About Octatrack

What kind of equipment is Octatrack?

When it comes to Octatrack, I have seen many intriguing evaluations such as "difficult to understand," "wonderful," "one and only," etc. Before purchasing Octatrack, it was difficult for me to grasp its image (information in Japanese is scarce). Before purchasing Octatrack, it was difficult for me to grasp its image (information in Japanese is scarce), and I had to go to various websites to gather information.

If you look at the Elektron website, you will see this equipment

sampler

effector

mixer

looper

MIDI sequencer

The great thing about this equipment, however, is that it is designed to interact with each other in any combination.

For example, one unit can take the sound from an external synth, run it through effects, sample it, change the pitch, take it into the looper, and send it back to an external effects device, then combine it into the main mix. All while another sample is playing on another track. The name "performance sampler" is well deserved.

The usage is largely left to the player, and while it offers a vast array of options, it can be a crippling piece of equipment that is beyond treasured by those who only need to use it in a certain way.

Although I myself purchased the equipment with a certain degree of determination, I felt it was a chore to learn each one with the manual in hand before I was able to use it freely to some extent. Now, after more than three years of use, I have a general grasp of the functions I need, and it is a piece of equipment I can no longer live without.

The Octatrack is similar to a modular synth in that it is a highly flexible instrument in the sense that the eight tracks of the Octatrack can be freely assigned to "machines," which are modules with specific roles, and the audio signals can be freely routed between tracks. The Octatrack is modular in that you can freely assign modules with certain roles as "machines" to its 8 tracks, and you can freely route audio signals between each track.

This equipment is almost impossible to master at first sight, so even if you touch it in a store, you may not understand it and may shy away from it. Without spending a certain amount of time learning to use it, it will be difficult to determine whether it is the right equipment for you. However, if I were to give you an aptitude for this equipment, I would say the following.

Someone who likes to spend a lot of time with a single piece of equipment."

People who like to find different ways to use things."

This could be the best option for

Personal Use Cases

I will describe the machines assigned to the 8 tracks of Octatrack and the roles they are assigned to.

1: Combo with drum synth

The drum synth in this example (alpha base) has MIDI channels assigned to each of the 11 tracks, and triggers and MIDI CCs can be manipulated by the Octatrack's MIDI sequencer. So by sequencing the drum synth with the Octatrack, complex sequencing (using parameter locks and LFOs) that is not possible with the drum synth's internal sequencer can be done with the Octatrack.

Specifically, we set it up this way.

In this example, the kick drum is controlled by MIDI channel 1, and the CC can be used to control tune, decay, etc. in real time within the sequence.

Here is an actual example made with this technique

2: Use as a live processing machine

I am currently interested in a style of production that uses a pick up (looper) machine to process input sounds in real time.

Here is a video of real-time processing while field recording

As is the case with all Elektron products, the basic style is to create loops and produce songs, so if used in a normal way, the genres in which Elektron excels are techno, house, minimal music, and so on.

Personally, I have recently been experimenting to see if I can use it in a more experimental way, outside of those boundaries as much as possible. The bottom of this equipment is yet to be seen.

We hope this article will help those who are considering introducing such a system in the future.