hey, apart from the very good quality of your videos, i like the fact that you do not celebrate yourself like a popstar like some other youtubers. but that is probably a matter of taste. your videos are very pleasant for me. thank you so much for all your helpful introductions to all these machines. greetings from berlin
serdar saydan I'm just glad the internet provides different approaches for different people. Sometimes I just want the facts, how's and why's. But sometimes I really enjoy the interaction between creator and audience. This video is great though!
Very informative. I'm an electronics engineering student and we just covered AM, FM and fibre optic communications. I love being able to connect what I'm learning in class to synths :D
I am so late to this party but this has got to be the very best, clearest and most informative video I've seen about the Digitone. You have completely dispelled my fear of this box and I'm going to have to have a serious think about whether I need one now.
I often create drum sounds with mine using Steinberg's Backbone. It allows me to separate the noise and tonal characteristics into separate layers for resynthesis, editing, and a number of other things. I can also layer additional samples. It's an awesome tool for doing sound design and making drum kits. The digitone produces great samples.
You have an amazing wealth of knowledge! And you're also a great instructor/demonstrator. Thank you for the amount of time and effort you put into these awesome videos. Cheers!
Dude you have single-handedly made me buy so much great gear. Thanks for making these videos! You have a real gift for demonstrating gear in an interesting and succinct way.
Just ordered mine today. I'm an FM junkie, and although I am not especially impressed with the 4OP here and only sine wave (TX81z is has far more capabilities), the sequencer itself is what will make this machine for me.
I never knew how to use a spectrum analyzer until I saw this video. I can use an Oscilloscope, but seeing the spectrum analyzer used with a "Harmonic Rich" synth voice and a filter really brought things together.
If the digitakt wasn't such a buggy mess I'd buy the digitone. But elektron is really bad at updating and debugging. I don't trust any of their new devices.
Little Gator Farm as someone who own a digitakt and uses it as a midi brain I can honestly say it’s not that buggy, since os 1.06 I haven’t had a single freeze.
If you haven't already maybe consider penning some books on this stuff. Your comprehensive explanations, full feature coverage, and exceptional presentation skills make me think this is what you should be doing. Are you a dentist? Anyhow keep going. o/
David Robot thanks! I guess except the dentist part? No, I’m not.... I thought about writing ebooks and passed - I’ve never enjoyed a book or written review about music or gear as much as actually seeing it in action. But who knows maybe there’s a winning format I didn’t think of. Thanks again anyway!
@@loopop just was watching this video and saw this comment. Funny how things change, huh? Now you've got your (incomplete) ebook and it's easily one of the best resources out there for those getting into electronic music.
All your expert knowledge and patience gives me hope to get to grips with this machines capabilities. I am so interested sound synthesis this video will be my reference point. I cant thank you enough.
Been waiting for your review since this was announced. As always, it was well worth the wait. Thanks for a very informative overview of what the Digitone is capable of and how it achieves it. Thanks again!
Awesome work on this mate, my head was pickled when I got mine earlier trying to navigate my way around and just wanting to dive in. This has cleared it all up, will be referencing this plenty! Cheers for all your hard work 👍
I’m a recent subscriber and the depth and clarity of your demos and synthesis explanations is awesome. I’ve seen more than my share of synth videos and your demos are amongst the best out there. I hope you get to keep some of these wonderful instruments.
