Hi all,
I use ableton Echo quite a lot. And when you set the timing to 15/16th then you get a really nice echo on the beat. It will gallop really nice. See my settings in the picture below. Wondering if you can achieve this with octatrack delay?
thanks!
I think the longest delay on the OT is 1/2 note (you can get longer delays with a recorder buffer, for feedback, you’d have to use literal track feedback). What I usually do when trying to match an Elektron delay to an unusual delay time, I trigger a short sample in Ableton Live and resample that while looping 1 or 2 bars so I can see the delay taps in the waveform.
In the track underneath, I trigger the same sample in my Elektron boy, track set to record and then I just adjust the delay time until both match.
Or for simpler delays, just pan one track left, one right and adjust delay time while listening to both.
I think I understand. You compare the waveforms in Ableton. Nevertheless if max is 1/2 then it won’t happen. Another idea might be to create “ghost” triggers and move them with left/ right arrow close to the next 1/4 trigger.
Exactly, I just compare the waveforms.
The pdf “OT time conversion sheet rev1” says that 128 on the delay are 1/2. I think I discovered an error there recently, but if the pdf is correct, you’d have to create a delay with a recorder buffer. A delay is just a buffer with feedback and you can do the same with OT’s sampling.
15/16ths would be easy to do with a recorder buffer and you even have microtiming for a finer resolution (Echo’s percentage display).
Can you elaborate a bit more…? How do you set this up on the octratrack? I imagine one track 1 with a kick on 1/4 steps. Then another track 2 with a flex recorder? Then on track 2 I set a delay. I could set a 1/16 delay on track 2. Record that, and shift it back in time. So it’s 1/16 before the 1/4 kick. Not sure about… will try it.
Haven’t done this in a while, but yeah, you just need a flex machine playing the recorder buffer. The recorder buffer becomes your delay. You sample at the same time as track 1 plays (recorder trigs on the same steps as your kick) and you play back the buffer 15/16ths later (regular trigs 15 steps later).
This would give you a 15/16ths delay without feedback.
Now you need to feed the track back into itself…damn, I forgot how you set this up…not easy when you’re not in front of your Ot…
You have to send it to the cue out and use cue out as a source for sampling in the recorder setup, so the track basically records itself. Cue level becomes your feedback control. I think that’s how it works…if not, sorry. 
Have to check that on my OT.
No worries mate! you helped a lot!! thanks.
A tried to record a wave form. As it seems the “echo kick” is indeed 1/16 before next kick. I could program this in sequence. Where I put triggers on 1 5 9 13. And put “soft kicks” on 4 8 12 16. I think I then have recreated it
Yeah, if you need the 15/16ths delay just for this kick pattern, it’s probably easier to simply sequence it and not fiddle with a recoder buffer delay. Recoder buffer delay would need an additional track and sonically it won’t make much of a difference.
Edit: I tried the recorder buffer delay method.
It’s basically like I thought it would work. Source (in this case a kick) on one track. Flex track playing a recorder buffer on another track. Recorder is set to sample from the track with kick. Recorder trigs on the same steps as the kick plays. Regular sample trigs ob the steps where you want the echo to appear (distance between source and buffer playback=delay time).
You have to set the kick track to the same output as the recorder buffer track (so both either go to main or cue out) or you only have a single delay tap to play with (you can still use volume p-locks to make fading echos).
Add level to the recorder buffer track, above a certain point you start to hear feedback.
Here I triggered one kick to make it easier to hear the echos from the recorder buffer. At some point I use the filter on the recorder buffer track to shape the delay repeats.
This is your galloping delay pattern, I think.
Of course other effects and pitch changes as well as modulation and p-locks can be used like in this silly example.
Btw, a combination of sequencing ghost kicks and a bit of delay added seems to work very well to get this galloping rhythm without needing to use an additional recorder buffer track. Place your ghost kicks at 15/16ths, then set the delay time to 17 and delay volume to something around 40. Send all the way up. This sounds pretty nice, I think and you can play with the feedback.
cool! will try this. thanks
