DAWLESS Live Set Preparation on Octatrack and FINALLY Understand "Parts"

[@RickyTinez]

Thanks again for kicking it, hope you learned something! haha. Have anything you'd like to teach me? I always love the tips. Also, Check out Tracklib to get a special offer and free trial that you can cancel anytime - www.tracklib.com/campaign/partner?code=rickytinez

[@djveravillamayor]

I don't understand most of what he's saying (I wish I can be as nerd as him) but man.. his voice and the way he talks about everything are just kinda satisfying!

[@JamesBermingham]

This guys speaking voice is so chilled, it must be a great singing voice too. 🎤🤩

[@DanielD.mp3]

@4:42 I have been using Ableton Live for over a decade and I genuinely had no idea that you could just drag clips OUT of the Ableton environment back into your system like that. I am floored.

[@RickyTinez]

hahah right?! its so simple, that you'd think it is impossible.

[@TheCALMInstitute]

Ableton is super flexible in its export. You can choose to export only selected channels for selected time periods, export as 16-Bit 44.1kHz, and normalize. This is handy when capturing stuff for the Octatrack. I typically do 8 or 16 bar loops,(stuff like chopping and startpoint get less and less accurate the larger your file is!) and I can do an unlimited number of tracks in one go this way.

[@robertsyrett1992]

OT and DT are the 'no messing around' dawless set-up to end all set-ups. You can plan ahead, tweak live, and pack up in 10 minutes.

[@acidtechno]

13:50 it does make sense, was just doing this just today with the midi tracks and external mbase 11, with program change over the 4 parts set on the 16 patterns on the 16 banks. great for latched fills ..:) nice to have 4 midi setups "per bank" etc etc including lfos.

[@b.c.slumber3694]

I have bought and sold the Octatrack twice. So much effort for such basic functions. If the Digitakt did stereo sampling/playback this whole setup would have been achieved in quarter the time. In saying that Ricky, you always get the creative juices going, keep doing you!

[@liothomasart]

That's just crazy...i can't use that thing.

[@boblomu3685]

totally agree re digitakt stereo sampling... i'd pretty much be able to do everything i want to without the octatrack

[@RickyTinez]

Thanks BC! yea the OT is a special device for sure. It can be as complex or as simple as we'd need it to be. There are settings on it that make me laugh because they are soooo specific! Like who asked for this?!

[@TyQuinn]

@@RickyTinez Really hoping a mkiii with some of the Digitakt simplicity and Overbridge might be on the horizon!

[@hiveminded6033]

Dude, just, wow. Thank you, seriously! If you ever come to Belgium, the beer's on me.

[@dukwamusic]

I only use Part 1 for my live set. i change samples on the machines just pressing trig 1 and Level cursor Pos (selecting which samples i need in that machines for that pattern) if it make sense to you. Next time i will use Parts more in depht! Good work as usuale @RickyTinez 😍

[@brian3kb]

Parts = STEM (scenes, track params, effect assignment, machine config), and there’s a nice clear diagram near the beginning of the manual showing this. I was confused when I first wanted to learn how to use them, but there is no better description of them (and most of the rest of how to use the OT) than in the manual.

[@brainspoke]

totally agree... however, manual remains somewhat hard to digest for some brains (mine included) and I have had to bash my head against learning Octa for months with youtube leading the learning until I understood gradually more and more through trial (many many trials!!) and error (ditto!) UNTIL the manual started to make more sense to me!!! ...will check out the diagram you refer to now... :)

[@quiddam]

hey @RickyTinez another tip in case you didn't know that yet: you can "give up" one of your PARTS per bank,... to use as a "reload" part. That means, if you reserve PART 4 for this, and you are playing a song that is on PART 1,... you could C&P PART 1 in PART 4, swap to PART 4,... do a bunch of changes in PART 4 (like if you are trying to a buildup or something),... and then when you want to go reload back to zero (as you would do in the Digi with Func + NO) you can simply swap back to PART 1.

