Octatrack With Ableton
Barb Magario
As a former Octatrack owner, it reeeally depends on what you're trying to replicate from it, as a full standalone package I don't think there's anything like it. Deluge, OP-1/Z, Digitakt, MPC1000/Live are frequently thrown around as alternatives in the hardware world. In software, I've heard good things about Egoist but haven't used it, and it looks like Drambo could provide some good amount of overlap feature-wise, but there's no timeline for its release yet AFAIK.
@jipumarino said:
As a former Octatrack owner, it reeeally depends on what you're trying to replicate from it, as a full standalone package I don't think there's anything like it. Deluge, OP-1/Z, Digitakt, MPC1000/Live are frequently thrown around as alternatives in the hardware world. In software, I've heard good things about Egoist but haven't used it, and it looks like Drambo could provide some good amount of overlap feature-wise, but there's no timeline for its release yet AFAIK.
A tip a friend of mine gave re: using the MPC Live as an OT replacement is that it works great with a small USB fader plugged right in , you can do some octatracky stuff with that and some clever midi larnin
Deluge's internal synth has always seemed to me to be "so you can use the device all by itself on the train" or "so you can cover bread and butter sounds while you dedicate your nice hardware to other, more important sounds" not ever as a "primary focus of the product". As such,
Looks like the OP's needs have been sorted, but in case anyone else is wondering, the Octatrack is it's own type of instrument. One can argue there are better sequencers like the Cirklon, and samplers that are a better fit for how some of you like to work. But there's nothing like an Octatrack except the MkII - the way the buttons, controls, etc. are laid out is conducive to getting certain sonic results, quickly - after some practice of course.
I use my iPad Air 2 to generate sound (tardigrain, Ruismaker suite... a lot of fx in AUM).
The sound travel via my iconnectivity Audio4+ which is going to my IN A/B Octatrack.
I resample live what I want from the iPad to the octatrack.
Then the main out from my Octatrack is going to AUM via ICA4+ then I can add Aux send and process my sound with compressor, transient shaper, limiter and rec the result in audio inside AUM.
I use a controller UC33e to controll AUM and my Octatrack (level, send FX, ARM track recorder...) the crossfader on Octatrack is midi CC responding. It really fun to controll parameter in AUM.
Im totally happy with this hybrid setup ??
I was working out how to use it to slice samples today. I hooked it up to an OP-1, and used the OP-Z to sequence the drum sampler on the OP-1. You can use the randomizer step component to get some really glitchy patterns. Then, you can resample into the drum sampler on the fly, and the new sample gets chopped up.
I guess that any machine or software asking me for more than a day or two to learn using it properly is not going to be my thing.
The machine has to support my workflow, not the other way around.
Yes, building templates will help speed up things to a certain degree but that's the case for every groove box or DAW.
And then I have a new idea waiting to be laid down and no template will fit.
I agree, OT2 and Live are too different to really compare.
If personal tastes weren't so different, we wouldn't have such a great choice of groove boxes on the market
I bought my Octatrack to use as a looper, after hearing several Soundcloud tracks posted by a guitarist who was using one. The sequencer was more of an annoyance to put up with than an essential part of my music-making. Needless to say, my motivations/inspiration was quite different from the OP's.
just throwing that in here..
While being a little bored in lockdown in January I deciphered the Octatrack data format bit by bit.
So since a couple of Months being able to read and write Octatrack sets.
Made an App out of it for Mac to export and import Midi or write complete Ableton v10, v11 Sets from the Octatracks patterns and parameters and project settings.
Meaning i also developed an Ableton Export environment that could be used to do the same with Deluge Data, that way you would be able to create Ableton Songs with your Deluge songs. And in case it runs smooth it would not be limited to just 8 Octa-Tracks.
So already in Alpha phase forcing to go Beta the next weeks.
It has a full Midi implementation and can act as Audio App in the middle between machine and any DAW or running standalone.
Playing, Recording and checking Samples in a AIFF, WAV, m4a, aac and working on flac, caf and maybe rex/rx2 support also.
