I’ve had lots of elektron stuff before, digitone, AR Mki, OT mki and mkii, and a A4 mki. Currently working all in the box with IMac ,Ableton, Push 2, a KK S61 mk2 and a console1/fader set up. Hardware was all sold off due to an upcoming move. I REALLY miss having at least one elektron piece in my set up, and I want one, but it has to integrate. That means Overbridge.
I’m seriously considering either another digitone or possibly an A4 Mkii. A digitakt may be cool too, as I’ve never tried it, but much like the idea of a Rytm Mkii, I do rather like using push for my drums. The FM in the DN is so much fun to program, and while it’s easy to get FM in the box, I have YET to find a plugin that is as fun to program and provides all the features (such as filters) that it does.
On the other hand, the A4 provides something you can’t quite get from ITB, an analog mono (and 4 voice poly in a pinch). Are there other benefits to the A4 via overbridge too? Can I route audio into it via overbridge on the FX track for example? And if so how do you guys feel it works? Is it useful?
What would you guys go for in my situation? Not interested in the AH mkii, because though I do plan to get one sometime, I’m looking for something with the sequencer.
I really wish elektron had something up there sleeve for Namm.
My setup is mostly ITB and I use a Digitone with all the MIDI tracks for sequencing. You can also control 8 parameters for each track with the knobs, so it’s useful as a controller. I think a Digitakt would also be pretty good for your setup since you get more tracks, but it also doesn’t do anything a computer can’t do, generally.
I’ve owned a Monomachine, two Machinedrums, an Analog 4 and now the M:S and the Digitakt. The Digitakt is hands down my favorite of them all. (OK, a modernized Monomachine would be fucking cool but doesn’t exist).
I think the digitakt would be cool, but I’m just not sure how I’d make use of it. Drums? One shot samples/chords? I’m open to suggestions. I do like using Push for my drums now.
I feel like people look at it mostly as a one shot sequencer, maybe because it doesn’t have easy time-stretch?, but I think it is perfectly capable of doing fun things with loops!
From my perspective if I am working mostly in the box for me hardware is a sketch pad and I finish things in my DAW. That is what I was doing with the M:S for a long time. So, use it to get the gist down, record, finish in DAW. But then you can also sequence things in your DAW with it if you like, to take advantage of the Elektron sequencer.
Additionally, you could lay down tracks in your DAW that will be mostly static, then do live dubs/recordings of somethings from the DT and record to DAW.
This goes for any of the boxes you mention, really, but I think the DT being a pretty full featured sampler has the most possibility in these regards.
I’d go for the A4 or Digitakt. But on the Digitakt (copying this from another thread I replied to) another user here came up with this thought and it forever changed how I look at it. Sorry, can’t remember who otherwise I’d totally credit them. And I’m probably butchering it but the idea is… stop thinking of the Digitakt as a sampler… rather think of it as an 8 voice synth where the oscillators are sample based.
With the Push and Ableton you’ve got drums and one shot sampler well covered, so using a Digitakt for that would get pretty boring quickly IMO. If you get one, then get it to experiment with and using for anything but those roles. That’s where it’d be more interesting.
well said.
While the DT is a beast for drums, its very capable at handling other things.
short .wavs, but lots you can do with those.
i love its flow. i REALLY love the double rows of 8 buttons for trigs, the layout really works for me as far as bars go (well, as far as 4/4 goes).
8 midi tracks
yadda yadda yadda.
my 2 cents
In my opinion, the DT is super cool but as someone said, it don’t do something that a computer can’t do.
I think AR or A4 would bring more to the table as analog machine.
If you want ONE thing from Elektron to work with when you do everything else ITB, I’d say go analog. AR MkII (or Mki tbh). Analog filtering, synth lines, distortion, samples and the sequencer, the AR can do so many things and it almost always sounds ace through the distortion and filters.
It’s the one machine in my dark trinity that keeps surprising me how it so easily makes something sound great.
With that said, second option is the DN like gekkonier said, you already like it! And it’s way cheaper than the analogs so try it out again! On paper though, get the AR.
I think you should not get any elektron device. It makes no sense as a sound module only and the integration makes the whole itb setup more complex and less fun, in my opinion.
I had push 2 With ableton suite and a4 and AR At some point, and while ob works pretty good, it is not flawless and the whole concept of the standalone machines with their special sequencer did not go well with the nearly unlimited possibilities of the daw workflow.
Essentiall I always felt, like the daw showed me the limitations of the machines and vice verca. Kind of getting best things of both worlds with the hybrid setup, but also getting the worst things.
So all I am saying is, think about if you really NEED an elektron device in your worklflow
Maybe playing with one on the couch or something and later record it into computer is a better workflow approach?! Would be for me…
Funnily enough I have the exact opposite experience.
I used to create music ITB only. Adding a DT and a DN was actually the best thing I did. It provides limitations and forces me to be creative to achieve my goals with a limited set of features.
I can use the DAW to process the sound of the boxes and even send supplementary modulators if I need it, but honestly, it has been quite refreshing.
The fact that the boxes are quite straight forward in terms of their UI has been a huge bonus for me. So it really depends on what you are after, I guess.
Good that it works so well for you, but for me it was always too convoluted. interesting how different the experiences are.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that I am at the computer most of the day at work and want something simpler and more focused when at home with the machines… now the OP has to try it out, to see if the workflow fits.
May I ask you, if you use the total recall functionality of ob to synchronise your machines and daw projects?
Edit: your positive Post makes me want to try it out one more time… (the daw plus AR and a4 via ob thing)
At the minute I’m loving using the Digitakt with Ableton Live via Overbridge. I think of it as a quick sketchpad for a track - I like to record the non-drum stuff into Live as individual tracks - then when I’m happy with the arrangement I keep just the drums on the Digitakt and use it like a separate drum machine. Along with the excellent compressor the Digitakt is like its own self-contained drum buss.
