6 REASONS why the Elektron Digitone is a great standalone synth (and some downsides too)
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- Опубліковано 6 сер 2024
- Hi DN people,
in this video I’m trying a new format where I’m talking about a specific topic. The question today: What makes the Digitone a great standalone synthesizer? I’m happy to hear your thoughts in the comments! And please don’t go too hard on me as this is my first front camera video :)
Thanks for your support and stay creative,
Miles
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:30 - Reason 1: Workflow and structure
1:20 - Reason 2: Sequencer
3:09 - Reason 3: General sound and connectivity
4:45 - Reason 4: Sounddesign
6:16 - Reason 5: Portability
8:39 - Reason 6: “Thinking out of the box”
12:38 - Downsides
#Elektron #Digitone #Synthesizer
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![Ten Reason to love the Elektron Digitakt 2 [ and my favorite trick ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/raVCyDtBlHg/mqdefault.jpg)
Your videos are so extremely well produced, very impressive. Thanks for the insights my friend!
You're welcome, Mat! Thanks for the feedback, really appreciate to hear that! Keep up your great content and I'm looking forward to your new release, friend! :)
This other video by Oscillator Sink on 'Function Trigs' totally changed the way I use the Digitone, as well as the Model Samples: ua-cam.com/video/lSlhf-B9QjY/v-deo.html&ab_channel=OscillatorSink
Thanks so much for sharing this Richard, the video is great too! Oscillator Sink really knows how to use this device and he definitely has mastered it - learned a lot from him and can't recommend his channel enough!
@@MilesKvndra Yes, his Drone and Drum Sounds videos are great and I go back to them all the time. The one thing I would like on the Digitone is the ability to randomise the trigs along a sequence, that combined with probabilty would be amazing for generative sequences.
when "doubling up" drums, I sometimes leave a bit of micro timing to spread out the transients, really helps the snare pop.
Also, Arp the drums!!!!! thank you for spreading the word, so many people don't realize you can do that, it's a life saver, it's the first thing I tell people when they as about the digitone as a groovebox.
Thanks a bunch Index! The microtiming tip is a great one I always use that on my drums, especially when layering kick and snare - really makes a difference securing the transients. And yeah, arping the drums is just awesomely fun - happy also that the DT has the retrig function. Cheers to you!
I agree with your points.
I love my Digitone Keys and when I think of what I like the most, is the sound design and the possibility to use the sequencer to write down ideas.
There is something magical about the sounds that you can create with Digitone and the difference a trig lock in a sequence can make.
I've moved on for the most part to Deluge to get ideas into a sequencer as well as arranging songs. Deluge feels more fluent to me but I use Digitone Keys as well - especially for composing on the keys and creating short sequences.
Anyway, good content. Thank you for sharing!
Hey tubeMonger, glad to hear that you're with me regarding these points! I've never used the Deluge so it's hard for me to say anything about the workflow. I've just realized that I still get faster and faster working on the DN, which is a great plus. And yeah, the keys on the DN keys are of course a huge plus, but you're kind of loosing the portability. Thanks for the comment and have a great Easter!
You were born for this :D Great review on the Digitone. Some cool tips and tricks added as well. Thumbs up for the video quality too!
Haha cheers man! :D That feedback is so highly appreciated, as it was quite a lot of work and I'm happy that the quality also turned out pretty good. :)
Great video! I like this new format. Perfect for those who are thinking on get this piece of hardware.
Thanks so much, Daniel! That is very valuable feedback as this is exactly what I planned to show with this video - glad that it is seen this way! Have a great day 🙌🏻
Very nice breakdown on the Digitone. I’ve seen you use it as a stand alone synth exceedingly well. 👌👌
Thanks again, Jo! Glad you liked this video as well :)
Very nice style of review. Kinda refreshing. Thanks 🙏🏻
Thank you, Mac! Very happy to hear that feedback. :) Cheers!
Very fascinating discussion, thank you.
Thank you for your comment, I'm really happy to hear that! :)
Really great review,nice insight on all aspects of the Digitone.Great quality video as well my friend.👌👍
Hey Wall, good to see you here and thanks for the lovely comment! Happy to hear that you like it and thanks for the feedback on the video quality - that is something I continuously try to improve! :) Cheers my friend and enjoy the Easter weekend! 🙌🏻
@@MilesKvndra it really looks professional and I really like this kind of reviews. Plus I really like this device even though I don’t have it it... perhaps someday... ;)
Thank you my friend, I hope you have a great Easter weekend as well. I will see you around ;)
One of the best sources for Digitone knowledge on UA-cam. Thanks Miles!
Thank you so much for your support! I appreciate the feedback. 🙏🏻
Great video as always! Love your content. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Eric! Appreciate your feedback and learned a lot from your MIDI video. :)
@@MilesKvndra Glad it helped. Nice to share knowledge with each other. I get a lot from your videos too. Keep up the great work!
