Octatrack Workflow Tutorial: Recording Quantized Loops!
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- čas přidán 27. 10. 2020
- Make music fast! In this tutorial video I share my workflow for making songs out of sampled quantized loops (4 bars). Grab your favorite pieces of gear and lets get started!
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Watch my other Elektron tutorial videos:
Digitakt Tutorial Video: Make your own chord samples instantly! - • Digitakt Tutorial Vide...
Digitakt Tutorial Video: Granular Synthesis! - • Digitakt Tutorial Vide...
Digitakt Tutorial Video: Time Stretch Effect! - • Digitakt Tutorial Vide...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: How to make sample chains! - • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: Hardware FX Send! • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: Freeze Delay + Looper Delay! - • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: Looper! - • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: Tape Stop Effect! - • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: Synthesize a hi-hat! - • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: Synthesize a snare drum! - • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: Synthesize a kick drum! - • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: Sidechain pumping effect! - • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Octatrack Tutorial Video: Mixer, FX Box, External Remixer! - • Octatrack Tutorial Vid...
Gear list~
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You have given the word 'easily' a new meaning x
It’s a steep learning curve, no doubt, but the view from the top is astonishing
thats why he is called EZ-bot;)
You're demystifying all of the headache and anxiety inducing aspects of the OT and making it entertaining and fun, which is pretty incredible!! Thank you so much!!
Still relevant today! Just picked up my Oktatrck today! you have my sub! Thanks for all the hard work you put into making music possible for everyone! I'll be watching all of your recordings.
why am I watching this? I don't even have an octatrack :( good video!
Just preparing you for the day you get one!
thats the spirit
This is awesome and resolving a lot of my head scratching! Big up 👊🏽
This workflow feels very organic in my studio setup . Thanks .
Starting to understand. This is awesome. Thank You!
These videos are GOLD. Please keep making them!
thanks!
Just picked up an OT and this is one of my primary intended uses. Thanks for the tutorial!!
Awesome! I am so glad I could be of service :)
Amazing work! Beautifully shot and edited, but more importantly, extremely simple and easy to understand explanation of a very complex machine. Congrats man, I hope your channel grows sky high, see you around!
Thank you so much!
This is how to do it. It gets the computer out of the way and you can just jam. I'm doing this, then filling up variations of the same sounds in Parts, then jamming with custom treatments in scenes and using the fader to perform the parts, then using PARTS+COPY, I'm jumping it all over to a new Bank and remixing it all. So good.
Awesome! I just replied to your email too :)
Great tutorial! Thank you so much. I love seeing the ways that other people use this thing.
Thank you!
Thanks for this tutorial, man! I love the way you explain!
Thank you!
interesting workflow, gonna have to try this out with the DT/DN combo. thanks for the always great tutorials, matty!!
You're welcome Danny boy! Can't wait to see what you cook up :)
That's a LOT of work! They should make a device that just does this.
I do something similar with Maschine on the audio tracks, but there is always some latency and a CLICK at every loop point that has to be fixed because NI does seem to understand zero crossings.
Works much better in Ableton Live, but I would love to be free from using a computer.
Thank you good sir. Your videos are encouraging.
This looks like a big timesaver. Looking foward to trying your technique when my Octatrack arrives. Excellent video production and clear tutorial. Thanks for sharing!
No problem!
Really good stuff. It's helpful as I get up to speed with the Octatrack. Good sounding track too!
Glad it helped!
Demystified the whole OT recording thing for me. I always got hung up on setting the record inputs/record trig/arming so thanks for making it easy to follow along.
No problem!
Hey Matt, this is classic….I just watched this video now and looking at the comments, I left the last comment about one a year ago. Anyway it was great seeing this again, of late I have been absorbed in the wild iOS music world….it is very cool indeed. I watched your video with RMR introducing the OT to him. Awesome stuff (All your stuff is topnotch) this brought me back to the OT, I was possibly considering selling because I wasn’t using it.
Well I realize there is nothing like the OT and I’m going to keep it and I’m going to use it. It really is a Swiss Army Knife for music. Thanks for your commitment and presence on CZcams, you really make a difference!!!
Subscribing now bc my mkii comes Tuesday 😎
Hey Matt, another great tutorial thank you, I’m going to give this a spin tonight.
This really puts this process in a very simple step by step workflow.
You really make the world a better place OT users
Thanks Howard, that means a lot to me :)
@@EZBOT_ You are welcome
Bit late on this one but this, and your other OT tutorials are very very consise and methodical for someone jumping head first into the OT!
Thanks! Have fun :)
My new favorite Octatrack Sensei🙇(bow)...
