Non-content related, but I like the added segment timer on the top! That with the index on the description sounds to me, like a great pattern for making long videos easily digestible.
Awesome video. Thank you! Just bought an Octatrack MK1 for the same price as the Digitakt. The original is still completely relevant. I love your videos. Thanks man!
seems like a shame they didn't use the chance to give the mk2 the updated effects and some overall polish, still seems like an amazing device but damn that DT reverb...
As per the Octatrack commercial, I've yet to be able to transmogrify other humans in a Post-Apocolyptic Lovecraftian warehouse rave. Hopefully this feature is added in a future firmware update.
I really love the digitakt, and prefer it over the octatrack (mainly because of the size and price difference), but mono samples only is a big deal breaker for me. To have this limitation on a machine in 2017 that is >$500 is absurd.
Hmm not sure. What are you sampling that has such important stereo information? It only has a limited RAM so you can't really use it for stems from your DAW or whatever anyway; it's much more for one hits or mangling stuff where the original stereo imaging is not really very relevant. I'm planning on getting an Octatrack, but for me the stereo vs mono kind of makes sense for these boxes. If all you want to do is play back longer stereo samples as a backing track, the Electribe sample has SD card and stereo plus a few other things, so it might suit you better.
The Octatrack is still just so powerful. It is such a powerful tool, that embraces sampling for the really power tool it can be. I also love how the octatrack acts as a mixer, etc. Thanks for the video Cuckoo! I'll be in Sweden in 2 weeks, and it would be awesome if I bumped into you! Hahaha! Small world and all!
Wow this was so helpful in decide which one to get. Thanks a million Cuckoo your videos are the best on Elektron gear. Also now I want the cool pocket Teenage engineering gear so cute and portable.
Thanks for this video ! Lots of good vibes and it helps me to get in with my OT, so complex...I'm used to my old Esx, had so much fun and creative ideas... the sound of the OT seems to me too digital but the track you made at the end of this video is so cool, makes me wanna go deeper in the OT! Cheers , Lionel from France
Fantastic video. I want the functionality of the OT with the sound of the DT. The OT sounds flat after hearing the digitakt. Sad to hear the mkii is not bringing sound improvements. That DT reverb!
You're tutorials are insanely good. The index points are awesome. You've single handedly turned me into a loyal Elektron fan with all these amazing videos. Your music is good too. Thanks Cuckoo.
It doesn't just look nice - it should have the better audio opamps that are in the digi - from what I've read. So any audio you have in Okta actually will sound better out of the MKii. Of course this also means that some tracks may need tweaking if some of the "color" in the sound changes. The only thing I really want in MKII is trig mutes. I don't even need conditional trigs, but trig mutes like in the RYTM should be achievable on the current Okta DSP but who knows.
This was really great! I got the DT when it came out and loving it. I see the limitations for sure but the OT looks like it would be a bit too much. I could see myself eventually expanding to it in the future though. What i'm wondering though is, OT + DT = OT MK2? Anyway, super useful video, thank you!
Excellent comprehensive video. Had my heart set on the OT however by the end I was in love with the Digitakt. The sound is awesome, the workflow is very quick and while there are some limitations it feels like a very creative machine.
I was all-in on wanting a Digitakt and Synthstrom Deluge for years, but after learning that Avey Tare has used the Octatrack to do live sets, and after doing some more research and realizing how powerful it is, now all I want is the Octatrack mkII. Oh boy, that's gonna be a journey.
Had to comment to say thank you for not saying that the digitakt is incapable of chopping samples. It has always irritated me that people say it doesn’t slice or chop when it really does, just in an unconventional way. I’m talking pre 1.50 ofc
Your videos both make me happy and help me make informed purchases. I've curated my synth information between a few channels and I'm always happy with every review you do. Please don't ever stop doing it.
Great video, as always, Cuckoo. One thing you didn't cover, maybe you could give your opinion - since Digitakt seems to have much better reverb and delay, and filter for that matter, and also has trig conditions - and the Octatrack has all of it's numerous exclusive features, can you think of any way that the two units could essentially be used in conjunction as one unit, thinking of it as a 16 audio/16 midi track unit, like can you think of a way to connect them so that the octatrack can loop through the digitakt and take advantage of it's FX and trig conditions, but also have both units using the octatrack arranger and scenes slider. i am not sure how this would work, maybe route octatrack main outs into digitakt, and have digitakt outs run into octatrack? so many possibilities. Just trying to think of a way to patch it up so they essentially work as one unit, using the best of both worlds.
I think that a noticeable difference between the two is how muting works. The octatrack mutes the *audio* but the Digitakt mutes the *trigs* for their respective tracks. Which means that if you push mute on the octatrack before the sample finishes playing it cuts out(no fx tails even). Which can be really annoying(annoys the shit out of me). The Digitakt lets it play out.
Ahh yes, but there is a way around THIS. Go to the AMP page, good down your A or B button and on the screen you can see at the bottom right of the screen a notification shows up and you can mute the track by turning the encoder associated with that slot On/Off. The effect will fade out instead of CUT out. Hope that helps.
Thank you so much for this video of the workflow with these machines. Now I know, these are not for me. GAS release, so to speak. :) Yeah. Like the appearance of the new OT, though.
This is an incredible video and so useful. You point out that the Digitakt’s sound engine is better than the Octatrack. I love my Octatrack but agree with many who find the sound “flat” compared to the Digitakt. Is this better on the Octatrack mk2?
