I'm doing a demonstration of the Octatrack for a potluck tonight and watching your tutorials have really helped in my preparation. Thank you so much for helping me to understand this magnificent beast!!
+Josh Taylor Josh! That's great to hear!! When I finally decided to get an Octatrack I couldn't find any useful videos.. so this has been really important for me. To share easy-to-get-going instructions with this machine. I'm glad to see you're finding it useful, mate!
brilliant as usual. I dont even own an octatrack or some of the gear you demo in some of your videos (actually I only own very few of the stuff you show) but I always enjoy so much watching your videos, listening to your explanations and seeing you play. please keep up this amazing job you are doing. thank you so very much
+Roly Gutiérrez cool, thanks! This is how I work now. Recording in Logic. Mix and preproduce the parts there. Export "stems" into audio files with all the sounds needed and planned into the different audio files. Like all kick drums in one audio file. All bass sounds in one. All hihats in one. All additional percussion in another one etc. Then I slice them on the Octatrack. And start composing the tracks there.
So you can put all the kicks as one wav on one track, create slices, and then (I am still trying to learn the lingo so please correct me) place those slices on different trigs across different banks/tracks to use in other patterns? Btw, I got my MPC in yesterday, worked on it a little. Im selling it, its too much of a "brain" type unit to clash with the brain that is OT, for me at least, I need a companion piece like an OP1 (again). Thanks Cuckoo for all the amazing work!
Thats the point. There are so many workflow possibilitys! Mine is complete different. I jam with the midi sequencer and several external synth. And when i have everything togeether, a nice melody, bass, efx and drum i sample it as a loop and beginn to cut and mangle it. At the end everything is inside the octatrack and all synth can be disconnected.
amazing piece of music. And I love the way you play this like an instrument. I am about to dedicate myself solely to the piano but then I hear something like this and think maybe something like this instead. great work ad always
cookoo! thanks for all the time great instruction video! awesome! Now I've got op-1 and octatrack but I dont know how to clock sync with them could you give me some tips for this?
+Zudden666 Thank you! Yeah I'm totally getting it now. I was trying to be hardcore without a computer, but this workflow works better for me. Preparing the sample palette in the computer first.
+Christopher Moody Thanks man! I have so much stuff to do with the animation right now, so cuckoo tutorials is difficult to find time for. It will happen suddenly :) Octatrack tutorial before the end of the year. Promise!
+Fante247 I haven't explored chromatic mode that deeply, but I think it's just chromatic, no scales. I instead recorded a bunch of notes in a way that makes musical sense to me. Like a sort of melody containing most of the notes that I like, with different expressions. Then I used the whole recording, and split it up in slices on the Octatrack. When turning the keyboard into Slices Mode you can then play the slices using the trigger keyboard. This way you can create your own scales that makes sense per song. There's space for 64 slices. Press scale/ setup to jump between the pages of slots 1-16, 17-32 etc.
Hey Man... this Sounds so good. You are really talented in this stuff. My biggest problem is understanding of scales and getting the melodies from my head to the keyboard. I wish i could do this stuff like you. Maybe you could make a Video about scales you use and how you use them some day. I wish you the best for 2017. :)
+FlippDurch thanks a lot Flippie! I've recorded a video about melodies and stuff once, but it was a mess so I didn't post it. It's something that one have to develop over time, I think. A lot of trying and failing. A lot of rehearsing, and playing and playing and playing. My melodic sense is very influenced by early game music. But my biggest melodic heroes today are probably contemporary jazz musicians. I'll try to revisit the topic in another video this year. It's something that I want to talk about.
cuckoomusic thanks for your answer... Never thought a famous person like you would answer. ;) You are right, I have to play around and should try playing simple melodies. My first computer was a c64 and I still have it and I still love the sound of that sid. That sound was my childhood. Stay like you are.
cuckoomusic Yeah... triad. The good old time where about 1 game out of 1000 wasn't a pirate copy. If not less. Often the crack music was even better than the game soundtrack.
I would love to see your workflow for preparing your samples in logic. How much is it assembled before you load it in the OT? Do you basically make a loop with all those tracks together in your daw and then cut it up? Or do you tackle each track separately.
+soapisgood Hey there. I will make a workflow video at a later stage. But, I'm essentially making short loops of music, like 4-8 bars, multitracks. Like snippets of songs, but with a lot of variation compressed into these little loops. Then I mix it, add the appropriate filters, EQ, maybe some Amp simulation on one track, reverb on another, fine tune the drums, whatever makes sense to the mix. I don't worry too much about reverb leaking over the slices.. In fact I think it sounds cool :) In the end I bounce the tracks. Sometimes track by track, but sometimes I might mix several tracks into one bounce. Mostly I keep one type of sound to one audio file. Just to keep it tidy. But for mega big projects I might consider putting different sounds in sections after each other on longer files. Just to save up slots in the Octatrack's project.. But I'm in no way an expert yet on the Octatrack. It is feeling easier and easier every time I play it though.