Hi, thanks for this video, I fully agree with what you say. I use the Digitone Keys now for half a year and love to play it with the Roland TR-08 Rhythm Composer (808 style) via MIDI, so I have 4 Tracks for Rhythm and 4 Tracks for the rest. I like the sound of the 808 so much because it reminds me of the late 90s where we started clubbing, enjoying Frankfurts house and techno scene ;-) handclap, rimshot, hi-hat ... works very well with the Digitones FM sounds 👍🏼👍🏼
Hey Markus, that's a great setup the TR-08 looks like a lot of fun! I teamed mine now up with the Digitakt and that makes a great partner as well. Much love for the Frankfurt scene! 🙌🏻💚
Great video and well put! Enjoying mine for a few months now and it feels like a lifetime of learning to go. I love how it sounds and makes fm approachable, plus it's a really nice device to interact with in a tactile and visual sense. My frustrations so far line up with what you have mentioned: programming drums on one track is a pain, even if possible. It's just not fast or easy to tweak once you have a pattern laid down. Lack of actual retrig is a big pain too. There's the arp workaround via Ivar but it's quite convoluted and doesn't work sometimes for reasons that are inscrutable (probably different arps trying to run without me realizing it). The pattern step length thing is a real downside of the device for melodies as you have pointed out. You can comfortably write 64 steps at half speed to get 128 or 8 bars, but often times I will want to write 16 bars and 1/4 speed is not enough resolution. So then you're resorting to doing conditional trigs which is a total workflow killer. Forget trying to play it in live at that point, too. Just this one fix would be huge but I don't think 8 pages is possible. It bums me out just thinking about it, but it's better to focus on what the Digitone CAN do, not what it CAN'T...right?
Cheers Chris! Definitely agree with the retrig: Now that I have a Digitakt too I learned to love that function and miss it on the Digitone. And the pattern length in my last jams always was one of my biggest pain points: just had a session where I would love to have 16 Bars with chord changes every 4 bars. Ended up with 128 steps (8 bars) using only 2 chords because I otherwise couldn't get it down and that can be frustrating. But in the end you nearly always find solutions that kind of work. As I said, the Digitone is great but definitely has some downsides. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! :)
Many thanks for this video, this is exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks Nicolas 🙏🏻
Very helpful! I just got a Digitone a couple weeks ago and I'm currently learning the synth engine. I owned a Digitakt for a long time so I'm assuming the sequencer will be much the same. It's amazing how much you can flesh out your tracks with trig conditions and sound locks. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you, Tolenza! If you already know your way around the Digitakt you will learn it quite fast, but the sequencer is nearly similar. Enjoy your new synth and happy jamming! 🙌🏻
Thank you for the informative review ❤ I'm thinking to buy one actually!
Awesome! It’s a really great machine 💜
@@MilesKvndra I think I will get it soon! You made me excited about it 😄 I produce oriantal Arabic organic house I hope it will fit with the style 👏🏻
Great video,
Your videos are so beautifully made!
I'd love to hear about your video production process - gear, editing and whatnot.
Hey siliwolf, thank you so much! I really appreciate that, as I never really learned video editing - I just like photography and videography and it was a lot of trial and error haha.
I love the Fuji APS-C cameras and shoot all my videos on an X-T30, either using the 18-55mm kit lens (top down shots) or the 35mm 1.4 lens (all front camera jams and also this talking video). I love Fujifilms Eterna film simulation and use it on nearly every video. For editing I'm currently using Premiere Pro but I think I'll change to Final Cut Pro soon - just way more affordable and has everything I need. Hope this helps :)
Thank you so much for the detailed overview - I'm gonna save this post and do some research. Shopping for things is so much fun!:)
Is premiere really that expensive in compare to final cut?
@@siliwolf of course, you're welcome! :) With Premiere you pay a monthly fee of 23€ per month and for Final Cut you pay around 300€ one time but still get all the updates for the software. I'm not a huge fan of these monthly subscription models like Adobe has them, because it's way more expensive in the long run - that's why I think I'll go with Final Cut. :)
klasse Video !! Ich kann dem Gesagten nur zustimmen ... bringt es sehr gut auf den Punkt.
Vielen Dank dir, mein Lieber! Freut mich sehr von dir zu hören, denn du nutzt den Digitone ja auch schon ein Weilchen. 😁
Thanks for putting such a well produced video together my friend 👏 I can see that I need to spare up some money for a new device 😇
Definitely! Be a great addition to your set up
Thanks so much for reaching out, buddy! 💚 Really appreciate to hear that. And I can just agree with Rob: It would be a great addition to your set! :) PS: Happy birthday, Petite Victory Collective!
Great insights! I think this is especially helpful for newcomers to get a perspective from someone with a proven history of making great music with this device rather than a generic review from some random 'synthfluencer' :) Nice input
Thanks so much, Ryan! Yeah that was definitely my intention for making this video. Because I think when it comes to standalone synthesizers (and not samplers or hybrids) there is not so much out there and the Digitone is pretty unique. Good to see that you're enjoying yours too. :)
Great video, I didn’t realise the trick for having 2 drum sounds playing together by changing the root note. That’s huge! I’ve done a few Digitone only jams, the limitations usually make you think of creative ways around them, it’s a great box.
