Hey all, I’m a guitarist of over 5 years, been super interested in breakcore, atmospheric drum & bass, and gabber for some years. I’m finally looking to produce my own electronic music and my goals are to upload my future songs/albums but also performing them live at gigs and raves in my scene.
I’ve done heavy research on these 2 devices (and many alternatives).
I love them both but can’t choose. I’ve experimented with renoise and I like the tracker workflow but as a beginner it is a bit more complicated than what the digitakt 2 seems to offer. But I also see overlap in their workflows too.
Everyone speaks heavily on the portability of the M8 but I personally don’t care for nor require such portability. In fact, the small size and few buttons on the M8 are sort of a drawback for me. But its power seems super promising and so I’m able to sort of overlook it. I love that the DT2 is bigger and has more buttons and knobs and I can press triggers for different steps and samples. They’re both super good and I can’t decide. I need some insight.
I was thinking of adding a controller for live performances to the M8 if I go that route, and also adding a multifx pedal to keep it interesting. But the DT2 seems like it’s already perfect for live performances.
Again, my goals are to make full length albums and then perform. I rarely see people use the digitakt 2 for serious music production and not just jamming. Whereas people have made very promising albums and tracks on the M8.
You should clarify what your requirements are in terms of sound design, budget, and other audio capabilities (maybe even audio examples would help). That should aid in decision making. Else you may as well ask why not Toneverk etc?
As the creator of M8, my gut tells me the Digitakt would suit your needs better, only if you are primarily planning on a sample heavy workflow. M8 is quite a bit different and sample playback is a small part of a larger environment, Digitakt and M8 both check very different boxes.
Well budget wise- $1,000 for now, willing to stretch a couple hundred more if necessary.
I do want to make sample heavy music. I intend to use lots of break beats, sampling kicks, bass, synths, vocals, and bits of other songs to incorporate into my music. So lots of samples.
I was under the impression the M8 is good for sample heavy music though, isn’t it? Or is the DT2 superior there? I’m okay with hooking my PC into the M8/DT2 and importing all the samples I think I’ll need and get to working.
Why is one better than the other for sample heavy music?
In terms of the kind of music I want to make, some influences are: hkmori, delta 9, rukiawaa, arcade trauma, Rory in early 20’s, purity filter, sewerslvt, dj kuroneko…
Edit: I’ve heard the DT2 isn’t as good for making full length songs/albums and for structuring songs. Those are very important features for me. I also enjoy how visual the M8 is for full songs and not getting lost. But I’m sure the DT2 may not be an issue with that after some time.
Welcome to the forum! From what you’ve said in the original post, DTII all the way. M8 is awesome, but I feel you are better served for your purposes with the DTII, especially live use.
Resale value on either is pretty strong. It’s hard for the community to tell you what you need when it seems like you might not be sure entirely what you want out of a groove box, but I get wanting some direction when you’re at a crossroads.
The best advice in this situation at least IME is to just try one and be very disciplined about learning it. It will either work out or it won’t and you’ll be much more familiar with what you need in the future as a result for you, not for anyone else’s workflow.
That said, get the Tonverk
Regarding song structure on both - I find the Digitakt 2 perfectly suitable with song mode, but where M8 will really shine is in the management of parameter changes across time. Commands and tables make this a breeze compared to any other system I’ve tried on a groove box. Performing live the DT2 will be pretty well equipped without external gear but an M8 really does want something else paired with it in a live context.
I sold my DT2 ultimately and don’t miss it, but I’ve got a Tonverk as well. I think if I just had the M8 I still wouldn’t miss it that much but I don’t play live (yet). Being able to plug in the M8 to a big screen and just kick back at the end of the day is refreshing versus focusing on a box on my desk.
I own an M8 (and have written a tutorial guide for it) and a DT1, but not DT2. The main advantage of DT2 over M8 is, first of all, 16 tracks versus 8, and then, more buttons and knobs. M8 is astonishingly easy to use considering it has eight buttons and no knobs, and it is really good at getting one to think globally; it is easy to clone phrases and make variations. This is also possible on DT, but it takes a bit more work, and DT’s song mode is more limited (though it is still possible to make full tracks on it). I have done a full track using song mode (on DN2, not DT2), and it was a learning experience, but I understand why everyone tends to jam on a few loopy patterns, because that’s certainly my tendency on these machines.
