it’s undeniably a class instrument… I only wish we had something like it outside of the tracker ethos…
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Not sure how to help you here. It has exactly as many buttons as it needs. No more, and no less.
Based on all I’ve read here, I think the Tonverk is your best bet, but the M8 is just one of the best devices of all time. I vote for both.
Based on your vision of what you’d like your live set to entail, I’m thinking Octatrack - it can stream full track stems off the memory card and allow for a liveset that is more akin to DJing as you describe. Read the description in the Octatrack manual about this
Does that just replicate the m8 screen or do more ?
It also can send audio to your computer’s speakers, and there are a number of keyboard shortcuts defined, including all navigation buttons and a MIDI keyboard.
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Plus you get to use a connected QWERTY keyboard to play notes
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where did you hear the Digitakt 2 is not great for full song creation, that sounds like crazy talk… the DT2 is extremely well suited for complete song creation… make sure you are devouring videos on this topic because I don’t believe that there are any in depth videos on the Digitakt 2’s song mode that don’t show it’s prowess… Thinking of the DT2 as just a live machine would be a mistake… seriuosly.
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Like M8 + octatrack? Or just octatrack?
Just OT. From what I could tell from the OP’s post:
- wants to make tracks using samples - CHECK
- wants liveset to be playing back completed full production tracks (I take this to mean stems) while mixing them and adding FX: CHECK
- wants to use external FX as a send/return during liveset: CHECK
DT2 / M8 can’t do at least one of the above
Edit: oh, you’re the OP 
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M8 can do all three as long as the external fx are done over usb.
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The lack of global effects/volume control across an entire project is a major obstacle to complete song composition. Each setting (filter/amp, etc.) is adjusted per track, whereas on the M8 it’s per instrument/sample.
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Isn’t there a limit to the length of samples on the OT?
No. It can stream directly from the CF card so the limitation is the size of the card. You can use an OT to essentially DJ if you want to
Not something the OP mentioned, but I’ll also throw in that it can do live looping which, given the liveset description, the OP may find useful
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The OP said “fx pedal” which I took to mean a physical device without the need for a computer or digital mixer, but the OP can clarify
With the M8 you can go through a phone or tablet for that, and send any track you wish to an external FX (incl. FX pedal) using an assigned control. You just need a USB audio host, not necessarily a computer or digital mixer.
But I understand it might be inconvenient to many.
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Yes I’m trying to stay as hardware as possible generally
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Sry, I should have been more explicit in my wording as I lump phones and tablets into the “computer” bucket
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I love both. I think M8 is even better if you want to have generative elements, for example you can have randomised retrig params with probability to trig, send that to midi if you want. the possibilities with tables are insane.
It’s easier to get samples onto the M8. The onboard synths are great. DT is nice with single cycles but I was doing that too recently on M8 and got a ton of great sounds.
DT you have the scenes hack which is very performable. If you’re gigging, maybe consider what it looks like (I think people bopping about while hitting the buttons on the M8 in their hands looks amusing but ok!)
Track M8 out to a phone or iPad and get vast amounts of fx, chain them up in AUM. eventide suite for a fraction of the pedal cost for example.
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Well as you may know (for the record) one can use a MIDI controller (and Launchpad pro). It is not limited to the on device button input. That choice is entirely up to the performing artist.
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I have read most of this thread because it’s an interesting comparison. I have both M8 and DT2 (once had DT1). They are both amazing devices. But from the perspective of someone just getting into hardware, I would recommend DT2 because standalone it feels like you are playing your patterns rather than programming your patterns. I’ll admit, I can finish tracks faster on the M8, but find the DT2 more enjoyable because it feels like an instrument, especially when playing chopped samples or live recording a melody. That said, if the brain of an M8 ever made it into the body of an Analog Rytm or MPC One, I would buy that in a heartbeat. I digress, but seriously the M8 offers so much under the hood. I just don’t recommend it as a first device.
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