Digitakt + Nord Drum 3P

[jollyJamDodger]

can anyone answer my Digitakt question?

It’s kind of hard to understand your question.

Fair-Dinkum

I’m GAS’ing for a solution to create some programmed variation after I’ve played/looped in some bars on the Nord 3p.

imagine:

1. Nord midi out plugged into DigiTk midi in / Nord midi in plugged into DigiTk midi out.
2. Nord3p, set all pads on global midi send and recieve i.e. chan10
3. DigiTk, set a single midi track to chan10 and four bars long.
4. Record midi into DigiTk playing Nord drum pads for four bars. The DigiTk is now a midi looper for the Nord with all pads on a single DigiTk track
   5) Now edit the drum pattern per pad on the DigiTk while midi-looping live sound coming out of the Nord

I assume I have to use one track for all pads - because you can only record onto a single track at any one time?

[t3h]

imagine:

thats a great idea but like with many this type of awesome ideas it’s better to just try it out if it actually works

[jollyJamDodger]

thanks for the feedback… I don’t have a DigiTk to test it out.

I do this nord3p/midi-looper idea with a circuit, or ipad(Infinite Looper), but I want to do it on a DigiTk due to limitations on these other platforms…

What i need to know before buying pls:

1. Can I select the same note on one DigiTk track on all steps and edit it while the midi is looping?
   1b) If I can do this what midi sequence editing an I limited to?
2. OR… can i record midi on multiple DigiTk tracks at the same time live? Then I assume I have full editing control as it’s one note per step.

[L4rs3rik]

1:
No you can’t do that. When recording into the midi tracks each step can hold up to 4 notes, so like a chord. The step velocity and note length is the same for all notes within a step. When transposing (done by pressing down one or more steps in step edit mode) you can go up or down but all 4 notes are transposed, if you want to change one of 4 notes on a step you have to edit that specific step. You can switch back and forth between play, step edit and live record without stopping the sequencer.

2:
Yes you can live record into the Digitakt into multiple midi tracks at once. (Works both with audio and midi tracks.)

I’ve got a pad controller setup so each pad sends midi on a separate channel. So far I’ve been mostly recording into the audio tracks (pad finger drumming is a nice alternative to step sequencing) but it works just fine into the midi tracks as well.

A midi track can be set to listen to incoming midi on one channel and output on another channel if you like. You can also do stuff like have the midi input via USB and the midi output on the DIN midi output port or the other way around.

[jefones]

If you send midi notes 0-7 on the auto channel it will trigger the audio channels 1-8 respectively. It eliminates the need to put each pad on a different midi channel to trigger the dt. Makes setting up finger drumming a little easier.

[L4rs3rik]

Yeah that’s true, but I’m able to switch my pad controller into chromatic mode for a pad and that would be impossible without using separate channels.

[jollyJamDodger]

2:
Yes you can live record into the Digitakt into multiple midi tracks at once. (Works both with audio and midi tracks.)

• you sir are a ‘Don LarsErik’. (that info is not in the manual)
  …the Digitakt is in the running… for a sequencer that i play into live and then have enough programmed variation/control so I can concentrate on another instrument (i.e. the audience)

now to decide which midi drum sequencer to invest time making friends.

• Digitakt (the hype - is it all that - can it easily create enough variation with only 4 bars and pLocks)
• Patterning 2 / Future drummer / BM3 / Drum perfect pro / impcPro2 / Grooverider (ipads are so distracting scary all feature convenient suck satan’s socks inevitable future bitches)
• Deluge (I love the circuit, it’s so visual, but minimal)
• BeatStepPro (cool peformance midi mangaling - only 4 bars - no one-shots samples)
• Pyramid (lots of cool peformance midi mangaling - no one-shot samples)

p.s. we play world-folk rhythms not 4/4 or break-beats, so quick variation of poly-rhythm & bpm changing patterns is king…

[L4rs3rik]

I think you have to try the Digitakt out for yourself, with your gear, your setup and your style of playing. Technical specification is one thing, but the devil is in the details.

One red flag I can think of with the Digitakt is that it’s a step sequencer so the tracks (both midi and audio) are 16 steps on each of the 4 pages in a pattern. It supports micro timing so it’s not quantizing like a bulldozer (if you don’t want it to) but if you input more steps then the sequencer can handle they are lost, like if you do a fast roll or a series of fast flams after each other.

Running the sequencer at say 2x speed (so each step is a 32th note) can help but then you also get half the pattern length relative to the tempo.

So what about pattern chains? Yeah that works to pass the length constraints of a pattern but last time I checked live recording when a chain is active disables the chain and loops the current playing pattern.

Edit: I’m talking about live recording from external midi controller. I’m also aware that this red flag is probably true for most step sequencers. Midi sequencer and step sequencer is two very different things in my book.

[t3h]

It supports micro timing so it’s not quantizing like a bulldozer

yeah, it’s the most flexible Elektron sequencer today for non-quntisized beats IMO. But sequencer nevertheless. Luckily one can use Digitakt also for punching sounds in as sp404 style audio loops for better flow.

[L4rs3rik]

The Digitone has better “non percussive” midi sequencer features I would say, I mean you can transpose a pattern with function up/down keys. Man I really miss that on the Digitakt, but that’s life, you can’t get it all.

