Hi all !!! i know what i’m going to write is gonna freak the hell out of some elektron’s gear fans.
I don’t want any debate on who sounds the best, just a discussion about the OT only.
I’ve been a long time (10 years) fan of elektron’s gear. I started with the Machinedrum, then the monomachine & few years ago, the octatrack. The best sounding machine was the machinedrum, to my ears anyway. I was looking for a sampler so, 1st tried an Mpc 1000, i just couldn’t go with the workflow of this japanese box ( but the sound was clear, crisp, punchy ). So i decided to get an octatrack. & since then, my love for elektron machine is gone.
Despite the fact that the sequencing capabilities are amazing, the crossfader scene action is killer, the p-locks, the sample locks, the 4 part switch, a must in live, etc etc i just find the overall sound of this machine so blurry.
I have tried to work every samples with no inboard process, just the dry samples going out of the OT, even that, the sound is muddy !!
44Khz 24bits, samples 1st worked in protools, 6 to 12db of headroom, no compression, no limiter.
Transferred the samples in the OT. No timestretch, no pitch shift, i just go on a simple dry playback of my samples.
I use both Main & Cue out : Main for drums & basses, Cue for Synth & others mids highs.
I use track 8 in normal mode, no master FX.
I also tried the spatialiser effect to work the M/S settings of each sample.
& i finally tried to use 2 same mono loops, both panned left right to work the stereo field. No success, a huge phase issue occurs.
Nothing work, nothing ever did.
Who guys, felt the same about this fantastic machine ?
I keep my OT for its sequencing capabilities but i feel so frustrated about this sound issue on my unit.
Tomorrow, i’ll post some samples of the OT so you can hear what i’m talking about.
I’ll post 2 bounce of an 8 tracks summed project. 1 from Protools or Live & the other from the OT so you can A-B.
Thanks for those of you who could read my crap english 'till the end, for those who’ll try to help & for the others holding themselves from bashing me for such an inquiry.
Peace.
I used to own an Octatrack and sold as the workflow, but I never felt anything off about the sound. But it’s really individual taste, I for example didn’t like the sound of the Analog Rytm.
Allright, i see the problem could come from the converters of my unit maybe ??
As for me, the sound is blurry, muffled, 5 tracks & the summing of the OT shows its weakness.
I’ll keep trying settings to improve the sound … i’ll see.
Hardware samplers have always coloured the sound. Some more than others, but nonetheless. Seen in this light, it would be more surprising for the Octatrack to sound completely neutral, than it is for it to sound recognisably like an Octatrack.
In fact, I think the designers probably chose to make it “non-neutral”, in order to “give it character”.
Neutral instruments are often boring. A Stradivarius violin is not a neutral sounding instrument.
Personally I don’t like the sound of the Octatrack either, but, at the same time, I like some of the older hardware samplers, despite them sounding pretty messed up at extreme settings (in some cases because of that).
When/if you post your bounced examples - I suggest you give them anonymous file-names (like at a “blind wine tasting”), - so our prejudices don’t get the better of us.
Great idea
great idea, i didn’t think of that blind A-B.
in process right now.
Hmmmm, i couldn’t hold myself so i have sold my octatrack & the mpc x is on the way. I had enough of the OT.
hi what is your experience with MPC X ?
I can’t say about the X but I got a Live after the Octatrack and it was great but then I moved to the Akai Force and I could not be happier
i pickup an old mpc (2500) , try to do something with my ot
Live is too much like a computer for me
allright guys, i really don’t want to talk about who is best bla bla bla … both machines have Pro & Cons … but since i’ve switched for the Mpc X, talking about the overall sound & the summing of the unit … the Mpc X kills the OT … the sound of the X is so punchy, clear, the stereo field is wide, the quality of the conversion is absolute neutral, i prefer to colour my sound trough external gear than within the unit & the Mpc X respect the original signal like no others !!! i’ve tried Roland’s , Elektron’s samplers & trust me, the difference is huge !!! the only con’s with the Mpc X, is the workflow … a nightmare at first, but with some practice & the understanding of the “back & forth” approach of the menu diving, it comes very clear … the Mpc X needs a lot of work for a good live when the OT is way more intuitive … but even there, i stick & always will with the Mpc X … & since the 2.9 update the X is a true killer, you can control Ableton Live so easily, you go from 1 mode to the other with no latency at all …
I do agree with Encephal, the Mpc is kind of a computer, so much options …
it’s 2 different worlds, but for me who only look for the SOUND … the X is killer.
Agree with you ACRE : each in their own way of working.
I like the both (Elektron and Akai) worlds since i’ve got a 2500
I was discussing this over the weekend on the Discord, I noticed how the sample sample pack is ok on the Digitakt but it absolutely slams it on the Force.
But the Digitakt wins any day from a sequencer point of view, glad I have both.
from a sequencer point of view only … but it’s quite a good win indeed
you talk about p-lock ?
P-Locks, Sample locks, patch locks … it’s quite easy to work with on the OT … i really enjoyed the Elektron’s approach of sequencing … but the sound was not for me … still a good machine.
but you are french !
Not a helpful comment maybe but of the modern samplers I’ve owned (new Electribe, Model: Samples and Digitakt) I never thought any of them did anything to the sound of the samples that I didn’t program them to do. I’m just not hearing what people hear with the Digitakt. I listen to Octatrack live jams pretty often, I don’t know what the source material sounded like but it never sounds bad to me.
This could easily be my hearing.
I always though of the Digitakt and OT as very transparent, with nothing audible, which is why I was really surprised by the difference in sound between the same sample on the Digitakt and the MPC
it’s not about what you program the machine to do , i know you have efx , eq , etc etc to shape the sound to your taste , i’m talking about the converters , they flatten the sound , the summing was awful … i really think maybe my unit was faulty but i’ve red here & there that the summing & the conversion of the OT was very “recognisable” … & so was not for me … i don’t know, as far as i remember, the sound was flat, blurry, the dynamic was poor …
we all have a different approach to a same machine , a prefer the Mpcx for the accuracy of the sound when a lot of others will say that this machine has no soul …
Cocorico !!! 