Cheers Rob! Yeah the Digitone really encourages you to find creative ways to overgo limitations. And the feeling when you finally find a workaround is just so satisfying. :)
@@MilesKvndra is there a link on how to do this? I think I missed it.
@@G0nz0uk hey Andy, yeah I explain it briefly in this video around 5:45: ua-cam.com/video/IYxzq8OBdQI/v-deo.html
@@MilesKvndra thanks! I’m looking at getting my first ever device for some ambient tunes, it’s hard choosing.
@@G0nz0uk the Digitone is great at ambient! If you haven't found him yet, check out substan here on UA-cam - he has some amazing ambient jams with Elektron gear, some of them Digitone standalone.
Good overview.This helps with the decision to deal more closely with thís device.
Hey mate, that's good to hear! Happy that it helps you and thanks for watching! :)
Thanks man!! You are great! 🙌🏻
Thank you for your nice comment! Appreciate it :)
Hell yeh, love my Digitone. One of my go toos always it’s just so fun to make shit fast on. Also sounds incredible ! Getting a portable battery and rip cord is fun to make it portable also
Cheers Cortex! Yeah you're right, it's really fun and you get pretty good sounds out of it quite fast. The portable battery is definitely on my list. :)
Good work, Miles! 🔥
♥️♥️♥️
totally agree with everything you said... i see the digitone exaclty same way.. i'm even close to the decision to buy another digitone, to twice as much polyphony and tracks :-)) it's dream box.. musicmakimg is my passion for 25 years but Digitone/Digitakt is best musical piece of HW i ever had...
Cheers Ray! Really happy to hear that. :) And it definitely is a dream box. If you are into multiple Digis, you should search for my buddy Andreas Himmes here on UA-cam, he's using 2 DTs, 1 DN and 1 DN Keys and really rocks this setup. Happy music making! :)
I fully agree. Sehr sehr gutes Video, sympatisch und absolut unisono mit meinen Ansichten zum Digitone. Die Downsides empfinde ich ebenfalls so.
Ich finde, dem Digitone, gerade weil er ein digitaler Synthi ist (bei dem die Architektur "un-aufwändiger" ist, als bei einem Analogen Gerät) hätte ein paar Stimmen mehr vertragen können. Der DX 7 hatte 16 und der kleine 150€ Volca hat ja auch schon 3 Voices. Ich bin da immer sehr schnell am polyphonen Limit. Auf der absoluten Plus-Seite ist, daß der Digitone perfekt die Brücke zwischen Hardcore-FM-Nerd-Raketenwissenschaft und einfacher Synthese schlägt. Tolles Video. ShoutOut!
Vielen Dank dir für die lieben Worte, Andreas! Ja mit den Voices hast du recht: Selbst jetzt, wenn ich den DN mit dem DT zusammen nutze, habe ich oft Probleme mit Voice Stealing wenn ich Chords spiele. Da sind die 8 Stimmen schnell aufgebraucht. Aber man lernt damit zu leben und entwickelt andere Ideen.
Apropos Shout Out: hier in den Kommentaren hatte letztens jemand geschrieben, dass er überlegt sich einen zweiten DN zu kaufen. Habe ihm direkt mal deinen Channel empfohlen. :)
@@MilesKvndra Danke für die Empfehlung. Sehr cool von dir 😎👍.
Love every video you do man. The musics good and between you and cuckoo i feel far less lost getting into electronic music. Wanted to know if you had any advice on how you would run your setup if you were using a digitone along with an ep-133. God the ep-133 because I figured id need a sampler and it was fairly inexpensive (at least compared to the digitakt)
Wow thanks a lot! Cuckoo is a great guy and a big inspiration, so I’m happy to be mentioned alongside him. :) hmm that’s a good question as I don’t know the ep-133 and also haven’t checked it too much (not my device). But I know the Digitone has great MIDI settings and capabilities so I’d probably run the Digitone as master and the ep-133 as slave.
I totally agree with you for all these reasons. Digitone is a great Synth!
In my opinion
pros: simplified FM synthesis with filters and effects (I love FM synthesis), crazy sequencer, multimap edit to assign drums to the keys
cons: lack of polyphony, no midi out arp, not enough lfo's…🤗
Thanks Clo! Definitely agree with you. The missing Arp for the MIDI tracks is also a big downside for me. :(
Very good review. Lots of "Really really" but In general good talk. About the battery is only good that it doesn't have battery.. I have battery on my SH-01a Boutique and that thing eats batteries in no time! Powerbank works also I think.
Thank you!
As for as I know the sounds from the pool can be modded in the patterns differently and saved separately in the patterns. So a bass drum can be different if modded or locked to the pattern step and saved. Hope that's helped.
Thanks Janitor! Definitely helps and this is kind of the workaround I use for my jams too, if I'm about to hit the limit in the sound pool. Cheers and have a great day! :)
@@MilesKvndra you too 😉👍
Your review was very insightful and Elektron should take them as serious upgrades. Thanks.
