Hi! I’ve been playing with a model:samples and a RC-202 for a while, and I think it’s a great combination. I use the m:s mainly as a drum machine and as midi master. I come up with some drum patterns in the m:s and then I record samples from various sources and/or instruments into the RC-202. These 2 devices go into a Zoom R16 mixer-recorder.
I really like the octatrack and perhaps I’ll get one if I find a cheap mk1 around. Learning how to use it looks like a beautiful challenge and I love the idea of having more sound mangling capabilities. What I still need to decide is if I’d rather using the octatrack as a substitute of any (or all) of the things I currently use or as a complement to my setup.
The problems I anticipate if I use just the OT are:
-Losing 1 track. I currently have 6 tracks in the m:s and 2 in the RC-202. By using a track as a master in the OT I’d have to adapt to 7 tracks in total.
-No undo for the looper.
-More difficult to control volumes than with dedicated faders.
-Less convenient for recording than having L+R from each device into the R16.
The advantages of using OT only:
-I could sell the other machines and fund the OT with that money.
-A more compact setup.
-More options in terms of sound design and experimentation.
-The possibility of coming up with different workflows for different projects within one box.
I’d like to ask if there’s anything I’m missing. Perhaps experienced users can think of other things I should consider before getting an OT.
Welcome.
Would you use it in live conditions ?
You can resample to save tracks.
OT is not as convenient as regular loopers, especially if your recording exceeds 4 bars. There are workarounds though. OT excels at audio mangling, sequence recordings on the fly…
I currently have OT, ST and RC500 for a similar setup (I have other stuff).
I had RC50, 300, 505, 202 and I’d like to have a 505 MKII !
Thanks! I might use it live at some point, but that’s not one of my priorities atm.
That sounds like a very powerful combination. I’m a bit scared of getting overwhelmed by buttons and knobs if I add the OT to my setup, but I guess it’s a matter of practice. Was the OT there from the beginning or were you using ST and looper on their own first?
Are you sending clock from m:s to RC-202 without any issues? I always got weird artefacts from the time stretch with RC-202 when it was synced to a master clock
@VibKo I’ve heard of those issues before but I’ve never experienced them myself. Not sure if it’s because I’ve been really lucky or because I’ve been using the RC-202 in a very undemanding way.
I use Octatrack as my looper but I often wish I had an external looper in addition to be able to create more layers. I use it in my live setup. For studio stuff you can easily resample
Yeah I bought a Boss looper pedal because it’s so fiddly with the OT. No crossfade e.g. no per track polyphony makes it really hard to make seamless loops unless it’s just like a drum beat.
ST is a recent machine !
I have OT since almost 8 years, had loopers before, bought again an RC505, my favorite looper, for the confort of 5 tracks, the faders and remix fx !
Concerning clock and slave, I think RC202 has a similar behavior as RC505.
Tempo slight variations implies timestretch modulations at the beginning after play. It’s worth if you also send it midi notes, and other midi messages.
So the best is to send clock only.
It’s possible to disable timestretch with Tempo Sync off, but it’s even worth : some tracks stop randomly. Same behavior with RC500.
RC500 also suffer from timestretch variations if slaved, maybe better behavior, not sure…
Same generation as RC505 MKII so I’m afraid it won’t be solved…
ot, that could be kept free from basic rhythm duties via a model samples coming in and out via one of ot’s through machines can easily become a huuuge sonic weapon…and it’s master track thing is in many cases overrated…
and i know at least a handful of people that actually get along pretty well with ot’s live looping capabilities…
I haven’t encountered those problems, but I don’t vary the bpm much within a session. I mostly play an instrument on top of a few chord progressions and then apply fx to different tracks on the m:s and the looper to make it a bit more varied.
I’ve been using a traditional looper for years. I also have an OT and would like, for the sake of compactness and saving the loops, mangling, to be able to use only the Octatrack. But I hit the ceiling with the OT as it is way more direct with a looper (and it has an undo!).
Although i originally bought the OT as a looper, it really lacks basic features for a live use with instruments.
I’m thinking to get a MIDI foot controller but not sure to reach the easinesd of use of a looper, i’d lost compacity and would have to spend some time to find an efficient setup.
This is getting interesting
So you would suggest using the OT as a looper but keeping the m:s as a drum machine? I really like live looping but I rarely go beyond 4 bars per loop. I do make use of the memory banks of the 202 though… I imagine I could mute tracks when I’m not using them on the OT and still have the option of bringing different loops in and out if I want to.
…sounds to me like ur not aware of ot’s full potential yet, like everybody else who never had it in use before for real…i suggest, u catch one 2nd hand and see where it takes u…
at the moment, i tend to think, it will change ur actual workflow drasticly and u won’t miss all that live looping end of the day that much anyways…
live looping is one thing…but apart and on top of that, all is about looping on the ot in one way or the other…from several minutes long audio content all the way down to snippets of milliseconds, even down to single cycles of a waveform…
That’s a fair point. I really like playing instruments into the 202 and having a loop going very quickly, plus the ability to create and modify drum patterns with the m:s, but I’m quite sure the OT would open the door to many other fun options!
Yes. I was disappointed with OT as a looper at first, but when I realised all it can do, I sold my RC 505 looper to concentrate on OT.
I found a way to overdub with undo. I’m using different patterns for that, and switch them backwards to undo…
As long as your loop lengths are defined, no problem with OT, appart from the lack of crossfade for a seemless loop.
If you have hihats or a similar noisy sound at the beginning (not necessary loud), the click is barely noticeable. With good AMP envelope settings, no clicks, but a little gap.