1,000 thumbs up if I could. This was an amazing tutorial. I just took delivery of an Octatrack 3 weeks ago. Due to the new one coming out I went ahead and returned it and will be getting MK 2. I also have a Digitakt. Being somewhat familiar with both, this tutorial really helped me out! Thanks!
Hah! Cool idea, though I better learn how to use 1 first. If I were to do something like that I would try to have 2 Mk II so the workflow is exactly the same. But really, my plan for the Octatrack is mainly backing tracks for my live work. I want to hit a button and start a static machine and send a 20 minute soundscape out the main or que outs, and thats about it at the moment. Will dive deeper as I go though.
Already seeing Octatrack prices fall in light of MKII. Many will sell just to get the OLED display and slight improvements. As far as the comparison with Digitakt, I think one could pick up an earlier Octatrack for a steal and forget all about Digitakt. Right now it is hot because of the new look and hype but is just too scaled down for my needs.
Thank you so much for your videos. You single-handedly taught me how to use Digitone some years ago and I'm so grateful for the effort, detail, but also natural workflow you put into your videos. They feel alive and not rigid and clinical like so many other tutorials! I guess I have one question about Digitakt - I probably need an octatrack but I'm just wondering, is there any way to get the load-time on Digitakt to be reduced? I am on the latest firmware. I have a few projects with longer samples (some of them like 7-14 seconds) and while a given project might only have say 9 samples, I'm finding some projects take around 20-30 seconds for the cog wheel in the upper left of the screen to finish turning until I can play the project. Is there something I might be missing? A way to reduce load time? None of the projects have MIDI currently, in case that factors-in.. I have asked on forums and now in my search to learn more about Octatrack (vs DT) I ended up here...
Greetings, I need your opinion here are my desires, topics that alert me and a question: Topic first: For example, an OT and a DT synchronized: one master and the other slave, so a clock, the ability to play with different signatures here are my desires for the game. For the creation my question concerns the real signature by track and the possibility on the manipulation which would follow (knowing that resampling is a blessing and can simplify many of my failures.) Let me explain: A (!) Tempo signature is not possible _ !! _ on each DT track because the machine is based on the smallest number of steps, and very quickly limits the signature area of the 8 tracks / As much as if we want to apply 1/4 to a track and 1 to the other track the measure the sequencer can not be common during the facts. Does the East(OT) face this problem? This is the problem of DT and unfortunately I think I have gone around the question I juggle with sampling retrig and classic, the signature mode applied to the general plus the micro timing (hacking) are not enough for me. The OT could bring me a plus If we speak well of real signature by track with a “no limit” number of measurement on a track then a smaller number on another … I hope to be clear: If you have a little of your time and your knowledge to devote to me I will be very happy to read you. Sincerely
39:46 there is indeed a clear difference in sound. The Digitakt sounds much better (clearer transients, more dynamics, more punch). The Octatrack MK II would have been an awesome alternative if only they have revamped the sound engine instead of just giving it a make over. But I guess that's clever marketing, because someone like me will likely buy a Digitakt now.
Excellent comparison! I can't see myself ever parting with my Octatrack (I don't understand people selling their Octatrack to buy a Digitakt?) - I love that OT has so many options - but yeah, the Digitakt definitely looks easier to get into... The Octatrack took me some time to get my head around (particularly the relationship between Sets, Projects, Banks, Parts, Patterns, Scenes and Tracks) But I think you get what you pay for, and the extra cost of the Octatrack just gives a lot of extra flexibility. I have to say though, the MIDI sequencer of the Octatrack annoys me (exactly what you discuss)... I'd love it to have proper polyphonic sequencing like Digitakt (I hope Elektron might address this with an update?) Cheers!
there are two types of users. one needs a powerfull machine and is willing to take a step learning curve. the other is a wannabe and wants just to feel like they are creativ with the min. amount of work. second are the majority thats why toys from apple are so succesfull. studys showed, that apple users tend to think from them self as highly creativ while being more consumer than creator. ppl on professional platforms dont have that narcistic threat. it has to do with dunning kruger.but i know 10people that want to be musicans to impress girls but are way too lazy to just watch a tutorial how a daw works while i know 1dude that loves doing music for doing music. people love those soundboard apps where they have some samples that they can combine randomly with a pleasing outcome so they can pretend. we all have those friends, that invest big money in the best gear but dont know jackshit about music theory. and we all know a dude, that is able to improvise hitsongs with audacity and two samples. funny thing is, when these talentless dudes feel the creative dude is unprofessional bc he puts skill over gear. i build a studio for a guy, he dissed me the whole year of that project bc i use fl studio. he needed cubase, nothing less. bc he is the shit and fl studio is only a toy. so when the studio was finished, we started a jam and i told him, the instrumental is xx BPM. he asked me, what BPM´s are. i installed the ejay products and never spoke him again.
ready to sell my OT... unnecessarily complicated... if you don't use OT frequently, make sure you got the manual handy to recall how it works; everything is counterintuitive imo.
