Elektron Digitakt

[Belumvreak]

i don't really understand why people complain about lack of performance mode. it has mute mode. just plug it into a mixer and get some aux send effects. you can midi map a fader box to the volume levels if you want.

 

 

not sure if aimed at me. OT and A4 (probs rytm too) had performance macros which made things pretty fun for doing stuff on the fly. Agreed, could just muck around with fx but linking sample speed, filter res, reverb sends etc etc  to one knob was a simple way to make things mad. it wouldn't affect the track settings either so you could mad without bombing the song.

[modey]

Yeah the lack of a scene fader (or similar) was a dealbreaker for me.. that said, the "control all then reload" feature sounds pretty mental.

[sheatheman]

Does the OT have fine tune delay time like digitakt?

[sheatheman]

Just got my DT today. First impressions, very sleek and fun and fast but I gotta say I miss some of that OT advanced functionality.

 

Sampling is instant tho. Very refreshing not to have to orient yourself what fukin recorder page you are on every time you wanna sample.

Edited January 7, 2018 by sheathe

[omnii]

Is it general opinion that the OT is a better performance tool than the Digitakt? Would the OT be viable as a performance tool sequencing and also mixing 2 synths via MIDI and audio inputs? Or would i still want a mixer to push the audio from my synths to?

[TubularCorporation]

Is it general opinion that the OT is a better performance tool than the Digitakt? Would the OT be viable as a performance tool sequencing and also mixing 2 synths via MIDI and audio inputs? Or would i still want a mixer to push the audio from my synths to?

 

I've never used a Digitakt but I've watched a lot of demos and owned an Octatrack for most of a year and to be honest they seem really, really different and would probably complement each other well if you could afford it.  I imagine which one was better for performance would depend on the kind of music you want to make. 

Edited January 7, 2018 by RSP

[Belumvreak]

Is it general opinion that the OT is a better performance tool than the Digitakt? Would the OT be viable as a performance tool sequencing and also mixing 2 synths via MIDI and audio inputs? Or would i still want a mixer to push the audio from my synths to?

 

Would most likely want a mixer. You can monitor the incoming audio input but thats it.

[sweepstakes]

 

 

 

Is it general opinion that the OT is a better performance tool than the Digitakt? Would the OT be viable as a performance tool sequencing and also mixing 2 synths via MIDI and audio inputs? Or would i still want a mixer to push the audio from my synths to?

Would most likely want a mixer. You can monitor the incoming audio input but thats it.

Sorry but this is wrong in the case of the OT. You can process 4 channels of external signals in real time and the input machine has the same gain staging and processing options as the sample playback machines. In fact you can switch inputs on the fly and even sequence which inputs are being processed. You can definitely use the OT as a mixer if you're ok with the lack of dedicated controls and limited headroom.

Also: live sampling. The reason sampling is so awkward on the OT is it can do some absolutely batshit stuff if you take the time to set it up.

[omnii]

Thanks to everyone for your input! I'm trying to go for the most portability possible while still having a powerful sequencer/sampler at my disposal and some interesting effects. I keep thinking the OT is the answer for me. I'm obsessively looking at all options for reasonably sized sampler/sequencers. I have contemplated everything from Toraiz SP-16, 404, MPC Live, OT, DT and they all have their own appeal. I'd like to start performing soon, i will invest in a mixer eventually but if i can get away without it i might get the OT first. 

 

I got a REALLY good deal on the boutique 101 (sh-01a) so i figured i'll try that out, looking for 1 more synth, small but with decent sized knobs ;) That little Toraiz AS-1 seems interesting, the Moog Minitaur is very appealing too. The Korg Minilogue and Monologue have been on my list for a while. Even the Volca FM seems surprisingly useful. I don't have much money so i have to be smart about how i tackle this.