Hey loopop ! So I did go to a local Elektron distributor and spent almost 2 hours with the Digitone. I DID have good fun with the machine and I really enjoyed the results in general. I do have to say though, once you get in the Elektron ecosystem with the Digitakt, I really feel like spending another 1k CAD$ really yields diminishing returns in terms of the kind of results that you can create because you already have access to the parameter locking world with the Digitakt alone (and its 8 dedicated midi tracks). There were very distinct points that convinced me to hold back on the device for now, particularly considering its price: 1. By far the biggest drawback is that 8 voices of polyphony is EXTREMELY restrictive once you consider that it is split on 4 tracks. Even using just 2 tracks, 4 voices of polyphony per track is VERY restrictive for melodic content, which is something I kind of wasn't expecting at first. Considering what I was trying to accomplish by getting this machine, it overall fails significantly at creating this versatile melodic contrast vs the rhythmic emphasis the Digitakt tastefully encourages. The machine itself is perfectly fine with just having 4 tracks, but it would need minimum 16 voices of polyphony, preferably 24 for us to really be able to say OK this machine is 4 synths in one box. 2. Comparing further with the Digitakt and its resampling capability, you are technically able to create a convincing effect of polyphony with the digitakt and then just resample the internal audio to just use 1 voice, even though the process is objectively tedious and restrictive. No such options available on the Digitone. Even paired with the Digitakt, the Digitakt wouldn't retain the stereo image of the Digitone if it was used to sample the Digitone, so there really is no viable workaround for this. 3. There are bugs when copy pasting multiple trigs at once, which I was expecting after reading the elektronauts forums. If you copy-paste about 4 trigs at once, if the trigs all include sound locks, the last trig of the pack is not going to have the desired sound-locked sound, but the default sound for the track instead, and I find it really problematic. 4. There is NO RETRIG feature, as opposed to the Digitakt, and the effect is relatively tedious to program manually. 5. The synth engine is amazing, but there is no keytrack (keyboard tracking) parameter included in this machine, which is something I find really annoying for such an innovative modern FM synth, as for example it is not possible to adjust the cutoff frequency in function of which note you press, to ensure consistency in tone across all notes. 6. No choice between exponential/linear modes for attack decay release modulation envelopes either. 7. The rectangular sequencer buttons are annoying to get used to once you're used to the square buttons of the Digitakt. 8. No pitch bending joystick built on the box either. Bottom line, the concept is great and is mostly there, it just comes down to simple details that, when combined just makes the Digitone not ideal as a 2nd box when compared to older more standard digital synths with good polyphony, which is really sad because the synth engine is innovative.
@@loopop nice!! that's a really pleasant surprise actually. Still a shame thinking about the bugs though, especially considering Elektron just released an OS update on May 8th 2019 that didn't resolve the copy paste issue... I would still love to get one at a discounted price (as in used), but considering how expensive the machines are and that the warranty is 3 years, it's a painful gamble.
Beautifully done my friend!! extremely informative and interactive!!! I was sort of on the fence about this guy but ultimately purchased one of these because of your video!
You are becoming one of the best synth/music-tech reviewers on UA-cam! Great explanations and right around of detail - interesting and informative. I am really starting to like these Elektron boxes... feeling pangs of GAS.
Great tutorial about Digitone! Hope we will see more Tips&Tricks or "How to make sounds with Digitone" from you like Cuckoo done it with his Elektron Tutorials.
This is a pretty cool little machine and seems super powerful for its size. I bet it has a steep learning curve. Of course, I do love me a good challenge. I also love diving through a .PDF manual. This might just be right up my alley. I have DOZENS of SoftSynths, but no hardware units. I might add this to my Sweetwater WishList.
Thanks so much for taking the time to put this together! I'm coming from the old DX-7/TX-81 style of FM so this was a huge help Elektron's take on FM synthesis makes me take back everything bad i ever said about the method :) I have one quick question though! Is that beautiful piano-y type patch you have playing in the intro a factory patch or one of yours? I love it!
thanx aloads for that fantastic explanation. very well explained, i learned a lot. the overtones at 2:15 in the spectrum are because of not perfect hamming window of your spectrometer, raight?
Thanks! I use MOscilloscope and MAnalyzer by a company called Melda - they’re free with some limitations in the MFreeFXBundle. Occasionaly I’ll use scopes by VCV
Excellent video. FM is interesting stuff. Watching this though and I'm thinking opx-4 on MPC stand-alone is up there with this. I've wasted hours on that already, making noises ("sound design" would be a gross exaggeration!)...
Hi, I use MOscilloscope and MAnalyzer by a company called Melda - they’re free with some limitations in the MFreeFXBundle. Occasionaly I’ll use scopes by VCV
Gdämmit...should i opt for the op1 or the digitone/mother32 combo....times are hard for us non-millionare types...what an great review this was, you really made a clear walktrough of the operation of this here device.
