Bought a A4 mk1 on Monday and for me, DT+A4 are the perfect match. Love the workflow and sound and songmode is a big plus 
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I have been on the fence about the Blofeld, because the first one was faulty and the second one has encoder problems, but I think you’re right, and if I step up to a Virus, the cost goes way up. I wonder if there is a way to bypass the encoders with an external midi controller (to control those macros in the matrix on the panel).
Too bad Elektron didn’t think to make a combo-box like Digitakt/Digitone in one big device, or with VA synth engine or something.
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The Virus is much more expensive but its worth. The Encoders are a dream and i have no latency when i switch sounds in the multimode for different miditracks on my digitakt. I own a Virus C from 2001 but it´s still an awesome powerfull synth.
The Encoders of my Blofeld are crappy but it works and i love the sound of wavetable synthesis. Would be great if you could remote the encoders from the digitakt 
For the record my Blofeld keys works flawlessly, including all encoders. However I did have one encoder replaced under warranty.
I’d like a Blofeld desktop so I can have a portable one to take on holiday with my digitakt, but I do worry about getting one with dodgy encoders!
There is a tutorial how to clean the encoders maybe i will try that on one encoder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5rebHZObx0
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I am looking for synth too. I’m thinking about getting MicroKorg. Anyone share experience with MK?
Microkorg…great synth that always fits in the mix somehow. But the interface is…well…not optimal.
I love the SE-02, I had a nice jam last week with it. It is small, has a nice delay, is automatable plenty. So that one!
Be aware that the different versions of MK have very different synth engines underneath. The original, plain MicroKorg has basically the same engine as the Korg MS2000, and I think the MK XL or Pro or whatever it’s called, uses some engine based off the Radias, not sure, but it’s very different, and also they have very different editing interfaces. They really should have called them by different names since they are truly different instruments, instead of using MicroKorg for both.
ANYWAY - I had an original MK for a few years, kinda wish I didn’t get rid of it. I liked the mod matrix and the 2 layers as well as the semi-programmable arp (on/off step switches). With that stuff combined you can get some deceptively complex-sounding stuff going on.
Huge downside is that it’s only 4 note polyphony and that gets eaten up if you use dual layers or unison mode.
The physical keys are kind of crappy and spongey.
As for the editing interface - A lot of people complain about it, but if you spend some time learning it, you can navigate around pretty fast, because it’s basically everything “on the front”, no real menu diving, you just gotta turn a main knob to which section you want to edit, then the smaller knobs for each individual parameter. Personally I didn’t think it was bad at all and you kind of develop a muscle-memory for your favorite sections.
I’m still undecided on whether I liked the sound of it or not. Sometimes I thought it sounded kind of cheesy and fake, and other times I thought it had a nostalgic/“magical” quality to it. I dunno. Those two aspects combined I think give it a fairly unique sound, whether for good or bad who knows!
OH - Also another thing, since this is in the context of using it with a Digitakt. The MK is older and not necessarily too accessible through MIDI. A good handful of the editing parameters can be accessed through MIDI but there were some that, if I recall correctly, have no way of accessing through MIDI. I think I ran into blocks with stuff like, LFO destinations and voice modes, those have to be edited on the MK itself, unless there’s some Sysex way to change them, I dunno. Just something to be aware of. For typical note sequencing and the more common editing parameters it should be fine though I think.
I rewatched a bunch of No Coast vids recently and it really caught my ear this time round. Sample fodder if ever I heard it, good choice!
I’m using mine with 0-coast. Here you can have some taste of this. You can see at the beginning how Digitakt controls 0-coast LPG section with LFO.
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+1 for Digitone.
I have a Blofeld for sale which works perfectly - no knob issues - if anyone is interested!
So the MK is not MIDI compatible with Digitakt? Maybe Minilogue more compatible?
Check MK midi control change page 56
So midi control seems ok.
I don’t regret that synth at all, poor keys, poor polyphony, not a great sound.
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It should be MIDI compatible for the most part. I just meant some of the more advanced parameters can’t be changed via MIDI, at least not that I could figure out. For example, changing the MOD Matrix (like, which LFO/envelope is affecting which synth parameter), voice options like whether the synth is in unison/legato/poly etc. And I think some of the ARP settings but I forget.
Those shouldn’t be a show-stopper at all for most people but I just wanted to point it out in case you want to have “full access to everything” on the MK from the Digitakt, there will be some limitations. Aside from that, all the typical synth programming parameters CAN be accessed, there’s still plenty to work with!
EDIT: Also just want to say I have not personally use the MK with the Digitakt. At the time I had the MK, I was attempting to create a Pure Data patch to control every single parameter on the MK so that’s the only reason I have a little familiarity with the MIDI side of it.
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should i expect that the digitakt’s re-trig sequencing ability would work on most synths I hook up to it with MIDI? Say, something like a monologue?
There is no midi retrig on the digitakt.
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ahh ok, thanks.