Octatrack 1.4 update is absolutely immense!
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- Опубликовано: 2 дек 2020
- Elektron's mighty Octatrack is 10 years old! Hurrah!
To celebrate, Elektron have released a limited edition tenth anniversary model which has already sold out (350 units) but also have released probably the greatest update of the Octatrack's long and distinguished life. This needed a video to dive in and check out what it means for users old and new. 
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Most underrated and likable Musician On RUclips. He could easily join nick cave and the bad seeds one day and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him up there. A very Bright and experimental mind. No hacky jack crap.
10 years later and Elektron is still releasing game-changing updates for the OT :')
What a legend! I did the update and had no idea on how to actually use the update settings. You have in one swoop answered all my questions! I can now stop crying! Thanks Gaz!
Thanks so much for such a complete review! I just grabbed it, but it's super helpful to have a master lay it out so I know all the nooks and crannies!
Thanks for the overview! What a great update. Oddly, I'm most excited about the improved visibility of the pattern button LED.
yes! looking forward to an Octatrack update! Thanks for the great update video Gaz! Congrats Elektron on a modern classic :)
Wow holy moly! What a great day to be an Octatrack owner! Thanks for the review Gaz!
Thank you G and a merry Christmas gift from Elektron.
Great explanations!!!!
Feels like a gift doesn’t it?
Finally each pattern can have its own tempo, like on the MPC. Crucial for live. And playing slices via MIDI, sigh... Bless Elektron.
You make my day! Thanks!!! Its Looks like really great futures!!!
Thank you! Cant wait to sit down with this now having a clear picture of all the new stuff. Was a bit overwhelmed.... not anymore.
it is a good bloody update - LONG LIVE THE MASTER THAT IS THE OT
Great video. Huge updates🔥🔥
Great vid Gaz!😁🙌
Thanks for the great review updating the wee beastie tonight. 🥳 Happy Birthday 🎂 Octatrack. It must be a Swedish thing, as TE keep updating their similar aged OP1. Granted its only bug fixes but least they are not letting it die on the vine.
great overview. Thank you
Thanks so much for detailed explanation!
Even though I can't get external slice trigs working yet, this was incredibly helpful. Thanks Gaz.
Not surprised that Gas is one of the first to enlighten us on this wonderful OS update...
Yeah Elektron and thank you Gaz! I will check out your live shows.
We have Gas for Gaz! I think!
@@EannaButler Gaz Acquisition Syndrome G.A.S. takes on a deeper meaning now :-)
Fantastic summary, thank you!
Thanks for making this Gaz
Gaz, As always you brought the "good news" concerning the Oktatrak! I thought Elektron was done with this instrument! so...Thank you:)!
Serious usability updates indeed.
Thanks Gaz so much !
MIDI access to slices with tempo per track - BRILLIANT!!
wow !! Happy bday Octatrack!
Thanks for the rundown, gaz. Saves my eyes some squinting.
The Octatrack is probably one of less than a handful of pieces of gear I deeply regret getting rid of. This just shows how good it is and why I might have to get another one ... !
still love mine and been using it with modular gear and pairs well- love sample things and chop them up for remixes.
i allready sell it and buy it 2 time :p
I've had one since March, I would sell everything else I had before ever getting rid of this thing.
So helpful. Thanks Gaz!
I bought one of the first OTs in 2010 on preorder and used it every session since. So buggy, so difficult to use and so unique.
This update is a game changer again! The tempo per pattern has been a long time coming
Already installed the update but didn't get around to playing with it yet. This really improves the workflow in so many regards. Playing slices with a Midi controller, trig previews, multiple trigs editing at once and so on... makes a hell of a difference. edit: tempo per pattern! FINALLY.
that was a good one ! thanks GAZ
Yes! Thank you for that video. It's time to feed my OT :D
This is insane. The biggest issue I’ve had is not being able to immediately playback slices from a midi controller. That alone is amazing, everything else is the huge scoop of icing on the yummy yummy cake🤓
That edit trig note function looks like a game changer to me, I nearly ditched it when sending MIDI to a drum machine. Dial in every note, no way! Hold multiple trigs and press the note, yes way!
