"The Elektron Machinedrum, Elektron Octatrack and the [Roland] Jupiter-6 are my favourite hardware machines." "...right now, also, one of my favorites. Because it's basically any kind of sampler where you put in all your sounds, or you put in loops, or even longer pieces of music. And you can real-time chop them up in here. It's very intuitive. There's a lot of randomness I like about it. This also - similar to the Monomachine - you have 8 tracks where on each track you can program one sequence... it has different FX sections as well, the first which is the most important is the pitching, but also you can choose the start point of the sample. So you can basically choose where the signal should start from the whole audio file. And you can move around, most of the time a lot of cool things happen."
moreRichard Devine has the Elektron Octatrack on the floor of his Euro rack modular synth corner of his North Carolina-based studio. An image of it can be seen in the video (8:55). The Octatrack is an 8 track performance sampler and features the following: Instant Sampling & Remixing Radical Audio Manipulation Possibilities Real-time Pitch Scaling and Time Stretch Next Generation Elektron Step Sequencer Dual Assignable FX Per Track Assignable Multi-Parameter Crossfader
more"The Elektron stuff is always on and always getting some action, particulary the Octatrack wich is (...) probably one of the most revolutionary instruments of the last 20 years. (...) I've never been a sampling guy, and the Octatrack changed the way I approach sampling. Even the simplest sound bite can be transformed into a song."
more“I do love the Octatrack. I’m not a big fan of using a laptop on stage myself. I’m not opposed to it, I just never felt like I could figure out a way of doing it where I felt like I was still performing or that there was a flexibility to it. I know Daniel from Oneohtrix and, talking to him, he’s found a way to achieve that, but I haven’t really sorted it yet. So, the Octatracks are essentially my way of having Ableton in a box if you deal with it a specific way. I’m basically taking stems of the studio recording over seven of the tracks, using the eighth as a master channel. Typically I’ll take drums, bass, weird percussion stuff, weird sound stuff and maybe a main melodic component so I know everything’s set up with that template. There are two Octatracks, both of which contain the exact same information on the card and I kind of mix from one song to the next. Some nights I do it better than others but it’s essentially DJing the stems of the record," says Panda Bear, in [this article](http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/in-pictures-panda-bears-lisbon-studio-615651/2).
more"Is your current live set-up still all Elektron pieces? Yeah, it is. When I travel, they just have this great bag where you can fit three of them in it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m doing something wrong, but I usually have to squeeze into really tight spaces at gigs." "I’ve had different iterations over the years, but what I do now is use the Octatrack as my Ableton-esqe workstation. So starting here in the studio, I send sync to everything and use my Elektron toys to get paint-splatter writing going. It's not thinking too much, just jamming. The Octatrack is quite good at capturing things, so I don’t use my computer at all. So I capture things into the record buffers, and I assign them to tracks—just things that work together. I’ll do that for eight channels and will set it up so not everything plays at once at first—because on the Octatrack, it's not like the typical Roland, 16 patterns with banks. What you have is 16 banks and, within each of those banks, you have 16 patterns—so, each bank is essentially a song. So within a bank I can have 16 variations, and the great thing about the Elektron gear is that they do these things called parameter locks. So per line, you can copy in parameters and info, and it makes it quite easy to change parameters just for that one step."
moreI bought the Octatrack about five months ago and I’m not in full control of it yet because it’s quite complex. You can do a lot of things but what I find really interesting are the parameter locks on the sequencer. I’m mainly starting to use it as a MIDI sequencer because you can control every parameter of hardware synths with it. In one minute you can build a pattern and control notes, filter settings, decay, attack, MIDI continuous controllers on every step of the bar. It’s really cool
moreKangding Ray comments, "It's packing time... Next stop : Detroit," in this Facebook post. The Elektron Octatrack can be seen in the rack above the [DSI Tempest](https://equipboard.com/items/dave-smith-instruments-tempest-analog-drum-machine).
more«The second track on the album, ‘Level’, started off with the Octatrack. There are all these breaks which push up and up – I did it with the crossfader. It’s a retriggered sound with different start and end points, controlled by the crossfader. I jammed around then cut out the best parts. ‘Pony’ I also did on the Octatrack»
more“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: this thing has a mind of its own. The more you push it, the more intelligent it gets. Whether you’re using it for drum patterns, or sample warping, you never end up anywhere near where you started.”
more> I have a lot of Elektron gear. The Octatrack, it's like magic, basically, the way it works. You can do anything with a sample. I've got so many sample collections, and the Octatrack just makes it all usable to me. > I use the Octatrack probably the most. I've got two Octatracks, one spare in case one breaks. > **Was the Machinedrum your first Elektron instrument?** No, the first one I got was the Octatrack. I was at Sweetwater with my DJ, and I was going to get something else, but he told me I had to get the Octatrack. "It's dope. You can do anything with the samples. I'm telling you, just buy it!" I was like, "ok!" That was my first one, right there.
moreIn this video from Pitchfork's 2013 Music Festival, Evian Christ can be seen using Elektron's Octatrack.
more"Today we arrive at the club with a Moog Minitaur, Roland SH-101, Dave Smith Mopho, Elektron Analog Four, an MFB Tanzbär, an Elektron Octatrack, a Korg MX as sequencer for the Moog and Mopho, a couple of effects and some compressors."
moreShe's working in the studio and there's an Elektron Analog Rytm 8-voice Drum Computer in the back
moreTime to take an offline break and learn this new language - going to enjoy my Winter experiments with the Octatrack. Thanks @weareelektron - hope I can do this beautiful machine justice!
more"It's enabled us to make more unique/fresh sounds instead of having the limitations of a regular synthesiser or relying on sampled sounds that other bands use."
more"...an interesting conversation with Joey about how he works with the Elektron Octatrack and Analog Rytm drum machines..."
morePage 7: "I recently added this to the studio. I'm still learning how to use it but it will definitely be an important weapon in the studio and live. I've just recently started to finish a few bits with it."
moreGreat Sampler. the possibilities are sheer endless, I got basslines out of snare samples which make your nosewalls flatter. Very creative tool, but in my opinion it took the most time of all elektron instruments to get used to, as it is so diffrent. 4 inputs which I myself use in livesets (Analog Rytm takes 2 ins, + 2 mono synths). When you have a few synths this can really multiply your possibilities in a logarythmic way... chorus,delay,flanger,bitcrusher,distortion ... all those effects can be used with the octatrack... on the inputs or on the internal tracks. The delay is very nice.