[@jfpx_live]

Nice one

[@DuckForPope]

You can also revert changes to a part quite easily by pressing func and cue. That way you won't need to sacrifice an entire part

[@user82938]

Yeah, why wouldn't you just tweak part 1 and then reload the part? What you're doing is unnecessary.

[@ikitat]

@@DuckForPope The elusive 5th part!

[@toshea1980]

Great video Ricky! My only issue is your recommendation for removing the CF card constantly. Every time you remove it and plug it in you run the risk of bending the pins in the Octatrack, so I usually stick to USB disk mode instead.

[@christdolphin69]

i dont get the rationale for removing it anyway. its no faster than moving files in usb disk mode and definitely doesnt justify physically pulling the cf card out every time you want to put a SAMPLE into a SAMPER

[@borayboray1]

@@christdolphin69 It was a promo plug, definitely not recommended

[@nkozi]

If you haven't already, check out the series Kenny Zhao did a few years ago on using stems with the OT. Whole thing is here on youtube

[@joshuamorganmusic]

I use the crap outta everything in the OT including parts. It’s the only way I can do my live set (lots of live instruments ie guitar/bass/vocals). Main thing is that parts let you change so much from pattern to pattern (machines/fx/lfo’s/etc). It’s weird to me seeing ppl not use, what to me, is a very integral part of the device. Same thing with the arranger (one of THE most powerful aspects of the OT)

[@ionianechoes]

That machine is just diabolic. I'm glad I finally got into the mc707 which is really intuitive 😀

[@DankePlace]

707 is opposite of intuitive when it comes to menu diving and 3 assignable knobs per engine.

[@ionianechoes]

@@DankePlace the mc707 needs no menu diving when performing, I'd say that's precisely one of its main strengths. You will menu dive when producing, but I mean...which complex groovebox requires no menu diving?? But in that, unlike the octatrack, you can perform mostly without any button presses even. Faders, knobs, pads...

[@DankePlace]

@@ionianechoes SP16 has 2 pages deep for menus, it destroys the 707 for UI, sounds better but does not have synth engines. I have owned both but still have the SP16, with a P6 filter, I know which is a better perf tool.

[@ionianechoes]

@@DankePlace also, I don't know whats not intuitive about the assignable knobs. You assign them for every clip to the desired parameters, you perform with them, you automate them. Easier imposible

[@DankePlace]

@@ionianechoes You have 3 knobs, that's it, that makes it an extremely poor capable perf tool, where you can manipulate your source, an Akai Fprce has a ton more capabilities for manipulation, and has a much better UI given it's driven by a 7 inch screen (fwiw I own that too)

[@Sinnersainthuman]

thank god I’m not the only one who had this issue with the looping trigger on an empty pattern haha! I do the -64 on the volume but the hold and release tip is superb! 🙏🏻

[@tezeta3725]

Theres a setting to turn it off somewhere. I think in pattern settings maybe

[@sock_park]

I'm just blown away by the thinking that went into this machine. Like 200 whiteboard scenarios, lol!

[@sock_park]

oh nooooe u got hacked homieeee

[@dkamhaji]

Nice and simple! Track 6 can be your neighbor track for your DT thru, and 7 your peak thru. Or, as is, and 7 be your relooper flex!

[@thelevicole]

22:34 solved a problem for me! Really great overview, excited to try some of these techniques out!

[@luciousfl0w]

MIKE HUCKABY TONES FOR THE WIN!!

[@555atU]

If i understood correctly, EZBOT also used parts for effects sets which is a very creative use of them and expands variety in an instant for a track.

[@RickyTinez]

yep! that's another great way to use parts!

[@Trovarsi]

said what word Parts about 50 times BUT I like it! Parts have been a little confusing to me, so thanks for breaking it down!!

[@DanielD.mp3]

@9:28 you can also actually just set Pattern Changes to SILENCE TRACKS in Project Settings > Control > Sequencer. Way easier method. There are times where you could want them to keep looping though. One time I told Kenny Zhao about a trick that lets you take advantage of this behavior for song transitions.