So why i am posting this here?
After reading some comments in here that i am not the only one being Deluge'ist and Octatrack'ist thinking to do similar export or import options for Deluge Format. Because now it would be possible to transform 8 tracks Audio and 8 tracks Midi into Deluge XML format or the other way around.
Well this is a lot of work even tho it is not that much of a problem like the decoding of the OT was..
To organise further work schedule and having a proper coding plan for the next weeks I would like to know how much interest is in the Deluge Community to have such export/import options..
And knowing the limitations and possibilities of both machines and how they actually accompany each other I am still keen to know more of other Deluge owners having also an OT in their environment and the struggles they have to catch the most out of both..
sounds very interesting hat you already did and archived! I'm using Octatrack and deluge (currently octatrack is going for repair). Usually I used Octatrack as Sampler and routed my Busses ( Drums / Melodic Stuff) with it. I'm also thinking about writing kind of sample manager which alows to manage samples from various sources and which will track and convert all the library for all devices. So a sample would be imported and the manager tracks on which devices it's exported and also ftakes care to convert to the native device format.
I'm not using DAW everyday but would be very nice to have the possibility to export import from deluge.. or better edit deluge songs on a DAW
Currently involved in porting research. Maybe i can make it work in windows and/or Linux as well (no promises yet).
But i can list some features and frameworks i developed and are included already which need to be ported as well.
and as you see in the screenshot above the drop down menu in the window header, it could switch to other machines as well that way converting from one to another. Which first hand is at least some interface that would allow to control conversions despite it needs to be coded of course and UI elements need to look accordingly to make it as easy as f**k..
Pretty amazing. I have them both but not tried to use them together yet. They would work well together though, so it sounds like a good plan, particularly with the time stretch thing in OT being so sophisticated.
Just dropping a note to say I have both devices and use them together regularly. Mostly I use OT to compensate for the lack of a headphone out on the Deluge (I sample loops into the OT from the Deluge after demoing them in headphones through the OT's cue channel)
Anyway, very interested to see how this import/export software develops, I suspect it could expand the way I use the two together!
Well the aim is to open up possibilities to use machine data from MD card/ SD card back and forth on a mac plus midi sequencing, Midi Clock/Ableton Link etc etc kinda like a DAW. The moment developing a unique ultra fast sound engine i want to integrate opening the box of pandora . Which comes with countless ways to do crazy stuff with data or audio or even jam in tandem with machines including Deluge and OT. As i already implemented Ableton Export / Midi file export the same could be done for the Deluge XML format and my UI already allows to switch to a different level which could focus the Deluge.
as mentioned i would be ready to particiapte - not only as testeer. Which language do you use? i'm familar with C,C++,Java,python,perl. I' experienced senior developer currently working as SW architect. But I only work on Linux / Windows. I've no access to apple universe
Hi mate,
Sorry for reincarnating the old thread. I hope you have found how to do it.
I am currently looking for a mixing desk that will perfectly suit my needs in my studio.
At the moment I have several synths and drum machines and octatrack as a core for my setup. I struggle with the audio routing and currently using small mixers to merge synth and drums seperatly into two stereo inputs of the octatrack.
Ideally, now with the mixing desk I would like to route all my gear through ableton for fx infividually each device (arriving post eq and fader) and then simultaneously send them back to the same channels on the desk where I can mix (also curious if I can send the Master in ableton to LR on the desk directly). The idea in all that is I want to have subgroups/mixes of my gear and send them to 2 stereo channels on octatrack to be remixed resampled or whatsoever. Do you know also (if all the previous things I explained are possible) if the subgroup mixes are post fader and eq as I will basically use them as main outs? Can I add fx from the device on the subgroups too?
Another one that eventually I cant find a clear answer on web is about the soft synths. Am I gonna be able to for example have 16 input hardware instruments and then another 5 soft synths comming in from ableton ? From what I know the desk is capable of 22 channels of streaming simultaneously.
Thank you in advance,
Chavdar