Elektron Digitakt

This is the best bass synth

I'm only half joking actually, because it blends well with anything that needs a bit more depth to the lows, and it costs less than what some people are willing to spend on pizza delivery these days.  Most people who even know it exists think of it as just the "Seinfeld bass" thing but the upright bass ROM is the good one.

Anyhow yeah, let's not derail too far.

Have had the DT for about a week now. Gotta say it is pretty limited. Also it keeps messing up ext midi. It's cuts off all the notes each time the pattern restarts. I have to reselect the program and then it works until the pattern loops again. Probably something I'm doing wrong, but I had the OT for a while and it didn't mess up ext midi like this.

Part of me thinks I'd be better off spending my money on stuff that makes cool sounds and sampling and sequencing everything in ableton

Did make a banger with it today though. The sound engine is honestly quite quite nice. Also, as a quick easy sampler (that actually samples unlike volca) that you can use in a live set, don't think anything comes close to it.

I have had a couple days with the SH-01A and i'm thrilled with it so far. The knobs and faders feel great and are just large enough. The small faders actually give you a great deal of control because you can manipulate so many of them with just one hand.

The polyphony works wonderfully, it sounds fantastic as a 4 voice poly. I was worried the polyphony would be wonky like the Volca Keys, which I think i'm ready to sell. I think the Volca FM would pair with the SH-01A well.

I don't have any interest in the rest of the boutique line but the idea of a small 4 voice 101 was very appealing, and reviews were very positive for this model. 

Now I need to decide if i get the new Octatrack or a used old one. 

dammit.....

i miss the OT......

  On 1/27/2018 at 4:13 AM, sheathe said:

dammit.....

 

 

 

i miss the OT......

I'm so glad I'm too lazy to sell mine.

sold it. wow that was a good gear lust purge.

really just not a very exciting piece for me. honestly had more fun on a broken EM-1.

I can't lie, parameter-locking and some of the other automation features make it feel like working in Logic, or Audacity et al.. I suppose that's what makes Elektron boxes so cool? They're not very instant - a whole lot of preparation is involved. A:B logic is a fun, if math-heavy exercise when thinking about sounds and their duration.

  On 2/10/2018 at 3:37 PM, sheathe said:

sold it. wow that was a good gear lust purge.

 

really just not a very exciting piece for me. honestly had more fun on a broken EM-1.

I had a go on an EM-1 a while back and I was really surprised at how much it could do and how nice it sounded. Not something I'd seek out but if I ever stumble on a bargain I'd be tempted to snag it. Worst case it's above-average sampler fodder.

  On 2/12/2018 at 1:41 AM, barbara planar said:

I can't lie, parameter-locking and some of the other automation features make it feel like working in Logic, or Audacity et al.. I suppose that's what makes Elektron boxes so cool? They're not very instant - a whole lot of preparation is involved. A:B logic is a fun, if math-heavy exercise when thinking about sounds and their duration.

Its surprising how much variation you can get from a single pattern.

found this on fb, makes me want a digitakt, and a nurse to wash my bum bum

Well, I finally caved and ordered one.  I just need an external sampler so badly and it seems like the options to then make crazy patterns and layer sequences together is perfect for the way I like to build my beats.  Maybe this will finally help me get my head around elektron menus / kits/ sounds 

I'm also hoping that the real time sampling and sequencing element is pretty quick and painless as that is likely to be its main use.

  On 7/18/2019 at 1:19 AM, Stickfigger said:

The OS update that allows scale per pattern definitely opens it up a lot . The lack of a multiple filters like the digitone has is unforgivable tho IMO... 

Now that you've said that it occurs to me that I only ever use a low pass filter  So thankfully I think I'll be alright in that regard.

You should definitely try a highpass or even bp filter sometime. Not being sarcastic but I used to be a basically lp only dude but the hp/bp has added a lot to my mixes and the way I position sounds.   

It arrived today.  Holy fuck I'm in love.  Even just letting the base patterns run and going through the shorter manual and fucking with everything has already bought so much fun.  My first Elektron was the A4 and to be honest it felt a little overwhelming at times; the complexity was a little to daunting.  This is way more immediate yet still hints at how complex it can be.  Now to go through my collection of old hardware samples and to decide what to load on this thing.

  On 7/19/2019 at 2:29 AM, Stickfigger said:

There was a bunch of stuff going back and forth on one of the FB groups a while back saying that they can't add new features because the CPU is effectively maxed out but Elektron confirmed that this wasn't the case. It seems so undercooked compared to the digitone.

I recall reading (possibly on the Elektronauts forum) that the Digitone has twice the CPU power of the Digitakt, as the Digitone has a dual processor setup (vs. a single processor in the DT) ... it'd be nice to have the filtering capabilities of the Digitone on the Digitakt, as well as two LFOs (without the MIDI trick) per track, but not sure if it's possible?

edit: https://www.elektronauts.com/t/two-coldfire-mcf5441-s-inside/52492/11

  On 7/18/2019 at 9:38 PM, user said:

You should definitely try a highpass or even bp filter sometime. Not being sarcastic but I used to be a basically lp only dude but the hp/bp has added a lot to my mixes and the way I position sounds.   

Yeah resonant HPFs in particular are great. The usefulness of a key-following bass boost is pretty obvious. And yeah bandpasses are ok for thinning out pads and stuff.

Seems the 1.3 update is answering many of the prayers this thread ended with

  On 7/5/2021 at 2:49 AM, Stickfigger said:

Yep. Now waiting to see what if anything will get ported over to the RYTM. I'd really love to have the second filter added to the RYTM but i know that doing so will mess with the 'all analogue filters' and this will upset a bunch of people 

they need to make an all digital drum machine in digitakt format. doesn't even need sampling. 

soo apparently in july Elektron registered the trademark "Syntakt." i would really really love it if that turned out to be the sort of thing ignatius posted about ^^

... that daydream got me thinking, i had fond memories of the drum synth plugin Drumatic (was my go-to drum-layering mule something like a decade ago) but it's paid now i guess, so i got to looking elsewhere and finally decided to check out µTonic (the demo, anyway). it's awesome, but i immediately had the urge to control it with the digitakt. I am happy to report that, after minimal fussing, this works exactly how i dreamed! sequence w/ DT, enjoy those cc p-locks, get polymeters going, build some individual fx chains in the daw for each of the drum voices, and then record the midi output from live takes / jams for further micro editing

I think their is a port free inside the digitakt and a big old space that looks like you could add something into it. A few people used the space to fit batteries to make them portable but it’s possible that Elektron designed it that way for a reason other than batteries  

I'm just gonna keep reviving this dead old thread. 

The Syntakt Prophecy came true, and now, The Holy Grail: Song Mode! Move over, Jesus, the real good news has arrived

https://www.elektronauts.com/news/572

  On 9/28/2022 at 11:58 PM, luke viia said:

I'm just gonna keep reviving this dead old thread. 

The Syntakt Prophecy came true, and now, The Holy Grail: Song Mode! Move over, Jesus, the real good news has arrived

https://www.elektronauts.com/news/572

i saw a thread on Elektronauts called: "Theoretical ‘pot’ for song mode/ save pattern chain - reward Elektron (or their charity of choice)" and my inner self cringed a lot. brand worship is so gross.

good on Elektron on delivering something their customers have been clamoring for forever now, tho

Picked up the Digitakt II last week. Loving it so far. Only other Elektron box I have is the Rytm.