Excellent review as always! Damn now I want to buy a Octatrack again ... Thanks "G.A.S" Williams hahaha
Great to see company support their device. Do you remember Yamaha RS7000 released in 2001? Even though Yamaha is the biggest company, but nowadays they don't care to develop and support new products. Thumbs up for Elektron.
Love my Octa 🥰
What a crazy machine.
Elektron does a lot of things right!
literally just punched the sky at that lsb midi send feature. hours have been saved!!
I was hoping someone would jump for joy on this one. Can you tell me why it’s important to you please?
@@GazWilliams I'll give you an example: Ensoniq KT-88 - usermanual page 150. incoming midi: LSB 0 = Internal Sounds 0-79, LSB 1= ROM Sounds 0-79. LSB 2 = CARD SLOT A sounds 0 -79, LSB 3 = CARD SLOT B sounds 0-79...etc. Now do you understand? It allows to select all the sound banks of old synths via OT. Pretty cool right?
I love that Gaz what is the Octratrack and you can't quit explain it, it is true it is different for every body 6 years and I am still learning.
Over 7 years for me and I'm still fuzzy on a lot of the recording tricks. Frankly I don't record much on it anyway other than quick single shots that I trim up on the box. It took me forever to understand there is a recording sequencer on top of each track. I kept thinking the recording trig's needed to go on the main sequence. Then one day I try this out when I already had notes on a pattern and I couldn't figure out why they would disappear everytime I was in the recording setup screen. Then it dawned on me I could put new trig's down when in that screen. This was only a few years ago and I felt dumb.
Non need to feel dumb as what you have explained is one of the more confusing aspects of the Octatrack.
Wow, i thought the ram was full. Did not expect this! Happy Electron day! Great updates, many goodies in there! OMG finally we can play slices via midi, without big latency i assume! I wonder if they adressed the "1st" probability trigger bug...it has it's own life for me (i think there is a issue if we run each pattern with different step length), sometimes it will skip to trigger the first time but instead trigger the second time the pattern loops...but then if i delete the trigger and add it again a few times it works (sometimes). Also would be nice if they could make the "fill" feature a onehanded feature that do not mess up the arranger mode...it does not work well in Arranger mode because it will change the position in the arranger each time we press fill. Time to update and check it out!
feeling hopeful reading the release notes
"Trig Conditions did not function correctly under some circumstances when using SCALE PER
TRACK."
Could you chip back in here if the bug has gone for you please?
@@GazWilliams I just tested the 1st probability trigger...only tested it a few minutes. It worked on the midi tracks...then i tested it on a sample loop...it seemed to work...but then i took away the trigger and added it again (with the 1st parameter again)..and it started acting up (did not play the first time, but started playing the second bar) :/ seems more solid now but not 100% (need to test it more),...not sure if this is a user error or a setting...but the only thing i did was remove the trigger and add it again with the 1st probability parameter. Its not the end of the world, but can add to the confusion on this already confusing box...maybe it has to do with the sampleloop that is on INF length...and the sample has been played one time already before, maybe it needs to first stop/reset to know if its playing or not...and maybe that is what it is doing on the 1st trigger when it acts up (like inverse of what it should do)...i dont know, I did test to do the same on the midi track (take away and add a 1st trigger on the first step) and that seems to work. I did not test the other probability modes, i'm a big fan of the 1st probability trigger mode (when it works)...will report back when i tested it more.
good one!
Preview trig on the DT and Rytm has been so useful.
It’s a very important feature indeed.
