touiarrial5823]

I am new to Elektron and motivated! I play tekno and am looking for the minimum set up: would you advise having the octa as the only machine of the set up? Or pair it with another Elektron machine and which one? Thanks

[@cellrok]

Digitakt + Oktatrack is a great combination. Digitakt is a mono sampler and I used it for drums one shots. The Octatrack can do stereo and you can use it for loops because it can do Timestretch. When you plug-in the Digitakt into the Octatrack you can add live effects on the drums, resample drum loops you made, etc. - you then have 16 tracks in total to make a track. You also have another stereo input free on the Octatrack then, on top of the Digitakt. You can either add 2x mono synths, or 1x stereo. For techno I would either get "Neutron + Moog Dfam" as two semi-modular mono synths, .. or just 1 polyphonic synth like an Argon8 or Hydrasynth, which are both stereo wavetable synthesizer. Argon8M would be the cheapest at 550,- That is IMHO the most potent and compact dawless setup one can have. Two samplers, two synths. And you don't even need a mixer. Just headphones and go.

[@touiarrial5823]

cellrok Thanks for these useful inputs. I would like to concentrate on the Elektron here. My purpose is to play hard tekno live (and why not pressing vinyls). Are you recommending the DK over the AR (why)? Why not mentioning the Digitone? Have all Elektron machines a mode song to chain patterns? Does it make sense to purchase 2 Elektron at the same time (when the octa has already a long learning curve)? Thanks for your inputs this will help me to make up my mind.

[@cellrok]

I didn't recommend the AR because it is very expensive and I never had one because of it. If you have the money I would get it instead a Digitakt of course. The DT is nice but not my kind of sound. Maybe I was just bad at FM but I never got to really like it. Its difficult to recommend a smaller or a bigger setup. You can make full songs with just a DK or just a OT or AR.. if you wanna do techno I guess starting on the AR is a good idea and then either add OT or some synthesizer with a sequencer (or beatstep pro) would make a nice pair. The smaller elektrons don't have an arranger mode/song mode. I know OT has one. Not sure about AR.

[@harmony2368]

So parts "save" info of a different slot you selected, and can hold info of different setting of LFO, FX etc , but is not meant to use to change the trigs selected like when you are composing without using parts and triggering for example a Hi hat in 1,5,9,13, trigs and then all the trigs together to create eight notes in a next pattern for example. Is interesting that parts can hold info about the LFO, FX etc settings without the need of "parameters locks". Am I correct?

[@cellrok]

Yes. Notes(and any locks) and Parts are two separate things. A better term for parts is "Kits", if that makes it easier. The notes and locks basically only store what slot is being triggered and what knob should have a certain value in time. Being part of the sequencer, they don't care about the content of the slot. The parts on the other hand determine what is inside these slots and some general settings. They define the tone and can be swapped out on the fly.

[@tele_visiones]

Is it possible to change machines in the same project?

[@JoshElliottMusic]

Yes. Machine assignments are associated with parts.

[@joshkorody7376]

so at 7:12 you're just switching patterns in a single bank, not using parts. But you can change a tracks sample per pattern? Just trying to figure out the advantage of parts then, If you only get 4, where as patterns you get a bunch and can copy-paste them and change things up including samples?

[@shatteredsquare]

Do parts work on midi channels?

[@cellrok]

Good question. I'd think so. Haven't tested.

[@sonicneutronic]

Sold mine a few weeks ago and couldn't be happier. Never truly enjoyed it, and felt I was forcing being in love with it. Very next day after I sold/shipped it, the price dropped about $400 in Canada.......I will never go Octa-Back. lol @cellrok - what's going on with your gear these days, I have a feeling you are in the midst of lots of changes to the setup this past 2 months....? Didn't you sell the Elektron stuff too?

[@cellrok]

Yes, i'm free off all things Elektron (took a loss financially, but lessons learned). I also got rid of all Behringer synths except one Neutron. I am now running fully hybrid with a Push2 and MaschineJam, after an excursion in Native Instruments land. This is actually my second Push2 after i sold my own. My current setup: Peak, Rev2, Tb-03, Neutron, Maschine Jam, Push 2, Arturia Keystep and VSTs for Sequencing and Samples. I also currently suffer from back-pain for weeks and wait for a proper diagnosis in another 2 weeks, hence working in the studio and new videos has been difficult for me. Couldn't fully enjoy it which is a bit of a bummer, but i work on beats every time i can but alas don't feel like posting it. - maybe i should, dunno. Being sick sucks. Anway.. my setup now feels super solid as i have everything one could ask for, really. They all work well together and lots of gear passed through here and i just kept the best items. That Hydrasynth i was after still isn't available yet and i am no longer as interested as i used to be looking at a mountain of software WaveTable synths i now own. I got a couple flagship softsynths during Blackfriday. :) How's your setup going? Are you going hybrid too (DAW+Hardware)?

[@E65txxx]

How comes you are just changing patterns but the sample is changing as if you are changing parts?

[@cellrok]

inside a pattern you can define which part should be used. Think of "parts" as "kits". A set of sounds. You can tell the pattern which set (part) it uses and the rest is just sequenced notes playing them.

[@ALIASZARDOZ]

In my point of view : 1) It is a machine only for Hip Hop, RnB, Trance, House, Techno... etc... etc... 2) You waste a phenomenal time to produce anything when you have inspiration. 3) When I see and heard all step by step before get a great musical song, you see an analysis programer on IBM in 70s... Listen to the buttons sounds... it's horrible. 4) So I think this machine is regression instead of progression. It is only my feeling.

[@cellrok]

Yup, that's correct. I got rid of the OT and now work with a mix of classic multitrack recording and computer production while also interfacing my synth hardware from my DAW instead. Octatrack is great for a specific task, like live performance of pre-recorded stems and remixing/looping - for larger production i would also suggest something else.

[@am5790]

but do you think it was meant to be a sketch tool during inspiration? or more for arranging after idea is implemented externally ( for speed) ,,,,but I am never in a rush as a hobbyist.

[@cellrok]

I think it was made for live remixing with some extras to support the setup. You can add a synth to play along, control midi effects remotely and it also has some onboard fx to spice thinks up.. Like many scenarios that the OT supports I think some discovered it for production and just used it for that - and of course got very good with it. But I also think they endure many necessary workarounds for working that way. It's a choice. Just like using it as effect box or just a recorder.. just by itself I would say it was ACTUALLY made for remixing and performing finished tracks on a gig

[@rhudson3290]

Good points Phil, but that's what I love about the OT. It's a different approach to the creative process!!

[@christopherknowles]

This is too loud.

[@DoseOver88]

se tieni premuto part e premi una freccia cambia all'istante senza dover premere yes

[@mehrdadsobhani5206]

What are you doing man. 🤔🥱