That said actually seeing the new overbridge and hearing more examples of the new 2osc machine for the rytm mkii would have been nice. I’m gun shy about buying new elektron now since qc has not been as good as before. Better you wait a year for the product to mature.
2 Likes
I think from a dev/business point of view the Digi line of instruments was/is the perfect opportunity to think about a new platform a lot more long term than they were ever able before. Surely, their previous instruments share some OS code, but if I were in their shoes, I’d make sure that the Digis have an extensible architecture with a clear separation of common (UI, controls, filter, FX) and specific (sound generation) code. I don’t think they ever had the opportunity to really think about such an architecture previously. What we’ve seen in the Digitone demos is already more advanced than the DT (e.g., more filter options, chorus effect). What’s the consequence, at least in theory? In an ideal world, this would even speed up development as the common platform is used by more devices and hence, creates more revenue. Whether this materializes remains to be seen, but I expect a quite substantial change in the next DT and I think that a lot of areas of the DT will look more similar to what we’ve seen on DN. If they’ve done it right, any advancement of one of the Digis will carry over painlessly to the others.
Personally, I have a lot of fun with DT as it is. Since OS 1.04 I haven’t run into any issues anymore. I’m aware though, that I don’t use the Midi sequencing functionality, which still seems to be causing trouble. I can understand criticism about releasing another box, before DT is spotless, but if my assumptions above are anywhere near realistic, I think DNs release has a lot less impact on DTs release schedule than one might think.
2 Likes
I’m sure you’re right. But we still have bugs, and promised functionality missing. Elektron don’t appear to mind about that, and that’s a PR issue and not one of their internal dev teams. And their internal affairs are not the customer’s issue.
I’ve found digitakt fine for sequencing the internal engine, syncing to other kit. So there’s a lot to love - it’s great at that, actually an amazing box.
But here we are, at the end of January 2018 with midi bugs, no OB, and real way to back up the samples we record on the box. How important these are depends on the user, but it would have been a dealbreaker for me if I’d known. Just how many samples do you want to record into the memory of a 1GB box under the constraint you can’t get them out again easily? One bust box, or corruption and your work is pretty much gone.
I’d also note that many of the smaller OS fixes most likely could have been fixed in this timescale if the box devs were directed to that task. The impression is that the priority lies with getting the new boxes out.
I love FM and would have expected to be all over Digitone like a rash. But given this experience, no way.
Like I say - roll on the fixes and OB! If these really had shown up closer to launch, we wouldn’t be here.
2 Likes
An impression repeatedly debunked by elektron.
Yeah, they can try - but rightly or wrongly, I’m not buying it.
They’ve had time to deliver the OS for all the MkIIs and the Digitone but can’t fix midi bugs on DT1.04.
I’m sure OB is a different team/skillset and the picture is less simple here.
When companies over promise and under deliver, the problem cannot be that ‘customers should be more understanding of why we’re trying to do’. Just don’t promise things you are not resourced to deliver in the first place! That would go a long way with me.
7 Likes
Digitakt has not inspired me trust from the first moment. Initially I was charmed by portable form-factor, the colored lights, oled screen, but then I was lucky enough to realize that it was a decoy to sell even the substantial price difference with the bigger machines, so I came back to my road and I kept saving for a Rytm. And I’m very happy not to be one of the unfortunates who cry those badly spent € 700 and who think they can have the same features as flagship products. There is no malice in my words, just a bit of healthy realism
Where?
If you look at the actions it is clear the priority was not at the Digitakt. No updates since July. But when the OT had some bugs that sometimes caused a crash in August/September it was fixed very fast. And there was time to develop a new machine including the software part.
1 Like
Definitely hear what you’re saying. And when I first watched the videos and then got DT… it made me want AD, AH and an OT. But half an hour later, when I noticed the machine didn’t clock to external midi and using the USB midi crashed the unit, I realised it wasn’t finished. Sending a £660 drum machine that won’t clock to MIDI and crashes when the usb is plugged in felt really wrong to me. That’s despite the great interface, awesome flexibility… even the filters sounded good!
