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Octratrack vs Circuit vs OP1 vs Electribe Sampler
Hi. I've been wanting to dip my toe back in to the hardware pool again and am wondering what your thoughts are on the above products. iOS production has spoiled me with its portability and simplicity(at times), but I've been dearly missing a hands-on / stand-alone solution to branch out to. I know the Circuit and OP1 will give me the portability & simplicity I'm used to with iOS, but I like the depth of the Electribe & Octratrack. I know there's a huge difference in price between the Circuit and Octatrack, but I can help thinking that the Octatrack and OP1 will stand the test of time better. I do want something that will integrate well with iOS to not only transfer samples(easily?) but mix down to. thanks!
Comments
I love love love my OP-1. You can learn all its features without a huge investment of time (and, if I can learn them, anyone can- trust me on that one). You can take it anywhere, and- best of all- you can compose and record entire songs on it. I got one for Christmas last year, and my music-making and songwriting productivity is like ten times more this year than last year when I was iOS-only. I feel like the OP-1 really "unblocked" me, because I'm even more productive now with iOS and other stuff.
So what's not to like about the OP-1? Well, here are its limitations: your track must be 6 minutes or less (this is never a problem for me), it can only store so many sounds internally at once (again, not a problem for me, because you can store as many as you want on your computer and switch them out as needed), your tracks can sound a little rough because you don't have nearly all the features of a full-on DAW (but you can easily import them into a DAW and then go from there), and of course it's very small in size.
But on the whole, I love that its limitations let you concentrate on just making music and not getting lost in endless tweaking. (And in a few weeks I'm gonna use it in a live performance for the first time- I can't wait!)
I also own an electribe2 - but it's not the sampler. I think of it as a completely different animal than the OP-1. It really isn't "portable" in the sense of you stick it in your backpack and go find a park bench and get lost in it; it's a piece of studio equipment that can also be used for performance. I think it sounds fantastic. You can certainly compose and arrange entire songs on it because the functionality is there, but I use it strictly for beats/rhythm. It's also easy to for a techno-dummy like me to learn to use it, but I think it has plenty of features to please even hardcore tweakheads.
I don't have any familiarity with either Circuit or Octatrack.
Hope this helps. Good luck and happy shopping!
Thom Yorke uses Elektron machines so I recommend them despite not owning one due to dire poverty.
I have reviews of all of them on my YouTube channel. What exactly do you want to go hardware for, those are all totally different machines so it's hard to recommend without knowing more.
Thanks for all the in depth info. Much appreciated!
I watched your electribe2 review and it helped me decide to get one. Didn't know you also reviewed the OP-1 - I will check it out, bet I learn a few things!
You're most welcome. Definitely check out @Tarekith video reviews, they are very in-depth and informative.
I actually caught your vid on the Electribe Sampler, and it was great, thanks.
As an old skool guy(DX11 & 100, D50, EPS, RX17, MMT8 & DSP128 back in the late 80's) I've been missing dedicated hardware ever since I began iOS production a few years back. I want a hands on experience.
Most recently, I've been most productive with Gadget. I work a lot with my own samples, and have been content with Bilbao. I layer up samples with drumsynth for my rhythm tracks, then layer monosynths for my bass & leads. As a bass guitarist, I like to drop my bass lines in mixes as well. I'm thinking that eventually, I'll want a 909 and 303 clone as well as a dedicated polysynth, sampler, etc ...but with these tools, I'm thinking I could bridge the iOS world with the hardware world as I grow in that direction. I'm looking for something that will stand the test of time and grow with me.
Here's a recent sample-
Exactly! LOL But I do love the guy's work.
The main strength of a sampler is in its library. How exciting the stock sounds are, how easy it is to get your own sounds in, the ways they give you to organize the sounds and find a good one in the moment. Might be worth the time to check out that aspect in the manuals.
Using ios to get sounds on any hardware with USB might not be as easy as a computer, due to the lack of file system. That's definitely something to keep an eye on, lest you be lost in a hell of workarounds and lots of intermediate steps (itunes file sharing, weee!). The harder it is, the less likely you are to do it.
Sweet tune
I think given what you're after the Octatrack might not be the best option, as it's more about real time audio loop manipulation and a traditional sampler. You CAN do those sorts of things, but it eats up the 8 tracks pretty quick once you start layering samples. The electribe sampler might be a better option in that case I think.
In terms of IPad Vs OP1 which intrigued me since release but I couldn't afford it. I thought iPad was the one to seat on the bench and write/record whole tunes?
It is a personal view but I'd never go back to small screen/menu driven equipment. I used that stuff in the past but touch screen totally made me lazy with scrolling.
What is exactly the appeal of OP1 when compared with iPad as a bench in the park solution apart from the built in physical controls and geek appeal?
This is starting to sound like: 'what did the Romans ever do for us....?
maybe longer batt life, focused/streamlined concept, more ear and less eye, and overlooking the tactility is like overlooking the iPad screen
I think you've nailed it with focused and more in your head/ears. This is what I'm doing with my iPhone/impaktor combo. Focus and knowledge of tools of the trade is everything in making good things happen in a creative world. Options seem to be a secondary factor.