YES MIDI WITH THE SLICES AT LAAAAAST! We never thought it would happen. Also it seems that the black ones will be a permanent option (looking at their website just now)
Pattern specific tempo YEESSS! I'd given up on waiting / asking for this... Gaz's right, it's now a much better workspace for people who don't necessarily make dance music (where the tempo remains largely steady / is altered dynamically). In this sense it's easier to treat Projects as collections of different tracks
Yeah! That's definitely the most exciting new feature for me for that exact reason
Just so much more flexible now I’m so many ways.
This is totally true. The workflow improves of about 200%. My favourite is that it doesn't put various notes lengths in when you midi step recording and that you can see the track parameter now. Thanks for the explanation! What I don't know how you can trigger slices on a midi keyboard. Even in slice mode I don't have the slices on the keyboard only the whole sample.
You have to enable the setting in the midi menu. It’s in the vid albeit briefly.
All right, didn’t saw it in the menu...thanks Gaz.
im so excited to update, thank you for showing the new features!!
what the heck is an Octatrack? I'm just watching because this guy is one of the most joyful presenters I've ever seen ;)
Thanks for explaining those crazy new features Gaz! I’m a little worry about new bugs. How was your experience about it?
Haven’t had any showstoppers yet
You made my day. Thnks very much for all the details.
Hahaha yes! I still have and use my MKI that I bought back in 2013 with Bitcoin! Elektron has been so good with updates and support I keep going back. I'm even expecting an Analog Heat MKII in the mail today.
Oh my, how many bitcoins did you trade for it? Considering that bitcoin is around $19,000, you probably hold the record for inflation-accounted-for money spent on an octatrack?
$40,000? $60,000?
@@jrcenina85 Lol I'm not sure how many BTC I had at the time, but I already had a good gain on it by then. I bought in at around $30 - $40 then I sold while it was at $1000 a BTC. I do still have some I've just been letting grow for years. Out of all of the dumb things I have done with BTC, I personally don't consider buying an OT to be one of them.
@@zerix01 nice, I would’ve felt like a wizard buying at 30 and selling at 1,000!
Def’ with you on the OT worthiness. I’ve had one less than a month and it’s immensely stimulating. Interacting with it feels almost like both a computer language as well as a musical instrument. It’s a luxury with 20k or more to be able to forget about the world momentarily!
Tempo issues sorted at a stroke! Plus, it's wonderful that there's a full bank select implementation! I can select patches on my Minilogue xd with it. I am hugely happy!!
Aha first explanation of a use for that bank select!
@@GazWilliams Previously, I wrote notes for the patches used, which I immediately misplaced. I'm sure I'll find another way to bugger things up though ;)
They basically brought the cool features of digitakt into octatrack, which i very much like
I was already regretting trading my digitakt for the octatrack, but this update was a huge improvement for my workflow. Now if they could add more octaves to the keyboard mode that would nake it near perfect in my opinion
@@severeflows Im afraid that may be hardware limitation, but hopes up!
I don't own the OT, but I have the AK and Mk1. I just found out about the big update introducing all sorts of cool stuff. I haven't updated the AK yet, but I'm buzzing about the dual VCO function in the AR. Finally it's an all purpose groovebox that can do basses, leads and even pads, in it's own bizzare, limited and wonderfully glitchy way.
I would sooo buy a Hexadecitrack!
Just buy two mk1’s, lol - they would cost like a new mk2 now
Playing slices via midi is massive.
cant get this to work....? am i missing something?
Tempted?
Is this monophonic or can you trigger multiple slices polyphonically?
So is the ability to capture note lengths in the sequencer. Up until now it didn't matter if you played staccato or legato notes because length was just a track parameter you could p-lock. Anyone who's playing bass or lead lines into this thing live, can finally get a little expressiveness with it.
@@ubiquitousreverser Monophonic only. There's no per-track polyphony on Octatrack, it's strictly 1 playback voice per track
wooooah this midi slice trigger mode is amazing, lets get some midi drum pads and get the octa ready for finger drumming :O
Don’t expect velocity sensitivity. I forgot to mention that in the vid.
wowwwwww !!! thanks u the man
Did they fix the live sampling record trig clicks? That bug totally blew it for me.
