Elektron Octatrack Alternatives for Dawless Music Production
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Need a creative outlet for your music that has to be Dawless? We’re checking out some of the best Elektron Octatrack Alternatives for music production and live performance.
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It’s not for everyone, but the Elektron Octatrack sure has stamped itself onto modern electronic music production culture. Its versatility makes it the preferred performance tool of many live electronic artists, as well as being an MPC substitute in studio.
By having a combination of Audio and MIDI sequencing features, sampling, and audio manipulation, the Octatrack is a powerful creative tool, even if you aren’t using it for live performance.
Elektron Octatrack Alternatives
What if you don’t quite have the budget for an Octatrack, or it doesn’t suit your creative process? We’re going to check out a range of options that provide similar features and a performance-orientated workflow.
Elektron Octatrack Alternatives: Novation Circuit
The Novation Circuit grooveboxes are an affordable route to take, and you can choose between the Circuit Tracks sequencing groovebox or the Circuit Ryhthm 8-track sampler, or both, according to your needs.
Both units are portable, with up to 4 hours of battery life and they each have a range of built-in effects to help you create unique sounds in your songs. Also, the screenless interface can be creatively liberating, as it changes the focus slightly.
- More from Novation
Elektron Octatrack Alternatives: Roland SP-404 MKII
The SP-404 MKII offers a completely different sensibility to the Elektron instruments, with a simple WYSIWYG interface centred around the 16 bankable trigger pads.
It provides portability and a highly intuitive workflow with a truckload of effects that are all quick to incorporate live via the control knobs above the screen. Once your samples are loaded, the 404 is a powerful creative tool without the learning curve of many other samplers.
- More from Roland
Elektron Octatrack Alternatives: 1010music Blackbox
The 1010music Blackbox is an extremely powerful sampling workstation in a compact format. With sequencing, sampling, beat-slicing, and sound design capabilities, the Blackbox is a versatile portable instrument.
You can use its powerful standalone features, or connect it with the rest of your setup via the MIDI and clock I/O, as well as the three separate audio outputs to process your sounds in groups.
- More from 1010music
Elektron Octatrack Alternatives: AKAI Professional Force
The AKAI Force is a standalone music production and performance system with sample editing, sequencing, and sound creation features under one hood.
With 4 synth engines, 16 GB of internal storage, and over 10 GB of included content, there is a range of ways to create sounds and patterns. What’s more, the sequencer has 6 different track types for working with audio, MIDI, and CV signals.
- More from AKAI Professional
Elektron Octatrack Alternatives: Synthstrom Audible Deluge
The Synthstrom Deluge is possibly the closest competing alternative to the Octatrack, with a flexible sequencer loaded with creative features and a powerful synth engine with wavetable, FM, and subtractive synthesis workflows.
In addition, you also get multisampling with time-stretching and pitch-shifting along with live looping and layering of audio and MIDI clips. The button grid interface, however, will appeal to some users more than others, so it’s a question of style.
- More from Synthstrom Audible
More about Elektron Octatrack Alternatives:
- All about Elektron
- Ways to Go Dawless
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One response to “Elektron Octatrack Alternatives for Dawless Music Production”
How many of these actually do what Octatrack does uniquely? I.e., the recording to buffers whilst simultaneously playing back and allowing you to futz with it?
There’s still nothing quite like an Octatrack.