Digitakt vs OP-1 ? (I have Octatrack MK1 + Digitone)

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#1

What should my next purchase be: a Digitakt or an OP-1?

Hi!
I know there is a bazillion questions/topic´s about this vs that vs the other thing.
But I could not find any that asked/answered my specific dilemma:

My “band” today consists of a Octatrack MK1 and a Digitone.
Still learning the Elektron workflow, but slowly getting there. And even though I have countless hours left before I am even close to mastering them, my GAS kicked in…
Me being a n00b might also result in one or more stupid questions here, so bear with me here.

My question is:

Who is my new band member? the Digitakt or the OP-1?

I know this is somewhat apple and oranges. So it´s more a question of should I choose the DT to make the Elektron band complete, or the OP-1 so I can noodle on the bus and train etc?
Here are my thoughts so far:

DIGITAKT:
Is the Digitakt overdoing it when I have the Octatrack and the Digitone?
I was thinking the DT could be my drummer, the DT the synth guy and the OT the soundguy/ Conductor and the rest of the band. But do I need a DT for drums ,when the OT can be my drummer?
(The Analog Rytm MKII is way to expensive for me at this point btw)

Pro: the DT will give me the possibility to use slowly evolving Elektron muscle memory skillz.
Will work seamlessly with the rest of the band.

Con: Yet another E. box that samples, mangles etc etc. And not very portable.

OP-1:
Is the OP-1 too much of a one man band to join the rest of the band?
I think I might be fooled by the toy-ish look, so I´m afraid it will sound extremely lo-fi and toy´ish and be more gimmick than an instrument. But the stuff I have seen and heard online sounds pretty good to be honest.

Pro: Extremely portable and can function as a one man band when I´m traveling etc. Fits in my bag and doesn’t need to be plugged in.

Con: Yet another complex system to understand to be able to use. Harder to work in unison with the Elektron band (or is it?).

The OP-1 will be bought used so they are roughly the same price.

Any and all tips are greatly appreciated!

#2

Op-1.
I have both and complement each other. Of course, depends on what kind of music you do. a gorgeous pair for example ambient. I love my OP-1 and Octa <3

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#3

I’d go for DT personally. I had the OP1, I know a lot of people get pissed off about saying it because obviously you can make full tracks with any instrument but it did just feel like a toy to me. The synth engines are nothing to write home about, the sampler is pretty limited and the FX are fun but not special. I found The noise floor very high which supposedly can be helped by using a ground loop isolator but I didn’t bother. I don’t think something at that price should have that sort of issue.

It is fun to play with, somewhat more than the sum of its parts and people will defend it to death because it’s TE, but it just felt like a toy. A fun toy, one capable of making songs, but a toy nonetheless. I’ve owned OT mk1, mk2, Digitone and analog keys. I’ve had straight up good experiences with elektron. Solid tools, deep as you want them to be and very professional feeling. I have no doubt that the DT would be great from everything I’ve seen and my experience with the digitone. If you want to make music, go with DT. If you want something different to play with that doesn’t take itself too seriously and you’ve got money to burn go for the OP1

This is assuming you’re mostly using DT as a drummer by the way, I’d love one to free up breathing space on OT and multitrack drums. I use maschine in its place at the moment

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#4

Would make a lot more sense to me to get the OP-1 if you already have a OT.
I have all 3.

OP-1 provides totally different workflow and significant portability benefits; DT is like ‘half an OT with better verb’.

Depends on your usage though - OP-1’s main attraction for me is as an all-in-one 4 track idea recorder on a train, plane or deckchair. Much moreso 8 bar idea capture than hi-fi, for later work elsewhere. Its linear tape unquantised looseness I really like as an alternative to sequencing.

If you want another rugged box on a performance table, DT might be better though. OP-1, despite redmeansrecording’s unnatural abilities, for me is not really a performer box.

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#5

OP1 is a great match for OT but not sure if it’s worth it at current prices. @jb laid out the issues pretty well. Very fun little source of inspiration if money is no issue though

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#6

Digitakt. Sequence the DN with the midi tracks. Thus making the DT sorta like the megastation between the two.

I’ve had an OP-1 before and it’s basically a single instrument source posing as a workstation. The tape player will test your patience to no end. The synthesis is pretty cool on it- but are any of them amazing enough to warrant the price? I say no

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#7

I’ll have to go with the OP-1 with this one. OP-1 will provide endless material for your OT. The sample capabilities opens a whole new world of possibilities. You can carry it around, sample onto the mic or record anything on the local radio and mangle the sound to no end. You can literally wave surf the sample at granular level. The effects are awesome especially the COW effect. The synth section is usable, not as inspiring as the Digitone but useful. The internal sequencers are super fun to play with. This is not a toy this is a tool box of infinite sound. If you like to experiment then the OP-1 is a great choice. Just know it’s best to think of the OP-1 as an entity onto itself m, not an instrument that can be easily synced to the rest of your band.

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#8

I don’t know why anyone call s the OP-1 a toy. Maybe they’re fooled by its cute looks?

OP-1 is a monster. The tape is an inspiration, the sampler is so easy to use that you may end up preferring it over the Octatrack for some tasks.

And the “noise floor” complaint is bunk in my experience. Just make sure you reduce the number of “turns” on the reverb spring if you use it. All noise will disappear!

I bought one at the current absurd price, and I haven’t regretted it for a second.

