the watmm GAS thread

[TubularCorporation]

 

I haven't started making my own sounds on it yet, but the Digitone definitely sounds thicker, perhaps higher quality? Might just be the presets, but I am very impressed with the sound.

The ctrl all feature is waaaay more useful than I expected as well, completely mutilates the sound.

 

I did hear some pops and clicks though, not enough to be a dealbreaker but I'm confident that elektron can fix it.

 

 

that thin quality is what makes the monomachine fit into mixes so well.

 

That's why I love my much hated Redsound EleVAta - it sounds kind of crap on its own, but I can't think of a single time I've used it that it didn't sit really well in a mix and it takes effects really well. With the final firmware upgrade it's not even particularly buggy, it's a shame it just about bankrupted Redsound and forced them out of the synth business forever, because it's actually a pretty excellent bread and butter VA synth other than the bland but useful filters. I got mine when I was just starting to get back in to making electronic music around 2012 but wasn't ready to make any kind of big investment in gear. Even though it's allegedly one of the rarest synths ever made - the official word from Redsound was 250 units sold worldwide - they were and are dirt cheap for a solid synth (mine was around $170 plus the cost of train fare and dinner since I picked it up in person up in Boston) and for over a year the only gear I had was that, an MPC2000xl and a TX802 and to be honest that was more than enough. They just have a bad reputation because the original firmware and first couple updates had some bugs, the outputs were unusually quiet (that was a deliberate firmware feature - presumably for headroom in mutlitimbral mode - and was eventually changed but not before the damage was done), and getting it updated to the good firmware is a pain because the Redsound guy is the only source for it, charges you a not horrible but also not insignificant amount of money to get a copy, and won't actually but the EPROM for you (he'll mail you one but it's up to you to actually burn the firmware to it). Totally worth it though, because it's really quick and fun to program (the closest thing to actual modular patching I've ever experienced in digital in hardware), solidly built, and the sonic qualities that make it sound a bit bland on its own are exactly what makes it take effects and sit in mixes so well. And ironically, even the buggiest version of the firmware (and it was the bus that made it such a failure) is a lot more stable that what most Electron machines shit with - it just had the bad luck of being released about a decade before it was common practice for digital synths to ship with firmware still in beta stage.

 

Point is, if you see one and know what you're getting in to, you should definitely snag it.

 

EDIT: also most people are still under the delusion that sounding digital is bad.

Edited February 17, 2018 by RSP

[modey]

 

I haven't started making my own sounds on it yet, but the Digitone definitely sounds thicker, perhaps higher quality? Might just be the presets, but I am very impressed with the sound.

The ctrl all feature is waaaay more useful than I expected as well, completely mutilates the sound.

 

I did hear some pops and clicks though, not enough to be a dealbreaker but I'm confident that elektron can fix it.

 

 

that thin quality is what makes the monomachine fit into mixes so well.

 

Sure, but I often don't want it to fit into a mix with other synths, I want to compose full tracks on it. 

 

To be fair, the thin-ness has never been as much of a problem for me as it has for other people (ie. some elektronauts users   ); I can make it sound fat and heavy, but it just seems the DN has a "warmth" to it.. or something. I dunno. Maybe it's just the reverb—lush reverbs are my weakness, especially if they're part of an already awesome synth.

 

Anyway, I probably won't sell the Monomachine, but I will give it some thought. I do want to try using it with the octatrack finally, which may open it up to some interesting possibilities.

 

 

 

I have this idea to use the DN with my Nord Lead. It's *just* too big to fit in the empty space on the right of the Nord's panel, but if I make a little "platform", or use a VESA stand attached to it, the two would go super well together. DN's four MIDI channels controlling the Nord, Nord's MIDI out and audio out going into the DN, not to mention being able to take advantage of the instant program changes on the Nord.. quite a big chunk of my day to day synthesis right there..

[xox]

i know this will sound stupid to some people but id never buy a machine that sounds like the omnisphere. if they had wanted they could have made the monomachine sound 'better' even then, in 2003., but they didnt. same goes for the machinedrum uw, there was a reason for the 12-bit sampling machine. i like the sound of the mnm more then any other synth i had or have. if music is a reflection of the directed will (imo) then it has personality that resonates with my will more than other synths, with its sound, looks and ergonomics. ...so it's a very personal thing.

 

p.s. thinking about it i kind of now understand more deeply why picasso, although he could draw and paint like rafaello by the age of 11, painted the way he did

[modey]

I don't have a problem with the monomachine's sound at all.. but to be honest, every time I use it I find myself craving the updated sequencer of the newer machines.

 

I finally had some time to sit down with the DN tonight and have a good tweak. The synth engine is super deep. Not nearly as deep as other FM synths, but it's a hell of a lot easier to get a good sound out of it than even the reface DX (which I still own and will never sell, simply because the keybed is so good lol).

[xox]

I don't have a problem with the monomachine's sound at all.. but to be honest, every time I use it I find myself craving the updated sequencer of the newer machines.