As a first-time Elektronaut this video was a gift. I learned so much in one sitting. Thank you! The only small criticism - say which key combos you’re using to access the various settings and functions. Had to stop and rewind so many time just to catch the button combos!
hey,
apart from the very good quality of your videos, i like the fact that you do not celebrate yourself like a popstar like some other youtubers.
but that is probably a matter of taste. your videos are very pleasant for me. thank you so much for all your helpful introductions to all these machines.
greetings from berlin
sbmphr thanks ;) my dad is a doctor so maybe that explains it
serdar saydan I'm just glad the internet provides different approaches for different people. Sometimes I just want the facts, how's and why's. But sometimes I really enjoy the interaction between creator and audience. This video is great though!
Very informative. I'm an electronics engineering student and we just covered AM, FM and fibre optic communications. I love being able to connect what I'm learning in class to synths :D
I am so late to this party but this has got to be the very best, clearest and most informative video I've seen about the Digitone. You have completely dispelled my fear of this box and I'm going to have to have a serious think about whether I need one now.
I often create drum sounds with mine using Steinberg's Backbone. It allows me to separate the noise and tonal characteristics into separate layers for resynthesis, editing, and a number of other things. I can also layer additional samples. It's an awesome tool for doing sound design and making drum kits. The digitone produces great samples.
First time to understand the basic mechanism of FM synthesis. Thank you very much. You are super!
Thanks - my pleasure!
You have an amazing wealth of knowledge! And you're also a great instructor/demonstrator. Thank you for the amount of time and effort you put into these awesome videos.
Cheers!
Dude you have single-handedly made me buy so much great gear. Thanks for making these videos! You have a real gift for demonstrating gear in an interesting and succinct way.
Easily, one of the most informative, well thought-out synth channels on UA-cam. Thank you!
Just ordered mine today. I'm an FM junkie, and although I am not especially impressed with the 4OP here and only sine wave (TX81z is has far more capabilities), the sequencer itself is what will make this machine for me.
I never knew how to use a spectrum analyzer until I saw this video. I can use an Oscilloscope, but seeing the spectrum analyzer used with a "Harmonic Rich" synth voice and a filter really brought things together.
This was very informative. FM synthesis coupled with elektron sequencing seems like a crazy ride!
If the digitakt wasn't such a buggy mess I'd buy the digitone. But elektron is really bad at updating and debugging. I don't trust any of their new devices.
Little Gator Farm as someone who own a digitakt and uses it as a midi brain I can honestly say it’s not that buggy, since os 1.06 I haven’t had a single freeze.
If you haven't already maybe consider penning some books on this stuff. Your comprehensive explanations, full feature coverage, and exceptional presentation skills make me think this is what you should be doing. Are you a dentist? Anyhow keep going. o/
David Robot thanks! I guess except the dentist part? No, I’m not.... I thought about writing ebooks and passed - I’ve never enjoyed a book or written review about music or gear as much as actually seeing it in action. But who knows maybe there’s a winning format I didn’t think of. Thanks again anyway!
@@loopop just was watching this video and saw this comment. Funny how things change, huh? Now you've got your (incomplete) ebook and it's easily one of the best resources out there for those getting into electronic music.
@@ndguardian Thanks - it took a while to come up with the format - really glad you like it!
I just bought one recently and this video is epic, super helpful in understanding this machine.
This is a great review! I learned something. Thanks!
Red Means Recording awesome! Thanks for the comment
Nice to stumble across red means recording in the comments
All your expert knowledge and patience gives me hope to get to grips with this machines capabilities. I am so interested sound synthesis this video will be my reference point. I cant thank you enough.
It's been many months since I started researching what synth I'm gonna get next. This video finally ends that quest. Thank you!
Decompiler you’re welcome and thanks for the comment!
@@loopop Well it took me 6 years but I finally got it.
Wow. Blown away by your teaching skills and explaining fm synthesis. What an incredible video!!!
Thank you for the quality production... Camera work and Content... very nice
an amazing Drum machine you can create an entire drum part on one track base + melody on the other still leaves you with 2 tracks
I'm so late, but this looks like a phenomenal device!!!!! Amazing review as always.
Your overviews and tutorials on all of all sorts of synth related stuff are so good, thank you!