[sweepstakes]

Thanks to everyone for your input! I'm trying to go for the most portability possible while still having a powerful sequencer/sampler at my disposal and some interesting effects. I keep thinking the OT is the answer for me. I'm obsessively looking at all options for reasonably sized sampler/sequencers. I have contemplated everything from Toraiz SP-16, 404, MPC Live, OT, DT and they all have their own appeal. I'd like to start performing soon, i will invest in a mixer eventually but if i can get away without it i might get the OT first.

 

I got a REALLY good deal on the boutique 101 (sh-01a) so i figured i'll try that out, looking for 1 more synth, small but with decent sized knobs ;) That little Toraiz AS-1 seems interesting, the Moog Minitaur is very appealing too. The Korg Minilogue and Monologue have been on my list for a while. Even the Volca FM seems surprisingly useful. I don't have much money so i have to be smart about how i tackle this.

The OT is a weird one but it's the best hardware sampler I've used for step sequencer workflow. I would only avoid it if polyphony, velocity sensitivity, layering, and a more traditional keyboardist/MPC kind of workflow is your thing. Otherwise it opens way more doors than it shuts and the architecture is so flexible that there's workarounds for almost anything. Be warned, though, it has a learning curve.

 

I can vouch for both the Monologue and Volca FM being great, albeit in completely different ways. Either would be a good complement to the OT, but you might want to wait until you get a feel for your workflow with the SH-01a and OT before adding more complexity.

[TubularCorporation]

 

Thanks to everyone for your input! I'm trying to go for the most portability possible while still having a powerful sequencer/sampler at my disposal and some interesting effects. I keep thinking the OT is the answer for me. I'm obsessively looking at all options for reasonably sized sampler/sequencers. I have contemplated everything from Toraiz SP-16, 404, MPC Live, OT, DT and they all have their own appeal. I'd like to start performing soon, i will invest in a mixer eventually but if i can get away without it i might get the OT first.

 

I got a REALLY good deal on the boutique 101 (sh-01a) so i figured i'll try that out, looking for 1 more synth, small but with decent sized knobs ;) That little Toraiz AS-1 seems interesting, the Moog Minitaur is very appealing too. The Korg Minilogue and Monologue have been on my list for a while. Even the Volca FM seems surprisingly useful. I don't have much money so i have to be smart about how i tackle this.

The OT is a weird one but it's the best hardware sampler I've used for step sequencer workflow. I would only avoid it if polyphony, velocity sensitivity, layering, and a more traditional keyboardist/MPC kind of workflow is your thing. Otherwise it opens way more doors than it shuts and the architecture is so flexible that there's workarounds for almost anything. Be warned, though, it has a learning curve.

 

I can vouch for both the Monologue and Volca FM being great, albeit in completely different ways. Either would be a good complement to the OT, but you might want to wait until you get a feel for your workflow with the SH-01a and OT before adding more complexity.

 

 

On the other hand, if you're already using a more traditional sampler or MPC style workflow, the OT would probably complement that really well, because they have very different strengths and weaknesses.

 

It's hard to really compare the Octatrack to anything else but you could kind of look at it as an exponentially more powerful SP303/404 combined with FastTracker an a Lexicon Vortex, but that doesn't really do it justice, it's just the closest analogy I can think of.

 

 

I haven't actually had any significant headroom issues with mine, but the gainstaging does take a little getting used to and it IS possible to clip a track between stages like old school Pro Tools - there doesn't appear to be any floating point math going on in this thing and the documentation seems to be deliberately conservative in terms of input headroom to protect users from doing this.  I've been able to push test tones WAY hotter than the manual says you can and have them come out the other end with no clipping at all, but doing that eats up all of your channel headroom so it's a tradeoff.  Lately I've been using mine almost entirely as a sequencer and effects unit and I've been happy with the default gainstaging, except with the main output at +12 (which I've found to be pretty much unity gain by trial and error) and pushing the inputs a bit harder than the manual says you can (sitting in the orange on the LEDs with some peaks in the red, but not pinning them in the red even though it's actually possible to do that without clipping if you're careful, despite what the manual says) and as long as I run everything in 24 bit and turn off time stretch wherever it's not absolutely necessary it sounds great.  Not 100% transparent but more than transparent enough (ad if you want transparent pass-through then why would you be running everything through an Octatrack to begin with?)