Thank you! 😀
Brilliant!!! .... Thanks man... subbed 👍🏻
Thank you brother! just made new video using your technique , thats so fun. I remember Dataline's video with this kind of setup, but he's asked $$$ for preset )) Thank you!
This is really helping with my recent ot2 acquisition! (Also, when you said "and it makes this nice 7 layer..." I couldn't help but mentally complete it with "bean dip").
Lmao that was good
It’s truly the enchirito of samplers
Another great video!
Thank you!
Thanks man! I’m gonna try this 🔥🔥🔥
No problem, glad you liked it!
amazing - thanks
Yes!!! Thank you! This is absolutely perfect for my workflow. I really appreciate this video.
Thanks Preston! Let me know if you have any ideas for videos :)
@@EZBOT_ How about working from templates? For example, do you start with a template, then save it immediately into a new Project before working (so that you don't save all the changes to the template)? Another idea is using the Cue Outs into pedals and fx units and sampling back into the OT? Maybe using the Autochannel with external synths?
@@EZBOT_ Other ideas: how are your Scene FX that are labeled setup? How do they work? Also, how do you take your Project into the DAW for finalizing for mixing, arranging, etc (if you even do)? In my opinion, the sampling aspects of the OT are the trickiest to master (especially if you haven't used the OT in a few weeks), so all these sampling videos are great.
@@prestonhart6685 Preston, have you joined the Discord yet? You have great ideas you should come hang with us. There is a link in the description of the vid. I did a live OT thing for my Patreons where I covered a lot of those concepts but something for CZcams is a good idea as well!
thank you bro this is awesome
You're welcome!
Golden!
Thank you for this!!
No problem :)
Me has salvado la vida
beautiful
Best tutorial to sample loops.❤ Many thanks. I'd like to ask if is possible to record mono synth but with recorded sample in "stereo". With this method I have recorded sample from input "A" and only playing in left side of headphones.
great vid!
Thank you!
I would love to see you creating a song live using this method with DT & DN
Thats a good idea!
Great video Matt. Have you got a video on creating a full song? Can you have a second pattern and repeat this process?
Yeah you could do it as many times as you like!
Such a great video - thanks! Out of interest which midi to cv module are you using?
I was using the Nerdseq with the midi expander in this video but whenI am not using that I either use Hexinverter Mutant Brain or I use cv.ocd.
This machine seems so challenging! And I think about to really accept the challenge...
Let’s do this!
@@EZBOT_ haha alright! But whats your personal opinion about the high price compared to other machines, is it worth it?
@@robnzombiz it’s the only machine that can do what it does. If you want to design your own workflow than yes, if you’re just wanting a drum machine or one shot sample player then no
Why do you make 8th track as master for this technique? You can just set src3 of 7th track (or any other) to master, instead of 8th track. This would give you one more track for playback.
I sat and counted button presses. 1435. Hendrix turned on his amp ;) or perhaps the roadie did it.
Haha! I love it
@@EZBOT_ I didn't count them really. Considering getting an Octatrak. I must admit this has put me off. I mean no ill will by this comment x
@@arthurwebsterjones135 Thats ok! Most of my tutorials are for advanced Octatrack users. I like to do this setup because I it lends itself to live performance with the Octatrack. I think if you had the OT it would be easier to digest this particular content - or at least see its value. If it's a contest between the OT and Ableton than Ableton wins but I don't use the OT as an alternative to Ableton, I use it because I love how it functions and I don't want to be on my computer when I am making music.
Have been using a similar method for my live setup but have been finding there's a bit of a delay on the play back from the recording, which I can easily here when cross fading between the direct channel and the recorded channel, which didn't sound like was happening for you? Have I got a goofy setting somewhere? Sounds flawless on this demonstration of yours 😮
could you put down multiple record trigs on the pickup machine so that you would get a trig per note?
Got everything up and running. Supreme. actually on time loops! Only issue is when I crossfade to B, the volume increases heavily...I do have tracks on the left side as internal tracks
Hey Man thanks for this great vIdeo. Do you have any idea why Track 7 continue recording like overdub and who can i make it stop after 64 bar. Thanks!
He converts the trigger when the T7 is armed and the red trigger gets green (one shot). That makes the recording stop after the first loop. It looks like the playing trigs are not the same as recording trigs…. Difficult to understand…. Anyway…
Thanks for the workflow and yes it helped demystify the octatrack. Question - do you feel like the 44.1khz/24bit is adequate or does it limit high quality recordings? I'm hesitant on using it for recordings - but maybe I shouldn't be?