Love this video, the last 3 sections especially. Is the vocal/loop trick at 52:39 something you could do on the Digitakt as well? I'd be using either unit for vocals and would love this kind of functionality for live shows
I’m desperately trying to sell my gear to afford a used octatrack I saw online. It’s the only one for sale used locally where I am! I really hope I can make the deal
Just ordered OT MK2, probably going to get a 64gb Flash card and permanently leave it in the machine. I’ve heard the pins can easily fail if you insert and remove the card often. (At least more fail prone than MicroSD devices) Btw can you format the card w/ the OC itself or with the OC hooked up to PC via USB? I don’t think I even have a flash card reader with which to format a new card.
I am about to pull the plug on the OT MK2, and I've read a lot of horror stories regarding the black octa flash card that comes with it. Even new machines bought weeks ago have freezes and flashes just after days of working on it. Did you happen to come across such problems with the card that comes with the OT?
I'm going to steal that idea of slicing up a lead melody for live performance, hope you don't mind. Also you should have covered how the octatrack can use the parts system to do the live mangling and recall thing that the digitakt does!
+MrSharps02 please do steal that method. I find it super fun and useful. And yeah, the parts thing is definitely something I need to get more accustomed to, like with the Digitakt.
Great video I have the digitakt i really love it but i am struggling to make nice transitions between patterns because of the track levels does not stay the same in-between patterns so if i lower the level of a track to 50% and move to the next pattern the track will play again to 100% in the next pattern, is the Rytm doing this too? I want to change the digitakt for a Rytm or do i miss something here?
@38:16 Is it just me or are there noticable clicks in the audio? I heard same clicking effect in other Digitakt videos.. Seems like a bug/unwanted effect, right? Especially with warm sounding samples..
for the octatrack when recording in the chromatic scale since the keys will choke each other could you record original keys, then layer over it with keys that are a longer length?
no one seems to be able to answer my (probably dumb) question: www.elektronauts.com/t/computer-edition/48074 I'm still not sur about one of them OCTA / DIGITAKT because I also want to be able to make very complex sequences of triggers (some being pre-generated in studio by using max msp or my modular) and to reuse it on stage inside these machines (as midi files, or whatever) could you tell me if we can put midi files on them by putting that on the flash memory or whatever ?
You cannot put midi files into the machines. The compositions has to be composed on the machines in their proprietary formats. But you can send midi notes and some cc messages. There's a big part in the end of the user manuals called MIDI implementation with a list of all functions that can be triggered over MIDI. (The MIDI is not yet 100% on the Digitakt in the current 1.04 firmware.) However because the functionality is so tied to the hardware, what you can accomplish over MIDI is just a mere shadow of what can be accomplished on the machines themselves, where you have full access to all corners of the machines.
a rytm mk2 and a4 mk2 is in the cards with complety overhulled design bigger displays as well as upgraded easier to program features. out in September around £1250😎
so the main difference is octatrack is stereo and has more memory and menu diving and its biggger making it harder to take on the road, digitakt mono less memory less menu diving and easier to pack and travel with.comparing the two you can get the same result out of both pieces of gear octatrack requires lots of programming I dont see it being a on the fly work flow machine unless you have time to sit there and menu dive for months to get a nice performance out of it .. digitakt is easy on the fly beat creating machine which wont disrupt your creative workflow ...
you can´t compare a 8-track master sequencer/sampler to a solo instrument/mono sampler. both are equally (un-)intuitive and equally playable depending what you re used to
bought the digitakt was slightly impressed but when my labor did not bare the fruit I was hoping for I had to return it. It just did not have enough power behind it. Too digital maybe ?? dunno
I need a brain for my pro 2, future sub 37 and a rock Band. The Problem is, that i need to send a click metronome to the drummer. Can i send it via headphone out with the digitakt? Otherwise i need the octa only for the feature Cue out :(
+jonathan zumsteg if you can do with mono output for the Digitakt music, you can reserve say the left channel for a metronome, and right for music, or use a dedicated midi track for a click device. If you like the Digitakt over the Octatrack for other reasons I think you can work out a click solution. The Digitakt is better for overlapping midi polyphony for instance.
I just get my digitakt 4 days ago and must admit that the loopbox is missing to me.. Also missing the fader to pass from chorus to verse for example. Now i’m thinking of sending my Digitakt back (for my 30 satisfied or money back- days) and get the Octatrack ! Kind of product canibalism from Électron isn’t it ?
Why would octatrack not support overbridge? Is it that it lacks necessary hardware? I thought overbridge could handle anything. Ok you are right, I should read up on what overbridge is exactly and come back with the answer to my own question. Another excellent video, monsieur cuckoo. What a gutsy name cuckoo is. I say gutsy because you have an extra challenge of convincing people to take you seriously with a moniker like cuckoo.Keep the videos coming. I enjoy them and learn things.
That digitakt audio sounds so much tighter! Anyone know if the Octatrack MK2 has been amped up on the sound/effect quality? Cause that spring reverb on the octatrack sounds like absolute ass
The Octatrack MKII has the exact same sound engine as MKI. The Digitakt is a whole other generation. I hope that we’ll one day see a new flagship sample machine from Elektron. The OT MKII is mostly a component upgrade.
Hey Cuckoo, Just wanted to say thank you for this. I'm still super torn between the two, but you've done an incredible job at conveying what it's like working with each of them. Cheers!
