New user – first post

[gseher]

Hi,
I just joined this forum. I am now planning to
get an Octopus and have locked mine in from Awave in
Australia. I don’t have it yet, as I still have to
pay for it, but I intend to have it here in early December, just in time for my birthday. So, I
just thought I would introduce myself and lurk
a bit and hopefully learn something from people who
have had one for some time.

My setup is currently based around Logic 6.4.3
and is mostly analogue synths of various sorts,
mostly MIDI driven. I am hoping that Logic will
work with this beast, but I read about the channel
splitter post so I feel sort of confident. I bought
3 AMT8 MIDI units cheap over a few years, so I have
24 MIDI ports configured with an instrument on each
one, so my concept is that the Octopus would become
the master controller for everything, with my MIDI keyboard as an Input Controller for the Octopus and
everything related to MIDI routing conducted by
Logic. Then to use Logic to record the resulting
audio and optionally any extra MIDI events. I do hope there are other people on here with similar setups
who will help me when I get to the setup stage.

I am a bit unsure about how to synch this – I use
Logic as a sync master and then push MIDI clock
to all my gear, arpeggiators etc. But would the Octopus be a better sync master (ie more stable, less
drift?). Logic 8 does not do Sync slave, so I am
not intending to go down that path and might even move away entirely if someone can persuade me.

Anyway, that’s enough questions for now. I am really
looking forward to receiving this instrument and
am very excited by the possibilities of using 21st century technology to drive my vintage synths

rachel

[gseher]

another aussie octopus user! welcome… i too am in melbourne – have had mine for a bit over 2 years… i guess yours would be the 2nd one to make it down here as far as i know

i wouldn’t be using logic as the master clock – computer based clocks are awful… the octopus clock is brilliant – generally i sync everything to either the octopus or my mpc4000… but logic is the last thing i would sync to – part of the appeal of hardware sequencing is the superior clock and you’d be losing that if syncing to computer

Post edited by: machina, at: 2008/09/26 13:47

[gseher]

Thanks for replying…..
It’s good to hear there’s another Aussie with one!
Did you get yours through awave? I think they
are the only ones stocking it over here.

I think I will have to try synch from the Octopus
if it looks like it will work. As I have found out, Logic version 8 doesn’t seem to do synch slave, so Iwill
stay on the current version until something to replace
it, for the purposes of recording comes along.

This is a big purchase for me. I hope I am doing the
right thing, but I am pretty keen and I’ve already
learnt a bit from the tutorial videos and manual.

Now I just can’t wait to get this thing first hand!

rachel

[gseher]

Nah – i got mine direct from gabriel (a long long time before lew/awave even knew they existed)

[Adam Wilson]

Hi Rachel, welcome to the forum.

I’m using my Octo as a sync master, and feed the clock + midi into 2 AMT8 units. All my gear is connected to the AMT8s. Works great. No computer in the path, straight lines.

Of course, when I *do* what computer involvement I just start up the needed software and the AMT8 units switch to computer mode, such that all of the MIDI ports are made available to the software. (Don’t forget that you *can* switch the AMT8s back to standalone mode, even with software connected.)

The fact that Logic 8 cannot slave to midi clock sucks big time. Logic has always been the better slaving DAW of them all imo. Hope they fix this flaw soon.

Octopus and a bunch of vintage synths… wow.

[gseher]

robert wrote:

Quote:

Hi Rachel, welcome to the forum.

I’m using my Octo as a sync master, and feed the clock + midi into 2 AMT8 units. All my gear is connected to the AMT8s. Works great. No computer in the path, straight lines.

Of course, when I *do* what computer involvement I just start up the needed software and the AMT8 units switch to computer mode, such that all of the MIDI ports are made available to the software. (Don’t forget that you *can* switch the AMT8s back to standalone mode, even with software connected.)

The fact that Logic 8 cannot slave to midi clock sucks big time. Logic has always been the better slaving DAW of them all imo. Hope they fix this flaw soon.

