Chords!

Elektron Gear Model:Cycles
#1

Hello everyone, I’m new here so thanks for having me !
I have Model:Sample, which I love and which has been my first and only electronic music device until now. I’m mostly an electric guitar player, rather versed into experimental and ambient.
I now want to expand my setup with a machine that would let me enter notes and chords. My first idea was the Model:Cycles, but I’ve looked everywhere and couldn’t find any information on how easy it is to enter one particular chord and chord progression. I know you can easily change inversion and extension, but what about the root note ?
So here are my questions :

  • on the M:C, is it possible or easy to enter chords with different root notes, and assign them to different trigs ?
  • is there another elektron device that would be more suited for this ?

Thanks in advance for you help and advice !

#2

Yes, it is easy to do this. But it’s a particular sound, somewhat limited. It’s not a general-purpose synth by any means. To my ears, its strength is in percussion, and the immediacy of the interface. Listen to some demos. You might find the Digitone more capable, but it is also more expensive.

[Edit: also, welcome to the forum!]

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#3

Thanks for your answer ! When you say it’s easy, is there an onscreen indication of the chord you’re actually playing (Fm9 or GMaj7) ? I have watched several videos but none which showed something like this.
I’ll check the Digitone though, or the Analog 4.

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#4

It’s not the most convenient interface. In grid recording mode, you can hold down the trig, and the root note is displayed. If you turn the Shape knob a little (while still holding down the trig), the chord selected is displayed. If you keep turning it, you can change it. The Color knob affects the inversion. Mostly it displays a numerical value (because it will morph slowly), but as you hit a particular inversion precisely, it will say so on the display. No control over attack (everything is stabby unless you go to some trouble with the single LFO) but control over decay.

An A4mk1 is a considerable bargain right now, and it does terrific percussion.

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#5

Thanks again ! I think I’ll give the MC a try, the menu diving on the other elektron gear is too scary for me right now !

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#6

You should take a closer look at this previous post :

This little app have been quite useful to me.

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#7

Do you want to see the chord names, etc, and select them? Because lots of polyphonic sequencers let you enter the notes freely, you don’t have to select from presets. You just enter CEG for root position C major, etc. If you don’t know the notes that you are using on guitar, put the guitar chords as tabs into a chord calculator (lots around online) and it’ll spell it out and then you just enter that. So you aren’t limited except by how many notes the sequencer or synth will allow, probably more than you get on guitar. That way you’ll also learn the inner structure of chords along the way. And you’ll also be able to handle voice leading, suspensions, etc as you like.

#8

I know my chords alright, that is not an issue. What I didn’t know is how to find them on the Model Cycles ! But I’ve found some useful info here and elsewhere :

  • trig 9 is a C and all trigs are a semi-tone apart (I might order one of those overlay with piano roll in the future)
  • holding a trig and turning the main level/data knob changes the root note.
    Finally, I’ll get my MC sometimes next week so I guess I’ll make my own experience with it.
    Thank you all for your help !
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#9

The default is for C in the middle of the 16 trigs, but in the Track Setup menu, you can separately change both this and the default note that registers when you push a trig in grid recording mode. Good luck with your M:C and please report back on your experiences!

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#10

Chord is very limited on the MC:

I would get a Digitone for chord purposes

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#11

So I’ve just received my M:C and of course the first thing I did was to try out the Chord machine ! I managed pretty easily to dial in the specific chords I wanted and make chord progressions thanks to the advice gathered here, thank you all ! Holding the trig in grid recording mode is indeed the way to go to select the basic root note and shape for type of chords and color for inversions. Its pretty straightforward but of course it lacks some immediacy, it’s not possible to punch in a Dm7#5 all of sudden, it needs some planning in advance.
It’s not a dealbreaker for me as it more or less corresponds to what i was expecting. However I was wondering whether the addition of a midi keyboard, like the Arturia stuff, would allow me to trigger chords more instantly. I guess I would still have to tweak the shape knob for chord type, I don’t think I could play a full chord on the keyboard and have it played as is on the M:C, right ? Anybody uses a keyboard controller with the M:C ?

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#12

I have used a Novation Launchkey Mini mk3 with the M:C. I found it fairly difficult to play on the 16 trigs chromatically (though to be honest, I didn’t try all that hard, since I had the keyboard at hand). You’re right, a MIDI controller will only set the root note for the Chord machine. That works in the other direction as well: MIDI out from a track using the Chord machine will send MIDI messages only for the root notes.

#13

Thanks for your answer. I kinda like the M:C though, I like the sounds and the easy access to functions without menu diving. The sequencer is also pretty amazing so I guess I’ll stick with it despite its limitations. I might get a midi keyboard along the way or maybe a proper synth to play chords, but pairing the M:C with the M:S is already quite fun !

#14

…if ur properly trained in chords, the chord engine in m:c will dissapoint u…
it will be easy for u to dial in right, but it has it’s own way of doing and providing so that won’t really satisfy u on the long run…

if u wanna stay in the swedish ballpark a digitone will serve u well…not only chordprogeression and developing wise…also in ur overall workflow of combining what u already know and got in use…

#15

It’s nice to have so much of the justifiably famed Elektron sequencer capability in such a small and relatively inexpensive unit.

#16

So you’d recommend the Digitone over the Digitakt for chords then ?

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#17

…of course…tone is an 8 voice synth with lots of harmony, chords and scale options…
while takt is a truu mono sampler…the big brother of the m:s…

that chord engine and all it’s other sound engines on the m:c are fm based…but slim lined…
while tone is a full fledged fm synth…
that can also do lot’s of drums and percussions, too…by the way…

…in fact, overall synthesis reacts even more versatile in sonic behaviour and realtime sound manipulation when it comes to parameterlocking and other swedish gimmicks than sampling engines…

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#18

I’ve been watching some videos about the Digitone and I must say it’s quite appealing. I might reconsider keeping the MC then…

#19

Something I’ve been thinking about, and maybe I won’t express it well…

Does it make sense to program a chord progression with just the root notes first, but all on “minor” or all on “major”, and only adjust the chord shape as a second step?

#20

Left like that, that’s called ‘parallel harmony’ (I think) and has a sound all of it’s own. You may find yourself wanting to leave it like that, instead of what you first set out to do.

How about, instead, trying to outline your chord progression with just root and fifth, or even just octaves. That might be less likely to channel you in a certain direction.

At the end of the day … whatever works for you.

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