After a coffee/weed-infused brainstorm session, I came up with this admittedly quite simple way to vary up your samples without having to hit “create random locks” over and over again…in fact, it completely removes the use of P-locks.
So if you’ve ever seen Ableton tutorials on using a single macro to hotswap between your favorite drum hits in a kit, this method may feel very familiar. Only this time, the knob controls an infinite number of rearrangements to a single sample.
There are some downsides to doing it this way. Since there are no P-locks, you can’t adjust specific triggers without some difficulty (you’d have to know what slice number they are and input manually - and remember to lock the LFO to 0). But I’ve found this to be a much more accessible way for auditioning elements in a live setting, thereby simplifying the improvisation process.
dude, I know with so many options built into the Octatrack, we should try to move things in a direction of ease of use. Preparing a ton of pre-organized layers has always been a little stale for me…with this new method, it really extends the lifespan of an arrangement.
The added bonus of using LFOs is that if you switch patterns, that “hidden sequence” is still very much built into the track. So where in P-locks you’d have to copy over the sequence exactly, this one will be there for you to play out in subsequent patterns. You can even build out a whole set of patterns with prearranged sequences, and plug in a different sample every time and get entirely different tracks.
oh yeah for sure. Only issue is that is you can potentially lose your place since the fader is so sensitive. But if you’re more interested in performing the sounds in that way that’s an excellent idea. Really comes down to how you want to divide up control in the machine.
This discovery came partly out of not really enjoying the pattern system, because it’s not very sympathetic to a jam scenario - changing things on the fly, only to switch to an old pattern that hasn’t caught up. So my approach is to move everything into Scenes/LFOs/record buffers.
This technique also works really well for chains. So if you have a hi hat chain going on, you can do what you did in this video to get some really great variation in the hi hats. My only problem I had with this was that after a few bars it was inconsistent (because I had the LFO running free and set to hold…I think?) but I’m you figured that out.
But yes, Octatrack uses a lot of mental CPU…I’ve never played mine live and honestly have no clue how I would do so lol. Just sitting down with it every time I have to think “okay, so, what do i want to do now? oh yeah, right, okay, and then, uh…”
I found that out too recently, super helpful on chains! And yeah the easiest way to make repeatable patterns is that “SYNC TRIG” option - will repeat for the length of that track’s sequence. Even if you keep the same page for multiple bars you can get some good variations.
Haha hopefully I’m getting closer to the jam scenario - I think it comes down to focusing on one thing at a time, and making sure the track is generating enough interest in the meantime. Each pattern should be both interesting and highlight a particular element that you have direct control over - whether it’s mixing, rearranging, or performance. I do a few jams on my YouTube channel, to varying degrees of success. Check them out if you’re curious!
And scratch that I have actually performed the Octa live into my DAW a couple times…But I’ve never played a set with the thing and once I’m done performing that particular piece into my DAW I basically forget everything. I’m just now starting to keep things consistent across my banks so I don’t get confused i.e. t5 is kick, t6 is snare/clap, t7 is hihat. Whereas before I kind of just put them wherever in whatever order they came to mind!
I’m back with more of my brain hurting in the best way.
One of the things I do live is record my sax into a pre-sliced buffer, with preset trigs placed, then I do the randomize trig thing. I will do that random command about 20 times in a show, while recording and re-recording/replacing phrases. This is a game changer for me. Especially with the amount of buttons you have to press to get there the “old” way. What’s getting me freaked out right now, is that I’ll be able to actually find phrases that “randomize” a specific way that I can approach with more intention as part of the composition… while also making more than enough room for improvisation.
I’m using Slice menu to input slice plocks in Live Rec mode, like it would be notes. I like it cause it produces beats with one hit per step max, so while complicated the beat is not too crowded.
I also like to randomize, but results are not always very interesting… Usually using the random LFO, but I had never thought of using it like this!
This workflow of yours is quite refreshing.
Thank you @Zhaomusic for submitting new paths to explore!
Oh man this is amazing. I had no idea that the ‘sync trig’ function on the LFO made it restart every pattern! I also really like the bonus that the sequence stays constant behind the trigs - this essentially allows you to perform trig mutes/unmutes super rapidly without having to copy/paste trigs that have been plocked, something lacking on the OT. Loved the jam at the end as well!
Exactly, and it’s a whole new way of looking at the sequencer. Instead of having each thing be its own individual trig, your trigs are now “revealing” parts of that particular pattern (which is sequenced instead by the LFO).
Definitely explore the SYNC/TRIG option, super helpful with creating fake sidechain or doing other rhythm-bound effects!
Yup. Glad you found this method. Not really new to me. Using LFOs to select sample slices has been a core part of my workflow for three years or more. I never liked the random locks thing in the slice editor.
If you combine the LFO to slice method with conditional trigs… and have LFOs sent to the first LFO’s shape and depth… see what I’m pointing at?
Totally, that’s kind of how I’m envisioning it too. Not only is it a good way to come up with new ideas, it’s a great way to ensure that something you record can be rearranged in an enjoyable way without getting bogged down with selection. Kind of a dummy jam partner in a way
I sample most of my material live, and I use a template that has a lot of predefined scenes, and my patterns are not for sequencing “drum machine-like” but are more like scenes themselves with lots of p-locks, so my OT is basically a huge library of effects: I’m slowly building that library up. I think my approach is similar to yours, I completely relate to this:
I recently gave up on using the midi sequencer because I can’t get along well with the OT’s midi implementation and logic, besides using the same patterns for midi sequencing and audio mangling is incompatible (or at best, very difficult to manage) and ended up orderering a Squarp Pyramid for midi. So now the whole pattern system will be available for audio processing only.
I figured this workflow out after 6 months of digging into the OT’s (overwhelming) possibilities. I often use the crossfader to play with start points and slices, sometimes I automate it using midi loopback and a LFO. The result is very similar as far as repeatablity goes. Your idea suites me better, it frees up the crossfader, avoids the midi loopback set-up (sort of tricky) and I can use scenes on top of, and independantly from, the startpoint modulation. Pretty cool!
with so many options built into the Octatrack, we should try to move things in a direction of ease of use. Preparing a ton of pre-organized layers has always been a little stale for me…with this new method, it really extends the lifespan of an arrangement.