Hi i purchased the Digitone i really enjoying it and your video helped me to get the most of it Thanks Patrick Mimran
Haha i thought your dog was one of the sounds it really confused me 😊. An excellent educational video thank you
Same and it blew my fucking mind for a second. I was like "Damn, that's a great synthesized dog bark!"
Oh man I played that bit over and over. So glad he left that in, haven't chuckled that hard in weeks. Brilliant review as per usual too.
I love that stand you’re using to angle the synth.
Check out Cremacaffe
Been waiting for your review since this was announced. As always, it was well worth the wait. Thanks for a very informative overview of what the Digitone is capable of and how it achieves it. Thanks again!
Karl Montzka cool - my pleasure ;)
Thank you so much for the in-depth tutorials you do. Somehow you manage to make it informative AND relaxing! Fantastic job 👍👍
Dude, you are killing it with these videos. Keep up the great work!
Sami Matar thanks - yeah much goodness coming!
complicated, deep, creative and a never-ending source by the looks of it for potential. i going to have to invest in one of these.
One of the best videos about the Digitone - now, I definitely need one.
Thanks! but I assume you mean Digitone?
You're right, I meant Digitone (to pair with my Digitakt). :)
great review of the Digitone and awesome explanation of FM synthesis, superb job man.
Awesome work on this mate, my head was pickled when I got mine earlier trying to navigate my way around and just wanting to dive in. This has cleared it all up, will be referencing this plenty! Cheers for all your hard work 👍
Bob Bell Sound thanks ;)
Loopop always top of the UA-cam ranking if he's done a video on what your looking for. Top class!!!
I'm ordering one today! can't wait to pair this with my Volca Sample and make some 16 bit Genesis bangers!
Wow...I think I actually get FM synthesis now. Amazing Review!
I love love love your channel. Thank you so much for being such a fantastic teacher.
"Infinite reverb... can't get enough of that"
I’m a recent subscriber and the depth and clarity of your demos and synthesis explanations is awesome. I’ve seen more than my share of synth videos and your demos are amongst the best out there. I hope you get to keep some of these wonderful instruments.
Thanks!
Your videos PROVE that all synths need to come with built in audio anayzers/scopes! :)
The Drümünkey I agree! Waaaiiiiit that would put me out of business...
@loopop Thank you for this no nonsense introduction.
Which program did you use for the scopes?
I can imagine with you combine this with an Eurorack + Octatrack & Ableton
watched the first part just to learn more about Fm synthesis. very interesting.
This thing is awesome. The abiiity to control 4 other devices while it does its own 4 synth parts would be a good thing to have...
Love the production quality here! Keep it up!
Casey Weaver thanks ;)
Brilliant! excellent review and explanation of FM synthesis. Can't wait to get my pre-order!
Great video! Now I need a digitone
Luis Houses thanks! And sorry
You finally made the synthesis of the Digitone sink into my brain. Thank you!
Appreciate your tutorials and teaching method. I just ordered a digitone and this has been invaluable help to get started.
I’m looking to buy one. How do you like the digitone? I enjoy your videos also.
15:09 “HOLY SHIT THAT SOUNDED LIKE A DO-“
15:11 “my dog approves of that sound”
Hey loopop ! So I did go to a local Elektron distributor and spent almost 2 hours with the Digitone. I DID have good fun with the machine and I really enjoyed the results in general. I do have to say though, once you get in the Elektron ecosystem with the Digitakt, I really feel like spending another 1k CAD$ really yields diminishing returns in terms of the kind of results that you can create because you already have access to the parameter locking world with the Digitakt alone (and its 8 dedicated midi tracks). There were very distinct points that convinced me to hold back on the device for now, particularly considering its price:
1. By far the biggest drawback is that 8 voices of polyphony is EXTREMELY restrictive once you consider that it is split on 4 tracks. Even using just 2 tracks, 4 voices of polyphony per track is VERY restrictive for melodic content, which is something I kind of wasn't expecting at first. Considering what I was trying to accomplish by getting this machine, it overall fails significantly at creating this versatile melodic contrast vs the rhythmic emphasis the Digitakt tastefully encourages. The machine itself is perfectly fine with just having 4 tracks, but it would need minimum 16 voices of polyphony, preferably 24 for us to really be able to say OK this machine is 4 synths in one box.
