Octatrack Tutorial: Setup Midi and Thru track
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- Опубліковано 11 лют 2025
- In this video I will go over how to set up your Octatrack to control and sequence an outboard synth. Midi setup, Thru track setup and a few tips for getting it all working.
Thank you for the thorough explanation! This will be the video I check back with any time I can't remember all the details.
Thank you for this awesome video it shed some much needed light on how to work with midi. The trig on the track is the key thank you.
man I have to say you are excellent at tutorials for the octatrack. Please make some more videos. Slicing, sequencing, master effects...
I can now control the parameters of my external gear! Thank you, a new world of possibilities!!
This was very clear and helpful. Thank you for contributing the time and effort.
Excellent little overview. Thank you.
Thank you for clear presentation. It solved my problems concerning midi setup.
Helpful especially the part about midi channels being over 9 on the synths. I'd love to see a tutorial that covers setting up midi program changes over external hardware synths.
annnd here in lies my mistake LOL
Very helpful and very much appreciated!
That was really well explained. Thank you.
I didn't realise about the midi channel conflicts 1 through 8... i still don't quite understand that part of the set up (auto channel etc..) but i will just follow the advice and put my synths on 9 - 16 (trying to set up a blofeld multimode / pulse2 & minitaur currently... i wish the OT has multi midi outs like an MPC (might have to leave the minitaur out til i get a Quadra Thru. Unless I can use the OT THRU as an out to the minitaur?
very enriching video. Helped me a lot. Now I would only care, how you know that. I looked in the manual stupid and found nothing about how to assign the tracks a Midichanal
Thanks for this clear tutorial, i wouldn't want my synths to change ch to 9 and over cause then i loose my reference to ableton projects. now i now how to deal with that. the OT is not an easy item and any help is appreciated.
Very nice video! Thanks for the info! But i try it to do with minilogue and can not control the volumen. I dont know if i do something wrong, but i follow your instructions. Can you help me with this please? Thanks again!
Hey,thnx for the tutorial.
Iam having terrible times trying to get my thru track playing..doing exactly the same things as You in tutorial,but somehow i cant get any sound from my thru track after setting trigger...why is it happening?Any idea?thnx,regards!
Great tutorial. I have two synths and a machinedrum, but I hate dialing in notes manually on the MD. What I’d like to do is use a keyboard to feed melodic info to the OT, then have the OT launch different progressions for aforementioned synths. Would it be able to do that?
MBArkestra Yes the octatrack can do that.
Great basic tutorial. Got me started really well. Could you by any chance explain how to set up midi with a drumsynth. Because I get things working with monosynths but is there a way to put multiple triggers (kick, snare, hihat, etc.) on one Track. For example with my Vermona DRM1. It must have something to do with the CC values I reckon? Thx in advance.
Sorry if you've already worked this out, but just saw your question and thought i'd answer. You can play up to 4 note chords/polyphony per step on the octratrack, so you can use say kick/snare/hats/tom on one step on one channel. It gets a bit messy though from a memory/performance kind of aspect, remembering what you've put where, but keeping say snare/claps, kicks, toms, shaker/hats on one channel is a good way to go if you're running out of tracks. :D
Thks... great toutorial... can you help me ?!? I try to use trigger finger m-audio to rec trigs on octatrack midi out tanzbear ... 🙏🏻
Brilliant helpful thanks
Could you explain the auto Chanel set up again?
I think that's why I can't hear or trig anything.... So am I better tinder it to off or reset my midi Chanel's from 9 up on my synth?
Hi,
Thank s for your great video. I d like to know how to connect and record midi signal from a n external keyboard (to sequence a nord modular) also using the internal Octatrack arpeggiator. Is it possible? Thanks in advance.
