Writing an article about why the Octatrack is still so rad after a decade

mistercharlie

I’m writing another article about music gear (last week I covered the MDR 7506), this one about the Octatrack. The idea is that it’s still the weirdest—and coolest—electronic musical instrument around, and there’s nothing like it.

I’m looking for quotes for my piece. I have the general git of the piece — I’m on my second Octatrack after selling the first—a comon situtaion I think!

So, if anyone can give a quick answer about why they love the Octatrack, or why they don’t like it, that would be amazing! If you’d like me to link to your Soundcloud/website/LinkedIn(!), stick the link in your post.

A couple of questions to give some ideas:

What’s the appeal of the Octatrack? What makes it unique?
Why is it still so popular after ten years?
Why do so many of us buy them, then sell them, then buy them again?

I put this post up on Elektronauts too, just FYI.

mhc0

I think you already know all the answers since it as been debated for years in Elektronauts forum. The only (uninteresting but true) thing I can say is, the Octatrack has completely cured my GAS ! I bought it last December and I feel I don't need new gear anymore. This machine is so versatile and deep. I'm the limit side of it ...

AlmostAnonymous

Hit me up if you need counterpoint arguments

auxmux

@AlmostAnonymous said:
Hit me up if you need counterpoint arguments

LOL, same here. I don't get the appeal, but almost everyone who has had one, loves it.

mistercharlie

I do know the arguments, but I need to get some quotes for the story. The Elektronauts thread is worth a read!

https://www.elektronauts.com/t/writing-an-article-about-why-the-octatrack-is-still-so-rad-after-a-decade/159482/18

jebni

Oh, you’re THAT Charlie! Big fan.

Tarekith

It was the core of my live set up for many years, in fact for a long time it WAS my live set up. Plenty of video examples of me using it for that on my YouTube channel, along with lots of tutorials for things like the crossfader transition trick a lot of people still use today.

But I had a bad experience with my first one where some of the pins got bent when I was inserting a new CF card into it, and elektron were such jerks about fixing it under warranty (even though I was moderator of the elektron forums and on the OT beta team) that I sold it in disgust along with all my other Elektron gear.

Still, it does what it does so well that years later I bought another one and used it again for live sets. There’s something about being able to set up the hardware so flexibly to function the way you specifically want that really makes it unlike anything else out there. Though arguably what also makes it so complex for new users too.

Eventually it was gathering dust for too long so I sold the second one too. I still debating getting another though now that the MKII versions are out, if nothing else just to see what has an hasn’t changed. Very unique bit of gear, I consider it one of the few bits of gear that will be looked back on ground breaking for it’s time.

https://tarekith.com if you need a link for the quotes.

mistercharlie

@jebni said:
Oh, you’re THAT Charlie! Big fan.

☺️

mistercharlie

@Tarekith said:

But I had a bad experience with my first one where some of the pins got bent when I was inserting a new CF card into it

I sold it in disgust

Remind me never to buy used gear from you!

Still, it does what it does so well that years later I bought another one and used it again for live sets. There’s something about being able to set up the hardware so flexibly to function the way you specifically want that really makes it unlike anything else out there. Though arguably what also makes it so complex for new users too.

Great point. It’s like a hardware box that can become anything from a mixer to a stem player to and eight track recorder to an fx box and on and on.

rs2000

@Tarekith said:
It was the core of my live set up for many years, in fact for a long time it WAS my live set up. Plenty of video examples of me using it for that on my YouTube channel, along with lots of tutorials for things like the crossfader transition trick a lot of people still use today.
...
Still, it does what it does so well that years later I bought another one and used it again for live sets. There’s something about being able to set up the hardware so flexibly to function the way you specifically want that really makes it unlike anything else out there. Though arguably what also makes it so complex for new users too.

This reminds me a lot of how some love and some dislike Drambo: You can set it up so flexibly that it will run almost any kind of performance, yet not everyone is willing to invest the time.

mistercharlie

@rs2000 The worst thing about the Octatrack for me this time around is that it’s full of distractions. I had a glorious few days where all I did was use pickups and scenes to loop my guitar (plus a bit of percussion from a sample chain).

Then I started thinking what if…? and futzing with midi, and other nonsense. I bit off more than I could mangle.

I’m a manual reader, so that never helps either. I always read about a feature, and want to try it out.

So, back to live looping and scenes for a while, to really get to know scenes.

rs2000

@mistercharlie said:
@rs2000 The worst thing about the Octatrack for me this time around is that it’s full of distractions. I had a glorious few days where all I did was use pickups and scenes to loop my guitar (plus a bit of percussion from a sample chain).

Then I started thinking what if…? and futzing with midi, and other nonsense. I bit off more than I could mangle.

I’m a manual reader, so that never helps either. I always read about a feature, and want to try it out.

So, back to live looping and scenes for a while, to really get to know scenes.

Distractions can be good!
At least it obviously serves you as a nice creative playground.

Svetlovska

@mistercharlie : If you want the view of a non user ignoramus, I’m your girl.

I still, very much, want to move away from DAWs and have an all in one box that I can just, you know, noodle with in the sofa like I do with the iPad (preferably alongside/complementary to the iPad).

I thought the Octatrack might be the one for me, but, OMG, it seems so dauntingly, dauntingly complex. I’m old enough to remember the user hostile inscrutability of DX7 programming, and I never want to experience that again.

Also, I never need to perform live, so that aspect of it is lost on me, and I’m afraid I just had visions of investing a lot of money in a single thing, and then never being able to do a damn thing with it.

I often feel similarly baffled by my recent explorations into real modular, but at least I can address the complexity one bite size module at a time, and if I eventually get something like a Palette case, even noodle on the sofa with some of it. So: tcha! Convince me otherwise…

mistercharlie

@Svetlovska said:

I often feel similarly baffled by my recent explorations into real modular, but at least I can address the complexity one bite size module at a time, and if I eventually get something like a Palette case, even noodle on the sofa with some of it. So: tcha! Convince me otherwise…

This is what got me the first time around. I tried to use everything. Now I know better (I hope). Just like the iPad, where you don’t load all you AUv3s at once, the Octatrack is better for me if I stick to one part. Right now that’s playing with live loops from the guitar, and screwing with them via Scenes.

This time, I’m having way more fun. No chance using it on the sofa though Unless I try that battery mod!

Svetlovska

Ah, I probably could use it on the sofa, as I have a mains socket within easy reach. Of course then the question would be could I use it on the sofa. Or anywhere else, for that matter…

mistercharlie

Why the Octatrack Is the Weirdest Electronic Musical Instrument Around

Gravitas

@mistercharlie

That was a good read.

Thank you.

mhc0

Yup, that was a good read! Cheers