Ok in the first weeks or so we had a fix for the usb and midi clocking. But after 1.04… zilch. I shelved my lust for an OT and AD and AH, and bought an audio interface for portable use, despite looking forward to using DT for this purpose while travelling. The midi sequencing was unstable for me (won’t be the ‘centre of my studio’ as promised!) so I went back to beatstep pro and Eurorack modules for step sequencing and doubled down on saving for a circklon.
So that’s the trajectory I’ve been on - far from being a gateway product to the bigger boxes it’s put me off them.
Most recently Cenk has said so in the namm interview with Nick Batt. Pretty sure employees have mentioned it here on the forums in the past too.
1 Like
If thats true then another explanation that Digitakt hasn’t seen any fixes since July is that the bugs are very, very hard to fix. Both explanations don’t fill me with confidence to be honest.
And it doesn’t really explain how they managed to find time to develop a brand new machine. Actions speak louder than words in this case. No fixes in over 7 months yet time to develop a new machine and fix bugs in other machines.
2 Likes
By hiring more people.
My wish is that you and all Digitakt owners can enjoy everything they paid for with the next updates, I had the luck and the tenacity to stay on my decisions, because that was the product I needed and it was difficult to bypass Digitakt because it seemed really a valid alternative, even cheaper … but I wanted the analog synthesis in the first place 
1 Like
How do you know they filled those vacancies? They’re still looking for coders.
Fact remains that there’s been 7 months of nothing for Digitakt owners while in the meantime a new product was developed and other boxes got fixes. Either that shows low priority for the Digitakt or the bugs in the Digitakt are so hard to fix it takes them this long.
2 Likes
You’ve nailed it here, repeated missed deadlines and promises don’t build confidence in me as a customer.
The fact that OB would not be available at launch was only shared a couple of weeks beforehand, once all the preorders were taken.
A few nice words to Nick Batt in a video I haven’t seen may be a satisfactory explanation to some, but confidence here is draining away from a low baseline.
I really hope DT1.1 and OB knock it out of the park and deliver the launch capabilities of the device. I’d be ok with that even after all this time - better late than never. But given the track record so far, I’m not convinced that I’ll be in that happy position on 28 February.
The ball is in Elektron’s court here - they already have my money and I’ve provided them with plenty of feedback.
2 Likes
Haha thanks. I have the analogue synthesis side more than well covered, a hardware drum sampler with nifty sequencing capabilities was missing for me. Hence DT!
1 Like
Same here! If OB drops next month and it works as it should I’ll be a happy camper. It will be a blast to hook it up to Ableton and have the 8 tracks there ready to be recorded and have fx appleid to them.
Really hope they deliver this time. I noticed the Digitone OB release has no date. It just says later this year like it did for the Digitakt too. Maybe it’s better they stop giving hard deadlines/dates. Makes everybody less jumpy.
1 Like
In one of the NAMM Videos for DN Cenk (I think) said in terms of Overbridge and Bugfixes…“Working really hard…bla…bla…bla…more likely in March now!!”
Right now I’m really happy to have kept my Octatrack and Rytm MKI since they are quite solid and bug free (exept the transfer for the Rytm).
I bought a Digitakt recently and I like it but I’d love to see them ironing out the bugs and especially implementing the “saveable” and “really complicated pattern chain mode which is almost as good as a song mode” Simon promised they’ll implement when I talked to him at Superbooth last year!!
To mention a positive example of how it should be done.
I bought a NerdSeq in October from Thomas (XoR Electronics) who runs this as a “one mans operation” and it was almost perfect and all as promised (and more) right when it came out. Since then he released about 6 or 7 new firmware revisions ironing out even the tiniest of issues and taking requests for further improvements.
2 Likes
Any chance you remember which video he mentioned march? That is really quite annoying if true.
site still saying Feb
Said by 2017 from May until November 
They’re naughty little fibbers at times
1 Like