Octatrack MKII More than a sampler Quick Guide
Octatrack MKII THANK YOU Thank you for purchasing Octatrack MKII. During its seven year life span, the original Octatrack quickly became one of the most widely used live performance samplers. An industry standard if there ever was one. It undoubtedly changed the way gear setups look like and gave artists the power to perform live in the truest sense of the word. Now we give you Octatrack MKII. Sharper, better, more robust. Enhanced on many levels to ensure world class sample mangling potential.
FCC compliance statement This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
European Union regulation compliance statement This product has been tested to comply with the Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC and the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2004/108/EC. The product meets the requirements of RoHS 2 Directive 2011/65/EU. Your product must be disposed of properly according to local laws and regulations. The device contains a non-rechargeable lithium perchlorate battery cell that may need to be recycled separately depending on local environmental laws.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS 1. Do not use the unit near water. 2. Never use aggressive cleaners on the casing or on the screen. Remove dust, dirt and fingerprints with a soft, dry and non-abrasive cloth. More persistent dirt can be removed with a slightly damp cloth using only water. Disconnect all cables before doing this. Only reconnect them when the product is safely dry. 3. To avoid scratches or damage, never use sharp objects near the casing or the screen.
WARNING! TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE, ELECTRICAL SHOCK OR PRODUCT DAMAGE • • • • Do not expose the unit to rain, moisture, dripping or splashing and also avoid placing objects filled with liquid on the unit. Do not expose the unit to direct sunlight, nor use it in ambient temperatures exceeding 40°C as this can lead to malfunction. Do not open the casing. There are no user repairable or adjustable parts inside. Leave service and repairs to trained service technicians only.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................... 10 1.1 CONVENTIONS IN THIS MANUAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2. PANEL LAYOUT AND CONNECTIONS............................................................................... 11 2.1 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 ENTERING DEMO MODE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5.3 PLAYING THE DEMO PATTERNS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5.4 ADJUSTING PARAMETERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5.5 EXPERIMENTING WITH SCENES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 CONVENTIONS IN THIS MANUAL The following conventions are used throughout the manual: Key names are written in upper case, bold style and bracketed letters. For instance, the key labeled “FUNC” is called [FUNC]. Menu names are written in upper case letters. The SRC SETUP menu is an example of that. Parameter names and certain menu options where settings can be made or actions performed are written in bold, upper case letters. For example, HEADPHONES MIX.
2. PANEL LAYOUT AND CONNECTIONS 2.1 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 30 29 24 25 26 27 28 8 23 9 22 21 10 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 1. [REC1] and [REC2] keys are used for real-time sampling through the external inputs. [FUNC] + [REC1/2] opens the RECORDING SETUP 1/2 menus. 2. [REC3] key is used for real-time sampling from internal sources. [FUNC] + [REC3] opens the RECORDING EDIT menu. 3. [TRACK] keys. Press a [TRACK] key to select the corresponding track.
4. Screen. 5. LED, indicating the activity of the Compact Flash card. 6. LEVEL sets the overall volume level of the active track. [FUNC] + LEVEL sets the main output volume. 7. DATA ENTRY knobs. Used to set parameter values. Press the knob when turning to change values in larger increments. 8. [TEMPO] key. Brings up the TEMPO menu. Tapping the BPM is done by holding [FUNC] and then repeatedly tapping [TEMPO]. 9. [SCENE A]/[SCENE B] + [TRIG] assigns one of 16 scenes to the A and B scene slots.
17. [NO] key. Used for exiting an active menu and for deselecting options. Secondary functions disarm one shot trigs or one shot recorder trigs. 18. [YES] key. Used for entering sub-menus and for confirming choices. Secondary functions arms one shot trigs or one shot recorder trigs. 19. [BANK] + a [TRIG] key selects the active bank. Pressing [FUNC] + [BANK] opens the TRACK TRIG EDIT menu 20. Pressing [CUE] + a [TRACK] key will cue the track and route the tracks audio to the cue outputs.