[@RickyTinez]

yea sometimes i want the track to play over. i have a long vocal sample that comes in and out and i find that it helps tie 2 songs together :)

[@AllThatsGone]

Thanks for doing what you do Ricky. Note to others - ‘See you later oscillator’ shirts make great holiday gifts.

[@bussauto6564]

Thank you again ! 64 step Hold tip switched some light on for me awesome

[@dorn_beats]

I use Parts like this: Every Bank houses two songs. Pattern 1-8 and Parts 1-2 are reserved for one song and Pattern 9-16 and Parts 3-4 are reseverved for the othe song. I like two have the flexibilty of having two parts per song. So far so good: 16 Banks x 2 Songs = 32 Songs, right? Yes, if you don't use a Digitakt (or Digitone in my case) along side the Octatrack. Because the smaller Boxes can only have 8 Banks. Crazy stuff... ;) Happy Jamming!

[@thomasvandendool6613]

nice one, was thinking of something very similar. having an extra part (at least) per song seems a hard requirement for certain styles of music

[@dudemanxx]

This was helpful for me because I also tend to think of parts like "versions" of patterns, rather than a necessary home for all the things that make a pattern useful. So in a composition setup, maybe you make patterns up until you need a new part to proceed, or you plan your bank around the parts available to you and make patterns accordingly. But yeah, using parts almost like scenes was not the way to go, and I was doing it for a while.

[@lukeward4619]

That track at the end is so smooth and atmospheric. Love it!

[@RickyTinez]

Thanks for chillin Luke! Appreciate you

[@inkfingers]

I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with parts on the OT. Your setup makes a lot of sense. Thanks Ricky!

[@Dessertofthereal]

Man the looop setting! This has been fucking with me for so long and I couldn’t find any info on why samples would keep playing.

[@RayMaxer]

Didn't see in the comments, but DEC - stands for Decimal, of course. Hex for Hexadecimal nearby.

[@smacksalad]

Thanks for your videos, Im gonna have to go back and see what Digitakt content you have. Just got myself a Digitakt a few weeks back and finally diving into it :)

[@Gaiadarko]

This video is amazing!! I've had the OT mk1 for a year and half now and sometimes i jusg hesitate on using it because it feels like too much work, this makes it so much easier

[@BrookBoley]

Can we just talk about the great head of hair Ricky Tinez has? Who knew. Awesome video as always.

[@FaustinoSeven]

@RickyTinez please could you make a video explaining Multis on the MPC4000 and how they are used in a workflow? I’ve been really struggling to wrap my head round how they should be used!

[@ayylmao3765]

Hi, thank you for explaining things, one question though, for example on 15:04 you change pattern on both devices manually to the same pattern 9, is it possible to trigger from the ot via midi to reflect on dt as well?

[@Synthdawg_]

Parts are sometimes overlooked or misunderstood. I made sure this had clarity in the Synthdawg Notebook

[@ajrodriguez5305]

Really digging your manual!

[@StevenFines13147]

Where can one find the aforementioned handbook?

[@HenriDeCarvalho]

I've used parts since the start because they allow to have variations of patterns...was surprised that most of the people did not used them...I still haven't figure out how to benefit 16 patterns in a live setup configuration when patterns in a same bank are independant and linked to each other. Right now i use to store one songe in one banks. Each song made of one pattern with 4 variations (4 parts ) per track...All the different groovebox/Sequencer/synth i've used (MPC, Roland MC, polyend tracker, Analog four, analog rytm) were for me much more simple to use for live setup. Sometimes i feel the Octatrack lack of fluidity and push you to find shortcuts to get a simple task done. it's a powerfull tool but not an quick and easy to use

[@patfinn2697]

Still scratching my head on the parts thing, but I’m sure it will soften this thick skull eventually. What I am trying to do ( with some success) and what I would love to see you approach in a video is using the OT as basically a looper to write songs with. I know this sounds like it has been done, but it really hasn’t. Cuckoo almost does it in the first tutorial but he gets lost in the weeds.

