It may not make you write better tracks in and of itself, but it certainly improves my workflow, which aids my creativity, which hopefully leads to better tracks.
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While I see the appeal of OB I fear that it will be very hard for Elektron to get right for the majority of users while eating up a huge portion of their development resources. Resources, which I personally would prefer to be spent on building cool new machines.
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I think setting up macro’s (perf controller) in Ob is better than in A4 or ak
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I agree, unfortunately the parameters don’t update when changing preset, so the moment you twist the knob, the sound is destroy as it is on a different position.
I dont understand
This is a confirmed bug:
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I like Overbridge, but then I come from Ableton world. The appeal of Elektron and I guess my entrance to their machines was through Overbridge, it was a major drawcard for me, otherwise I could just buy some other synth. That’s what Elektron is now, the marriage of analog and digital. I think its great. But maybe that motto will change going forward, who knows. Total Recall is flipping awesome - open an Ableton live set, hit play, boom - shits on. You literally don’t have to do anything else. It’s sick. Since the El Cap update I’ve had zero issues. I’m so glad you take it into account when developing your apps @void. SDS + OB + Rytm is awesome. And I honestly hope they keep throwing resources at it and keep development up going forward - if they drop it - it would be the absolute worst for a fan and a user. You end up with a machine that used to be able to do something, and maybe as a result end up keeping your audio machine stalemate on some OS you can’t upgrade from. Software updates are part of their game now, so I really hope they stick to it. Who knows what it becomes in future, software seems as much a part of their future as is hardware.
But otherwise, to me OB is a DAW production tool. When you have an Ableton Live set building up in either session or arrangement, it integrates your Elektron devices totally into the mix, in so many different configurations. And sure, a lot of the time I do like to roll OTB, but a production of mine is always going to run through Ableton. So while the boxes could possibly roll solo in a live set, plugging in a USB cable and having it live and analog direct and in sync into your full workstation production is a game changer for me and its why I sold my OP1.
edit: I should say the two missing channels of the Rytm is pretty much a bummer
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Don’t use it, don’t need it, don’t care about it.
I’m an Overbridge power user myself. Was using the Virus TI when they first released it in 2006, the inclusion of Overbridge was what sold me on Elektron gear to begin with.
Within Ableton you can drop the Overbridge plugins into Instrument Tracks and map parameters to the Macro controls (as many parameter knobs as you want to one Macro), resulting in things that would take an hour or more to do with the hardware being reduced to seconds - very complex automation can be written very easily. Happy to report the same can be done with the Analog Heat as an Audio Effect Track.
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I also would be more positive about Overbridge when it becomes a universal standard. A collaboration with Ableton would be interesting and make it part of the Link standard. Because think about Overbridge within 5 years???
For sure the hardware Analog Four, Rytm & Heat still works on it’s own.
Another thing that bothers me is longevity. With annual updates for macOS, Windows and DAWs this may well turn into maintenance hell for Elektron and at some point it won’t be feasible anymore to keep up.
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I guess i would be happy if it was working with Logic Pro X but its still very sluggish unfortunately.
I dont really care about audio i just want the thing to sync correctly.
Anyway i think they did an incredible job considering the complexity of Overbridge !
I love the plug-in. With Ableton Suite / M4L, it means M4L MIDI LFOs on everything. MIDI clips as scenes, and so on.
And it is fabulous for macro (Performance) assignments. Some days I just spend time in the OB plug-in making as many complex macro assignments to all my kits as I can. It’s worth taking the time to do, and OB makes it less time consuming.
Unfortunately, I run a mid-2009 MacBook Pro 2.8ghz Core2Duo. So reliability, especially on the multi-track audio side has been hit or miss.
I had an opportunity to buy a newer i7 MBP early this year, but decided to get a Qu-Pac instead, as I wanted to record/monitor with near zero latency, and computer free recording was appealing.
And I have been happy with that decision, but I still want to get that faster Mac some day as there are some tone shaping plug-ins with no latency which I own (MH Character, WaveArts TubeSaturator2, Tritone Colortone Pro) that I would love to monitor through while recording with Overbridge, added latency not withstanding. I’m saving up for a 2015 MBP 15" 16GB, 512GB purchase in mid 2017.
I’m not concerned with how Overbridge affects Elektron as a business. This seems to be a popular thought around here.
I imagine (because that is all that anyone not working AT 
can really do) that the net effect is positive, as it probably helps sell more devices and invite more customers to the Elektron workflow, ultimately making the company stronger and allowing them to branch out, as we have already seen, with devices like Analog Heat and Analog Drive.
I’m happy to see them attract more musicians, while pushing out exciting products, and employing brilliant people. I imagine that OB helps in such endeavors.
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Which iMac model / year / spec - specifically?
I had some good luck with my wife’s 2013 27" quad i5. But she’s taken it to school now. Considering one for OB.
I don’t use it. It does add value to the machine if I plan to sell.
I should try to use it to edit the performance page as @AdamJay mentioned.
(I’m also looking into getting a Qu-Pac next year! Getting on that bandwagon.)
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Hi Adam,
I use this one:
1.6GHz Processor
1TB Storage
1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz
8GB of onboard memory, configurable up to 16GB
1TB hard drive1
Intel HD Graphics 6000
1920x1080 sRGB display
It’s basically the very bottom of the range, I bought it new a year ago
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Also noticed that the Heat OB plugin already has most of the parameters pre-configured for automating in Ableton!
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The GUI is great for patch design. Really helped me understand my analog keys and rytm with a larger size screen to access all the parameters for sound design.
But I feel overbridge resulted in elektron shunting OT updates to the back burner. Which is a shame as I consider the OT to be Elektron’s true flagship product and it seems like it has been forgotten.
To be fair it is not their flagship product anymore and is, what, 7 years old now?
The Analog machines are their flagship products in conjunction with OB and although I don’t suspect the OT will go out of production in the immediate future but I shouldn’t imagine it will be too long.
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Thanks, which OS on your iMac?
This kind of info helps people who are on the hunt.