Ohhhhh Elektron... If they would just allow external sequencing from the RYTHM they would have the PERFECT,ULTIMATE,HANDS DOWN machine!!! Fine, they want to sell more machines... I get it... How about this... Elektron offers an option to add external sequencing from RYTM for $600... About same price as Digirikkitikkittabby basically, but them you get 12 channels, drum synthesis, AND sample playback... Holy hell, that would be amazeballs! I'd gladly send my RYTM to Elektron and pay them for this type of retrofit. They spent who knows how much money and resources to basically just to and external cosmetic update on Octatrack! Spend some time on my RYTM retrofit idea and actually increase the utility of an older box... PRETTY PLEASE!!!!????
The Drümünkey The Drümünkey I somewhat agree. Tried the MD UW which had amazing drum synthesis, but 2.5 mb of sample space is a bad joke, and the sequencer is terrible. RYTM would be perfect if it could sequence. Digitakt however is the closest you’ll get to a box that can work as a drum machine, sampler, and polyphonic synth sequencer, minus the maddening menu diving of the OT. It’s not a drum synth, true, but it still has some pretty nice parameters to shape your sounds.
I’m having a really odd issue with my Octatrack. I set up a MIDI track to trigger my Din Sync RE-303 and everything was working fine. I was programming knobs on a Faderfox MX12 that I have connected to the Octatrack. The Faderfox comes pre-configured with different setups for Ableton, Octatrack, AnalogFOUR, etc and when I turned one of the knobs on the Faderfox that I hadn’t configured yet the Octatrack stopped sending MIDI to my RE-303. I figured I changed some output parameter or something when I turned that knob, so I went through all of the settings troubleshooting and even testing different MIDI cables etc.. I’m having this weird issue where I can trigger the RE-303 when I’m in Chromatic mode on the Octatrack, but once I record the notes, the Octatrack is not sending the MIDI notes out. Do you know what might cause this??? Here’s a link to a short video showing the problem. vimeo.com/509894122
So honestly, which one? Here is story, have Circuit and MonoCircuit along w many iPads and gear, MacBook and other stuff. Do you think the quality of Digitakt upgrades out weigh the features if a person is cool using his other gear for audio loops and cuts and playback? I NEED YOUR HELP BROSKI!
I want to Make a choice between octatrack and any other Drum machine.These 2 work so different.I've never been into the sampler world and I make Techno.I also have Analog 4MK2 in my studio.I really don't know which one to choose.Could u guys give me any advice?
I'm really interested in getting a Digitakt but bought a Analog Rytm and never used it. At this point, I'm note sure if it makes more sense to sell the Analog Rytm or keep it with the addition of purchasing a Digitakt. What type of work flow could use set up with both without them having redundant functionalities?
Okay. I think I have watched and read everything, but I haven’t got to talk to anyone. All things being equal, if you had no other elektron gear, would you get a digitakt, or wait for the octatrack mkii?
Just the video i was looking for! Sidenote: Great meeting you at NAMM!!
Hey there :) Likewise.
Non-content related, but I like the added segment timer on the top! That with the index on the description sounds to me, like a great pattern for making long videos easily digestible.
Awesome video. Thank you! Just bought an Octatrack MK1 for the same price as the Digitakt. The original is still completely relevant. I love your videos. Thanks man!
seems like a shame they didn't use the chance to give the mk2 the updated effects and some overall polish, still seems like an amazing device but damn that DT reverb...
The section about how you use both is super helpful, thank you for that.
Also 52:23 sounds dope
+Red Means Recording Cool, great to hear mate!
ofc red slidin into electron comment sections everywhere
Question for you hello must Siri thank you QQ
just beware the new MKII Octatrack is quite a bit different in function keys to perform tasks in comparison to the MK I model.
I love my Digitakt. Was gonna sell my much unloved Octatrack. After watching this, I will keep both!
god bless you cuckoo
in the end of the video you felt in love with Octatrack xD
totally agree.
As per the Octatrack commercial, I've yet to be able to transmogrify other humans in a Post-Apocolyptic Lovecraftian warehouse rave. Hopefully this feature is added in a future firmware update.
I really love the digitakt, and prefer it over the octatrack (mainly because of the size and price difference), but mono samples only is a big deal breaker for me. To have this limitation on a machine in 2017 that is >$500 is absurd.
Hmm not sure. What are you sampling that has such important stereo information? It only has a limited RAM so you can't really use it for stems from your DAW or whatever anyway; it's much more for one hits or mangling stuff where the original stereo imaging is not really very relevant. I'm planning on getting an Octatrack, but for me the stereo vs mono kind of makes sense for these boxes. If all you want to do is play back longer stereo samples as a backing track, the Electribe sample has SD card and stereo plus a few other things, so it might suit you better.
OMG the little clock in the top left is soo cool and useful!
+Dark Miracle glad you noticed!! I will update it in future videos :)
I kept thinking of plastic pie wedges from Trivial Pursuit, but now I get why they're there.
Its not a clock, its Pac Man
I don't have an Elektron instrument and very much looking to get one. I think after this video the Octatrak makes much more sense for me.
just be sure to invest many hours and patience in learning each one! Reading the manuals are MANDATORY with these complex boxes.
Thanks for this video @cuckoomusic. Really nice to see an in-depth breakdown of the two machines side by side like this.
The Octatrack is still just so powerful. It is such a powerful tool, that embraces sampling for the really power tool it can be. I also love how the octatrack acts as a mixer, etc. Thanks for the video Cuckoo! I'll be in Sweden in 2 weeks, and it would be awesome if I bumped into you! Hahaha! Small world and all!