Octopus and a bunch of vintage synths… wow.

How do you use the AMT with the Octopus to map the correct Port & MIDI Channel? Do you have all your instruments attached to different Ports on the AMT
but with different MIDI channels? Do then attach both pairs of MIDI ports of the Octopus to the 2 AMT’s?

I had a look in the AMT/Unitor control
panel and I can see the MIDI filter, but it is not clear how to map?

In Logic, I foresee just using
the Channel splitter and route to any Instrument
I’ve created a track for and Octopus will drive it
just fine. I use a lot of MIDI clock. I use the various arpeggiators and sequencers I have to synch
together with the computer as master and then layer things.

I intend to take the same approach with
Octopus except it will be the master sequencer
and use Logic to capture the MIDI events and audio.

I am really looking forward to getting this. It
is certainly going to change the way I create music!

rachel

[Jordi]

It certainly changed the way I create.

[gseher]

On the PC the AMT can only reroute ports but not individual channels, I presume that’s the same on the MAC.

So you’d may need to do something there, logic used to have environments (I used it at the time that it was available on the PC) didn’t it?

[gseher]

Hello –
Hello everyone…

Gabriel – Finally was able to post here… Firefox never seemed to handle logging in…

Rachel – Considering your background that I gleaned from your other site posts…

Maybe try to not route through the computer…

I just route from the Octo -> synths (set for individual channels) then audio path -> computer..

So the switch is really away from using the computer as a compositional tool, and more as a straight audio editor… Again, in the same line of work as you… this was huge for me…

Unless you want to record the midi, and then go from there… sometimes I do use a softsynth like BFD2… but I have gotten to a point where I am using them mostly in stand alone mode…

Also, as someone else stated… midi timing is really bad on computers… computers are not optimized for time dependent processing… they get hosed very easily… I ran into this alot in the past… why are my tracks not lining up?… etc… Arghh…

Maybe go like you mentioned: Octopus: midi outs-> AMT’s -> synths set to proper midi channels… (you will have to midi filter if any of your synths are omni only)

So my vote would be to simplify and the Octopus’s elegence and power will certainly keep your brain working enough on musicaly ideas…

[Adam Wilson]

rachel wrote:

Quote:

How do you use the AMT with the Octopus to map the correct Port & MIDI Channel? Do you have all your instruments attached to different Ports on the AMT but with different MIDI channels? Do then attach both pairs of MIDI ports of the Octopus to the 2 AMT’s?

I had a look in the AMT/Unitor control
panel and I can see the MIDI filter, but it is not clear how to map?

You can daisy chain a number of AMT8 units into one big virtual unit. The manual describes how, it comes down to connecting them through the serial port. Note however that the physical inputs are merged together when doing this. So e.g. when chaining two AMT8 units, you get 16 addressable midi outputs, but still have 8 physical inputs.

To route signals from inputs to outputs in this chained AMT8 setup, use the Unitor8 Control software. In the main page, double clock the ATM8 icon. Then double click one of the patches. This will open the patch editor where you can connect inputs to outputs.

[gseher]

Hi, I use the Octopus as the Midi Center Master Machine in my Hybris Studio. In Logic 8 (:evil: no midi Clock in anymore :angry:) I use a setup with the channel splitter. The Mac Book Pro is connected via Core Midi via USB with the AMT 8. The Octopus Midi Output 1 is connected (In /Out) to the Virus Polar dirctly and the Midi Out 2 is connected to a Midi Thru Box from Midi Solution. From the Midi Thru Box I route one output to the AMT 8 IN (to access Logic) and the other to external Hardware Synth I can access the devices via different Midi channels. I also habe a Spectralis connected as Slave to this but here I have an Event Box (Midi Solution) between which filteres out all midi note information. I use the Spectralis as the Drum and analoge bass machine in the setup and controll pattern remote with midi controllers.

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