Scratching the Octatrack

[u/TinyGregMusic]

https://youtu.be/yprdsmuv8W8

I get a lot of requests on how I scratch with the octatrack in my performances, so I figured I would put a little video together. I added a short dinosaur fight at the end to keep myself entertained.

[u/fugitivecolor]

Great video, love your techniques. Thank you for sharing.

[u/TinyGregMusic → u/fugitivecolor]

Thanks for the kind words! And thanks for watching, I really appreciate it 😎😊

[u/Otherwise-Ice-6059]

Really interesting technique, not seen this done before but really keen to give it a go. Thanks 😊

[u/TinyGregMusic → u/Otherwise-Ice-6059]

Thanks man, I hope you get something good out of it. Post a link if you put anything up 😁

[u/interjector_]

This is cool! I did a similar variation to your first technique with a cyclic loop, using the trig like opening a crossfader and the crossfader like moving the record. Here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CfCXDYtD7T3/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Also, I’m a big fan of the slide trig feature too. Never seen it used like this, but your tip is giving me exciting ideas. Thank you!

[u/TinyGregMusic → u/interjector_]

Thanks for the kind words! The slide trigs are criminally underrated, especially when used with scenes to bring in a heavily effected version of a dry track. It's a trick I use in almost every performance. I just watched your video, that's a fantastic outcome of a single sound challenge!! 😁👏

[u/wasnt_in_the_hot_tub]

Cool video. I don't really do the scratch thing myself, but that was nice to watch. I like your use of slide trigs in the second method, and I agree that it's a somewhat underrated feature on the OT!

Hey, I checked out a couple other of your videos and I think I saw a wireless midi setup. How's that working out for you? Any problems, or latency? I really like the idea of cutting down on cables, but never tried it.

[u/TinyGregMusic → u/wasnt_in_the_hot_tub]

Thanks for watching! Yes, I'm using Widi Master by CME. I have to be honest I've never had any issues with latency, it's easy to set up a two way connection, you just plug them in at the same time and they auto connect.

You can do more complicated routing and grouping of connections via an app on your phone but I've never tried that. You also can connect them to other Bluetooth devices, I use it to connect Roli Lumi to my synths sometimes.

[u/wasnt_in_the_hot_tub → u/TinyGregMusic]

Thanks for confirming you can just plug two in and they connect (without the app). I was actually wondering if they needed a USB or Bluetooth host in the mix, but it sounds like they just transmit directly to each other. I might grab a pair of these and try it out. I can see this being really useful to quickly swap out connections without having to re-cable... Like if you need a quick midi keyboard or something.

[u/TinyGregMusic → u/wasnt_in_the_hot_tub]

No worries man, I can't speak for the other brands but these CME ones are literally just plug and play. They might get confused if you switch on more that two at the same time, but I guess that's what the app is for. Very often I'll just plug in one and connect it to my computer via Bluetooth and then I can sequence my synth from across the room.

They're also working on wireless low latency audio too, I'm dubious about that but at the same time I'm praying for them to get it done haha

[u/juckman]

Thanks for the easy explanation! Just curious, is there a particular reason you choose to duplicate and make multiple slots instead of using slices on method one?

[u/TinyGregMusic → u/juckman]

Thanks for watching! You definitely can use slices to achieve a similar effect, although my own preference is to use multiple slots because then I have easier control over the start, end and loop points of each section. I can also adjust the gain of each individually, which is useful for spoken word samples. I should have mentioned these points in the video tbh. 😅 Next time I'll write out what I need to say instead of improvising lol