 

 

 

which feature do you crave the most?

[modey]

Individual pattern lengths/speeds, mostly. It's so nice on the OT/DN, being able to have a super long chord progression without having to chain patterns.

 

To be fair, I've set up something similar using the arpeggiators as mini-sequencers, but it's fiddly.

[xox]

Individual pattern lengths/speeds, mostly.

 

 

this would be nice to have on mnm, i agree.

 

also, poly on each track. but hey, then id be (too) perfect 

Edited February 17, 2018 by xox

[Guest Chesney]

Yeah, always begged for microtiming and individual track lengths on the MD, it would literally be the best drum machine in the world to me, even though it already is.

[Braintree]

Welp. I bought a Digitone. Baby's first Elektron. Will report back with findings.

[Bubba69]

the digitone looks amazing. congrats! I've been tenderly loading my analog four with some new soundpacks

[Guest Chesney]

why? seems a shame to use it as a preset box. 

[Braintree]

Mucking about to figure out the interface: https://www.instagram.com/p/BfVLAWfj08T/

[user]

why? seems a shame to use it as a preset box. 

 

Presets can provide a good starting point to create your own stuff and become acquainted with the machine's architecture though, imhotepymmv.

[modey]

Yeah, I found the digitone's presets very useful (there are tons of them!) for figuring out how the machine works. Actually I still haven't read the manual yet.. gonna do that now.

[acid1]

I hate you modey <3

[xox]

*waits for digitwo*

[modey]

If they made a wavetable synth in that small form factor I'll definitely sell the monomachine. No doubt it'd have deeper wavetable mangling options than the monomachine anyway (as does the DN compared to MnM's FM machines)..

[sheatheman]

Digitone seems like it's significantly better than digitakt. I honestly can't believe the digitakt doesn't have at least a base width filter.

 

Digitone seems really fleshed out and worthy of elektron legacy. Whereas with digitakt, a good amount of the features (BRR and drive) seem "takt" on.

[modey]

I haven't played with the digitakt yet so I don't really know.. I do quite like the idea of it though. If I ever get sick of my octatrack I'll probably get one.

 

But yeah the digitone seems really amazing as a standalone machine so far. Apparently the LFOs can get super fast as well, to the point of being additional FM operators.. which would be great if the speed could be keytracked! Unfortunately only the filter can be keytracked so far. Maybe I'll put in a feature request :D

[pcock]

i had a spring clean of bits and pieces i no longer need and now have 1900 to spend on something drummy. considering a Rytm mk2 but it just seems so expensive. im kind of leaning towards ableton push 2, an ssf entity bassdrum, a noise engineering basilimus iterus, a moog drummer from another mother, and a varigate 8+ instead. think you could get some real twisted shit with that setup.

[auxien]

Any need for the Mk2 instead of the Mk1? Unless you do a lot of direct sampling I don't think there's much different...except the 2 is bigger but that's a detriment imo.

 

Do you already use Ableton? Are you already big into the modular side of stuff?

[pcock]

yeah ive already got a tonne of modular, that where all the money came from, cleaning up a bunch of stuff im not really using or have gotten bored with. i think im gonna go for the modular drum route, the more i read about the elektron it seems like it will be limiting compared to Push + modules. i would have gone for the mk2 for the sampling capability yeah. 

the varigate 8+ looks powerful enough to trigger all my envelopes + oscillators along with drums aswell. 

[sheatheman]

I have to say, having played the mk2, the big OLED screen is nice. Not worth paying like $600 more but still.

[acid1]

i had a spring clean of bits and pieces i no longer need and now have 1900 to spend on something drummy. considering a Rytm mk2 but it just seems so expensive. im kind of leaning towards ableton push 2, an ssf entity bassdrum, a noise engineering basilimus iterus, a moog drummer from another mother, and a varigate 8+ instead. think you could get some real twisted shit with that setup.

Get a Rytm and a Noise Engineering BIA.

[auxien]

yeah ive already got a tonne of modular, that where all the money came from, cleaning up a bunch of stuff im not really using or have gotten bored with. i think im gonna go for the modular drum route, the more i read about the elektron it seems like it will be limiting compared to Push + modules. i would have gone for the mk2 for the sampling capability yeah. 

the varigate 8+ looks powerful enough to trigger all my envelopes + oscillators along with drums aswell. 

I can't speak to the world of modular stuff but I know there's lots of interesting stuff you're obviously considering. DFAM sounds good but is obviously very limited in its scope.

 

Push 2 + Ableton is a whole world. The sequencing for drums (+etc.) is actually pretty powerful, though it doesn't seem this often considered the case online... The Rytm is definitely not going to match up in capabilities with Ableton + Push...however, I've got both and I'll tell you almost always prefer to go to my Rytm. Sounds are just so good, and I think the Elektron style of sequencing/performing works well for me when it comes to drums. I often use it for more than just drums of course, but that's another post.

 

Would you be using the Push + Ableton for more than just drums? If you need a controller/sequencer/performance DAW then obviously that's a huge plus to that option.