Digitakt as sound module

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#1

After some research, headache and confusion I’ve managed to figure out that there are up to 128 “sounds”(i.e samples including processing options) available per project on the Digitakt. …I think. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Normally I would assume then that these 128 “sounds” could be triggered by note messages from an external MIDI device such as a keyboard or a sequencer, but I thought it might be a good idea to make sure this is indeed the case before taking any further steps. Did some googling without any luck and so was hoping someone here could confirm.

#2

Indeed, you have a sample pool of 128 samples per project. To be able to trigger a sample via MIDI, first you have to assign it to one of the 8 sample tracks.

So in reality, as a sound module, it’s only 8 samples you can use at the same time, each one on a different MIDI channel… Unless you intend to use the internal sequencer, where you can you start P-locking the Sample Slot, having a different sample playing per sequence step.

#3

This sounds like the Multi Map feature in the Analog Four and Digitone. For example, from the Digitone manual:

The MULTI MAP mode gives you the possibility to map different functions to single notes or note ranges that can be played on the [TRIG] keys or an external MIDI controller/keyboard. The functions that can be mapped are: Internal trigging of Sounds on any track, trigging of MIDI notes on any MIDI channel and the ability to trig patterns. Multi map also allows custom mapped keyboards splits, pattern triggering per key, Sound trig per key, MIDI trig of external synths, and more. In the MULTI MAP mode, for example, full drum
kits, bass lines, and lead sounds can be played simultaneously.

I don’t know if any other Elektrons have that. I’m pretty sure the digitakt does not.

#4

With digitakt there might be a way to use a free running LFO pointed at machine : sample slot to trigger successive samples or random lfo to trigger random samples every time you remotely trigger a track but I don’t know if there’s a meaningful way to use that unless you want successive samples only, or random samples only from your chain/pool being triggered.

I haven’t tried this but in theory that’s why there’s an LFO destination for sample slot I would assume. I can’t think of any way you could specify which sample at which time from an external controller if the aim is to have any sample accessible at any time.

#5

I use the random LFO waveform assigned to sample slice when I’ve got a chopped up beat in the slice machine. Works great, it means each time the note is triggered it plays a different slice randomly. In principle the same logic should apply if the LFO is assigned to sample select in the sound pool.

#6

So … I thought the trigs (optionally) became a keyboard, or rather, a slice selector, in a slice machine ? If I’m right, does that also mean there are midi notes assigned to slices ?

(Not a DT owner, but gassing for one)

#7

The trig keyboard doesn’t utilize all trigs, it’s a chromatic keyboard in the general shape of a piano keybed, so you could say when using the chromatic keyboard trigs 1, 4, and 8 are not utilized. In slice mode, you can assign an individual slice to all trigs. So to say, if you had a 64 step pattern and a sample recorded to a length of 64 steps which you then sliced, you can have each slice assigned to contiguous steps 1-64. Whether those constitute notes or not in the mind of the machine is hard to say, but one could interpret slice machine as a numeric filing system for digitakt’s ease of assignment rather than a midi notation system which would assign universal chromatic values.

I can’t say for sure though, but that’s my interpretation from having used slice mode on long (64 step) samples.

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#8

8 sounds? Hm… Can I at least combine methods or will triggering any one track from an external MIDI source disrupt or compromise the use of all patterns in the way they normally would work, meaning for drum sets?

#9

I’m not sure I understand, but if a long sample is playing on track 1, and you trigger another sample on track 1, it will choke that original sample and the new sample will start playing. The sound pool sample playing on that track (like if different samples are P locked to different steps) is not always the track sound (could be a different sample as the track sound), but it is a monophonic sampler so only one sample can play back per track at a time. Your pattern with the track sample won’t go back to the original configuration until the pattern loops. Is that what you mean to ask?

#10

No I mean can I dedicate some tracks for external triggering and still use the remaining tracks for patterns like normal?

#11

there would be nothing which would prevent you from doing that, a track with no trigs in the sequencer will not play any sounds unless triggered externally (or from the track trig itself). also, as long as there is a note value attached, like for example if I use my keystep pro to trigger notes, digitakt will play the specific chromatic note value you’ve sent it. the rest of the tracks in the pattern with sequencer data will continue on as expected.

also meaning that if you want the sample to trigger as recorded, if you have the original note value set to middle C, you’ll need to send it the same note or it will play however many semitones up or down from that set value of the original note which you send. If the track’s note is set to C and the samples natural note is G, playing D from a keyboard will trigger the note A.

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#12

Ah I see. Well explained. Seems then it might still turn out useful for what I’m thinking. Thanks!

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#14

no problem. it’s a great machine.

#15

Both routes work. You can assign slices to the keys and play them. You can also place a single trig and set up the LFO with a random waveform mapped to slice select as the destination, and each time that trig plays you’ll hear a different slice.

It takes a bit of setting up…

  1. the LFO waveform has to be on the free running setting (ie not retriggered each time there’s a new trig)

  2. you need to play around with the LFO BPM and multiplier setting so that the transition to each different point in the LFO random waveform is bang on the beat

  3. the LFO random waveform is bipolar not unipolar so you need to p-lock the trig to the middle slice in the slice machine. Let’s say you have a sample with 8 slices. You lock the trig to the 5th of the 8 samples so that when LFO random waveform goes down it plays any one of slices 1 through 4, and when it goes up it plays any one of slices 5 through 8

I saw a video about how to do this on YT, can’t remember if it was EZBOT or Ricky T but it was one of the usual Elektron YT legends. If I can find it I’ll post the link here.

#16

Thanks. But when the slices are playable from the keys, are they also separately playable remotely as midi notes ?

That is where it might become helpful to the OP.

#17

The terms “Sounds” and “samples” are being confused (have been ever since Digitakt’s release). :wink:

A sound is a sample plus all parameter page settings. A sample is a sample loaded in the sample slot.

What @lowph says is correct. DT doesn’t have a multimap feature so triggering sounds in the sound pool across a keyboard is not possible.

So you’re indeed left with the maximum of triggering 8 sounds (by triggering the audio tracks). Triggering slices with slice machine should work but note that these are then samples in a sample chain. Not sounds (sample + parameter page values).

So you’d have to design the sounds, sample them, make a chain etc.

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#18

Yes, if you slice up a sample chain (4/8/16/32/64 samples) they will be available via MIDI notes, starting from C4/C5 and looping around if you go beyond that range.

(what Elektron calls C5 seems to be C4 everywhere else - MIDI note 60)

With eight tracks, that’s potentially 512 slices.

So it involves some preparation - either by resampling on the device to create a chain, or via the fantastic DigiChain web app - but it can be done.

Creating a sample chain on-device is not quite as tedious as it might sound, since you can plock samples to individual steps and then resample that sequence using a fixed length now.

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Slice machine - no editing?
#19

Love that you’re all basically coming up with a workaround that seems like it will actually make it happen. Can actually do keyboard splits too this way!

#20

Related sub-threads:

Not even considering just elektron

Apologies for digression.

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#21

I’m sure I’m not the first to have thought of this - but with the slide mode is seems like you could easily multisample a synth sound into a chair and play is back with a MIDI keyboard using the slide mode. Has anyone tried this?