 

 

EDIT: another thing to remember with the OT is that some of the effects change the sound quite a bit even when their parameters are zeroed (the Lo-Fi one especially, even when everything's at its neutral value it will make a track noticeably quieter and generally, well, lo-fi compared to how it sounds if youdon't have any effect in that slot at all (or one of the more transparent ones like the filters, or the chorus/flange/anything else with a wet/dry mix set 100% dry).  The EQs are like this too, even set flat they change the way the track sounds quite a bit. So that's another place where it's possible to make the OT sound far less transparent than it actually is, without meaning to.

Edited January 8, 2018 by RSP

[TubularCorporation]

In a few months a friend of mine who has been away for a few years is moving back to town and he's the only person I know who owns a Digitakt.  Really looking forward to getting to try them both side by side!

[frankbooth]

Thanks to everyone for your input! I'm trying to go for the most portability possible while still having a powerful sequencer/sampler at my disposal and some interesting effects. I keep thinking the OT is the answer for me. I'm obsessively looking at all options for reasonably sized sampler/sequencers. I have contemplated everything from Toraiz SP-16, 404, MPC Live, OT, DT and they all have their own appeal. I'd like to start performing soon, i will invest in a mixer eventually but if i can get away without it i might get the OT first.

 

I got a REALLY good deal on the boutique 101 (sh-01a) so i figured i'll try that out, looking for 1 more synth, small but with decent sized knobs ;) That little Toraiz AS-1 seems interesting, the Moog Minitaur is very appealing too. The Korg Minilogue and Monologue have been on my list for a while. Even the Volca FM seems surprisingly useful. I don't have much money so i have to be smart about how i tackle this.

Did you get the sh01a online? Been considering getting one myself but not thinking it’s worth 350, before the attachment too...

[omnii]

Thank you so much to everyone for your thoughtful responses. I really appreciate your time, this has been very helpful.

 

I have been using a Beatstep Pro to sequence a sampler, Sub37 and MS-20 and i love the general workflow on that. I'm finding it harder to surprise myself with it these days and my inspiration from it is slightly waning. I also have a Korg SQ-1 and am finding myself going back to that more often recently, it's messy and imprecise but visceral and i feel like anything can happen if i manage to capture it. I could only use the SQ-1 live for improvs and that's a scary thought, but the Beatstep certainly is an option for performing.

 

I lucked into a used SH01A online for $250 that appears to be in great shape. I'll know in a couple days.

My inner snob is self conscious about those boutiques and modern Roland in general. It's so stupid, it's hard to imagine anyone coming to one of my sets and saying to their friend "That's one of those boutique 101's. It's not even analogue. What's even the point? Might as well just use software." and then leaving.

Edited January 8, 2018 by omnii

[sweepstakes]

My inner snob is self conscious about those boutiques and modern Roland in general. It's so stupid, it's hard to imagine anyone coming to one of my sets and saying to their friend "That's one of those boutique 101's. It's not even analogue. What's even the point? Might as well just use software." and then leaving.

lol me too, but for me it's just that they don't look very comfy and they seem overpriced for VA when there's real analogs that are cheaper nowadays. That said, all the samples I've heard of the SH01a sound great, buttery smooth, and just like the real thing as far as I can tell.

[TubularCorporation]

 

My inner snob is self conscious about those boutiques and modern Roland in general. It's so stupid, it's hard to imagine anyone coming to one of my sets and saying to their friend "That's one of those boutique 101's. It's not even analogue. What's even the point? Might as well just use software." and then leaving.

lol me too, but for me it's just that they don't look very comfy and they seem overpriced for VA when there's real analogs that are cheaper nowadays. That said, all the samples I've heard of the SH01a sound great, buttery smooth, and just like the real thing as far as I can tell.

