Coming back to this old thread, if anyone is interested in using one Octatrack for a more “traditional” mixing approach, with beat-matching. But NO (or very little) sample pre-prep. Slicing optional. No time-stretching, but re-pitching like you would with analog decks.
Not sure if this technique has been brought up before, I haven’t read up on all related threads tbh.
But for nudging the tracks, yes you can absolutely use the LFOs rather nicely.
What I did is edit two custom LFOs (i.e. T1 and T5), one of them a flatline -1, the other +1.
Assign T1 LFO to both tracks’ as LFO1, to SRC Pitch.
T5 LFO to both LFO2, to SRC Pitch.
When cueing a new track, you’ll first have to ballpark it with the SRC pitch control. Then use varying amounts of one LFO at a time, as required, to carefully nudge it in place.
It takes a little practise, but the fine control you get is pretty pretty good. You’ll need decent beat-matching ears, but if you’re used to mixing with vinyl or similar gear, no big deal.
A small MIDI controller would probably go a long way, for Volume / FX and to avoid switching between SRC and LFO pages much.
Bonus: Connecting main and cue to a mixer if available, like others have suggested. Because the OT’s linear crossfader curve can blow for this.
When loading a new track (change static slot), remember to reset both LFO amount and SRC pitch to 0.
Hope this info can be useful.
Edit: Possibly combine this method with using Scenes, i need to try that out.
Edit 2: Also try -2 and +2 for values in the LFO Designer, for slightly less fine-control. (And a word)
Edit 3: A few details, I probably should have mentioned also:
a. This is not using the sequencer at all. Tracks are triggered manually.
b. For this to work, RATE in SRC Setup has to be PTCH.
TSTR OFF. LFOs have to be free-running (TRIG: FREE).