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#9

The advice already posted in this thread covers a lot of the main arguments between the two devices, even though I have to disagree with the op-1 being a toy. I own the DT, DN, OT mkII, op-1 and op-z. I will part with my DT soon, as the OT basically does all it can do an more for me. The combination of op-1 and OT is so much fun though. I have another suggestion though: the op-z.
It is a different beast than the op-1, you are not limited to the tape tracks, it’s sequencer is very powerful and unique. In addition, it can easily be synced to your DN via midi and rivals or even exceeds what the DT is capable of as a drum machine with step components and punch in fx. The memory is very limited but backing up and restoring the projects on the op-z is pretty much hassle free, especially when compared to the DT. The synth engines are more limited than the ones on the op-1, but you can easily record the synth tracks as midi into the DN and take it from there.
I think it boils down to what you want to do, in general, you can’t go wrong with any of the devices IMO.

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#10

Op-z is a typo, I suppose? Would still be valid sentence IMO :blush:

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#11

I’d be much more inclined to spring for an op-z myself, I really like the idea of having that powerful sequencer for my ipad. I can’t say I’m wild about the sounds I’ve heard coming out of it, I just don’t think I’ve heard many people making my sort of music on it yet. The sequencer could definitely do what I want it to though.

Like @Ryan said I found the op-1 tape method frustrating. I liked the tape scrubbing effect for playing with but I just didn’t find it overall worth over a grand, particularly when weighed up against what I could get, 2 octatracks for the same price. Or a DT and a DN, or a 12.9inch iPad with moog synth apps, FX, wavetable, granular, modular, samplers, sequencers, modulation sources and mixers with a pair of decent headphones. OP-1 is such an oddity cause you’re obviously not paying for bang for buck but it’s not like you’re paying for luxury either. It kinda says “lol fuck it it’s fun”

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#12

What do you want to do that you can’t currently do with your setup (aside from jamming on the bus)?
I have an OT and the 'tone. I use the OT to do drums and mangle sounds that act as the base of the track. I use the 'tone to create melodies or chords. If I were going to add to the setup, I’d add another 'tone or an A4 mk1. But honestly, i can get all the sounds I want out of what I have now. YMMV.

When I’m on traveling, I use my phone to jot ideas. Korg Gadget is a much better value proposition than an OP-1, especially with the new, higher price.

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#13

Also if you want to try that cow effect mentioned above OP search for a frequency shifter, didn’t know what the name of it was for ages. I use Valhalla freqecho now, it’s free

https://valhalladsp.com/shop/delay/valhalla-freq-echo/

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#14

Apparently though there is a bug with using the OT sequencer to trigger patterns on other Elektron boxes (DT, DN, A4, etc.). Something about a delay in the pattern starting to play in the slave box. The only cure for this bug is to set pattern lengths the same on OT and slave box, which sounds unduly limiting to me.

In theory if you’re using OT to play drum parts already, the DT is not necessary but some people prefer the DT’s FX - not sure about FX for drums specifically though.

I can see why you’d be tempted to grab the OP-1 for a used price, considering how expensive it is new these days.

As mentioned by others the OP-1 has some quirks. Cannot save more than one pattern at a time into any of the sequencers. 6 min. stereo recording limit. Synths don’t sound “as good as” Moog, Waldorf, Sequential or whatever other high-end synth. Etc. OTOH, I find the Tape a joy to play with for mangling audio - it’s different enough in that you can take a sample, put it in Tape… and give a copy of the sample to a clone of yourself to mangle on an OT… and the results are guaranteed to be different. Also, I actually like the funky lo-fi character of the OP-1 synths.

#15

I don’t have OP-1, but I have Digitakt, and I love it. It’s a beast. You can use so many tricks to achieve complex things. The Resample function is very cool. If you add a controller like MPD226 and a RK002 midi cable, you can turn it into an overpowered MPC-like machine or if you add a midi keyboard (with rk002) you can have a 8 voices polyphonic synth with arpeggiator.

#16

Op-1 is more a self contained instrument rather than something to pair / run in sync with others imho.
i could easilly see it as a great sampling source for the octatrack though !

The Digitakt on the other hand share a lot of features with the octatrack, it would sound more like sort of 8 track extension for your octatrack

#17

Typo corrected :joy: but this would also apply for the OP-Z. I own both and am a big fan TE!

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#18

Wow! Really loving the quick respons and well written replies ! This place is a goldmine for stuff like this! I am being persuaded back and forth here :smile:

I think my main goal was to be abel to have something portable to sketch ideas on that´s always with me, without needing a power supply.

But I dont have enough money to buy something that sounds too lo-fi, is toooo limiting and doesn’t work worth my other gear.
(Not saying that it does, just stating my worries)
In that case I´m better of buying something that woul be better long term (I.e Digitakt), and just use an ipad etc for boredom on the buss. like someone said here.

I just liked the idea of being able to muck about on the buss, and later turn this into a song with the rest of the gear.

The OP-1 price would be a little less then the Digitakt, but not a lot. Little under half the price of a new op-1.

But then again, how often am I on a buss at all?
I might just really like the idea of jamming on a buss. Quite possibly I am creating a problem in order to be abel to sove it by buying a used op-1 for 65euro…
This would be the GAS talking…

In this case I would have to keep using the OT or the OP-1 for drum sounds, but i´m tempted to spring for the DT as it seems to be great for drums. And I somehow think that if I master The OT, Digitone AND The digitakt, i might be a better producer in The long run.

But man oh man does it look like fun to mess about with The OP-1 The few times i take The train from Bergen to Oslo for 7 house straight…

I am also ignoring the fact that I really really need some decent studio monitors… but that’s not nearly as fun to buy. And also would bring me no fun on my imaginary hectic Buss life…

#19

(Written on my phone, so please excuse the typos)

#20

I know that it’s supposed to say 650€ for the used op-1 but even TE haters would grab an op-1 if it were 65€ :rofl:
650€ for a used op-1 is still a very good deal in my opinion. I would go for it. You make it sound like the op-1 is only good for bus rides :yum: it’s an awesome machine even when just using it in the studio.

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