Thank you again for this nice comment (and also the other one's, really appreciate that!). I'm happy when it helps some people to make their decision on getting the Digitone or not. :)
Schönes Video mal wieder. Ripcord funktioniert übrigens 1a. Habe davon 2 und eine größere Powerbank mit 3 USB-Anschlüssen - somit sind Digitakt und Digitone mobil. 😄
Danke dir, mein Lieber! Ja da muss ich definitiv auch mal zuschlagen. Habe eine Anker-Powerbank, die das definitiv packen sollte, mir fehlen nur die Ripcords. Mit Blick auf den anstehenden Frühling eigentlich Pflicht. 😁
Have the keys version. Works great by itself, but to keep voice stealing from happening, I like to unload some of the rhythmic duties to Model:Samples
I can absolutely understand that. One of the main reasons I got the Digitakt to team up with the Digitone to have more possibilities.
Similarly with the Model: Cycles and percussion. Digitone is a friendly synth to many others!
@@RobbekenSynthMusic so true!
I got the keys recently to accompany my digitakt. Still very much learning them both. I am certain I have barely pushed their capabilities. Good to have solid analysts/practitioners like Miles, Ivar and others to spell things out.
@@dublplus3332 thanks dublplus! And have a lot of fun with your new synth. :)
Hey Miles great content! I especially love your DT+DN jams such a good quality music.
I wanted to ask your opinion about which one to buy first. I am checking forums for days now but i couldn't find an answer to my questions. I understand both boxes are absolulty beasts and i will most likely buy both of them in the future but for now i have budget for only one.
So i am DJ ing for years and also make small projets in Ableton. I moslty play raw/hypnotic techno with minimal elements. When it comes to produce, i never able make any satisfying projects. It doesn't feel organic to line up kicks, use effects on them, side chain in Ableton etc.
I am looking for more of a hands on groovebox-sequencer-drum machine to build a groovey, catchy beat and mostly build around them.
For all of my needs, digitakt looks like a perfect fit. I am not into sampling too much, but i also know DT is much more then a sampler.
But now whever i see a digitone tutorial like that , it just amazes me how capable this gear is.
Now i would like to ask you as a talented artist who use both, as a first hardware, which one would you go first? Even tho i know fundamentals of music production, i couldn't say i am experienced. Which one could be better to learn music production as well as elektron work flow?
I am also planning to use DAW but mostly for polishing. Also like i said at the end i am planning to have both.
Your opinion on the topic means a lot to me and would help me to decide greatly.
Thank you again for great content and great music!
Hey cagatay, thanks for your great comment - appreciate to hear that you like the jams! :)
Regarding your question it's hard to say, because you don't go to wrong with the Digitone or the Digitakt first. But as you said that you're looking for a groovebox/drum machine I'd probably go with the Digitakt. With the 8 tracks you can do sooo much and it's super fast to get a beat going and then move on from there with melodic samples and sounds. Because like you said: the Digitakt is way more than a sampler and might be a bit more easy to get into than the Digitone.
The Digitone is a fantastic synth and although the FM engine is a bit simplified it's still a bit complex. So I think from this point of view the Digitakt is easier to access (you can load the sounds on it you want and are good to go) but on the other hand the synth sounds of the Digitone are more versatile. I started my Elektron journey with the Digitone and don't regret it: although it has only four tracks you can get so much out of it using the full depth of the sequencer. The downsides that I mentioned in this video kind of "forced" me to dive deep into the whole synth to get the most out of it and this way really learn it, which was great. But this would work with the Digitakt too I assume.
In the end it's important to know that sequencer and general workflow are nearly identical on both machines which is a huge plus. I found it quite easy to get into the Digitakt when I got it, because I had a lot of knowledge from the time with the Digitone and use a lot of tricks/shortcuts 1:1. So long story short: whatever device you choose you won't be too wrong but from what you're saying the Digitakt seems a little ahead.
@@MilesKvndra Hey Miles, it's so kind of you to reply. Thank you for your toughts about it, it really answers everything i wonder.
I decide to go Digitakt as you suggest. 4 tracks on Digitone sounds just a little bit limiting at the end. I know it sounds huge even with 4 sounds, but having digitakt and then buying a Digitone might also help Digitone to its full potential as a dedicated FM synth and maybe some trippy bass sounds while Digitone deals with percussion.
Also in tutorials i also watch you can internally sample almost a whole pattern to a sample and free some tracks which sounds crazy.
I really appreciate your kind comment, it really answers my all questions and now i feel totally relieved. Now i can't wait to start play some tunes with my DT.
Also i can't wait to see more DT+DN jams and don't mind to have some tutorials for DT in the future :)
I wish you best Miles and thank you for your great content!
@@cagataysoganci6 awesome to hear and glad it helped! Wishing you a great start with the Digitakt and enjoy the journey. Cheers and thanks for your support! :)
Hey Miles! Ich habe wieder etwas Neues gelernt, ich hatte schon das Problem mit 2 Noten auf dem gleichen step durch Microtiming zu überlappen. Also die Lösungen wäre der root note zu änderen. Ich werde es heute ausprobieren. Danke und tolles Video.