Love my Octatrack mkII. This video is awesome. Nothing wrong with the digitakt I just love having more options in performance
Very pedagogical at the same time as covering a lot of both machines. Will be very helpful for a lot of people, I think. Gött jobbat!
Wow this was so helpful in decide which one to get. Thanks a million Cuckoo your videos are the best on Elektron gear. Also now I want the cool pocket Teenage engineering gear so cute and portable.
+Renaissance Man thank you so much mr Renessance!
Sure thing! OT is more complex but super powerful once you learn it!
Thanks for this video ! Lots of good vibes and it helps me to get in with my OT, so complex...I'm used to my old Esx, had so much fun and creative ideas... the sound of the OT seems to me too digital but the track you made at the end of this video is so cool, makes me wanna go deeper in the OT! Cheers , Lionel from France
Has the Octatrack polyphony/sequencing issue been made more current (read: fixed) in the Dec 2020 OS update ?
Fantastic video. I want the functionality of the OT with the sound of the DT. The OT sounds flat after hearing the digitakt. Sad to hear the mkii is not bringing sound improvements. That DT reverb!
You're tutorials are insanely good. The index points are awesome. You've single handedly turned me into a loyal Elektron fan with all these amazing videos. Your music is good too. Thanks Cuckoo.
+Random Rab Official thank you so much for all the kind words!! Right to my chest!
Does anybody have a solution or any info about the Midi polyphony issue discussed at 46:50?
Your track is really good! Thanks Cookoo
This guy is just sooooo watchable.
Love what you're doing bro!
Free music on my Soundcloud here: soundcloud.com/zen_one
I appreciate your listening!
Great explanation
Has Anyone Sampled his Intro beatbox sounds he makes yet? And if not, why not?
Michael Winslow would be proud of your sound effects:)
This is your best video; I watched the entire thing. I can't wait for the MKII.
Cool, thanks Benito! The MKII looks nice, doesn't it!?
It doesn't just look nice - it should have the better audio opamps that are in the digi - from what I've read. So any audio you have in Okta actually will sound better out of the MKii. Of course this also means that some tracks may need tweaking if some of the "color" in the sound changes. The only thing I really want in MKII is trig mutes. I don't even need conditional trigs, but trig mutes like in the RYTM should be achievable on the current Okta DSP but who knows.
This was really great! I got the DT when it came out and loving it. I see the limitations for sure but the OT looks like it would be a bit too much. I could see myself eventually expanding to it in the future though. What i'm wondering though is, OT + DT = OT MK2?
Anyway, super useful video, thank you!
Da hairflip X)
2.0 💯🚀🚀🚀🚀 Overbridge 2 Digitakt 2020
Excellent comprehensive video. Had my heart set on the OT however by the end I was in love with the Digitakt. The sound is awesome, the workflow is very quick and while there are some limitations it feels like a very creative machine.
I was all-in on wanting a Digitakt and Synthstrom Deluge for years, but after learning that Avey Tare has used the Octatrack to do live sets, and after doing some more research and realizing how powerful it is, now all I want is the Octatrack mkII. Oh boy, that's gonna be a journey.
Had to comment to say thank you for not saying that the digitakt is incapable of chopping samples. It has always irritated me that people say it doesn’t slice or chop when it really does, just in an unconventional way. I’m talking pre 1.50 ofc
Yeah. Fully possible in the original firmware, only a little more work. But now, oh yeah it’s ready to chop!
Great video. Now that’s it’s almost 2019, what has changed ? Specs, etc. ...
Your videos both make me happy and help me make informed purchases. I've curated my synth information between a few channels and I'm always happy with every review you do. Please don't ever stop doing it.
Get ready for his showing of his musical talent starting at 51:53
Great video, as always, Cuckoo. One thing you didn't cover, maybe you could give your opinion - since Digitakt seems to have much better reverb and delay, and filter for that matter, and also has trig conditions - and the Octatrack has all of it's numerous exclusive features, can you think of any way that the two units could essentially be used in conjunction as one unit, thinking of it as a 16 audio/16 midi track unit, like can you think of a way to connect them so that the octatrack can loop through the digitakt and take advantage of it's FX and trig conditions, but also have both units using the octatrack arranger and scenes slider. i am not sure how this would work, maybe route octatrack main outs into digitakt, and have digitakt outs run into octatrack? so many possibilities. Just trying to think of a way to patch it up so they essentially work as one unit, using the best of both worlds.
I think that a noticeable difference between the two is how muting works.
The octatrack mutes the *audio* but the Digitakt mutes the *trigs* for their respective tracks.
Which means that if you push mute on the octatrack before the sample finishes playing it cuts out(no fx tails even). Which can be really annoying(annoys the shit out of me). The Digitakt lets it play out.
Ahh yes, but there is a way around THIS. Go to the AMP page, good down your A or B button and on the screen you can see at the bottom right of the screen a notification shows up and you can mute the track by turning the encoder associated with that slot On/Off. The effect will fade out instead of CUT out. Hope that helps.
@@pazhonda1821 Well done !
thanks for sharing your rare flavor of creative genius with the world. Great stuff.
Thank you so much for this video of the workflow with these machines. Now I know, these are not for me. GAS release, so to speak. :) Yeah.
Like the appearance of the new OT, though.
Your mini mirror idea is SOOO fucking cool, you are 'fearless and inventive' as a galactian slug once said
+Lara Knight thank you so much Lara!! Hope to see you around. Cheers!
