Elektron Octatrack Reviews

Jonathan Cox
from Englewood, CO
March 3, 2013Music Background:
Hobbyist

Fun and inspiring!

I've always loved the groove box concept, and so I figured I would pick one of these guys up. I didn't realize how much I was missing out on! This thing is wildly fun. It gives you the freedom to throw down some absolutely wild ideas. Assigning sample start time to the crossfader? Wham! I can instantly "improvise" synth lines, or anything else. Once you've gotten the workflow down, this thing is just stupidly fun to play around with. I find that what I intend to make and what I end up making end up being quite different, just because of the options available for expressing musical thought on this.

Now, one downside to all of the freedom is that the learning curve is... well, it is quite steep. Don't worry, though! In the box is some incredibly helpful documentation, including a getting started guide, and a nice, big manual.

I have not run into any problems with the device at all. Everything sounds great. The only thing it can't do is give me a pony.

Trevor Bajus
from United States
November 20, 2012

miles ahead of the electribes, but still some gripes

Has real envelope controls and deep (but essential) features that make it far more rewarding to use than the Electribe series from Korg. There a little bit more of a learning curve, but there are excellent video tutorials (helps make up for the frustrating manual).

However, here are my gripes, which they address in future revisions of the software (fingers crossed):

The Pickup machine (guitar looper) requires you to FIRST record your guitar, after which your loops begin. It kind of begs the question 'why wouldn't I just use a regular guitar looper. I want to be able to overdub live performances OVER my beats and sequences, and not apply them after- otherwise, why would I have the machine to begin with?

The other glaring oversight seems to be that there is no machine with polyphony. Why would anyone do this? Who never wants to play a chord?

Edward Sheehan
from Wilmington NC
September 25, 2012Music Background:
Tinkers, tweaks and geeks...

Next next next level

This moster mangles sounds either sampled from other hardware, stuff from my guitars and mic'd drums, vocals, my other elektrons and synths or just samples from my computer. It can slave midi or be slaved, send and receive midi notes etc. Elektron has been improving the OS since it dropped and I have been pleased that they continue to still add features years later. I just picked up a second one for live gigs and to control all of my other gear, add more effects and house thousands of samples I can use on the fly. It took me awhile to wrap my head around most of it, but like all Elektron machines, they are intuitive but you can always go deeper. Pure magic right here!

Dan
from Boston
May 12, 2012Music Background:
Audio Engineering Student

I Don't Understand...

The review above mine. The Octatrack does an AMAZING job at sequencing MIDI devices/other synths as well as taking sampling to a whole new level... I feel and hope that this will be my studio and live set centerpiece for years to come. Elektron does an amazing job at breathing new life into older ideas.

Mike
from United States
May 6, 2012Music Background:
Producer

If you are looking to sequence this externally, look elsewhere.

This is a great machine if you plan on using it as the center of your production setup (hardware). In my case, I bought this to replace Ableton for live shows and for doing the heavy lifting for my MPC 3000 in the samples / effects department.

Complete fail. You CANNOT trigger multiple samples on one track via MIDI. You just simply can't do it. How in the world they overlooked this most simple and crucial feature, I don't know.

Be warned. This thing does not play nice as a MIDI slave.

Camilo
from Brooklyn, NY
April 14, 2012

Best Hardware Sampler Ever!

The Elektron Octatrack is the most versatile musical tool ever: sampler, effects processor, midi sequencer, multi-gigabyte audio tracker, etc...

It's a powerful sampler with real-time manipulation. Recording and editing samples is easy (once you read the manual) and creating and arranging patterns can lead into complete songs without touching a computer. It can also process external audio in real-time with the internal audio effects.

Such an incredible and powerful MIDI sequencer... blows my mind how easy I'm controlling my Moog SLIM Phatties (x3) and Roland Octapad SPD30.

Elektron Octatrack is built like a tank (very solid), is a lot of fun to play with and sounds amazing!

tim bliss
from United States
March 7, 2012Music Background:
MTV producer

Octatrack

Simply put ... Amazing...
I though at first I was just getting some bad *** sample mangling device. But am using the MIDI sequencer to control all my equipment with a step by step accuracy. All the parameter changes are controllable to do exactly what you want when you want it.. This has been an ableton live replacement for me ever since

marco gonçalves
from recife PE Brazil
January 30, 2012Music Background:
home studio

super sampler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the best of de best! i love this machine!

iOS/iPad

Recording

Computer Audio

Guitar

Bass

Keyboard

Drums

Live Sound

DJ/Lighting

Accessories

Dealzone

inSync

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