I'll start out saying I eventually sold my OP-1 as the iPad and iPhone just worked better and were more flexible for me when writing music on the go. But the OP-1 is still a pretty unique device, with a quirky and fun workflow that I definitely see why appeals to so many people. Plus you can do things like record the radio or use it as a control source, there's some really crazy sequencers built in, and recording to tape forces you to commit and move on.
In these types of discussions I think often people forget that a big part of a piece of gear's appeal can just be how fun it is to use, and that's not always easily quantifiable. The OP-1 is definitely a fun bit of gear to have.
Samplr?
I was wanting to get one partly due to the radio sampling but then realized i already sample FM (and AM which is a lot of awful chat shows which is way better) radio without an op-1 so yeah
there's just so much augmentation going on in iOS for the most inane issues, like the 4 musketears I call them and no that wasn't a typo... pan, audio import/export, midi in/out, Acp....
I think when it comes to the big stuff omitted in apps that people are understanding, at least that's how I feel, it's the little stuff that drives you nuts.. cause then you've got to open up another app just to make a left. Allot of the best apps suffer from this like korgs ikaosillator, I love that app but no track volume, no panning.. it's just ridiculous and there are too many examples like this.
.. and i just bought Circuit
damn you
There is also sexiness factor with those little boxes that iPad will struggle to reach. When you pull out an op1 even if or especially because of its diminutive stance the wow factor is already there. The closest to this on iPad will probably be impaktor with an epad. Samplr also comes to mind it's just so damn pity the audience doesn't really see the screen when you're on stage.
I always loved Elektron products.
I would personally get the Octatrack.
Just watch this:
well,.. my 2 cents.. i bought the octatrack, put away my laptop for the most part, studied the OT non-stop for a few months (most obtuse piece of gear i have ever had) and learned how to do most things i wanted, albeit SLOWLY. was digging it until i met with my writing partner/jam buddy and he guided me through his latest tracks on ableton and reminded me of the wizardy and ease and quickness of it all. which i knew but had convinced myself that i could accomplish it on the OT. preparing a song, even with pre-done stems takes way, way , WAY longer on the OT, and then you only have stereo out etc. i can walk 20 miles instead of driving, but do i want to? gone.
then i bought the op-1, which i immediately loved. it is fun and sounds cool. my idea was to work on stuff anywhere and then import what i wanted into ableton for completion. but...no quantize is just ridiculous at this day and age. plus only 1 fx at a time (unless you commit one two tape) and most are noisy. this is cool sometimes but not for everything. sounds are cool but not as cool as having moog 15, waldorf nave, and other awesome synths, apart from the cubasis and gadget and others. sampling from the radio is cool, until you realize that you are gonna have a bitch of a time lining up anything with a beat. and you remember radio sucks. i can have radio on my ios, and spotify, and youtube, and.....
let's not forget about having dropbox and export to soundcloud and all that goodness on your device, no middle man. let's not forget about tons of quality fx in ios..
and lastly, i have gadget in my pocket at all times. the op is mobile, but not that mobile. so so happy my journey has brought me here. still love ableton and using my elektron analog keys and other hardware things in my mini-studio, but.. as a father of two, business owner, husband, etc ios has been my major music making experience lately, and it has invigorated my love in making music.
The OP-1 is a blast, its a focused lean mean music making machine. I also have an Octatrack which is also a blast but I wouldn't recommend it for your first piece of hardware. From your list the Circuit is probably the easiest to get
going with. But really you just have to try them for yourself and see which one you gel with.
The OP-1 forces you to focus more on making music. It can do so many different things within its limitations (synth, sampler, effects, mixer, sequencers), but there's only one UI (as opposed to the zillion you get from app to app), and once you learn it (which is easy if a dummy like me can figure it out), you know it and you're off to the races. It brings immediacy to the music-making process, and it's not only the tactility that does it. With iOS, you can get lost in the infinite options before you ever get out of the starting gate.
Don't get me wrong, I still love iOS and all that it does. But if all I have is a half-hour to spend at the park, I can bring my iPad and spend the entire time just trying to configure something properly in Cubasis or AUM, or I can bring my OP-1 and get most of the way through a finished track.
Just my experience. YMMV.
Agreed. Horses for courses. Of course the ability to learn one or two apps well pays handsomely. On a bench in a park, gadget and loopy combo serve me handsomely.
Lots of great insight. Thanks everyone. I appreciate you all sharing your experiences. You've given me much to consider.
my fav samplr user, all of his vids double as great tutorials too
Might be wrong but I feel this kind of illustrates above mentioned FOCUS. Mastering one app. Samplr is an excellent example of an app that with enough muscle memory becomes an instrument like any other.
yeah I agree, samplr imo is the closest thing to the op-1 in feel
if samplr had panning and hermut lobby's playground had sample import..... Fuhgettaboutit
What a great thread.