I mean, I think it sounds great but 48/16 is in my opinion noticably better. Regardless, I run all my audio through the Octatrack and think nothing of it. It's still a damn fine sounding machine and yes I think hghi quality.
nice!
Thank you! Cheers!
Instead of recording the internal sound of the OT, record directly so you don't have to mute the other tracks and you can do the layering live.
The idea is to sum the recordings into 1 recording for layering after which is easiest if you record internally. You could record directly each track but it requires more setup.
Can anyone help? I did this method, but the slider doesn't completely eliminate the sound of the external inputs. I have one scene set the dirs to max, and the other set them to min, but when they are at min I still hear them at a low volume. The lower the volume of the OT is (func + volume knob) the less i can hear it, but it's still there when I turn it up louder.
I know the issue isn't a thru track because i can still hear the inputs even when i mute all tracks.
3 weeks into ownership wow this thing is frustrating, just when you think you are understanding things there is always something else that keeps you from just making music
Hey! You'll get it, it is definitely frustrating but you will get it. The slider thing is an issue, you need to google reset octatrack slider. It's in the test mode but I forget the key combo. Figure that out and it will fix your problem
@@EZBOT_ thanks so much for the response and for your video!!! Gonna give this a try :) I'll keep practicing away!
Hey Matt, great as always. Would you make a tutorial about quantize, trig mode and one shot for disconnected tracks? I dont get to..(im french)..cheers!
Don’t get it sorry
Thank you! Disconnected sequencers huh, I’ll think about it!
Awesome video. I am encountering a problem when following this method though. When I move the crossfader over to the recorded version, I am getting what sounds like a phasing or flanger type sound. It is more noticeable with the crossfader not 100% to scene B side. I watched your other video on your OT performance setup with the DT + DN. I have the same setup. Have you ran into this issue or any thoughts on what could be causing that to happen?
If you do it quickly there is no phasing. There would be no audible difference in recordings at 100% crossfader though. Maybe you need to recalibrate your fader
@@EZBOT_ That makes sense and what I am seeing as well. 100% is fine. Thanks for the feedback.
Maybe the external source is still open in your mixer…? Did you stop it or close the signal so nothing in entering in AB?
Trying to follow along but having some issues (just got mine yesterday). At 8:00 he presses play and hears both recordings, but I'm only able to hear the second recording I made. Anyone have any ideas what may be going wrong? A few seconds before pressing play he says "let's go ahead and do this" but doesn't really say what he's doing. It looks like he hits Mix and then the first trig key, but I may be mistaken. Could that be the source of my trouble?
Is there any way you could input an acoustic instrument signal into this? for example just truncating the length of the loop to fit in the grid- not anything that would analyse the waveform and quantise properly. But for example could you layer up electric guitar or bass loops or something- maybe by recording them as samples on the fly and then looping them?
100% yes
Is there away to do this without the music stopping? That would be an awesome way to do freeform live sets. :)
Id also like to know this!
Yes, you can resample and then play the recorded buffer on the Octatrack while playing.
after recording a loop, if you don't want to assign it to a static track, how do i dismiss the audio/ rerecord a new loop?
Just press no :)
Is there a difference in setting a oneshot recorder trig and arming the track vs placing no recorder trig at all, using pattern length as the QREC setting on rec setup (page 2) and recording via pressing the respective record button for the source you want to record? If not, I invite you to check out the latter option as you can record multiple sources onto one track, quantized as well :)
You could make a tutorial man…. Thanks in advance…
This is pretty cool! Are you muting the other tracks to just demonstrate what is recording ?
Ah ic track 7 is resembling everything …. I think it would be better if track 7 could either resample or just sample whatever is coming in , cuz sometimes you’d be jamming over what you have already and don’t want to record what bthe other tracks are playing back
Great video! You can make longer quantized loops by setting record length to max, the trig to one2, increasing the length of the recording track, and arming it to record and then arming it again during the recording so it stops, right?
Yes, you can also keep it at 64 but change the track speed to 1/2 or 1/4. That way it is still quantized
@@EZBOT_ isnt it natural that its quantized if you use a midi track to sequence the modular? I find it harder to quantize the loop when playing 'live instruments'.
Thanks for pointing this out- exactly what I was trying to figure out the other day but couldn't quite wrap my head around it.
Nice. Is it possible to have all your sampling time available in 1 project ?
Not sure what you mean exactly. You can stream audio from the SD card on static tracks so you can have pretty much as much recording time as you want.
really cool OT tutorial, how is the latency in the OT at recording quantized loops?