 

 

I could absolutely see other artists/bands on a bill saying stuff like that, though.  Which is not to say that it isn't stupid, it definitely is. 

 

Back in the late 2000s/early 2010s I'd definitely overhear a lot of gear snobbery from other musicians in audiences whenever anyone came on stage with rack gear (and bless those snobs because their snobbery contributed to me being able to get some pretty great 90s rack gear for next to nothing back then).

Edited January 10, 2018 by RSP

[drukqs]

I feel that similarly about the TB-03's. They sound good and I'm sure it's confirmation bias, but there's something about the way the gate length coupled with the filter that just feels like it flows better with demos of the original TB-303's. I think it doesn't matter too much but with the boutiques it seems like they are just a tad thin. I know that's a buzzword but I can't shake the feeling that the original 303's just sound a bit more defined, like the lows are lower, the highs are higher, and everything has more clarity, like someone who mumbles a bit versus someone who enunciates each word and syllable.

 

 

At the same time, I don't want to save up for $3,000+ on a dying 30 year old synth that I could get a good replica of for $300-$600 (the cyclone seems pretty great). I just feel like they captured lightning in a bottle with those original 303's but maybe I'm just full of shit. Don't get me wrong, I love good acid from a bad VST as long as it's programmed thoughtfully. It's just that the originals do sound really good to my ears. Am I falling for confirmation bias here?

Edited January 11, 2018 by drukqs

[TubularCorporation]

IT's hard to tell in demos but all the stuff I've heard from the Boutique series sounds a little off if you're looking at it compared to the originals, usually something about the high end (that I chalk up to mostly being phase related artifacts from the antialias filter on the outputs), but that doesn't mean they aren't useful in their own right. But no, I don't think it's confirmation bias, they sound different but that doesn't have to be a problem.

 

 

My big complaint is that I think they should be priced to compete with the Volcas, not where they are now which seems way to much.

[xox]

it's sad to me that today's elektron has nothing i'd want to buy (now that i have mduw and mnm) 

 

ok, it'd be great to have something like OT but without OB or individual outs, i'm just not interested enough. once they release OT2, maybe...

[drukqs]

IT's hard to tell in demos but all the stuff I've heard from the Boutique series sounds a little off if you're looking at it compared to the originals, usually something about the high end (that I chalk up to mostly being phase related artifacts from the antialias filter on the outputs), but that doesn't mean they aren't useful in their own right. But no, I don't think it's confirmation bias, they sound different but that doesn't have to be a problem.

 

 

My big complaint is that I think they should be priced to compete with the Volcas, not where they are now which seems way to much.

Yeah, don't want to continue this conversation too long because this is an elektron thread, but out of these comparisons, the boutique sounds pretty weak. It could be that the decay is set to a shorter time but it just sounds so staccato and lacks dynamic. The Cyclone sounds pretty great though to me:

 

http://sunshine-jones.com/roland-tb-03-unscientific-bassline-testing/

 

Despite that people say the 303 sounds nothing like a bass guitar, I would disagree. You can tell in the comparisons that the original (and the Cyclone) just sounds more plucky than the boutique or the x0x, more like a real string.

Edited January 11, 2018 by drukqs

[modey]

the best acid I've made has been with FM and wavetable synthesis lol

[sheatheman]

I made an amazing bass guitar sound with operator

[acid1]

I've made an amazing operator with a text editor.

[drukqs]

I FM'd an amazing operator with a synth

 

the best acid I've made has been with FM and wavetable synthesis lol

Well then, let's hear it. I love hearing unconventional approaches to acid :) Edited January 12, 2018 by drukqs

[modey]

here u go, reface DX acid, sequenced by octatrack

 

https://tefosav.bandcamp.com/track/dxcid

 

the wavetable example isn't online, but I'll probably refine it into a track for weeklybeats at some point