Tanx my Friend, this is the video i was waitin for....you re the best, you re so reactive.....but i still hesite between dt and ot mark2!!!!!!
This is an incredible video and so useful. You point out that the Digitakt’s sound engine is better than the Octatrack. I love my Octatrack but agree with many who find the sound “flat” compared to the Digitakt. Is this better on the Octatrack mk2?
1,000 thumbs up if I could. This was an amazing tutorial. I just took delivery of an Octatrack 3 weeks ago. Due to the new one coming out I went ahead and returned it and will be getting MK 2. I also have a Digitakt. Being somewhat familiar with both, this tutorial really helped me out! Thanks!
David Knight. Lucky you for being able to with in time.
Lucky you
you should just keep the old one and have 2 ;). I'm seriously considering getting a second OT for some serious overload lush insanity
Hah! Cool idea, though I better learn how to use 1 first. If I were to do something like that I would try to have 2 Mk II so the workflow is exactly the same. But really, my plan for the Octatrack is mainly backing tracks for my live work. I want to hit a button and start a static machine and send a 20 minute soundscape out the main or que outs, and thats about it at the moment. Will dive deeper as I go though.
I believe you could do a "control all" feature in the octatrack by sending everything through a master track.
Already seeing Octatrack prices fall in light of MKII. Many will sell just to get the OLED display and slight improvements. As far as the comparison with Digitakt, I think one could pick up an earlier Octatrack for a steal and forget all about Digitakt. Right now it is hot because of the new look and hype but is just too scaled down for my needs.
The auto captions translated “Lily Bird” as “Khalil Ebert” and you should consider changing the name of your song. 😂
Incredibly useful and informative. Thanks very very much for taking time to do this video :)
Thank you so much for your videos. You single-handedly taught me how to use Digitone some years ago and I'm so grateful for the effort, detail, but also natural workflow you put into your videos. They feel alive and not rigid and clinical like so many other tutorials! I guess I have one question about Digitakt - I probably need an octatrack but I'm just wondering, is there any way to get the load-time on Digitakt to be reduced? I am on the latest firmware. I have a few projects with longer samples (some of them like 7-14 seconds) and while a given project might only have say 9 samples, I'm finding some projects take around 20-30 seconds for the cog wheel in the upper left of the screen to finish turning until I can play the project. Is there something I might be missing? A way to reduce load time? None of the projects have MIDI currently, in case that factors-in.. I have asked on forums and now in my search to learn more about Octatrack (vs DT) I ended up here...
Greetings, I need your opinion
here are my desires, topics that alert me and a question:
Topic first:
For example, an OT and a DT synchronized: one master and the other slave, so a clock, the ability to play with different signatures here are my desires for the game.
For the creation my question concerns the real signature by track and the possibility on the manipulation which would follow
(knowing that resampling is a blessing and can simplify many of my failures.)
Let me explain:
A (!) Tempo signature is not possible _ !! _ on each DT track
because the machine is based on the smallest number of steps, and very quickly limits the signature area of the 8 tracks / As much as if we want to apply 1/4 to a track and 1 to the other track the measure the sequencer can not be common during the facts.
Does the East(OT) face this problem?
This is the problem of DT and unfortunately I think I have gone around the question
I juggle with sampling retrig and classic, the signature mode applied to the general plus the micro timing (hacking) are not enough for me.
The OT could bring me a plus If we speak well of real signature by track with a “no limit” number of measurement on a track then a smaller number on another … I hope to be clear:
If you have a little of your time and your knowledge to devote to me I will be very happy to read you.
Sincerely
39:46 there is indeed a clear difference in sound. The Digitakt sounds much better (clearer transients, more dynamics, more punch). The Octatrack MK II would have been an awesome alternative if only they have revamped the sound engine instead of just giving it a make over. But I guess that's clever marketing, because someone like me will likely buy a Digitakt now.
I think so too. The Digitakt's audio engine seem much improved. There's an overall nice lift in how the samples are played.
Excellent comparison! I can't see myself ever parting with my Octatrack (I don't understand people selling their Octatrack to buy a Digitakt?) - I love that OT has so many options - but yeah, the Digitakt definitely looks easier to get into... The Octatrack took me some time to get my head around (particularly the relationship between Sets, Projects, Banks, Parts, Patterns, Scenes and Tracks) But I think you get what you pay for, and the extra cost of the Octatrack just gives a lot of extra flexibility. I have to say though, the MIDI sequencer of the Octatrack annoys me (exactly what you discuss)... I'd love it to have proper polyphonic sequencing like Digitakt (I hope Elektron might address this with an update?) Cheers!
there are two types of users. one needs a powerfull machine and is willing to take a step learning curve. the other is a wannabe and wants just to feel like they are creativ with the min. amount of work. second are the majority thats why toys from apple are so succesfull. studys showed, that apple users tend to think from them self as highly creativ while being more consumer than creator. ppl on professional platforms dont have that narcistic threat. it has to do with dunning kruger.but i know 10people that want to be musicans to impress girls but are way too lazy to just watch a tutorial how a daw works while i know 1dude that loves doing music for doing music. people love those soundboard apps where they have some samples that they can combine randomly with a pleasing outcome so they can pretend. we all have those friends, that invest big money in the best gear but dont know jackshit about music theory. and we all know a dude, that is able to improvise hitsongs with audacity and two samples. funny thing is, when these talentless dudes feel the creative dude is unprofessional bc he puts skill over gear. i build a studio for a guy, he dissed me the whole year of that project bc i use fl studio. he needed cubase, nothing less. bc he is the shit and fl studio is only a toy. so when the studio was finished, we started a jam and i told him, the instrumental is xx BPM. he asked me, what BPM´s are. i installed the ejay products and never spoke him again.