[@kantorbernat8263]

Very useful video! Why some elektron devices has this random, colorful blink on some buttons after booting up?

[@isaac.anthony]

i deal with the slow read/write because i'm paranoid that i'm going to break the pins on the card, thanks for consolidate command-J

[@sumdup]

i was about to comment the same thing, breaking a pin would not be fun and its a lottery people should probably avoid!

[@MrDarthSeriousmixes]

the noise in the video 🥰

[@synthesis2384]

Parts use the same samples with different effects blocks. Each part uses different effects. If you break it into pattern 1-4 part 1, patterns 5-8 part 2, etc. you can have 4 variations with different effects (not to mention scenes. The samples live in the banks, the trigs live in the patterns, the effects live in the parts. So much OT, so little time. Good luck with the gig. For stems at a live show I would stick to 1 part for simplicity. On each new song just go to the next bank, 16 more patterns with the new samples for that song. Your channel rocks 🤘

[@victor.b-mp3]

No, samples also connected to parts

[@dudemanxx]

@@victor.b-mp3 just to provide context from the manual: 10.2 PARTS "... A part consists of machine, sample and effect assignments along with track parameter settings and up to 16 scenes. Each pattern is linked to a part and one part is thus always active."

[@victor.b-mp3]

@@dudemanxx yea, I didn’t say “parts use the same samples with different effect block”

[@dudemanxx]

@@victor.b-mp3 I know. I’m adding context to your comment, because you’re right. If people read yours, they’ll see where they can learn more for themselves. I wasn’t correcting you.

[@synthesis2384]

Thanks for clarifying. That’s what makes the OT such a great machine. All the things you learn along the way.

[@bagheeramusic2452]

Thank you for that nice video! You helped me a lot with these informations and the food for thoughts! So now I can hopefully set up a good live set with my boxes!

[@raysubject]

very cool thanks for this video, those parts literally solved my only issue which was holding me back from buying Octatrrack (ok except of money lol) - i love how on digiboxes every pattern can be different song and was struggling how octa would fit to my set without this ability parts solved it. thanks !

[@giuseppemagistro6648]

10:34 I'm going mad with loop "hold" trick you mention some days ago. I find that if a put Hold to 128steps the loop continue to play over the last step in the same way as you put INF. I think its a bug. Have you tried that? I set the master to 128steps too.

[@Born_in_92]

Man that’s so crazy I thought the 16 patterns were per part 🤯 thank you for this!!

[@Djam0]

@ricky tinez this is great thanks for always sharing!! However by dragging & dropping the clip from ableton, you don’t get the channel processing or master processing on the clip/loop - unless something has changed in live?

[@liothomasart]

4:59 noooo... I screamed at the screen... You have to do all that gymnastics??? Damn I'm glad I'm using MPC 🤦🏾‍♂️ this is torture.

[@grindFish]

Damn i've been thinking of parts in that same back to front way. It's just so tempting to change parts on the fly but like you pointed out it doesn't make sense with out being a foundation for the pattern itself. Kinda the crux of many confusing ways of the octa track, just because you can doesn't mean you should 😵‍💫

[@Lexxo777]

I've been on the fence for an Octatrack for ages, love these videos, they pull me in 4 steps, then push me back out 3! Is there a flow chart or diagram online that can explain the "parts"?

[@user82938]

Yeah, if you look in the manual there are charts. But just think of parts as "kits." They basically work that way. So when he changes to a new part on another pattern, he is changing the kit of samples.

[@jesseukkonen]

Wow, so complex yet so useful! Very inspiring as well as I'm just getting into the Octatrack 🎛️✨

[@TheDustngel]

Man i love your dawless videos. I learn a lot from u... Ty my friend ricky :)

[@plasticchinamen]

I put the Octatrack down for a few months and somehow managed to forget almost everything I knew. I’m probably going to have to watch this a few times to get it.

