I agree, I think the addition of key tracking is particularly important, plus I like the idea of having more sound machine options beyond the original FM of the DN1.
For some additional context, I’m also consider the Waldorf Iridium or Iridium Core so the fact that the DN2 has four different sound machines not just the one FM machine makes it much more of a contender.
FWIW one of the big factors in favour of the DN2 vs Iridium is I trust Elektron will fix the early release bugs and if there are any QC issues they are really good at supporting their customers. I’ve read too many stories about QC issues and fatal bugs on the Iridium combined with patchy support from Waldorf.
Interesting, thanks. I had the OG DN a few years ago, liked the sounds I got out of it but found the FM engine a bit too limiting. I was constantly trying to get VA-type sounds out of it as well as the usual FM stuff, which it could do, just, but it wasn’t ideal.
I started this thread because on paper the DN2 makes a lot of sense as a polysynth in its own right, especially with 16 voices and multiple sound engines. I’m less concerned about not getting the benefit of the sequencer as 1) I’ve owned other synths with onboard sequencers that I never used, didn’t concern me and 2) even if the DN2 had no sequencer at all I think it would still be on my list when looking for a versatile 16-voice poly.
Could it be that you had some modulation going on that was different per voice? If modulation cycles are not lined up between the voices you can get phasing effects. And those can sound “off”
I’m waiting to see what NAMM brings later this month. I want a “digital” sounding polysynth to round out my setup (wavetable, FM, granular etc) and the shortlist at the moment is Waldorf Iridium/M/Iridium Core, KodamoFM and the DN2. There are a few others I’ve looked at as well but aren’t quite right for me. So I’ll see what happens at NAMM.
Waldorf Iridium Desktop is the short answer. It’s a superbly capable synth that can do pretty much anything I’d ever want from a polysynth.
The other big change over the last 12 months has been introduction of a ‘bounce external MIDI clip to audio’ function in Ableton Live 12 that is a two-click operation from the Push 3.
My workflow now is create sound on Iridium, compose the track (bassline, poly chords, pads, textures, whatever) directly on Push 3, print the result to audio via the ‘bounce to track’ feature, go back to Iridium and init patch (or browse for new sound amongst bazillions of presets) and repeat the process. I like this workflow a lot, it’s really fast.
Even though that cake is already eaten, for completeness sake …
Even when using FM Tone, there are so many new options to shape the sound, especially the filters, which expand the palette manifolds. And as has been said, of course, there are three more machines (3 OP FM with noise and Wavefolder, Virtual Analog with PWM and Hardsync, Supersaw).
In retrospect, everything seems easy. On the Machinedrum, they had a Jog Dial (tedious to use). On the Digitone, four coloured keys (waste of space). And on Digitakt finally, they used the Trig Keys for that.
Having four tracks is one of the best things about the DN1, because of the flexible voice management. I rarely use all four tracks in a project, but I very rarely just use one.
I still have a DN1, keyboard version. It works very well as an 8-note poly digital sound source. The sequencer, although very good, I almost never use it. I use it a lot for sound design, in addition to the classic FM sound it is also suitable for many other sounds, for example VA. Another reason why I really like the DN is the excellent sound quality. It is also capable of a surprisingly smooth, warm analog sound. So I use this instrument in the traditional classical way. It is the center of my small home recording studio, as a great sound source and midi keyboard. I record its sounds with Logic Pro. (… and I always use the audio output, never the USB.)