Loving the videos! Doing some research to pick an Octatrack up myself. The guitar plucks... Are those sampled at different pitches or is the Octatrack pitching them? I'm also hearing a portamento in the melodies. Is that also the Octatrack?
+Mechlo The plucks are samples from a Continuum Fingerboard. I've recorded them at different pitches, with different expressions, such as the slides that you're hearing. It's all baked in the sample, and sliced in the Octatrack. You could program pitch slides, but it takes a few moments, and a few trigs in the sequencer. When I'm playing that square synth lead I've set up one of the Effect slots to pitch an octave gradually using the fader. So that is definitely the Octatrack. That might appear as a portamento. I still haven't tried it as a MIDI sequencer. But I'm thinking about using the MIDI side to control visuals at some point later this year. I'll get back to that. Just looking at the sequencer though it looks kinda sweet. I've heard a few people using the Octatrack mainly for its MIDI capabilities - so I guess it's good.
Right now I'm using my MPC1000 with an external MIDI controller to do all of my sequencing. Planning on setting that up with the Octatrack as well. Seems capable enough with 4 notes per channel. I'm sure I can do something with that.
I'm doing a demonstration of the Octatrack for a potluck tonight and watching your tutorials have really helped in my preparation. Thank you so much for helping me to understand this magnificent beast!!
+Josh Taylor Josh! That's great to hear!! When I finally decided to get an Octatrack I couldn't find any useful videos.. so this has been really important for me. To share easy-to-get-going instructions with this machine. I'm glad to see you're finding it useful, mate!
Always great lead melodies in your tunes - sort of thoughtful yet upbeat and quirky. Nice work.
+Matt Kav thanks a lot Matt! I appreciate it!
I just like the way you say Cuckoo and make it look like your Elektrons have a head.
brilliant as usual. I dont even own an octatrack or some of the gear you demo in some of your videos (actually I only own very few of the stuff you show) but I always enjoy so much watching your videos, listening to your explanations and seeing you play. please keep up this amazing job you are doing. thank you so very much
yep. this video sold me. might sell the mpc now. this is how I like to layout my final songs as well. like a live performance. thanks cuckoo!!!
+Roly Gutiérrez cool, thanks! This is how I work now. Recording in Logic. Mix and preproduce the parts there. Export "stems" into audio files with all the sounds needed and planned into the different audio files. Like all kick drums in one audio file. All bass sounds in one. All hihats in one. All additional percussion in another one etc. Then I slice them on the Octatrack. And start composing the tracks there.
So you can put all the kicks as one wav on one track, create slices, and then (I am still trying to learn the lingo so please correct me) place those slices on different trigs across different banks/tracks to use in other patterns?
Btw, I got my MPC in yesterday, worked on it a little. Im selling it, its too much of a "brain" type unit to clash with the brain that is OT, for me at least, I need a companion piece like an OP1 (again).
Thanks Cuckoo for all the amazing work!
Thats the point. There are so many workflow possibilitys! Mine is complete different. I jam with the midi sequencer and several external synth. And when i have everything togeether, a nice melody, bass, efx and drum i sample it as a loop and beginn to cut and mangle it. At the end everything is inside the octatrack and all synth can be disconnected.
+Probe Raum I haven't even tapped the midi functionality yet! It's a great tool.
I like it. I don't like the idea of doing all the back and forth with a DAW, but the samples sound great. Keep it up.
Very enjoyable I like the way you build up the sounds or nonsense sounds into a piece of music art very nice :) keep making videos like this.
Dat beat. Great stuff cockoo. Inspirational!
The best of evenings contains a new Cuckoo video. Inspiring, as always!
Awesome as always!
+Ryan Flynn Thank you Ryan!!
really great jam! Lovely melody
Think this is my favourite one...Hero
amazing piece of music. And I love the way you play this like an instrument. I am about to dedicate myself solely to the piano but then I hear something like this and think maybe something like this instead. great work ad always
Love the track. Badass
cookoo! thanks for all the time great instruction video! awesome! Now I've got op-1 and octatrack but I dont know how to clock sync with them could you give me some tips for this?
Sounds great! This is how i would use it to if i had one. Love your videos and sounds!
+Zudden666 Thank you! Yeah I'm totally getting it now. I was trying to be hardcore without a computer, but this workflow works better for me. Preparing the sample palette in the computer first.
Amazing use of freeze delay. You inspired me finally to try and master that function. Wondering where's my OT manual... :)
I always get so excited when a new cuckoo vid comes out! Thx dog.
