New Features Coming To Original Elektron Octatrack

Elektron has announced that it will be updating the OS for the Octatrack MK1 with the new features of the Octatrack MKII.

With the updated OS, the main difference between the two devices will be the upgraded hardware of the MKII version:

  • OLED screen
  • Backlit buttons, rated for 50 million presses
  • Contactless crossfader
  • Hi-res precision encoder
  • More dedicated buttons

Details on the update are to come via the Elektron site.

In related news, Elektron also announced that the Octatrack MKII is now shipping.

33 thoughts on “New Features Coming To Original Elektron Octatrack

      1. The topic has been discussed at length on the elektronauts forum. The octatrack mk1 is 100% getting trig conditions and fill capability as part of the update. Fully confirmed by Elektron staff

  1. Get the hell outta here!!! I’ll take it. I’m fine even if it’s only trig conditions. Makes you realize that the new OT is probably just a new case with a software update if it’s that comparable with the current OS. Either way it’s great.

    1. MIDI is quite an old standard. If users were given the option of modulating whatever on 8 channels the MIDI output would probably buckle under the pressure.. is what I’m guessing.

      1. Cirklon, Squarp and others have disproved that theory. My guess is the hardware in the OT (and presumably OT2 now) isn’t up to the task.

        1. I wouldn’t be so sure, given that each track on the OT has 12 CCs (96 in total potentially for 8 tracks). Can you, on a Squarp or the Cirklon for that matter , convincingly interpolate 96 CCs at the same time? My guess is also based on programming for the Machinedrum: trying to target all the tracks simultaneously from the computer. Yeah, it was never gonna happen on the OT.
          edit: Even if the OT were capable it would never be able to send out all that data out on one connection! But who knows, maybe CCs aren’t the issue at all. Maybe they could still just do the main parameters…

  2. Im now so happy that i didnt sold my ot , trig conditions is all I want…

    OMG thx a lot elektron

    but a new granular engine would be also amazing 😛

  3. This is weird timing. I wonder how many OG Octo owners purchased the MKII for the new features, just to find out today that the new features will be on their originals. I don’t have a horse in this race (I use a Digitakt and love it), but it does seem a litttttttle bit shady on Elektron’s part for waiting until ththe day after th MKII ships to announced these features.

    1. Uh…..given that it was a single day, what’s your theory here Rick? Current owners, receiving the news, mass purchased the new revision within 24 hours of the initial announcement? And they simply can’t cancel or return within a day of placing their order?

      That is amazing. Do you know any cases at all of actual people that experienced the horrific fraud you are claiming has been committed? Can you share their names? Or encourage them to post their personal tales of woe here? Thanks!

    2. There’s enough other new hardware in the box to warrant a Mk2 version. Not at all surprising given Elektron’s history with MK1 revisions to MK2. So far as I know every instrument (bar Digitakt) now has a MK2 version

  4. elektron is kind of a shady company. i think they think too much of them selves. releasing a new run of original OT last spring then announcing the mk2. when they announced Digitakt they didn’t even have demos when the pre-order was opened. it seems they fancy them selves as being a company like Apple, they can just do what they want and people throw money at whatever they do and maybe it’s working for them but i think they’d do well to respect their client base by not being so withholding with product information. bottom line is people want to feel their investment will last and not be outdated as soon as they’ve made a purchase.

    1. Not really understanding this logic, considering Elektron didn’t have to update the original OT OS in the first place.

      They are not a large company. I’m guessing their resources were devoted to getting their new products out, and when that was done, the code for the original could be updated.

      1. Look at Digitakt, the product itself was launched with a firmware that is incomplete. It’s a niche market and if Elektron choose to ignore the original batch of OT customers it gained during it’s “golden era” in synth world, it would only sell itself short and incur the opposite of any goodwill that is left. That is not business sense. So yes they do.

        1. Be patient. I bought the Analog Four on first release. Back then it had no Overbridge, no polyphonic mode, no +Drive, no FM mode and no probabilistic sequencing

          All these came with subsequent updates. Elektron have a proven track record for adding value to their released products through OS improvement.

  5. Not really shady, more like a smart business move with a dash of shady. Announcing that your old product will have the same features as your new product would be kind of dumb and we’d be calling them dumb and not shady. If you stayed with the original OT then you get the features. People tend to forget that companies don’t intend to not make money. Shady would be if they released a new product then bricked their old products like what people believe Apple does. Somehow every time a new phone comes out my old phone starts showing a ton of bugs it didn’t have before the announcement. Just speculation but it has happened with 3 versions of the iPhone and I’m waiting for my iPhone 7 to get weird.

  6. The real question to me is – did adding a few more buttons fix the workflow issues? That was my biggest beef with the OT (and why I sold it and went back ITB for sampling). Seems that’s all they’ve done if there is feature parity between OT and OT2 now. One would think there would be room for new features with new hardware, so the logic seems to imply there isn’t much in the way of new hardware in the OT2 (which could change if they add new features in the future).

  7. updating an older product gives a client the confidence to buying new ones. Elektron is consistent in doing this, respect.

  8. Honestly Ive lost Faith with Elektron. I bought the Digitakt and was very dissapointed, Freeze Freeze Freeze, the same problem with almost everyone else (which means they had to know but sold it anyway and used customers as beta testers…thats like buying food that taste’s like shit, and the cooks making it taste better over time based on responses lol, Who the hell do they think they are!) And now it still freezes from time to time / And so does everyone elses (I dont care what they say… its true) ….some people say its solid now ‘4 updates later’ but im pretty sure the ones that claim its fixed are fan boys/girls and Elektron themselves pretending to be users on forums. On pricibal, I wont be buying ANYTHING from them again, there stuffs cool but in the end it creates a bunch of extra steps in production anyway. Jomox Alpha Base here I come!!!!

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