Hey Adil, vielen Dank dir, freut mich immer sehr von dir zu lesen! Und probier das auf jeden Fall mal aus mit dem ändern der Root Note, klappt bei mir immer. Happy Jamming und bis bald! :)
One of the things I value most about the Digitone is the individual track scaling options. Like you mentioned, it you're technically limited to sixty-four steps per track, but when you can slow those sixty-four steps down to an eighth, you suddenly get a lot of room for (very) long chord progressions.
So true, Christoffer! On the other hand, however, you loose a lot of trigs and therefore rhythmic possibilities when slowing the sequencer down. But it's still great to have the option and get creative with it. Cheers and happy Easter!
@@MilesKvndra Can this be done on only one of the tracks, meaning you could keep the faster speed of 16ths for the drum track and only dial down the speed of the bass track to 8ths?
@@sinewaymusic hey David, yeah that works - on the Digitone you have the option to set the step length either per pattern or per track. With the last option you can do it the way you mentioned.
@@sinewaymusic I btw have a tutorial here on the channel covering this topic if you're interested in that: ua-cam.com/video/p8TLlFgFW0c/v-deo.html
Dude you should do another soundpack i really loved the technoid sound of your first 👍
Hey Alex, thanks a lot! I'm happy to hear that you like the sound and I'll definitely make a second one. Not sure when, but I'm already saving some presets from time to time and another sounddesign session is planned for the future too! :) Cheers!
@@MilesKvndra If there are some of the sounds that I hear in your jams i would definitely pay 10 Euros for it, if you add in 128 Sounds :) The ones you get from Elektron arent really good for the Sound I try to archive, I think :)
@@alxdpo6471 Good to know! Yeah, these will definitely be in there. :) If I do something like that I'll announce it here on the channel and it's definitely planned for the future! :)
Hi, just popped beck to give heads up concerning running the Digitone in portable mode using a 12 volt Rip Cord. Well I tried it using a 10000ma battery, USB output, 5v 2.1amp. Box only half booted. If you want to go portable you’ll need more juice.
Thanks for sharing John! Good to know if I’d ever take the Digitone out with batteries
Great video! If you parameter lock a change to a sound, does it count towards the 128 sound pool? Like if you take a sound and adjust the cutoff and attack for a single step, does it now count as an additional sound to the pool? Or is the pool just for saving presets for quick access, but you can p-lock them as much as you want, and it won't count towards the 128 unless you load a whole new preset?
Cheers George! Yeah it's exactly like you said in your last question: you can p-lock as many steps as you want and they only count to the soundpool if you save them there. :)
@@MilesKvndra gotcha! Good to know! May end up with one in the future and your videos are a great help.
@@GeorgeL909 happy to hear that - thank you!
thank you!
You're welcome, Karlis! Thanks for the comment!
Downside fixes:
- Another digitone.
- A sampler/sequencer/looper to record a track so you can layer over it.
- another digitone
-another fm synth to use with the midi tracks, if it’s multitimbral even better.
-another digitone.
Cheers man haha - seems like I need a couple of new instruments here including some Digitones. 😁
@@MilesKvndra I can see you getting a multitimbral wavetable synth in the near future. Some of the modules are dirt cheap and work well with elektrons.
@@mechatomb2921 I can imagine that - wavetable synthesis definitely is super interesting, love it in Ableton!
So get the digitone?
@@tarvb hey Tarv, if you can live with the downsides I'd say yes. But give it a go in a synth store close to you to see if it suits you :)
I agree with everything!
Great to hear that! :D Thank you!
Miles, do you use an external keyboard in your workflow for melodic tracks on the Digitone, or do you stay with its keyboard?
Hey Daryl, no I always do everything on the DN keyboard I like the setup as compact as possible. But an external keyboard offers great opportunities for example with a mod wheel!
From what I've seen of stand alone synths, this is the one that has tempted me the most. The sound, formfactor, portability and Electrons approach to FM is what I find most attractive.
What I don't like is that it is not that intuitive and to memorize the multi functional button cobos and the menuediving seems a bit nightmarish to be honest. Also that method of making sequences longer seems a bit annoying. I won't say never but will stick to my more space consuming but more hands on eurorack and pedals for now as Digitone would require loads of time, dedication and frustration for my slow brain that I can spend more wisely and getting further by making and playing on what I already got.
Thanks for nice video though. Alway interesting to hear different perspectives on the good the bad and the ugly of different gear and subscribed as you are clear and easy to understand.
Hey Jonas, thanks for sharing your thoughts! Yeah you're right, in terms of pattern length and menu diving and button combos the Digitone can at first be a bit slow in terms of workflow. I have to say I adapted quite fast to the workflow, as everything made sense. I never had the feeling that some button combos or functions where totally dislocated. But I can imagine that with a Eurorack you have way more flexibility and control in terms of workflow. And as I don't know very much about modular I cant really say if it would integrate with your workflow. The Digitone definitely has a learning curve but I never experienced it as too steep, but this is of course only my personal view. And thanks for the compliment and the sub, really appreciate it!