[@willsoul007]

Hey Ricky, since working at Elektron have they ironed out all these little quirks that you raise about the Octa? Like the sample continuing to play when you change patterns? Looking at picking one up soon.

[@mjbrakspear]

Man, you always have the absolute best hats. Do you (and if so would you share) have any sample packs that you would recommend?

[@matshroom]

10 years later… finally using parts ‘properly’ ❤😂 love it

[@cooksoni.a]

after like the literal 20th time of rewatching the "parts" part, i think i'm finally getting it lol

[@ignaciodelvillararce4925]

thanks this inspires me to make a live set

[@peaceful_1]

You mentioned using the Launch Control XL for your dawless live set. What midi host device do you use? Thanks for another fun vid. Great to relax to on a Sunday morning.

[@chevere4209]

I’m still grinding away at this machine, I will not let it break me! Lol coming from the MPC world it’s such a different way of approaching things.

[@TimH123]

Yeah, but what is a Part? A way of swapping the sample set and patterns wholesale within the overall template of a project?

[@TRaddcliff]

Can PARTS be set to direct [instant] change, or does the cycle need to finish?

[@RedEmberRecords]

i still don't get the usage case for parts in the live scenario. an electronic live set with, say, 12 separate works is probably going to get you close 90mins+ show - which is a lot. parts add yet another layer of mental foldering needed. the 1 work per bank and 16 patterns per bank is way enough (+scenes!) . the only thing i can think of is to use as a base to snap back to (like the pattern reload on Digi) if you mangle fx during the performance. somehow if it would help me with the stress of transitioning between banks, am open ears.

[@user82938]

I think the point is if you want to be more spontaneous and have more songs to choose from, it gives you more songs in the project. Some people like to "read the crowd" and adjust their set.

[@DaJesuts]

Are banks locked to a certain tempo, or can each part have a different tempo?

[@cbubbb]

Ricky is the Mr Robot of music production 😂

[@SurfWineMusic]

Hello, Thaks for theses super advises Ricky. But I'm just confusing : I'm on part 3 / Pattern 3 . Good.. But when I press pattern 5. I'm on Part 1 but still on Bank 1 :(((. How to switch banks ? Thank you so much for your work btw

[@RickyTinez]

to switch banks on the octatrack, hold down the BANK button that is next to the PTN (pattern) button. Also if you want, you can COPY a PART from one bank to another! Press PART, use the arrow keys to highlight a PART, then press FUNC+REC (copy) and do the same to paste it somewhere else :)

[@SurfWineMusic]

@@RickyTinez thanks Ricky ! But no chance to assign a pattern to a specific bank right ?

[@steffenhenriksen1412]

Ricky - im on the fence about the aiaiai headphones.. could you give some feedback on the sound of them compared to say dt 990pro or the hd650’s?

[@FlynnTaggart23]

So much potential... Although I wish Elekton would just update the Octatrack MkII; doesn't need to revolutionary, just a evolution would do. A colation of existing current Elektron technology: overbridge, their 48k AD/DA converter, update effects & workflow inline with newer units like the ...takt's.

[@iansmirna5183]

Did not get the "trick" with the CF card. There's no way i risk having a bent pin by pulling back & forth the CF card.

[@symbiosis07]

Exellent explaination. I used to wonder same thing too : why would I change sample in the middle of playing !? totally backwards. Or become insane OT scientist like Dataline, sure.

[@random_name-]

hey man .. that was Cool... keep going

[@lebronsinclair8012]

We need an intuitive mk3 version.

[@_justin_joe]

You actually piqued my interest about Banks now. I was already using parts like this but have never really used Banks.

[@SexyEarHole]

Same here

[@dorn_beats]

I try it very short: Banks have Patterns in them. Patterns are assigned to Parts. Think of Parts as a "Machine Preset". Sampler, Live-Looper, FX-Box, what do you want? You can also save parts for having presets. Octa is a long journey!!!

[@_B.C_]

Seems like if you got the right combination of card adapters you could edit your sounds in a blackbox and truly ditch the daw.

