Quick question - does the Digitone arp have a chord mode, where I can play a chord and it will repeat the chord? (Like the keystep pro poly mode)
Thanks!
Also wondering if the Digitone doesn’t have this (looked at the manual and can’t find it), if anyone has a workaround? A way of playing chords that repeat to tempo?
I have Steppolyarp on the iPad which has a chord mode, so maybe I could use the new iOS functionality to have that app trigger one of the internal Digitone tracks? Is that possible?
That should be possible. I haven’t tried triggering the internal sounds with external stuff but it should be doable.
Just use Live Recording. You can set it to quantize or not depending on your needs. It’s been working great for me since the first time I tried it.
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If I use live recording, I won’t be able to play the chord live will I? It will be stuck on the chord I played when I recorded?
I’m looking for a way to play different chords live, that repeat to a tempo/division. (e.g. 16 times a bar)
It seems that you misunderstand the way Live Recording works. It records while the sequencer is running and it only records while you’re holding down the keys. Play it the way you want it to sound and you’ll have a recorded sequence. It works the same way whether you’re playing single notes or chords. Just try and you will be very happy.
Cheers
(P.S. I’m assuming that you’ve read about Live Recording in the manual.)
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yes I’ve read the manual but I’ve not studied it 
I will…
But I’m not actually talking about recording anything, I’m talking about pure performance. Like an arp, except it’s a chord being repeated.
I’m afraid the answer Is no.
Analog Four can.
Digitone can’t (at the moment).
That’s what I thought - hence the idea of pumping the Digitone into AUM /iPad and using an app to do the chord repeating. StepPolyArp does it.
Live Recording isn’t recording audio, it’s recording trigs into the sequencer while the sequencer is running. It will then repeat every time the sequencer loops. The manual tells you how to do it, so just go to the table of contents and you can quickly find it in the manual.
I know this. I’m not talking about recording anything. I’m talking about performing much like an arp. I mean playing a chord and having it repeat. Not recording the chord for it to play back later.
Sorry, I might be confusing you!
Definitely not what you’re looking for, but just to throw it in the mix its good fun to use algorithm 3,7 or 8 with a single note arpeggiator, then parameter lock offsets of C, B1 and B2 to arpeggiate chords, A as well if using algorithm 7.
Obivously this limits the kind of sounds you can use compared to an actual chord arpeggiator, but I’ve come up with a lot of cool stuff doing this. Then the expected fun of dialling in one of the more FMish algorithms afterwards is often pretty amazing.
Using offsets found here:
https://www.elektronauts.com/uploads/default/original/3X/e/c/ec6218e49448e8379ca24bf54002c776127d893b.png
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That’s a nice workaround. That’s the thing I like about problems, solving them usually takes you somewhere else.
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I know exactly what you’re looking for. I have both a Digitone and an iPad. If I have time this evening I’ll poke around for any app that does what you’re looking for. StepPolyPad can do it if you explicitly program each chord I’m each step but you want something that repeats the chord you play. Trust me, I know exactly what you mean as I have se VST synths that do it. I’m certain there’s something in iPad that will do it as well. Just in the middle of my work day so no time to dig into it.
Workaround :
Play a chord with max sustain
Use a short decay filter, no sustain, long attack
Place lock trigs with FLT.T (retrigs the env filter), short attack locked
This way you hear your notes / chords only when lock trigs are played.
You can also use an lfo.
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Yes I’m happy to program each repeat step. Really just want to know if a MIDI app in AUM can trigger an internal track in Digitone.
Amazing. I’ll be sure to try that thanks.
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Please! I used that principle below, chords at 0m40s. No trigs, only lock trigs. Even the drums are played only with key press.
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Love it.
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Absolutely you can! In my setup I use:
- Digitone with latest firmware (1.30A)
- USB-B to USB-C cable to connect to a 2018 iPad Pro
On the Digitone, go to Settings (Gear button), MIDI Config, Port Config and make sure ‘Input From’ and ‘Output To’ are both set to at least ‘USB’ (‘MIDI+USB’ if you’re also using other hardware over DIN MIDI)
If you want to also stream audio from the iPad to the Digitone, make sure to go to Settings (Gear button), System, USB Config and set it to ‘USB AUDIO/MIDI’ (This might also be required for class compliant MIDI so I would turn this on regardless if you want to use the Digitone as a class compliant audio device).
In AUM, load up a MIDI generator like StepPolyArp, ChordPolyPad, Patterning, Fugue Machine, Rozetta Suite, or any of the other amazing AUv3/IAA devices.
I will use StepPolyArp in these instructions (I don’t use the app but own it so app specific questions you’ll need to ask elsewhere). Once you have StepPolyArp loaded onto a MIDI channel in AUM, tap on the three bars to the left of the app icon. You will see all available MIDI sources. You can tap ‘Elektron Digitone’ and select the channels you want to receive MIDI from. Open StepPolyArp and tap the wrench icon in the top right to select the MIDI channels you want to output to. Back on the AUM main screen, tap the routing icon in the top right (middle icon that looks like an ‘S’). The top is the source and the right is the destination. Tap the square in the matrix that connects ‘StepPolyArp’ to ‘Elektron Digitone’.
Your connections should now be made. In this scenario, you can go to a Digitone MIDI track and send note information (or CCs if applicable) to the iPad. If sending notes to StepPolyArp it should do it’s arp thing and output its notes back to the Digitone on the channel you set it to send to.
This should get you setup and give you an overview of how to do a basic setup. Now, if you want to record the output of the MIDI generator onto the Digitone’s sequencer you need to send MIDI to the auto-channel on the Digitone (ch.10 by default). So, if you want to record the output onto the sequencer for track one, select track 1 on the Digitone and set StepPolyArp to output to channel 10.
Note: AUM does not sync to external MIDI clock. It can only be the master. If you need to tempo sync the iPad to hardware you need to use a host that supports external clock like Audiobus 3, Beatmaker 3, or apeMatrix (I don’t have this but it supports external clock). If you love AUM like I do and simply must use it with tempo sync, you can open Audiobus 3 and run AUM nested inside it or use a program like MIDILinkSync (or something to that effect) and have AUM use Link. It’s not stable in my experience and it doesn’t support Start/Stop so it’s somewhat useless.
I can go into more detail if you like but it’s time to eat breakfast and get off to work
Also note that you can use sound sources like synths and samplers on the iPad and stream the audio through the Digitone. As of the latest firmware update (1.30A), the Digitone is now a class compliant audio device. To set the USB audio levels being output to ‘Main’, go to Settings (Gear button) Audio Routing adn set the ‘USB TO MAIN’ level. It goes from 0dB to +18dB in +6 increments. It is, to say the least, effing amazing!
Cheers!
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