Nondestructive copy/paste?

[gseher]

One of my favorite ways to use the Octopus is to designate one Midi channel for all tracks on a page, define a different base pitch for each track and visually arrange a sequence. Being able to visualize the melodic contour of the line is something no other sequencer can do.

What I’d like to be able to so is ‘collapse’ the page onto one track. So, I’d like to copy all of the values on tracks 3 & 4 & paste to track 1 without replacing track 1. Is this possible?

[gseher]

mal jaz sic wrote:

Quote:

What I’d like to be able to so is ‘collapse’ the page onto one track. So, I’d like to copy all of the values on tracks 3 & 4 & paste to track 1 without replacing track 1. Is this possible?

…wow, great idea!! – this is actually something that could be very useful for me also…

…technically it should be possible to collect all the notes in one track as a step supports more than one note at a time…

…the copying is probably the tricky part…

…my support for this ‘feature request’…

[gseher]

Hoping I get this right – it sounds like what you are looking for is the FLT function which is on board already. Note that there are some restrictions that come with it, especially if you have different STA values for steps that fall on the same position.

To invoke it, and sticking with your example, select the tracks 4,3, and 1, and with that selection active invoke the FLT function.

Cheers, Gabriel

[gseher]

gseher wrote:

Quote:

what you are looking for is the FLT function

…very nice, thank you, Gabriel! – and now an option to collect the copied tracks into a track of ones choice?

…i’d like to take this opportunity to spell out again, that a workshop might be really helpful for some – eg. for me :whistle: – i have been reading the manual a couple of times, but am stuck with some workflow that leaves out a lot of great features of the machine…

[Jordi]

I don’t mean to be rude, and I hope this doesn’t come across this way, but from my perspective, asking for a workshop in the same thread that you ask for features that already exist and are really clearly defined in the manual seems sort of odd.

Like, if it was clear that you had taken the time to read the manual, and were having trouble, then (if I were Gabriel) I’d be more inclined to look at how to help you. But when you say you’ve read the manual a couple of times but don’t show any awareness of something that has a full page devoted to it (and it’s own button), it’s sort of like, well, then I would think you’re wasting my time with your workshop request. I’m sure Gabriel has a ton on his plate.

But this happens in every piece of gear and software I know. You go visit their forums and there’s some guy saying, "How do you do so-and-so?" and some other guy responding, "Read the manual." It’s not a very useful answer, and I get that there are people who get a lot from manuals and people who learn much better by seeing.

Make sure you have the octopus in front of you, and try the things you’re reading as you read them. Sitting and reading the manual in a different room has limited value.

Also, I keep re-reading the manual. Even the bits I think I know. The thing is, when you play with it for a few weeks, and then read the manual, you come at the manual with a different perspective, so that your comprehension of things changes. When you first give it a read, there’s so much info thrown at you that you miss tons of stuff – like how you missed the description of the flat function, probably. But when you go back, and you’re like, "Yeah, I get it. Yeah, I get it. Wait, what’s this mean?" then you find all sorts of stuff. It’s like, my first read got the basics, but each re-read I now find I pull more out of because it’s all in there, but it was too much to take in at first. I’ve had my Octopus for three months, and I’m constantly finding better work flow habits for me. And it comes from finding that one sentence you glossed over last read, but suddenly it stands out. I honestly think a workshop would be about the same: there would be too much info thrown at you, and it wouldn’t be really that useful for you. You need time to define your own workflow; there’s so many ways of doing any given task with this beast (which is one of the greatest things about it), that you really just need time, I think. (Also, are you aware of the youtube videos?)

So, sorry for the ramble, but to sum up:

In my opinion, good advice would be:

1)Make sure you read the manual with the Octopus/Nemo in front of you, and try everything as you read it.
2)Re-read the manual every couple of weeks for a bit, and then every couple of months, or whatever, because you’ll find that things you ignored before are now describing the exact feature you need.

And if you need any help with comprehension of something, ask the boards. I’d be happy to help all I can. But asking for workshops is a lot of work for others when it sounds like maybe you haven’t spent as much time with the manual as you should. It’s a super complicated device, and there’s no shortcut – it just takes time. Like any musical instrument.

[gseher]

adam wrote:

Quote:

that you really just need time, I think. (Also, are you aware of the youtube videos?)
(…)
But asking for workshops is a lot of work for others when it sounds like maybe you haven’t spent as much time with the manual as you should.

Hi Adam,

thank you for this exhaustive feedback…

…i give you the point regarding ‘having the time spent as long as one should have’…but then: i am learning much easier by listening, communicating, touching and trying under supervision than by trying to translate a manual to self-imposed exercises…

…especially when the manual – sorry to say – is pretty difficult to read; in our example i was not able to deduct that ‘FLT-flatten’ means ‘copy, collect’. And let me assure you, that for many years now i earn my money within one of the worldst most technical jobs, reading, and ‘translating’ manuals from several manufacturers and many many different authors into workflows that i have to be able to use and recall instantly…

…i know what i am talking about here

…i know the videos on YouTube, and i think they are pointing into the right direction already – but they are too few, too unorganised and simply too short…

Last thing: i have visited a couple of workshops – and one thing i learned is that every participant had gained much from participating – the teachers as well as the students.

Having seen something being done the right way once, and then having repeated it once with an instructor allows you to remember this when you get back and try to do something on your own – it is so much easier to exchange that little bit of information one is missing from person to person than to first even realise that one is acutally missing a piece of information…

So in short: i take the blame of not knowing the Octopusses manual by heart, but your deduction is still wrong and i’ll keep asking for a workshop…

Best wishes!

[Jordi]

Where are you?

(Cheers for getting my tone, and not being offended!)

[gseher]

adam wrote:

Quote:

(Cheers for getting my tone, and not being offended!)

…hey: i really mean ‘thank you!’ – you put a lot of energy and thought into your post…

…i am near Munich…so, Stuttgart wouldn’t be far

[Jordi]

Pretty far from Vancouver, though.

[gseher]

adam wrote:

Quote:

Pretty far from Vancouver, though.

…hmmm, what a pity, been there recently, will not get there for a couple of years to come (if nothing unexpected happens)…

…on the other hand: if you come to the workshop – either as student or instructor…

…no, really: what about some more video-tutorials from the more trained/knowledgeable users? I think to remember that Gabriel has been asking for quite some time for more videos…

…dont think toooo complicated about making them; just to have some basic topic discussed with your own words and its execution shown on screen might help a lot to understand things better…

(i am still amazed regarding this {flatten=’collect,copy’}-thing; just one word made the whole thing transparent to me)

Post edited by: fairplay, at: 2008/11/17 12:44

[Jordi]

Making videos is on my to-do list, but I’m not sure how far away it is…

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