If you have no interest in synthesis, DT, definitely. Even if you have some interest in designing your own sounds, DT2 offers a lot to go beyond basic sample manipulation. I do not play live, but if I did, I think I would want something like DT2. I have seen good sets with one or two M8s and a pad or knobby controller, so I won’t rule that out, but for me there would be more cognitive shifts.
That said, paradoxically, I would recommend an M8 first. It is the bolder option, and you will learn a lot (in terms of refinement) about what you want and what you can do, especially if you go beyond the Sampler and really explore the other machines. If you find it limiting in the end, you can easily sell it, and DT2 is always available. You might even find a bargain on that and be able to have both.
Yeah the thing is that I want to make full songs/album first. Then I for sure have a huge focus on live performance, BUT- my vision for live performance is more limited than what I see people on DT2’s doing. I want to essentially play back my full songs during a 30min+ live set while tweaking individual tracks effects and volumes and a multi fx pedal can add extra master fx too.
I don’t have any interest in jamming live or improvising further than those kinds of tweaking an over already produced songs.
In addition, I’ve been thinking of adding a vinyl scratcher as well as the multi fx pedal to have even more live performance ability, but not the kind of improvisation I see on digitakt jams.
That being said, it seems like an M8 may suit my needs just fine but I still consider the DT2 to be powerful as well. I also want to use mainly samples for all my music. I don’t have interest in making my own synths or anything.
I’m thinking far into the future when I’m more experienced I can add something else to the set up to actually begin remixing my music and jamming more live, but until then, I feel like the M8 works for me. I just need insight from more experienced people.
A couple more advantages of M8: there is no limit on sample length, as samples are streamed directly from the SD card. And resampling is really smooth. So if you run short on tracks, you can bounce several into one, assuming they’re cooked. Also, switching projects is pretty much instantaneous. You might still want an external looper or an EOC FX box with a long tail to smooth the transition, but you’re not going to have an awkward silence while something loads.
Both devices have a supportive and helpful community. DT2 here, and M8 both here and on a Discord server.
Thanks! Yeah I agree, the fact that the M8 relies on an SD card is great and I’ve heard about the non existent loading times between projects which is definitely a win over the DT loading times.
If the M8 was a bigger size with more buttons and a bigger screen AND had more tracks, instant buy and perfection for me. Hopefully in the future that exists.
I was thinking of using a multifx pedal and craning up the reverb and delay at the end of a song to transition into the next
Bigger screen is easy, as there is a browser-based visualizer (m8.run, as well as the separate m8c app). More buttons/knobs, well, there is LPP mode for the Launchpad Pro mk3, specifically set up by Trash80 for his own live performances, and I have also seen people do good work with Faderfox EC4 or UC4 (I have the latter but haven’t hooked it up to M8 yet, too busy enjoying the device on its own). Apparently Ableton Move can be repurposed as a controller for M8 but I haven’t looked into that closely.
You should try that when you get the chance. For me it turned the M8 into a new, much more playable instrument.
Using it along a LPP, you can really break free from the “box” feeling the M8 can have.
Re: transitions
I have briefly dabbed into using the delay - which is carried over from one project to another - into some sort of looper. But I’m gonna save this topic for the dedicated thread.
I own both and it’s M8 over DTII for me. I just get so much more done, so much faster on the M8. For what it’s worth, I also came from a lifetime of guitar, the M8 and the tracker workflow overall appeared daunting and very much against my enjoyment for playing over programming, but the damn thing somehow won me over in an instant.
Fewer buttons on the M8 is an advantage and not a drawback. It’s more like playing a console game, and you soon learn the key combos, and find yourself just doing stuff without thinking about it.
If your goal is to make songs as you say, the M8 wins easily. It’s almost impossible not to make songs, thanks to the UI design. I never get stuck in a loop on my M8 the way I have on the various Elektrons I have owned over the years.
