I’ve built a cheat sheet for the Elektron Octatrack MKII, written from the OS 1.40C user manual. The Octatrack reads like a dictionary when you open the manual, so I added a short “Start Here” section that explains how samples, slots, machines, parts, patterns and scenes fit together. It draws on Merlin’s “Some thoughts on Octatrack.”
There are two versions:
- Desktop: two-column layout for printing or reading on a computer or tablet.
- Mobile: the same content sized for reading on a mobile device.
Both have a clickable table of contents, so you can jump straight to any section.
What’s in it
- A “Which section do I need?” finder that points you to the right section for what you’re trying to do, plus a short “Read when…” line at the top of every section.
- Everything added in OS 1.40, tagged so you can see which features are new.
- Plain-language definitions of the terms the manual assumes you know, such as trigger, part, slot, slice and scene. The sheet says “trigger” throughout, where the manual and the Octatrack’s screen say “trig,” and the glossary notes the difference so you can match them up.
- Sections on parts versus scenes, sample and slice locks, gain staging, sampling and resampling, Pickup machines, the audio editor, the arranger and the MIDI sequencer.
- A MIDI reference with the standard note map, the other note maps and the control change numbers.
- Colour-coded sections, with trigger and scene colours shown in their actual colours.
- Now available in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Nederlands, Português (Brasil) and 日本語. All in Desktop and Mobile versions.
One note on the translations: I used the Japanese manual as the reference for Japanese terms, and I haven’t had a native speaker check them yet.
DESKTOP:
MOBILE:
If you spot a mistake or something missing, let me know.