2. Comparing further with the Digitakt and its resampling capability, you are technically able to create a convincing effect of polyphony with the digitakt and then just resample the internal audio to just use 1 voice, even though the process is objectively tedious and restrictive. No such options available on the Digitone. Even paired with the Digitakt, the Digitakt wouldn't retain the stereo image of the Digitone if it was used to sample the Digitone, so there really is no viable workaround for this.
3. There are bugs when copy pasting multiple trigs at once, which I was expecting after reading the elektronauts forums. If you copy-paste about 4 trigs at once, if the trigs all include sound locks, the last trig of the pack is not going to have the desired sound-locked sound, but the default sound for the track instead, and I find it really problematic.
4. There is NO RETRIG feature, as opposed to the Digitakt, and the effect is relatively tedious to program manually.
5. The synth engine is amazing, but there is no keytrack (keyboard tracking) parameter included in this machine, which is something I find really annoying for such an innovative modern FM synth, as for example it is not possible to adjust the cutoff frequency in function of which note you press, to ensure consistency in tone across all notes.
6. No choice between exponential/linear modes for attack decay release modulation envelopes either.
7. The rectangular sequencer buttons are annoying to get used to once you're used to the square buttons of the Digitakt.
8. No pitch bending joystick built on the box either.
Bottom line, the concept is great and is mostly there, it just comes down to simple details that, when combined just makes the Digitone not ideal as a 2nd box when compared to older more standard digital synths with good polyphony, which is really sad because the synth engine is innovative.
Hey - nice mini review! One correction, there actually is a Filter Keytrack function - it's a little hard to find - it's in the Sound Setup menu
@@loopop nice!! that's a really pleasant surprise actually. Still a shame thinking about the bugs though, especially considering Elektron just released an OS update on May 8th 2019 that didn't resolve the copy paste issue... I would still love to get one at a discounted price (as in used), but considering how expensive the machines are and that the warranty is 3 years, it's a painful gamble.
Beautifully done my friend!! extremely informative and interactive!!! I was sort of on the fence about this guy but ultimately purchased one of these because of your video!
Currently saving up for the keys version,. So just back here to watch again and try to understand it
Best videos around. Concisely done.
I am from the future, and I approve of this video.
I need more FM in my life, so I'm looking at this, the Volca FM2, and the Korg Opsix.
Great, I never knew how FM worked thanks for the video.
Really enjoyed the video! Now its all up to me figuring out how to save up the money for this beast.
Jeez. I love your videos. You have all the qualities of a great teacher. Subscribed!
daemionic thanks :)
I guess you make the best reviews here on YT. KUDOS!
You are becoming one of the best synth/music-tech reviewers on UA-cam! Great explanations and right around of detail - interesting and informative. I am really starting to like these Elektron boxes... feeling pangs of GAS.
Valdis Krebs thanks! and yes the force is strong with this one
He might very possibly be the best in the world. It will take a lot more of experience and talent to be better than Ziv on this planet, no doubt!
At first I though....holy shit fm can even make dog sounds?!
I keep coming back to this video! Ugh my interest is truly peaked
Great review! This sounds almost exactly like my Yamaha DX-100. If only the DX-100 had all of the Digitones modern features.
Thanks - will watch a few times more before mine arrives!
Great tutorial about Digitone! Hope we will see more Tips&Tricks or "How to make sounds with Digitone"
from you like Cuckoo done it with his Elektron Tutorials.
Chris Eos thanks! Yes I will definitely be getting back to this...
Nice vid, LP . . . I'd like to know more 'bout the midi seq. channels' capabilities ! Cheers !
Oooo, microtiming is nice. I haven't heard of that before. Pushing that snare a bit early sounded great.
Ha! The dog bark at 15:09 at first i thought it was a super realistic preset!
It is best when the dog approves of the sound. I cannot accomplish much without cat approval myself.
Great explanations! Just got my Digitone and this helps so much. :)
thanks, great review. love the time signatures on the side, very thoughtful feature.
Brilliant tutorial.... inspirational.... subbed!!👍🏻
Excellent overview and demo. Very interested in this cool box.
There was a moment where the reading rainbow sound came on. Nostalgia!