At first your like huh?! But then it just sounds just sick - love it
You're, *learning*, this?You use it like you've been using it for years.
really like this jam :-)
@Cuckoomusic This sounds amazing. When are you gonna do a Part 2 to your Octatrack Mega Tutorial ? Can't wait to see the workflow video also.
+Christopher Moody Thanks man! I have so much stuff to do with the animation right now, so cuckoo tutorials is difficult to find time for. It will happen suddenly :) Octatrack tutorial before the end of the year. Promise!
Is it possible to set it up, so that the triggers play from a chosen scale?
+Fante247 I haven't explored chromatic mode that deeply, but I think it's just chromatic, no scales. I instead recorded a bunch of notes in a way that makes musical sense to me. Like a sort of melody containing most of the notes that I like, with different expressions. Then I used the whole recording, and split it up in slices on the Octatrack. When turning the keyboard into Slices Mode you can then play the slices using the trigger keyboard. This way you can create your own scales that makes sense per song. There's space for 64 slices. Press scale/ setup to jump between the pages of slots 1-16, 17-32 etc.
cuckoomusic Ahhh thx man... I have both the analog four, and rytm. And thought it was something unique to the octatrack.
Didn't make sence to me :)
Hey Man...
this Sounds so good. You are really talented in this stuff.
My biggest problem is understanding of scales and getting the melodies from my head to the keyboard. I wish i could do this stuff like you.
Maybe you could make a Video about scales you use and how you use them some day. I wish you the best for 2017. :)
+FlippDurch thanks a lot Flippie! I've recorded a video about melodies and stuff once, but it was a mess so I didn't post it. It's something that one have to develop over time, I think. A lot of trying and failing. A lot of rehearsing, and playing and playing and playing. My melodic sense is very influenced by early game music. But my biggest melodic heroes today are probably contemporary jazz musicians. I'll try to revisit the topic in another video this year. It's something that I want to talk about.
cuckoomusic thanks for your answer... Never thought a famous person like you would answer. ;) You are right, I have to play around and should try playing simple melodies.
My first computer was a c64 and I still have it and I still love the sound of that sid.
That sound was my childhood.
Stay like you are.
+FlippDurch Mr Z who cracked all the games was a myth a legend. That flickering loading screen is forever etched into my eyeballs ;-)
cuckoomusic Yeah... triad.
The good old time where about 1 game out of 1000 wasn't a pirate copy. If not less.
Often the crack music was even better than the game soundtrack.
So want to get this onto my iphone.
I would love to see your workflow for preparing your samples in logic. How much is it assembled before you load it in the OT? Do you basically make a loop with all those tracks together in your daw and then cut it up? Or do you tackle each track separately.
+soapisgood Hey there. I will make a workflow video at a later stage. But, I'm essentially making short loops of music, like 4-8 bars, multitracks. Like snippets of songs, but with a lot of variation compressed into these little loops. Then I mix it, add the appropriate filters, EQ, maybe some Amp simulation on one track, reverb on another, fine tune the drums, whatever makes sense to the mix. I don't worry too much about reverb leaking over the slices.. In fact I think it sounds cool :) In the end I bounce the tracks. Sometimes track by track, but sometimes I might mix several tracks into one bounce. Mostly I keep one type of sound to one audio file. Just to keep it tidy. But for mega big projects I might consider putting different sounds in sections after each other on longer files. Just to save up slots in the Octatrack's project.. But I'm in no way an expert yet on the Octatrack. It is feeling easier and easier every time I play it though.
really like this song, this my 10th listen :-)
+Mugison Mugi Wow, thanks man! I appreciate it!
Cuckoo you are fucking awesome.
Wicked jam man :)
What's the animated film you're working on?
Loving the videos! Doing some research to pick an Octatrack up myself. The guitar plucks... Are those sampled at different pitches or is the Octatrack pitching them?
I'm also hearing a portamento in the melodies. Is that also the Octatrack?
Also, how do you like it as a midi sequencer? I'm looking to pair it with a few module synths I've been performing with.
+Mechlo The plucks are samples from a Continuum Fingerboard. I've recorded them at different pitches, with different expressions, such as the slides that you're hearing. It's all baked in the sample, and sliced in the Octatrack. You could program pitch slides, but it takes a few moments, and a few trigs in the sequencer. When I'm playing that square synth lead I've set up one of the Effect slots to pitch an octave gradually using the fader. So that is definitely the Octatrack. That might appear as a portamento. I still haven't tried it as a MIDI sequencer. But I'm thinking about using the MIDI side to control visuals at some point later this year. I'll get back to that. Just looking at the sequencer though it looks kinda sweet. I've heard a few people using the Octatrack mainly for its MIDI capabilities - so I guess it's good.
Right now I'm using my MPC1000 with an external MIDI controller to do all of my sequencing. Planning on setting that up with the Octatrack as well. Seems capable enough with 4 notes per channel. I'm sure I can do something with that.
nice beard
Great tune!