[@X-101]

I thought timestrech doesn't work on static tracks??

[@tendingtropic7778]

Couldnt you just use the OT in disk mode instead of having the cf reader?

[@jacksondavis8209]

Hey Ricky! Super useful info. One thing I encountered before is that rendering Ableton stems at 48khz resulted in the time stretching not working properly on the Octa (mk1), since I think it expects 44.1khz. With your method of drag and dropping stems straight from Ableton, do you also need to configure Ableton's global settings to 44.1?

[@rittikwystup9343]

Also be sure to have your samples in 16 or 24 bit - watch out for frozen tracks since they can be 32 bit. Then, the Octatrack can't load the file. If you want to use frozen samples from Ableton, convert to 24 or 16 bit before. If you're on Mac, there is a command-line tool called ffmpeg which can do this for you :)

[@danishdaycare]

Broken pins on the back removing the SD card seems to be a common thing, I'd rather wait for the somewhat slower transfer than broken pins and corrupted SD card.. My 2 cents.

[@JAAPIOJO]

Do you have a typhon?

[@emmanuelcameron4904]

Thank you so much. You have no idea.

[@svarteemma1684]

I think when parts are so versitile elektron needs to develop the arranger or maybe the purpose with the octatrack is let go and go with the flow…😅

[@myceliumtechno]

AR and A4 have Parts too, 16 of them per Bank. They're called Kits. OT has 4 per Bank. A Kit is nothing more than a place to store instrument configurations (Track configurations on OT). DT and DN have them too, kits. They are automatically loaded and saved with each Pattern. On DT/DN you can't user save them though for use with other Patterns. That's a deliberate design choice.

[@jessetoews2446]

great vid! thx

[@RevTheAcid]

whaaaaat？ i watched this for three times，still dont get it

[@dzaxys4643]

Love the ot some things just nothing else does

[@chambre466]

thx man

[@koalemos1679]

Why not just not loop your stems and parameter lock your stems to your play trig? Every time the pattern loops, your stem gets re-triggered and it stops when the stem ends.

[@lownrgy]

Sick House ;)

[@lownrgy]

I think it was Dope

[@gin-sonic]

So you mention your song from 2018 "your love" but where can I listen to it? Maybe you should promote your own music more :) Listening to Apple Music right now...

[@KurtLorenz]

❤❤❤❤

[@Heathcliff_hensel]

dAwLeSs!!

[@henryAightch]

Nope still don't get parts 🤔😅

[@SchleimKeim77]

Ricky I'm sorry to tell you this, but I don't think you actually understood parts. However, what you're saying is true and works as long as you only use stems and one trigger per track per pattern

[@SchleimKeim77]

I also want to add that you could achieve the exact same thing with sample locking your 1trig/track/pattern while using only one part. That way you would have the three other parts for breaks and effects.

[@victor.b-mp3]

What exactly he told wrong? What is his misunderstand?

[@SchleimKeim77]

@@victor.b-mp3 a pattern only saves triggers. Everything else is the part.... Machines, effects, volume settings, that's all the 'part'. He doesn't need parts for his setup, since all he changes is the triggered sample. Which can be achieved with sample trigs alone.

[@victor.b-mp3]

@@SchleimKeim77 18:20

[@antonv13]

@@SchleimKeim77 “that way you have 3 parts for effects and breaks”, mind elaborating how you use parts? Do you keep same samples with different effects? And what about the breaks? Cheers

[@dorteva]

I am fortunate to have Elektron Rytm and Four but I just CANNOT even deal with the Octatrack. Octa sure seems amazing but way too consuming for this audio hobbyist with limited music time.

[@RighteouzBoy]

“Sound on sound magazine” kind of copied your video intro for their video intro lol

[@RickyTinez]

naaahhh that style of montage has been around for ages! they may have been inspired by whatever inspired me to make it too :)

[@explodingtiger]

How you always be hiding that great hair under a hat?

[@menesfrancois]

First thing I do a cleared bank is double tap src and disable loop on every track 🥲