I lova Octa
Hey Gaz love your channel thanks for the tour of the update. could you demonstrate the last feature, it doesn't seem to be playing back recorded note length using the step sequencer to input notes? But otherwise Yeah! Killer update for sure.
Yeah I didn’t test that bit properly before the vid sorry.
@@GazWilliams No need to apologize, I just didn’t understand at first if they may have made it possible to get a decay on sample playback using a midi controller to record note length but I can just resample internally when I need a sample to play back with a decay in it. Thanks for the reply, and I really enjoy your channel sir!
I need to update mine!
@Gaz Williams big up the Plymouth Uni massive!
Wow, some long awaited stuff! I rejected the original Octatrack years ago for not recording note lengths and missing pattern tempo as two of my biggest concerns. So now it does that he? Hmm... 🤔
Gaz what do you prefer? Machine + or the Akai stuff? I hated the MPC one and when I compared it to machine plus the machine was ten times easier to get going with for me. So what do you think ? 👽
Nicevideo
Awesome... if the toraiz sp16 could trigger slices from an external midi keyboard it’d be a way more complete piece of kit in my opinion
Yeah, yeah, yeah....release an Octatrack Mk3!
The playing slices from midi and trig preview basically turns this from not usable for me to now usable. Tempted now.
It’s a biggie. Should have been there from the start but glad it is there now.
Hey Gaz, does the Octatrack still immediately cancel (cut off) the ‘currently playing’ sample the instant the next one begins to play? Or is there any sort of polyphonic sample playback in the new O.S.?
Can also the length of a sample trig be recorded now so that you do not have to manually lock it?
This whole video was just me going AAAWWW DUUUUDE FINALLYYYY OMG DUUUDE FINA FUCKING LY!
Basically updating the octatrack dos with digitakt advanced dos ;)
Yeah this is a huge update. I’ll be dusting off my octatrack later
11.53 sounds a bit like your going into a reading of the cat in the hat :-)
Cuando voy a usar la función de controlar los slices por MIDI siempre me ejecuta el mismo slice... Me estoy perdiendo algo?
Are those speakers in the back iLouds?
The last option to record note length. Can you test if this works for melodic samples using the OT keys to record? I know this didn’t worked and it was one of the main reasons I sold it. For instance load up a bass note and record a bass line using the trigs. Does it now record the note off events like the Digitakt? Please tell me this works now properly :D
I know there are workarounds like using an external keyboard, or a midi cable to loop the notes from midi tracks to audio tracks, but I don’t want workarounds :D
Hey Alex, I should have covered that a bit better in the vid sorry!
anyone knows: if one had to decide when use the "Octatrack" OR in which cases use the "Akai Force" instead, then which one?
I realized some months ago that all new gear (samplers) do the same things that I can do with my mpc 2500 with jjos. But I’m sure that If I didn’t have it, I’d acquire one of these.
jjos was an unbelievable improvement on the original MPC2500. Interesting point indeed!
Hm, might not sell it quite yet.
banged out 3 beats like nothing this morning using firmware 1.40. Tempo per pattern game changerrrrrr !
How is that? That’s normally the case with all the other - non song mode - maschines and is very annoying in live situations. Tempo track per song is nice. If you want to have double time with the octatrack set it to 1/32th?
@@elekktrikk_home_video its awesome man!
@@sidtinsley6727 Great. I really would like to know: why is that and what is different creative-wise now with tempo per pattern? Do you have a digitakt-like-approach (one pattern and permutations = one track?)
@@elekktrikk_home_video Hey man, for me tempo per pattern is just very convenient in general but specifically for live performances. When i first got the Octatrack I did not realize that it didn't have tempo per pattern until i got it. I had to make a long work around using the arranger mode in order to get tempo changes per pattern. Now its just way faster and convenient. Creatively it doesn't add much for me but for smooth workflow its a huge upgrade for me. Simple but so important.