@@MilesKvndra Hi and happy you liked my comment.
Modular can be as chaotic and complex as you want it to be, depending on type of modules, how many and how technically advanced patching you make.
I've seen a few skilled people use Digitakt with eurorack, for different duties like sampling, sequencing or a drum machine, but digitone hardly ever. Don't know why really.
Maybe because digitakt in general is more popular or maybe it does not make that much sense as most people with eurorack have more than enough oscillators, filters, effects etc already and what is most often lacking is utilities like mixers, VCA's, envelopes, LFO's etc, and an external drum machine is meaningful as drums takes much space and money in a eurorack case.
In cases where people don't have a dedicated eurorack sequencer, or more, a common option is the Korg sq1, Arturia Beatstep pro or Keystep, or a semi modular with a sequencer.
I can however easily imagine that a digitone could be a great addition to a small ambient focused eurorack case though, or maybe that would be the other way around, that the modules would be an addition to the digitone..
Have a great easter and take care man.
@@jonaseggen2230 thanks so much for all these insights! Have never really thought of that. I have to admit that modular (as much as I love to watch people make music with it) is a rabbit hole I'm a bit afraid to dive into, because I think I might get lost. But interesting that people integrate the DT, I've never seen that before. Have a great Easter too and stay safe!
@@MilesKvndra I would not recommend anyone to get into eurorack as it is rather expensive and it's hard for many to limit themselves.
However, there are many good DIY modules available, the secondhand market is big, new modules are made at a fast rate so older modules can often be acquired for a better price.
For anyone curious I would recommend VCV rack where one for free or a small sum can play copies of hardware modules on a PC or Mac. It is also possible to combine VCV rack with hardware modules.
To combine external gear, like a Digitakt, there are modules that convert midi to CV signals, and vise versa, and there are modules that safely attenuates the hot CV signal to line level and the other way around.
As said, some modules are really complex and are more like deep computers in themselves, while the more traditional analogue modules are not that different to work with than another synth. The main difference is that you have to think about the function of VCA's, that is, amplification and or attenuation, something that is integrated and or hidden in a traditional synth, and that the function of modules can be swapped around, so that a module made for modulation can be used to make a sound and the other way around. This because sound and other type of signals in eurorack are all the same really.
@@jonaseggen2230 Totally makes sense. And I think I would be soaked up by that rabbit whole so I leave it for now and concentrate on the things that I have at hand and rather enjoy watching others perform with it. But thanks for all the insights, that's a super interesting topic. Btw do you have any of your modular jams out somewhere? :)
Thanks for your video. Im a newbie, how would you connect the digitakt, digitone and sequential pro 3 with midi? I know digitakt can control digitone, but how can i bring the pro3 in?
Thank you! That#s heard to say as I don't know the Pro 3 very well but as long as it has MIDI, you should be able to use the different in/out/through ports on the machines to connect them and then route it in a way you want (eg Digitakt controlling Digitone and Sequential)
Digitone is my favorite synth of all time.
One thing that’s wonderful is that even though it’s not a DX7, or whatever, it’s really fast to make sounds with it. You’re not fighting the UI/UX to make music like with most FM synths.
Korg’s OPSIX might be a great companion, though it’s not multitimbral like the DN.
Elektron spoils you to want to use everything as a groovebox lol.
Absolutely agreed, Fernando! You're so right about the UX compared to other FM synths. It's relatively easy to craft good sounds but at the same time the engine is quite deep and flexible with the filters, LFOs, etc.
That's why the Digitone definitely is one of my favourite Synths. :)
Hej Miles! I was wondering if it is possible to "extend " the pattern length by playing the 4 tracks one after one, instead of looping each track? For example: Say, I would use the same synth on all 4 tracks, but instead of looping the patterns, I would play track 1 only one time, then track 2 and so on. When track 4 ends, then track 1 starts again. That way I could have 256 steps instead of 64.
Or - another possible option: Play all 4 tracks simultaniously, and everytime a track ends, you mute it, and unmute the next track at the same time..!? Of course that would need to be automated somehow, maybe via midi..?! Great video by the way! (Kannst natürlich auch gern auf deutsch antworten, dachte nur die Frage wäre evtl auch für andere interessant..!)
Hey Maik, thanks a lot for the feedback! :) Regarding your question I'm not sure about the MIDI implementation for option 1 but I think option 2 definitely is possible if you do it by hand. The only downside of this would be that you have of course only 1 track available which is a big limitation. what I recently did is that I put two chords in the step sequencer right beside the other and then microtimed one all the way to the side that they are on top of each other. Then I used trig conditions and set one chord to play every 1:2 and the other every 2:2. This way you can double the amount of bars you have for the chord progression. :)
@@MilesKvndra Thank you Miles!!! Yeah, I think the microtiming option is probably the best workaround..! Thanks for taking the time and have a nice day!!!