I'm not very familiar with the nord modular, but it should work like most synths. If you want to use the synths midi out to record on the octatrack and the midi in to be sequenced by the octatrack you may cause a midi loop which can create some weird glitchy behavior. To remedy this you will want to set 'local' to off on synth, if it has such a feature. This makes your synth only play from incoming midi and not it's own controls, but it still sends midi. The octatrack will pass your synths midi output through to its midi out for any midi tracks you have set up. With the octatrack midi out going back into your synth you can now play your synth live and record midi without getting midi loop glitches. If your synth doesn't have a local off setting you will be better if using a seperate midi controller to record midi.
Useful thanks.
Thank you for this!
Hey man, very informative.
Also do you know if its possible to record automation of external instruments into the octatrack, or is that too much to expect from it?
Yes you can automate up to 10 CC# using the Ctrl 1 and Ctrl 2 pages. First you must activate the CC control on the main page by holding Function and clicking an encoder. Then go into the second page by double tapping the page button. In this page you set the CC# for whatever parameter you want to record automation for. You can either scroll through the CCs with the encoder or use midi CC# learn by hitting Function + Encoder click then turn the knob on your synth.
Thats awesome thank you, just looking at getting an octatrack and seeing how well it can be used without a DAW
I produce all my music and play live with just my octatrack and other hardware synths. I only use a daw for multitrack recording and mixing. So yeah, it's basically made for that. Kinda like having a stripped down version of a daw in a box.
Super helpful! So if I have a Moog Mother 32 and Octatrack, what other gear would you recommend for a mobile live rig?
That really depends on you as there are so many great synths to choose from. The only recommendation I would make is to say the gear should be knobby. If you can't tweak the parameters live you may as well just sample it in.
Great tutorial! one question, Since I use midi channel to place some notes sending to external synth, Can I save all these notes on Pattern 1? so when I live after the notes from pattern 1 played, I switch to pattern 2 then I can play different notes.
I'm not quite sure what you mean but, each of the Patterns on the OT can have their own note sequences. You can also copy and paste things from one Pattern to another.
Wonder if you can help. I want my "thru track"(which is listening to a synth controlled by MIDI) to behave "plays free" like a static machine does. With a static machine you can start and stop loops with the track trigs. I can get it to start the audio to hear the midi synth by pressing the track trig but I can't get to to stop by pressing the trigger again or by pressing the track and stop together. Can you advise?
I think you may want to consider sampling your synth in. The midi sequence starts and stops with the main transport and not with triggers and the thru track simply passes audio through to the effects.
Inflatable Robot thanks, I figured it out. You can start and stop with the sample /midi triggers on the right instead.
Hi, perhaps it's too late to get an advice about it. It's impossible to play the sound through my OT even I did exactely what you are showing in here. I'm using a DSI Tetra. First I did it but now I don't anymore. There is a paramater I missed ? :( Can't figure it out . Thanks so much for the help
Check to make sure you have a trigger placed in the sequence or the thru track won't let sound pass. Also, make sure you have the track set to the right input. On your midi track double check that your midi channel was set correctly, you have to click the knob in to save your changes.
Hope this helps.
I just borrowed this from a friend and am trying to be my feet on the ground here. Is there any way I can set up a template of sorts so that every time I want to start a new project (or pattern rather?), midi track 5 is always automatically set as a thru machine?
midnightskate Sure, just create a project and name it template or whatever then set it up however you like. Whenever you want to use that template just open it up and then use "save as" in the projects menu to make a new project with the template as the basis.
thru machines can be apply on any track to affect any audio in???
Yes, any of the 8 tracks can be set to be a 'thru machine'. There are only 4 inputs though.
forgive the noob question but you do have the moog connected via midi cable as well as audio right?
Yes. In order to use the OT to sequence the Moog I have the 'midi out' of the OT going to the 'midi in' on the Moog. I then set a midi track on the OT to the same midi channel that the Moog is set to, which allows me to control the Moog with all of the various midi functionality of the OT.
and so my midi journey begins..
hi there how on earth can I setup a trigger ?? I'm loosing my mind on this please help
There are a few different kinds of triggers, can you be more specific?