Hey BU that is ace to hear!
one thing i miss on Elektron gears is being able to loop between steps, sometimes I just want to fix something on step 48 till step 64 and I have to play 64 steps to preview, time consumer this thing, when we want to make music we hate spending time with small silly things, a part from that I like their gears.
Thanks for the video though
Yep me too
yes, it's very annoying
Press the step on the step sequencer and then yes and it will play from there
@@peterschmitz5886 Sure, I am aware about this function but you can only hear a single step, would be nice to loop especific parts of the page so you can listen how the edit sounds like without consuming too much time by playing the 64 steps
did u hook the launchpad directly to the OT or did you use a computer as a middleman?
It’s a standalone Launchpad Pro which has midi outputs. No computer needed!
@@GazWilliams very cool, very cool indeed 😎 been looking at grid controllers lately and standalone functionality is a must.
Gaz do you have any sample packs available?
Funny you should ask. Working on some right now. Keep tuned...
Octotrack videos are weird: 1000 button presses and hand movements and the sound stays about the same.
bcus most ppl don't utilize to its full potential and are boring
researchdevelopment.bandcamp.com/album/le-creuset
Massive update🤘Still doesn't play the samples polyphonic though.
That would super cool I just don’t think it’s got the cpu juice for that sadly.
@@GazWilliams But is a HUGE mistake by Elektron. Every single sampler plays polyphonic its samples. It's such a pity an incredible machine like that to not be able to do that. Although we are still in love with OT ♥️
Time to dust off that old launchpad pro 😀
Flanger on and
Yes
yes
yes
yes
By a strange coincidence, we've just bought one. It arrived today and we've just updated the firmware after watching your video. Thanks, Gaz.
Enjoy it but be prepared to invest some learning time!
@@GazWilliams Hopefully it's not the marathon that the Roland VS2480-CD was!
I was not too impressed. The longer countdown with pattern changes is good but no countdown at all would be better. The LED dimming has only 3 settings: unusable dark, sort of medium, too bright, but the screen gets darker, too, when dimming LEDs. The randomize is nice but is not available for trigs, only menu pages. What really would have been great: more gain for the quiet inputs, transpose sample tracks, live transpose, active steps (like korg), automatic slice with thresholds like maschine, reverb also for FX1, optional send FX (at least to the master track) etc...
not to mention, i'd personally like to see a few more timestretch algorithms such as a paulstretch, something similar to ableton's complex pro, or perhaps even a granular engine... and perhaps an extra reverb effect or two... octatrack with a granular engine would be truly insane.
also polyphony!!!
Perhaps there may be a few more smaller updates to fix a few things still to come but as for a new timestretch Algo like Paul’s I seriously doubt it but my god how utterly awesome would that make the Octa then!
How did you connect USB powered Launchpad to OT? I have a USB keyboard and I am looking for something that would let me connect it to OT, preferably synced to OT’s clock.
It was powered by a USB socket but connected via a midi cable as it is a Launchpad Pro. If your keyboard doesn’t have midi sockets you can get a USB host device like the ones made by Kenton or my fave by Retrokits the RK-006.
@@GazWilliams Thank you for replying. I’ll check them out.
So for the most part they have brought the Octatrack into line with the other grey boxes and the digi boxes in many respects.
Yep I think so.
Have they fixed the problem with the oktatrack crashing and freezing some times?
Seems stable here. I haven’t had a single crash. Anyone else had it crash?
what a game changer
need to get the update. Can I loose my tracks doing a update??
Definitely back up first
Can each pattern have its own time signature too?
You can choose how many steps out of 64 per pattern so that’s how you could achieve a different time signature per pattern (always been able to do that mind)
I had to sell mine a couple months ago, damn :(
Aww bad timing!
This update is proof that Elektron got new software developer for OT & that device will progress again in the future. Fingers crossed for Mk3.
MOUTH NOISES ... sry you were saying about the Octatrack?
Whoops I’ll look in to that