ZERO latency. Absolutely zero :)
@@EZBOT_ I’m getting a good bit of latency. Maybe I should drop it into record while the loop is already playing rather than at the start? For the record I’m trying to record my iPad which is sequenced by my Oxi one, clocked to the OT. Lots of variables. It’s been a few years since I’ve used the OT until today. The latency is shown in silence at the beginning of the loop, and nasty clicks/pops at the end. And when slicing, it’s all clicks and pops, even when slice to zero
@@davidsteffens3952 strange, I have no latency issues at all. You can also just record the loop using the REC buttons then press REC+ 3 to go strait into editing that loop. Save it and your good
@@EZBOT_ going to give it a shot tomorrow. I think it’s user error somewhere on my part. No one seems to have this issue but me, and it’s happened on more than one OT, so not a device issue.
Thank you, love it. Question i have is how are you dealing with gain staging and leveling and maintaining Green signal lights for your incoming from external as well as green lights on your internal while still having decent output?
I am new to the octatrack this year and dealing with a lot of different gear and end up running most audios in "orange" just to maintain decent output levels
Well, I kinda talk about that in the video but it's mostly just understanding what is unity gain on the Octatrack. You shouldn't be having trouble keeping it at acceptable levels. I go over this again in the REMIXER video on my channel. Set track level to 127. Set THRU machine volume to 63. Anything below maximum value on unipolar knob will be attenuating the volume. Does that make sense? Join the EZBOT discord, links in the video description. Much easier to chat there
I've gone through the setup multiple times and it works - except for the "glitch" I get at the end/start of each time it loops, after the recording. Anyone else encounter this? It almost seems like a timing issue. Octa > Midi Thru (the little 1 in / 4 out that everyone uses, little black box I forget the brand) > Korg Minilogue XD. Audio from the Korg is direct into the Octa. Thanks if anyone can recommended a solution! GREAT vids and thank you for all the help!
It's little shit like this that just 'doesn't work' that makes me want to chunk this thing and go back to a DAW
You will find that glitch anywhere, DAW or not DAW, if you don’t make sure that the end of the soundwave at the end of the loop matches same phase of the soundwave at the beginning of the loop. Glitch here is a jump from between soundwaves that meet on the different level.
@@morsun6127 I just mean going back to a DAW and record songs in a linear fashion, instead of recording loops and arranging them.
thanks for DM on instagram, these videos rule!
Thank you!
Is there any way I could please get this project in order to load to mine? Please and thank you. I cannot figure this looper thing out. Appreciate it.
I have the reminder project on my Patreon which is very similar. I’d argue that it’s better- though it is different. At the very least it will explain the looper to you
@@EZBOT_ Thank you I will check that out.
Question. I am trying to live loop. But I end up with ol audio from AB not CD. What setting am I forgetting?
But do you still have a thru track for the inputs?
Not using a THRU track in this setup :)
Duh I got it (forgot to turn ‘dir’ volume up. This set up is perfect for my flow , great vid,!
why don't you record directly in each track instead of using track seven and then saving and applying?
Because it’s more work to do and the idea was to be as fast as possible :) plus it’s just a different workflow that has its own quirks both good and bad.
@@christdolphin69 well said! Yes I have seen Cenks video many times :) This method was designed to resample the tracks. The idea was to build layers. Eventually you have a ton of stems that are full of content because you have rerecorded on them so many times. It all came about when i was sampling like 6 different synths as fast as I could and I didnt want to set anything up. So I edited my REMIXER setup real quick to make fast samples and it just kinda stuck because it was so easy. I already had it memorized from playing live.
Goddamit this may have sold me an octatrack i couldnt afford 😂😂😂
I literally just took the Plunge and bought one after work 😅. "Yo Elektron Hire EZBOT! He is out here selling units". You have earned another sub! Looking forward to scoping the patreon for octagold 🤘🤘 +10
Did everything to a T multiple times and yet I still here the audio from my outboard synth no matter where I have the cross fader
Maybe you left the monitor setting on the mix page enabled?
Im so close to buying an OT. Ive been using DT and DN for a few years now but God Damn!!! The OT looks insanely complicated. IDK man
It is complex but worth the effort and it would be a perfect companion to your other Elektron boxes.
@@EZBOT_ I will very likely end up getting one. I have a lot of other hardware too (synths, samplers etc) so I know it will be put to good use.
@@TheoVoidTV you have chosen wisely
@@EZBOT_ You were right! This machine is insane !
I’d really like to see some “Octatrack Duals” content where you and Red or someone have audio routed into and out of each other’s OTs sampling and resampling each other. Like infinite recursion with 2 OTs.