[jollyJamDodger]

if you input more steps then the sequencer can handle they are lost, like if you do a fast roll or a series of fast flams after each other.

good point… prob best to do those live… although a Deluge (48ppqn) or Pyramid(96ppqn) can sequence tiny resolution multiple notes per step.

[deerfeeder]

I had a nd3p with digitakt. you can do what you want but with restrictions. the dt sequencer has to be really fast in order to have the resolution to record something fast. what I did is either doubled the tempo or the scale(or both) in order to have the space I need. but thats kinda hacky. CC& program change worked well.

[peachesandbacon]

I know this thread is a few years old now, but essentially I’m trying to do the same thing as OP.

I’ve got Digitakt sending MIDI to Nord Drum 3p and Nord Drum sending MIDI back to Digitakt.

When I record with the Digitakt, and play the pads on the Nord Drum, I’m getting some funny results.

Firstly the pitch is all off, it’s not recording the same pitches I’m hearing when I hit the pads on the Nord.
Secondly it seems to be only recording one channel of MIDI and then the other pads I play seem to just alter the pitch of that channel.

Could someone give me some rule of thumb MIDI settings for both the Nord Drum 3p and the Digitakt.

On the Nord Drum do I need Local on / off?
What global midi channel? or turn it off?
Do I need to use channel 14 to send midi to the digitakt?
Are there any settings I need on Digitakt? Currently I just have the first 6 midi tracks on Digitakt set to channels 1 - 6 with none of the other boxes on that page assigned.

I’ve tried a few different combinations of the above and I’m getting some weird results, with nothing working as I would expect it to.

Could someone advise?

Thanks so much

[johnl]

These Global and individual channels fox a lot of people

Quoting another forum:
“The Nord Drum sends MIDI on the Global MIDI channel only, the individual MIDI channels cannot be used to send MIDI from the Nord Drum (2 or 3P). So if you hit a pad, the 3P will send the corresponding note on the global MIDI channel, the note numbers [60 C3, 62 etc.] are also set in the MIDI menu.”

So you could focus on getting Global working well on a single MIDI channel in Digitakt (turn off the Individual ones for now), recording in the notes from the pads, and playing back to the same MIDI channel. (I think Local on is fine, unless you’re getting doubled notes when hitting pads).

[Skurdd]

Hi Guys.
What CC’s do you guys use with this combo?
There’s of course 8 per track and I want to make a template with these pre mapped.
Can’t decide.

[Skurdd]

also; I would expect to be able what OP wants. Using the autochannel you’re able to live record the live trk; so weird that while you can redirect each pad to a channel the DT doesn’t receive it that way.

[kareemson]

I mapped level of noise and tone, both decays, tune of tone, filter of noise and both sends…

These are pretty fun parameters to lock in a sequence

[HeavyNettles]

Hello!

I’ve tried everything to get my DT and ND3 to talk nice to each other and am having no luck with either setting to Global or Individual Midi. I can see that MIDI is transmitting but I can’t hear any sound. Here are the setting I have for Global. Thanks for helping!

Global

ND3
LoOn
GL 10
Ch OFF
nt…
PCSr
CCSr
SEnd

DT

MIDI A
SRC Chan 10

MIDI Config
SYNC - Clock Send
PORT Config - Default settings
CHANNELS - Default settings inc: Auto Channel 10

[peachesandbacon]

Revitalising this once more as have been delving into this excellent combo once again.

Mostly trying to get savvy with automating various midi ccs from Digitakt to the Nord.

Couple of questions / issues I’ve run into

I’m having some strange issues trying to use the Digitakt’s Lfo on the midi tracks to modulate certain cc parameters.

The one I’ve been trying to modulate that seems to be a sticking point is the tone spectra (cc 30) and tone decay (cc50)

I’ve assigned these to two cc controls and they’re modulating the chosen parameters fine when I turn them manually when the sequence is playing but when set the lfo destination to mod one of these two cc knobs, it doesn’t affect anything. (Yes, depth is turned up)

It’s strange, as lfo modulating the cc knob I assigned for tone wave (cc 46) works fine. But certain parameters seem to be unaffected when I try to apply an lfo to the knob they’re on.

Can anyone test this or explain what they think might be going on?

The other issue I’m running into is

When p-locking certain cc knob parameters I just get a click sound.
It’s almost if the Digitakt is just too quick for the poor old Nord drum and it doesn’t have enough time to change its parameter while the trig is still playing, so you don’t hear the change that the cc p-lock has made to that trig.

Has anyone else experienced this and has a workaround? Or am I doing something wrong?

Thank you muchly In advance to anyone more experienced in this usually excellent combination of gear.

[Skypainter]

I don’t have a Digitakt, but a couple of basic ideas: a) Does the digi need a trigger or triggless trig to trigger its LFOs? b) Some CC’s on the ND won’t respond to negative values, i.e the negative values from bipolar lfos from the Digi will send the mapped CC to value 0 for half of the LFO wave cycle. c) If the DT is like the OT when P locking CC values, the CC value is sent after the note on message. Try placing a trigless trig with desired CC value on the step before the note trigger.