Dude, your videos are excellent. Thank you so much for making such great videos!
This is a really fine introduction -- thank you !!!
Just bagged one because of your video! Cheers pal
Elektron workflow -> let’s make the operators C, A, B and B. In that order. Way easier than something random, like A, B, C and D.
How do you get to know all these Instruments so well!....
Again a fantastic review. Inspiring also!
Thnx!
thanks for your time and sharing...
This was excellent. Very well organized. Thanks. :)
2:30 I like how when he says C it's at a C pitch
Excellent video. FM has always been wierd to me, as you said it gets out of hand very easily.
Ryan Ray thanks - yeah - and that’s where the filters come in very handy...
This is a pretty cool little machine and seems super powerful for its size. I bet it has a steep learning curve. Of course, I do love me a good challenge. I also love diving through a .PDF manual. This might just be right up my alley. I have DOZENS of SoftSynths, but no hardware units. I might add this to my Sweetwater WishList.
Thanks so much for taking the time to put this together! I'm coming from the old DX-7/TX-81 style of FM so this was a huge help Elektron's take on FM synthesis makes me take back everything bad i ever said about the method :)
I have one quick question though! Is that beautiful piano-y type patch you have playing in the intro a factory patch or one of yours? I love it!
zerozero island thanks! Yes, factory patch
I was going to get it anyway but...thank you soo much for this review i learned something new! So i guess it comes with 32 patterns todo
Great review, thanks
Makes me want to buy one 👍
thanx aloads for that fantastic explanation. very well explained, i learned a lot. the overtones at 2:15 in the spectrum are because of not perfect hamming window of your spectrometer, raight?
I fell in love with your UA-cam channel thanks !
What is the spectrum analyser you use at the beginning of the video ?
Thanks again !
Thanks! I use MOscilloscope and MAnalyzer by a company called Melda - they’re free with some limitations in the MFreeFXBundle. Occasionaly I’ll use scopes by VCV
@@loopop Thanks a lot !
def love the LFO settings from 12:51 - 14:17
I usually leave thos alone lol
my biggest question is: does the chord / scale stuff and arpeggiator algo work in the midi tracks? that's a huge thing.
Matheus Leston this is my biggest question as well!
Im commenting so I can see the reply* lol I also have this question.
Yes for chords, no for arpeggiator unfortunately :/ but let’s all submit this as a feature request, it’s a great idea!
that's really a shame! arpeggiator with chords for midi output would be amazing! hope they do it soon.
Mc909 does it!
hehehe... love it when your dog barked :))
Excellent video. FM is interesting stuff. Watching this though and I'm thinking opx-4 on MPC stand-alone is up there with this. I've wasted hours on that already, making noises ("sound design" would be a gross exaggeration!)...
no, that's what sound design is 😃
Was curious about the Digitakt but now I’m thinking this is the way to go!!!
Which one you get? Thinking about a Digikat or Digitone (Keys) too. Looking for something to pair with my MPC 1000 and TR8
Any thoughts on using this as a synth module, and doing all of the sequencing in Cubase? Wouldn't that be more powerful than using it standalone?
Great video man. I’m subscribed but before looking I hope you have a similar one for the Octarack MK2
"Take that, music theory lessons!" :)
Pretty good work!! What kind of oscilloscope plug-ins you used in this video,Thanks!
Hi, I use MOscilloscope and MAnalyzer by a company called Melda - they’re free with some limitations in the MFreeFXBundle. Occasionaly I’ll use scopes by VCV
@@loopop thanks a lot
Gdämmit...should i opt for the op1 or the digitone/mother32 combo....times are hard for us non-millionare types...what an great review this was, you really made a clear walktrough of the operation of this here device.
Already have a Digitakt, so obviously, this is a great reason to justify spending all my money on a new synth ;)
As usual, a pleasant, easy to follow and understand tutorial Overview. So important, you take away the confusion from a new instrument.
As a first-time Elektronaut this video was a gift. I learned so much in one sitting. Thank you!
The only small criticism - say which key combos you’re using to access the various settings and functions. Had to stop and rewind so many time just to catch the button combos!
Noted!
really solid walkthrough, thanks!
Scott Baxter my pleasure ;)