User Manual

4. OVERVIEW OF THE OCTATRACK MKII STRUCTURE
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4.4 FLEX AND STATIC SAMPLE SLOT LISTS
For samples to be available to Flex and Static machines they first need to be loaded from the audio pool
to the Flex or Static sample slot lists. When samples are present in these lists they can be assigned to,
and thus processed by, Flex and Static machines assigned to the audio tracks of a pattern. Read how to
load audio pool samples to the sample slot lists in the section “8.3 LOADING SAMPLES TO THE SAMPLE
SLOTS” on page 29. Read how to assign samples to a machine in the section “11.3 ASSIGNING FLEX
AND STATIC SAMPLES TO MACHINES” on page 56.
4.5 BANKS
Each project hosts 16 banks and each bank hosts 16 patterns and 4 parts. This makes a bank suited for
hosting a complete composition as the available patterns and parts allow a large number of song variations.
Switching between banks is seamless, meaning playback won’t be halted or audio cut o. For more informa-
tion, please see “10.1 BANKS” on page 52.
4.6 PATTERNS
For each bank 16 patterns are available, meaning 256 patterns are always at hand. A pattern consists of
sequencer data like trigs, parameter locks, track lengths and time signatures for the eight audio tracks and
the eight MIDI tracks. For more information, please see “12. PATTERNS” on page 64.
4.7 PARTS
4 parts are available to each bank. A part contains machine assignments and their associated samples,
track parameter settings, FX assignments as well as 16 scenes. A pattern is always linked to a part. Chang-
ing parts will let the active pattern control the new part. For more information, please see “10.2 PARTS” on
page 52.
4.8 SCENES
Scenes are assigned to the scene A and scene B slots. They decide which parameters the crossfader will
aect. For more information, please see “10.3 SCENES” on page 53.
4.9 ARRANGEMENTS
Each project contains eight arrangements. They are used to structure the playback of patterns. An arrange-
ment is a great way to form a long sequence out of several patterns. For more information, please see “14.
THE ARRANGER” on page 87.
4.10 TRACKS
An Octatrack MKII pattern handles eight audio tracks and eight MIDI tracks. Each audio track can host a
machine. Except for Neighbor machines, any machine type can be assigned to any of the eight audio tracks.
For more information, please see “11. TRACKS” on page 55.
4.11 MACHINES
Machines are assigned to the eight audio tracks. Each machine fills a dierent purpose. Read more about
the various machine types in “APPENDIX A: MACHINE REFERENCE” on page 117. How machines are
assigned to tracks is covered in “11.2 ASSIGNING MACHINES TO TRACKS” on page 55.
Flex machines process samples. They oer instant control over samples since Flex samples are loaded into
the RAM memory of the Octatrack MKII. The samples available to Flex machines are located in the Flex
sample slot list, which can host 128 Flex samples.
Static machines process samples. The samples available to Static machines are located in the Static
sample slot list, which can host 128 Static samples streamed from the Compact Flash card. A single Static
sample can be as big as 2 gigabytes.
Thru machines are used to listen to the inputs of the Octatrack MKII. They can be used to aect incoming
audio with filtering and eects.
Neighbor machines listen to the output of the preceding track. They can be used to build powerful eects
chains.
Pickup machines are ideal when wanting to use the Octatrack MKII as a looper device.