2.2 REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1. POWER, Switch for turning the unit on and off. 2. DC In, Input for power supply. Use the included PSU-3b power adapter, connected to a power outlet. 3. USB, For connecting the unit to a computer. Use the included A to B USB 2.0 connector cable to connect to a computer host. 4. Compact Flash card reader. 5. MIDI THRU, Forwards data from MIDI IN. Use a standard MIDI cable to connect another MIDI device in the chain. 6.
3. OVERVIEW OF THE OCTATRACK MKII STRUCTURE The Octatrack MKII is organized in a hierarchical way. The image below outlines the data structure of the Octatrack MKII. Set Audio Pool Project Arrangements Flex Sample Slots Static Sample Slots Banks Patterns Parts Scenes Track Parameters Effects Assignment Machine Assignment 3.1 SETS A set is the top level structure of the Octatrack MKII. It can contain a near unlimited amount of projects plus one audio pool.
as the number of projects, are limited only by the size of the Compact Flash card. The samples in the audio pool are available to all projects of the set. 3.2 AUDIO POOL Each set contains one audio pool which is stored on the Compact Flash card. The audio pool contains the samples that can be loaded to the Flex and Static sample slot lists. 3.3 PROJECTS For the Octatrack MKII to work as intended, a set needs to be mounted and a project needs to be loaded.
associated samples, track parameter settings, FX assignments as well as 16 scenes. A pattern is always linked to a part. Changing parts will let the active pattern control the new part. 3.8 SCENES Scenes are assigned to the scene A and scene B slots. They decide which parameters the crossfader will affect. 3.9 ARRANGEMENTS Each project contains eight arrangements. They are used to structure the playback of patterns. An arrangement is a great way to form a long sequence out of several patterns. 3.
4. THE USER INTERFACE The screen is the information center of the Octatrack MKII editing. The main interface screen is shown below: 1 2 11 3 10 4 5 9 6 8 7 1. Track icons that shows the machine assignments and status of the tracks. The active track is highlighted. Track assignments are abbreviated. “F” = Flex machine, “S” = Static machine, “T” = Thru machine, “N” = Neighbor machine, “P” = Pickup machine, “M” = Master track. Beneath the track assignment symbols, the status of the track is shown.
6. Up to six track parameters. They show what the DATA ENTRY knobs control and also indicate the current parameter values. When two parameters are related to each other in some way, they will have a small “clip” between them as shown below: 7. Assigned scenes and the current position of the crossfader. 8. Graphics that indicates which TRIG mode that is currently active. 9. Info about which TRACK PARAMETER page is active. 10.
4.4 [FUNC] KEY PRESS COMBINATIONS The standard way to use the [FUNC] key in combination with other keys, is to press and hold [FUNC] and then make a short press on the second key in the combination. 4.5 QUICK SCROLLING Scroll through menus using the LEVEL knob. Quick scrolling is possible on many menus. Press [FUNC] + the [UP] or [DOWN] keys to move the cursor one menu page. 4.6 COPY, CLEAR AND PASTE Copy, clear and paste commands are available in a lot of contexts. Press [FUNC] + [RECORD] to copy.
5.2 ENTERING DEMO MODE In demo mode, the Octatrack MKII can play back a set of 16 demo patterns without needing to have a Compact Flash card inserted. Demo mode is a great way to get acquainted with the basics of the Octatrack MKII. Note that you can not save any changes made to the sounds or patterns while in demo mode. 1. Make sure no Compact Flash card is inserted. Press and hold the [YES] key and then switch on the Octatrack MKII. The screen shows that you are entering demo mode. 5.
5.5 EXPERIMENTING WITH SCENES Scenes contain locked parameters. The crossfader is used to morph between the locked scene parameters. 1. Select any demo pattern. Set the crossfader to its rightmost position. This will fully activate the scene assigned to scene slot B. 2. Hold [SCENE B] and press a [TRIG] key to assign a new scene to the scene slot. The already assigned scene is indicated by a red [TRIG] key.