The Octatrack took me several months to get my head around. As my first step sequencer, first sampler and first piece of Elektron gear it was probably not the easiest one to start with but once I cracked the work flow it quickly became the backbone of what is now my hardware only live electronic set up. The sampler element of the machine has a deep set of features that allow you to take recorded sounds to very interesting places you might not go with other machines or even with software. On top of the crazy sample mangling ability of this machine it also has an 8 track midi sequencer that allows you to programme any other hardware that you may own.
As I use the OT along with quite a few other pieces of equipment, including other Elektron boxes, I have developed a workflow that doesn't require me to dig too deep when performing. All of my needs are met and more with the current feature set of the OT however I understand those more advanced users have features that they would love for Elektron to implement. Knowing the company though I am sure that over time they will continue to develop this classy machine.
Great review, and welcome to Equipboard!
I've been considering the OT for a while now, but I'm worried I won't get on with the Elektron workflow. You mention that you use other Elektron boxes as well; would you recommend any of them as a better starting point for their gear?
Thanks simfonik!
I found learning the OT initially a very frustrating process to go through but I did it like a 5 year old who didn't need/read the instructions. Once I got past loading samples, setting up projects, setting up the midi options and understanding the differences between the different machines I started flying and coming up with really cool jams. It really informs the style of writing now. There are some amazing tutorial videos from a bunch of helpful super users that are worth watching before you make the decision. Also worth checking out http://www.elektronauts.com/ for other user opinions.
In terms of other elektron gear, if you have modular stuff then I'd recommend the Analog 4 so you can use the CV sequencer. It is also a really capable 4 track anaolgue synth, each one can be sequenced separately or you can play it as a 4 note polyphonic synth. I love it in combination with the OT.
I tend to get acquainted with new gear in that same way, just jumping in and seeing where I can go. From the little time I spent with a Machinedrum at a shop, I got the impression that I'd need to get pretty intimate with the manual before fully understanding its capabilities (and having fun with it). It seemed like the OT would probably be the same kind of learning curve, which isn't necessarily a turn off. Of the people I've talked to who have one, they've pretty much echoed what you said about it informing their writing style. That's good to know.
The Analog 4 looks amazing, especially with the CV sequencer. I didn't know you could sequence it as a 4 track (assuming multitimbral?) synth – that's really attractive!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these!
It's great for making crazy techno loops and gave my synths a new lease of life when I started sequencing them with it. And it capable of so so much, it's the centre of my setup.
wow... i've had this thing for several years and didn't really like it too much. But now really opening it up and getting into it. Massive capabilities.
This thing sat on my desk, testing my patience for a year and a half. I just could not wrap my head around even the basics of this thing. So I gave it one more try before throwing it in the ocean. 6 weeks later I had about 40 song ideas. I still have almost no idea how some aspects of it work and honestly I see no reason why anyone would make something so unnecessarily counter-intuitive. I'm really big on simplicity and in that department this is a total disaster. However: it is very powerful and allows you to do things that I've never seen anywhere else except Ableton, so... I love it I hate it. *If you buy one search reddit for the "Merlin guide to Octatrack".
The Octatrack is a beast. You can sample/loop/effect/mangle audio to your heart's content with this box. You can use it as the heart of your live setup, you can use it in the studio to create music, you can use it as a live looper. The Octatrack is definitely worth its high price of entry.
When you take the time to really delve into this magical box you'll see it holds layers upon layers of crazyness. Only thing I'd say I would've liked to see added is the extension of more midi parts per bank. With only 8 (audio) tracks it would be nice to have 16 parts to accompany the 16 patterns per bank. It's the hart of my 'Analog Kitchen' live setup and also the hub for my Minitaur basslines. It also serves as a Mono to Stereo in/out for the Minitaur by adding some fx and routing it to the cue outs.
Bestest sampler that i know... MIDI sequencer... Real live performance machine - real time effects, parameter locks...
pre-ordered as my first Elektron box and got it in 2011, and was not disappointed. I actually don't like sampling with it all that much, but prefer to mangle my existing sample library with it and use it as a central mixing station and hub to route audio between my other gear.
just got one a few weeks ago and still thinking its one of the best Elektron Octatrack DPS1 Sampler
see my "1 year after purchasing" review here:
https://thepatrickrichardson.blog/2016/06/01/my-octatrack-at-year-1/
Excellent quality, but an quite steap learning curve. Best hardware sampler on the market:)
Takes time to set up and learn. After that it becomes a great tool in the studio for new sound beats and inspiration!
I use this mostly for live shows, but it is damned deep and powerful. I can't honestly add much to any technical specs and descriptions that exist already. Bit of a learning curve, but worth it.
I have mine rigged so I can play 8 audio tracks and 8 midi tracks. I use channels 1-4 to control my Elektron Analog 4, Channel 5 for my Korg Minilogue and Channel 6 for my Sub37. It has changed the way I make music.
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