Far from critizizing your great videos, which are a great source of inspiration for me, you often use the word "overgo", when you mean to say "overcome".
Hey Kaspar, many thanks for that good feedback! You're absolutely right about that and I spotted this mistake among others in the video but didn't want to record a new one. When I speak freely in English in front of a camera, I sometimes get the wordings wrong - it doesn't kill the video flow, but I hope it gets better with more practice. :) Cheers and have a great day!
I really really like this video
Hey iguanam, thank you very much! I really appreciate that and I'm super happy to hear that! Cheers and great day to you 🙌🏻
Would this be good to pair with a MPC Live to remove some of the limitations you’ve described in the video?
Hey Ryan, yeah absolutely! I think any device with sampling can add a lot of new possibilities to the Digitone! I'm using it together with the Digitakt and this combo is awesome. Never used the MPC Live but from what I've seen this seems to work very well! 🙂 Cheers
I could be mistaken - but even with microtiming the trig to sit all the way to the left, it still will not be 100% on the previous beat. I've tried this workaround, and it doesn't quite work.
Have I misunderstood?
Hey John, Yes you're right you don't have it perfectly quantized (I think you're missing one micro step). That's something I kind of live with as it still is pretty much on point (I keep telling myself that it adds some humanised swing 😁). But true, it's not 100% on the grid but 97-98%. Cheers!
@@MilesKvndra Yeah, I've found it doesn't matter so much for sounds with slow attacks - but with percussion, it *just* off enough to annoy.
I wish Elektron could make it so you could microtime it so close that it wasn't discernable. For example, it could sit 1024th of a beat off the grid - which would not be audibly off, but would technically not occupy the previous trig location.
I'm sure they have thought of this, but cannot execute it for some good reason. Those Swedes are pretty smart!
I wonder if a way to overcome the limitation of 128 soundpool sounds (for 1 project) is to split the live set into multiple projects? Technically should be no different but maybe the problem with that, when playing a live set, is that you'd have to switch projects which takes time (no transitions, no sound coming out of digitone during a switch). So unless you had some backing/filler patterns on a separate device, this would break the flow of the set. Would love to hear your thoughts on this in a live setting.
Hey Rad, I thought about that too but came to the conclusion that it’s not a good solution. Every time when changing a project you get a lag and dropout of audio which does not only stop the audio but can mess up your whole midi side of things too. So when working on DAWless sets on the Digis I always tried to live with the limitations which was okay for me. I was more running out of patterns than of soundpool slots in the end :)
@@MilesKvndra That is a good point about messing up the MIDI, thanks!
Is there a way to program chord progressions into the Digitone? Ideally for 16 bars? I'm coming from more of a traditional music background but am looking to buy this as my first synth.
Hey Michael, yeah you can program chord progressions, however the maximum sequencer length per pattern is 64 steps which is 4 bars. There are some tricks to extend this to 128 steps (two weeks ago I made a video on that topic) but longer than that is tough, you'd need more than one pattern to make it happen.
Do you think this device is comparable with the opsix?? Thanks, good video!
Hey eduugr, thank you! And that's indeed a very good question. I haven't used the opsix but both are FM synthesizers so you could compare it from that point of view. On the other hand, the Digitone also has some features from subtractive synthesis like filters and really shines through a fantastic sequencer. I read that the opsix has a sequencer too but I don't know if it is as deep as the Digitone's sequencer.
@@MilesKvndra cool, those are two features to compare. As far as I know the opsix also has filters and many usera tell that are not happy with them. Thanks for your reply.
wondering how well the digitone responds to midi cc and how out there you can push the aound designe using midi.
i intend to use a digitone along with a drum machine and modular synthesizer that sends midi cc to the digitone to freak it out.
any thoughts on that?
That's a good question that I've never gotten so deep into. With my Digi combo I'm just using MIDI clock, pattern changes and mute controls but no specific MIDI cc messages. But I can imagine some crazy results, especially when paired with modular synths.
@@MilesKvndra thanks for addressing my question! keep an eye out for me then, hopefully sometime in the next year i will be doing just that.
3:57 😂 ...but nice review.
Wait you're not listening with your eyes? 😁 Cheers!
The ripcord works well, you just need a good power bank to use with it.
Thank you! Yeah I got this on my list to use it together with my Anker Powerbank - this should work! :)
@@MilesKvndra I thought any old bank would work, I thought the rip cord didn’t work lol. Turns out I needed more power to push into the takt.
@@outdatedgear5036 that's good to hear. I think my Anker has something around 27k maH think that should be fine
Xtpower powerbanks are great for mobility setup: 12v dc center positive by default
Thanks for the hint! Yeah I have an Anker powerbank which should be great for that, I'm just missing the 12v dc adapter. Time for a ripcord, I guess. :D
@@MilesKvndra Great!... i don’t trust ripcord anymore though... i got strange infinite loop power on with my DN using 2 different 12v ripcord.... then i switched to xtpower... a bit expensive but... no issue since then
I even use it on the analog heat which is not known to be powerbank « able » :)
@@TheDjFac great! Your setup looks awesome!!
