Advanced techniques for parameter locking sample changes per step

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#1

Looking for some resources on flicking through samples on a single track using parameter locking and lfos.

I’ve played with basic parameter locking different samples per trig on a single track, but looking for some more advanced interesting ways to do this using LFO to modulate sample selection per trig,

For example, would love to send triggers from an external midi device to the Digitakt from my modular, but every time the trigger hits the Digitakt I’d like the sample to change.

Any other fun ways to do this using lfos or other things would be much appreciated. Or just links to existing threads or videos.

#2

You could set an LFO with sample slot as the destination. Set it to random and set it to trigger. You’ve got to set it up so that the samples that you want to trigger are all next to each other. Assign the sample in the middle to the track and then set the range to however far up and down the list you want to go.

So I’m pretty sure if you had 7 samples you wanted to trigger, for example your range would be 3. But I think you’d need to set it to just under that like 2.9 or something. It acted a little weird when I tried it but it worked.

#3

Yeah, it is! Haven‘t quite figured out that weird scaling myself – use a square wave LFO to test how far the depth needs to be, then change the LFO shape back to random.

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#4

So I started modulating the sample slot with the LFO, but I can’t seem to get the modulation to be consistent.

I find a really good setup using speed and depth etc, and its picking out some nice sounding samples, but then if I hit stop and play again then the samples it selects are completely different.

I assume that’s because the LFO is free running and is not synced, or not resetting every time the sequence loops.

Is there a way to get the LFO to reset or keep it synced somehow?

I figure the way to do this is through using the LFO trig somehow with a yellow trig instead of a red and placing it on the 1st trig, but can someone break this down for me, as whatever I’m doing currently doesn’t seem to work.

#5

You don’t necessarily need a yellow trig. You can just parameter lock the LFO on the first red trig so that it’s set to trigger instead of free.

#6

I see. I played around with this last night but it seems for it to play the same every time the lfo trig on the trig page needs to be param locked on the first trig. PLUS the lfo needs to be on the trig setting on the lfo page.

I’m 90% sure that without both of those things setup it won’t repeat perfectly every time.

If anyone more knowledgeable on the subject can confirm or deny this I’d love to know the hard truth. :slight_smile:

#7

if you want it consistant why are you bothering to use an lfo.
why not just lock it to start position.

keep it simple.

#8

Sorry, can you clarify what you mean? I’m modulating sample slot not start position.

#9

ah ok…
same goes.

why are you bothering if you want it consistant/repeated ?

i would also follow the tip i posted a few years back.
assign the destination to sample start temporarily … then at least you can see what the LFO is doing with visual feedback if you look on that page… get a sense of how its moving around (speed , width etc) …
then change the destination back when it ‘feels/looks’ like what you want.

if you are using ramp lfo type assign lfo retrig on step 1 and at least it’ll be reset.
turn off lfo trig as default.
use sync’d bpm
use ‘depth’ to define how wide the lfo scans through the list
assign initial sample slot to the beginning of your ‘sample slot list’
use a conditional trig to add a little more randomness to reset the lfo (yellow trig somewhere else in your pattern other than step 1… or use a fill trig so that you can choose when it it triggered.)

therefor depth of 20 is likely to cycle / move through 20 sample slots. if you get your your numbers correct.

as mentioned if you want random just use s+H with lfo trig on, but as its random you wont get ‘consistant’… for that you need ramp/lfo trigs and bpm sync.
you could possibly use 2nd lfo to modulate the 1st lfo to add more difference but its been a while since i looked through lfo2 destination .

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#10

This is great, and exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

I guess to answer to “why am I bothering? Rather than just p-lock the trigs to diff samples” is because I’m finding I get some sweet happy accidents this way. I just want to have a surefire way to “lock” it in when I’ve found the modulation settings I prefer, and I wasn’t 100% on the correct way to do this. :slight_smile:

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#11

You could also add a 1st trig condition to that first trigger that… triggers the LFO.
That way, the wave won‘t reset each time the pattern repeats.

You can do that with a trigless trig too, but make sure to parameter lock the LFO TRIG parameter on the TRG page.

edit: so many trigs in these sentences :crazy_face:

#12

I would loop and record while changing sample manually with the knob, as the DT will override the trig only if the knob is in move, it’s possible to get a random effect if you turn the knob by step more or less quickly at random period. Better than random lfo because this gets recorded, can be adjusted in grid recording when some elements start to groove.

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