That was an idea I had with my band mate before I knew what the OT was or did. We were considering building modular rigs that would synergize well together and I thought it would be cool to sample and loop and mangle in a real time performance. A year later and I see that Red Means Recording video Demystifying the Octatrack and I realized what makes it so special. I was like “holy eff that does what I was talking about!”
I don't get it. What's the benefit using track 7 as recorder compared to recording at the actual replay tracks? What happens if you decide to change one track to a new recording, you will need to reassign that player to the new recording from track 7 to a new sample. Isn't that an extra unnecessary step compared to recording to the same track/buffer as playback.
The idea was to make a centralized hub where audio comes in. Kinda a digitakt sampling emulation, just a different take on it. The vid teaches you how to sample quantized loops - thats the main thing I wanted people to learn here.
This is interesting. I know the template thing speeds up the setup but it did seem to take 7 minutes to record a kick drum.
By way of contrast it you have Ableton plus a Push and setup multiple audio tracks all inputed from the same source you can do the exact same thing in no-time, with alot more visual feedback.
If you were to use Ableton Live with a blank template you would click Instruments, drag or double click the Drum Rack, Simpler or Sampler, then scroll to your samples folder, scroll to your kicks, audition the kicks for one you like, then drag it in to the track, then create a clip in Session or Arrangement View, then go into the clip, then draw in the notes...
Basically anything can take a long time from scratch, especially when you're doing it on camera with a step by step explanation.
Ok
I don't really understand the use of the flex on track7. Why not record directly into the track you want it in?
The point is that you only need to set up one track for recording. Rather than setting up each track individually. Than you can easily resample it with perfect 4 bar loops. It's just fast is all, nothing magical about it.
@@EZBOT_ Oh yeh, so you don't have to setup flex tracks. I'm just starting out, still struggling with the basics. Cool tip, thnx
@@kill_screen I totally understand that, like a lot - hahah. Come to the Discord where we talk about this stuff all day! Lots of friendly Octatrack users :)
I use a similar setup, but with track recorders configured on each track. IMHO this makes it much "smoother". You can jam along and don't need to stop the music for saving. You even don't need to save at all when you don't want to keep the loops, so iterating on an idea becomes much faster. The configuration needs a few moments, but since it is used as a template it only needs to be done once and never again.
@@tomnussbaumer6077 Yes that works very well indeed! Honestly I just think this is easier because it's harder to get lost on what track is recording what. You're always on track 7 and you're always recording the audio inside the OT. Hard to get lost and it places the stems for you on ascending tracks, just feels faster to me.
Wouldnt it make more sense to simply sample the inputs on track 7, and not having to mute everything all the time?
I prefer to sample the master track because it allows me to resample easily. Muting and unmuting is pretty easy. If I just sample the inputs than I can't easily do layering as well. This workflow is meant to be additive - what I mean is that you always have access to external gear plus access to the content you have already sampled, all the time. This way you can stack bounced audio to one track and keep stacking.
@@EZBOT_ Gotcha! Makes sense 😊 however live record something, rather than midi sequenced stuff it might be easier to feel the groove and get good timing if you are able to still hear the other tracks while recording
@@EZBOT_ I also wonder how this workflow could be expanded to do multiple takes of one stem? So that you can audition different versions.
@@carlborgen Ohh I like where you are going with that one!
@@carlborgen You should join the discord, the link is in the video description. Lots of good synth chat
ONE SHOT RECORD TRIG
THE SHOT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD
This is the only elektron machine I know that has a Sd card slot, which is a shame because in my opinion the 1gb drive in the other machines they have is just not enough. These things are too pricey for that.
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎧
Cool tutorial, but ditch the mods and get Reason. =) You'd be much happier, believe me...
I work at modular shop so that is highly unlikely, haha. But yeah, I like reason too :) thank you!
“Why don’t you throw out the professional tools and get yourself useless toy software” Yeah, great advice.
@@alamunez Dude my first, second, and third generation Beatomatic's were all hardware. Now with the 4th gen I can do things you'd only dream of. Good luck with your rig!
@@JVonD “Dude”? Lol
9:44 "you can record as many layers as you want..." as long as that number is 8 or fewer. xD
Ahhh but you can resample! So it is limitless but I was referring to the track count, haha.
Ok let me start from scatch because I have no idea what he is doing.
Repeating the same thing over and over to get to that 10 minutes mark 🤕
10 minute mark?
complicate octatrack, but good tutorial..
Jesus how stupid I am. I hear you explain easy but it's just too much for my brain
this is gruesome😅