Hey, can you give me your oppinion on what should i pare with my digitakt? I think Digitone is an obcious choise, since it will fill the melodic part of the setup, but may be I should consider something elce? I would like to have something with 3-4 multitembre so i make use of digitakt midi tracks
Hey Sk1e, that's indeed a good question. I just paired the Digitakt with my Digitone and this is for me an outstanding duo. Also tried Digitone + OP-1 which was okay but I prefer using the OP-1 standalone and then rather sample the OP-1 into the Digitakt. My friend Atlas Castle is using the Digitakt together with the new Circuit Tracks, I think that's also worth a look. :)
@@MilesKvndraCircuit tracks has 2 polyphonic tracks, right? edit: yeah, looks like it, samples are mono too tho
@@sk1e yeah true. I think in that formfactor it is hard to find something similar like the Digitone
@@MilesKvndra another option seems to be ti virus snow, 50 voices, 4 multitembrality, small form factor
The downside of a limited sound pool slots can be fixed by creating another project, because each project has its sound pool
Hey Bouffioux, yeah that's true but then I can't have all my jams for a liveset in one project and that's what I'm currently aiming at. But apart from that great idea - cheers!
@@MilesKvndra Hey Miles, why is it better to have all jams in one project rather than in multiple projects?
@@clacclackerson3678 hey Clac, for me the main advantage is that you can switch flawlessly between jams and can this way create a liveset of different jams. If you'd have them in different projects there's always a short loading time when loading a pattern which interrupts the music. So I prefer to have them all in one project. :)
May I ask what microphone arm you are using at the beginning of the video?
Hey Dave, I'm using this one here. A bit pricey but very solid and doesn't feel cheap at all: www.musicstore.de/de_DE/EUR/Koenig-Meyer-23860-Tisch-Mikrofonarm-/art-REC0007363-000;pgid=IekgEU4HUvNSRp90Y2adPMLJ0000Lp1Qajpt
@@MilesKvndra Thank you Miles, best wishes!
I'd love your review of the Digitakt
Hey Cameron, thanks for this suggestion! I've only had the Digitakt a couple of months and only used it together with the Digitone, so I'm lacking a bit of long term experience with it. But this is a good idea for a future video!
@@MilesKvndra I doesn't have to be a typical 'review', what I'd really love to learn is how the Digitakt fits in your workflow. Are there any tricks you've found to get the most of out it? I just bought one the other day based on your music (I'll need to get a Digitone next). I think a useful topic would be how you arrange your projects when creating a new track. It might seem very basic, but would be helpful when trying to understand the workflow. :)
@@cameron-smith that's great to hear and congrats on the new gear! I'm currently planning a series on Digitakt+Digitone tutorials talking through my workflow using both devices together, because that's the setup I currently use the most and realtogether. That might be something that could be interesting for you too, when you consider a Digitone too. :)
I LOVE my Digitone. I really hope they add fixed freq operators soon in an OS update. Think kinda like Ableton's Operator (and I'm sure many other FM synths)
Same here, Max! Fixed frequency would be awesome, I'm really looking forward to a future update!
I wish the LFOs could have multiple destinations :'(
Maaaan that would be awesome. Love the LFOs but this would make them even more versatile!
i dont think we need to look at the cons. make the most out what you got the perfect all in one synth daw doesnt exist. we all use several gear and effects for the sounds and effects.just make the most of it! love my digitone and i respect what it does
Absolutely agree. Like I said in the conclusion for me it's still a perfect desert island synth.
@@MilesKvndra yeah its amazing!!
You forgot to mention the 4Midi Tracks which I find also pretty cool but no Arp on them which is a downer again
Hey Rob, that is so true. Would have been a great point in the connectivity section too. But yeah, having no arp for these tracks is really a pitty.
That’s why you get an Octatrack lol
@@FairuzOsman touché 😁
@@FairuzOsman already on the list, but the price I don’t know...
@@robnzombiz I'd wait. They're certain to release a new one with overbridge at some point.
I literally just use for sound design with my minilougue xd.
Hey Kevin, that sounds really dope, the Minilogue XD is a really cool synth. How did it go?
i don't understand what so special is on Elektron gear .
Hey, I think some people just really like the workflow, sound, look and feel. But of course there are plenty of people who are not into Elektron and that's totally fine. In the end everyone has their own workflow. :)
@@MilesKvndra i know Elektron from the Sidstation time the moment they popped up on the market and later the Monomachine and Machinedrum . it feels a bit overhyped and snobish .
I think you're right about the hype, but in the end this hype brought together a really nice music community. Don't know Elektron as long as you do though.
No offence but 90% of this video was looking at you rather than the unit or hearing what it can do.
Didn’t film a top down view as I didn’t have the equipment back then. But it was really more an opinion/review on the device rather than hands on content, which I have plenty of as well.
@@MilesKvndra ok. No worries I’m just in a rabbit hole of looking for info on this device and yours came up and looked interesting but really just wanted to hear what this unit can do. Will look more. Thanks