Excellent.
Allways cool
THX 👍💖
ready to sell my OT... unnecessarily complicated... if you don't use OT frequently, make sure you got the manual handy to recall how it works; everything is counterintuitive imo.
is there anyway to have sustained nots on the octatrack ?
no answer ?
Dude, I just want to be your friend or something. Subd
Saturdays are for the boys
best video intro ever
Love this video, the last 3 sections especially. Is the vocal/loop trick at 52:39 something you could do on the Digitakt as well? I'd be using either unit for vocals and would love this kind of functionality for live shows
I’m desperately trying to sell my gear to afford a used octatrack I saw online. It’s the only one for sale used locally where I am! I really hope I can make the deal
So very helpful so clever with a wonderful clarity thanks for your lessons i will hook up the Patron account again shortly for your time.
2024: Octatrack still alive ✌️. After Digitakt 2 now waiting for Octatrack Mk3 🙏🏻
Just ordered OT MK2, probably going to get a 64gb Flash card and permanently leave it in the machine. I’ve heard the pins can easily fail if you insert and remove the card often. (At least more fail prone than MicroSD devices)
Btw can you format the card w/ the OC itself or with the OC hooked up to PC via USB? I don’t think I even have a flash card reader with which to format a new card.
I am about to pull the plug on the OT MK2, and I've read a lot of horror stories regarding the black octa flash card that comes with it. Even new machines bought weeks ago have freezes and flashes just after days of working on it. Did you happen to come across such problems with the card that comes with the OT?
I think I’ll get another digitakt
......YEAHHH.....
I'm going to steal that idea of slicing up a lead melody for live performance, hope you don't mind. Also you should have covered how the octatrack can use the parts system to do the live mangling and recall thing that the digitakt does!
+MrSharps02 please do steal that method. I find it super fun and useful. And yeah, the parts thing is definitely something I need to get more accustomed to, like with the Digitakt.
........why are you so fucking awesome
Can these things do MPC style slicing so you dont have to chop each sample yourself and so the transients are always there?
Great video
I have the digitakt i really love it but i am struggling to make nice transitions between patterns because of the track levels does not stay the same in-between patterns
so if i lower the level of a track to 50% and move to the next pattern the track will play again to 100% in the next pattern,
is the Rytm doing this too? I want to change the digitakt for a Rytm
or do i miss something here?
That flip between the 2 Octatracks was some Matrix level sh*%.
@38:16 Is it just me or are there noticable clicks in the audio? I heard same clicking effect in other Digitakt videos.. Seems like a bug/unwanted effect, right? Especially with warm sounding samples..
for the octatrack when recording in the chromatic scale since the keys will choke each other could you record original keys, then layer over it with keys that are a longer length?
no one seems to be able to answer my (probably dumb) question:
www.elektronauts.com/t/computer-edition/48074
I'm still not sur about one of them OCTA / DIGITAKT because I also want to be able to make very complex sequences of triggers (some being pre-generated in studio by using max msp or my modular) and to reuse it on stage inside these machines (as midi files, or whatever)
could you tell me if we can put midi files on them by putting that on the flash memory or whatever ?
You cannot put midi files into the machines. The compositions has to be composed on the machines in their proprietary formats. But you can send midi notes and some cc messages. There's a big part in the end of the user manuals called MIDI implementation with a list of all functions that can be triggered over MIDI. (The MIDI is not yet 100% on the Digitakt in the current 1.04 firmware.) However because the functionality is so tied to the hardware, what you can accomplish over MIDI is just a mere shadow of what can be accomplished on the machines themselves, where you have full access to all corners of the machines.
is the same!
if you have talent than can you make music also with electribe 2 sampler!
Are there any plans for the a4 or rytm?
a rytm mk2 and a4 mk2 is in the cards with complety overhulled design bigger displays as well as upgraded easier to program features. out in September around £1250😎
I want an upgrade that gives me 4 octaves of chromatic sampleplay on the octatrack :)
only 2 mins in and already outstanding. Love the image switch between the the old and new Octatracks.
Hank Astral i
One hour long video?! I have a life you know... oh wait. no... i don't
+Carlos Ponce de Leon 🤣
You can set playback to 2x speed and still understand our lord and savior ;)
so the main difference is octatrack is stereo and has more memory and menu diving and its biggger making it harder to take on the road, digitakt mono less memory less menu diving and easier to pack and travel with.comparing the two you can get the same result out of both pieces of gear octatrack requires lots of programming I dont see it being a on the fly work flow machine unless you have time to sit there and menu dive for months to get a nice performance out of it .. digitakt is easy on the fly beat creating machine which wont disrupt your creative workflow ...
you can´t compare a 8-track master sequencer/sampler to a solo instrument/mono sampler. both are equally (un-)intuitive and equally playable depending what you re used to
bought the digitakt was slightly impressed but when my labor did not bare the fruit I was hoping for I had to return it. It just did not have enough power behind it. Too digital maybe ?? dunno
Sir Cuckoo
I am grateful for your review.