Pressing the [TRIG 9] key will add a sample trig to track 1, [TRIG 10] key adds a sample trig to track 2 and so on. You will be able to hear all recorded sample trigs the next time the pattern starts over. 5.8 USING PARAMETER LOCKS A parameter lock allows individual parameter values for a trig. It is one of the most important Octatrack MKII features. 1. When in GRID RECORDING mode, hold a [TRIG] key and then tweak a parameter.
effects like the Echo Freeze Delay will continue to be audible until the delay repeats have faded out. Press [STOP] + [STOP] to stop playback of all tracks, kill the Echo Freeze Delay and send out an all notes off MIDI command on all MIDI tracks. After a pattern has been stopped, pressing [PLAY] will make the pattern start playing from the beginning. If you press [PLAY] when a pattern is playing, the playback will be paused. Press [PLAY] again to resume the playback. 6.
SWING TRIGS Swing trigs affect the timing of the sample trigs. They are indicated by green [TRIG] keys. Swing trigs are entered in the TRACK TRIG EDIT menu. SLIDE TRIGS Slide trigs can make the parameter values of a sample trig slide to the parameter values of the subsequent sample trig. They are indicated by green [TRIG] keys. Slide trigs are entered in the TRACK TRIG EDIT menu. Slide trigs are not available for the MIDI tracks. RECORDER TRIGS Recorder trigs are used to initiate track recorder sampling.
If the pattern contains more than 16 steps, switch to the pattern page you want to edit by pressing the [PAGE] key. The active pattern page is indicated by a fully lit LED. 6.6 LIVE RECORDING MODE LIVE RECORDING mode is the second method of adding trigs to the tracks. In this recording mode, all the [TRIG] keys are played in real time to input trigs to the tracks. 1. Press and hold [RECORD], then press [PLAY] to enter LIVE RECORDING mode.
Enter a lock trig by pressing [FUNC] + [TRIG]. With a lock trig, you can modulate the sound without trigging a note. Remove a single parameter lock by holding [TRIG] + pressing the DATA ENTRY knob of the locked parameter. If you remove a sample trig and then enter it again, all parameter locks are erased from the trig. In LIVE RECORDING mode, turn a DATA ENTRY knob to add parameter locks to the active track. The parameter will be locked accordingly and lock trigs will be placed on the sequencer steps. 6.
1. Press [FUNC] + [PAGE] to access the scale menu. 2. Use the [ARROW] keys [LEFT] and [RIGHT] to toggle between step length and scale. 3. Use the [ARROW] keys [UP] and [DOWN] to change the settings. You can also use the LEVEL knob to change settings. 6.9 THE MIDI SEQUENCER The Octatrack MKII MIDI sequencer has 8 dedicated MIDI tracks. It is used to control external, MIDI equipped, gear.
7. TECHNICAL INFORMATION ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS HARDWARE Impedance balanced audio outputs Main outputs level: +17 dBu peak Output impedance: 440 Ω unbalanced Digital S/N ratio: 104 dB (20–20,000 Hz) 128 × 64 pixel OLED screen MIDI In/Out/Thru 2 × 1/4” impedance balanced main audio out jacks 2 × 1/4” impedance balanced cue audio out jacks 4 × 1/4” balanced/unbalanced external input jacks 1 × 1/4” stereo headphone jack 44,1 kHz, 24-bit D/A and A/D converters Hi-speed USB 2.
8. CREDITS AND CONTACT INFORMATION CREDITS CONTACT INFORMATION PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT Oscar Albinsson Ali Alper Çakır Magnus Forsell Anders Gärder Jimmy Myhrman Jon Mårtensson David Revelj Mattias Rickardsson Daniel Troberg ELEKTRON WEBSITE https://www.elektron.
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