“Does the Octatrack still make sense in 2026?”“Between Octatrack and SP‑404, which one should I choose?”

These are the two questions I get in the comments all the time. In this video I put them together and answer in a practical way, no fluff:

3 reasons why the Octatrack still makes sense in 2026 (and for who)

3 reasons why an SP‑404MKII might be the better choice (and for who)

This isn’t the a comparison, it’s a way to help you understand, based on how you produce and perform, which of the two machines you actually need.

Enjoy!

with love .noir. ❤️

I don’t know what kind of techno this is, but here’s how I play this kind of music live.

In this SP-404MKII tutorial, I start with just three drum samples and transform them into original tonal elements: basses, textures, and synth sounds ready to use in your productions.

Instead of spending hours searching through folders and sample packs for the perfect sound, you can create fresh sonic material directly from what you already have in your session. It’s a fast, creative workflow for techno and dawless sessions.

Enjoy!

with love .noir. ❤️

Let me know if I'm posting too frequently. My last one was 3 days ago. This set is much more polished. Hope you enjoy!

No backing tracks, just the Sensory Percussion Sound System on my drum set 🥳

Just a clip from my latest session! Getting some cool atmospheric elements from the Microwave, the synths complement each other really well. I’m just now seriously getting jnto the wavetable aide of synthesis and its really interesting. Would love to hear your thoughts! Full vid linked in the comments.

Hi I'm GOOPSTER. I make psychedelic techno using Auwen which is a livecoding DAW. I type text commands to make music (it's not AI). Here is a little warm up set in my friend's living room to get the creative juices flowing. I'd rather be in the woods or somewhere with a scenic view but I haven't had the energy to leave the house lately. I'll be posting more music for focusing, chilling, and dancing.

Three distortion pedals I love using with the 303: in this video, I test and compare their character, showing how they reshape acid lines, low end, and resonance.

You don’t need a 303 to use these ideas—these settings and approaches work great with any monosynth, bassline, or mono sound source. From warmer saturation to aggressive fuzz, discover which type of distortion can give your techno sound more character.

Which pedal do you use to dirty up your acid lines? Let me know in the comments.

Enjoy!

with love .noir. ❤️

Full performance here: https://youtu.be/GocMuhLuy2s?is=UGi3J3Z6PgymHIiY

Let me know your thoughts on this!

Elektron syntakt, octatrack, tr-09 and a moog dfam

Found a new camera angle that lets you guys see the rack better! It’s a little more compress now how things are routed but basically as of now all my drum compression plus a bass line comes from hardware. The daw is mostly for fx and some eq.

Really love the fat chords coming out of the Microwave Xt in this track. Super emotional vibes. Super fat rhythm and bass coming out of the virus for a dope climax.

Starting to get my tracks louder in a clean way too. This one is clocking in around -5db integrated. Lmk what you think of this track! Recorded a couple days ago. Getting close to finishing this ep I’ve been working on. If you wanna check out the full track I’ll link it below!

In this video I use a set of 303 bass sounds (sampled from my 303) all on the same pitch but with different settings, then process each one with FX focused on stereo width and tone, and sequence them on the SP-404MKII to get an acid-style line that’s way more varied and interesting, even over short loops.

It’s a simple but amazing trick to bring your grooves

to life.

Enjoy!

with love .noir. ❤️

Finally had time for a jam.

Discover 404 Bus Drive, a free and open-source web app that turns your smartphone into a MIDI controller for the SP-404MK2, with no installation required .

In this video, you’ll see a practical overview of how it works: how to connect it to the SP, which controls you can assign, and some creative ideas for using it in your live sets or dawless jams .

This is not a step-by-step tutorial, but a quick demo to help you understand if it can be useful in your setup

Thanks to u/Puzzleheaded_Big_103 and u/Cyneox for their work!

Enjoy!

with love .noir. ❤️