Danke
I need a brain for my pro 2, future sub 37 and a rock Band. The Problem is, that i need to send a click metronome to the drummer. Can i send it via headphone out with the digitakt? Otherwise i need the octa only for the feature Cue out :(
+jonathan zumsteg if you can do with mono output for the Digitakt music, you can reserve say the left channel for a metronome, and right for music, or use a dedicated midi track for a click device. If you like the Digitakt over the Octatrack for other reasons I think you can work out a click solution. The Digitakt is better for overlapping midi polyphony for instance.
I just get my digitakt 4 days ago and must admit that the loopbox is missing to me.. Also missing the fader to pass from chorus to verse for example. Now i’m thinking of sending my Digitakt back (for my 30 satisfied or money back- days) and get the Octatrack ! Kind of product canibalism from Électron isn’t it ?
Nice video for people who wants to buy one of the two boxes, thanks.
Why would octatrack not support overbridge? Is it that it lacks necessary hardware? I thought overbridge could handle anything. Ok you are right, I should read up on what overbridge is exactly and come back with the answer to my own question. Another excellent video, monsieur cuckoo. What a gutsy name cuckoo is. I say gutsy because you have an extra challenge of convincing people to take you seriously with a moniker like cuckoo.Keep the videos coming. I enjoy them and learn things.
That digitakt audio sounds so much tighter!
Anyone know if the Octatrack MK2 has been amped up on the sound/effect quality? Cause that spring reverb on the octatrack sounds like absolute ass
The Octatrack MKII has the exact same sound engine as MKI. The Digitakt is a whole other generation. I hope that we’ll one day see a new flagship sample machine from Elektron. The OT MKII is mostly a component upgrade.
Thanks for the quick response! Love your vids!
Great video, understand these lot better now. Thanks
Hey Cuckoo,
Just wanted to say thank you for this. I'm still super torn between the two, but you've done an incredible job at conveying what it's like working with each of them.
Cheers!
Ohhhhh Elektron... If they would just allow external sequencing from the RYTHM they would have the PERFECT,ULTIMATE,HANDS DOWN machine!!! Fine, they want to sell more machines... I get it... How about this... Elektron offers an option to add external sequencing from RYTM for $600... About same price as Digirikkitikkittabby basically, but them you get 12 channels, drum synthesis, AND sample playback... Holy hell, that would be amazeballs! I'd gladly send my RYTM to Elektron and pay them for this type of retrofit. They spent who knows how much money and resources to basically just to and external cosmetic update on Octatrack! Spend some time on my RYTM retrofit idea and actually increase the utility of an older box... PRETTY PLEASE!!!!????
The Drümünkey The Drümünkey I somewhat agree. Tried the MD UW which had amazing drum synthesis, but 2.5 mb of sample space is a bad joke, and the sequencer is terrible. RYTM would be perfect if it could sequence. Digitakt however is the closest you’ll get to a box that can work as a drum machine, sampler, and polyphonic synth sequencer, minus the maddening menu diving of the OT. It’s not a drum synth, true, but it still has some pretty nice parameters to shape your sounds.
I’m having a really odd issue with my Octatrack. I set up a MIDI track to trigger my Din Sync RE-303 and everything was working fine. I was programming knobs on a Faderfox MX12 that I have connected to the Octatrack. The Faderfox comes pre-configured with different setups for Ableton, Octatrack, AnalogFOUR, etc and when I turned one of the knobs on the Faderfox that I hadn’t configured yet the Octatrack stopped sending MIDI to my RE-303. I figured I changed some output parameter or something when I turned that knob, so I went through all of the settings troubleshooting and even testing different MIDI cables etc.. I’m having this weird issue where I can trigger the RE-303 when I’m in Chromatic mode on the Octatrack, but once I record the notes, the Octatrack is not sending the MIDI notes out. Do you know what might cause this??? Here’s a link to a short video showing the problem.
vimeo.com/509894122
So honestly, which one? Here is story, have Circuit and MonoCircuit along w many iPads and gear, MacBook and other stuff. Do you think the quality of Digitakt upgrades out weigh the features if a person is cool using his other gear for audio loops and cuts and playback? I NEED YOUR HELP BROSKI!
groovy upload i think i will look at the Mrk2 OT stay mellow...fellow
Are you going to make an add-on video showcasing the MKII vs Digi ? i mean, about trig conditions etc...maybe even a new sound engine ?
I want to Make a choice between octatrack and any other Drum machine.These 2 work so different.I've never been into the sampler world and I make Techno.I also have Analog 4MK2 in my studio.I really don't know which one to choose.Could u guys give me any advice?
I'm really interested in getting a Digitakt but bought a Analog Rytm and never used it. At this point, I'm note sure if it makes more sense to sell the Analog Rytm or keep it with the addition of purchasing a Digitakt. What type of work flow could use set up with both without them having redundant functionalities?
How do you feel about Octa as a DAW replacment? Thinking of using one with a modular, one polysynth and digital recorder...
Section 28 @ 48:00 -> OT MKI OS upgrade also has conditional engine+midi trigs. :+1:
Digitakt def sounds crisper.
Okay. I think I have watched and read everything, but I haven’t got to talk to anyone. All things being equal, if you had no other elektron gear, would you get a digitakt, or wait for the octatrack mkii?