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The problem as I see it is that people see these keyboard instruments, with a slightly different layout. They gawk at it. They poke a bit of fun at it. They call it names.
A few people try it, really get into it, and it’s actually pretty amazing.
A few others catch on, but now it’s a bit late, and they didn’t sell well out of the gate. People didn’t understand it until it was too late.
Now the product is on indefinite pause.
Then the used prices go through the roof because people start to understand just how ingenious the device really was. Then the product is missed.
Then people clamour for it, but the company is reluctant to put out another product like it because nobody bought it the last time around.
It’s a very sad tale about timing. Seems to happen in a lot of areas of life. Not just synthesizers.
I wish I didn’t sell the two DNKs that I had. But my studio situation is complicated at best, so on I go. 
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Is this an example of accidental poetry?
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Definitely not something i ever intend to sell.
Will be interesting to see what happens to prices.
So happy that I found one before they were out of stock everywhere. This thing is amazing!
I really wish I could buy the Digitakt as a keys version!
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hey all
Got word from Elektron support today that the digitone keys is paused for now, with no confirmed plans to make them again. I nabbed last one available here in spain. Looking forward to seeing how it compliments my analog rytm
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Glad I have one even though I don’t use it that often. Will never sell. Love the sound, especially e-piano patches.
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Sad to hear, I love mine. I hope Elektron returns with another keyboard centric device, as many users like to have keys of some sort in their lives and most of the generic MIDI keyboards are just not a match, feature wise and visually.
One can dream but how about a new keyboard from Elektron that’s synth nor sampler but rather offers on the side a mixer, performance knobs, USB/overbridge host capabilities to other Elektrons, a meta arranger-sequencer-arp of sorts and FX built in.
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I think DigiWave is coming - 16 voice digital synth with va / wavetable engines. Hold on!)
I think the last thing the market needs is another wavetable synth! We’re practically swimming in 'em…
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I have no idea if Elektron consider the Keys to be a success or not, but I doubt they ever expected it to be a huge seller. I suspect it was always going to be the “premium” version of the Digitone, with a higher price tag and a smaller potential market. Just like the Monomachine sfx-6 keyboard and the Analog Keys. The smaller sales figures for the sfx-6 didn’t stop them doing the AK, and that didn’t stop them doing the DK.
Maybe the DK sold even worse than they expected, or maybe it met expectations, I dunno. But I’m glad they did make it, and I hope they do similar premium models of future synths even if they aren’t going to be bestsellers.
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Interesting to read that production of Digitone Keys has actually been paused without current plans to restart production.
I believe this decision really comes down to it being too small a commercial success. It started to get clear just some months after release (I believe) with a significant price drop (from 1300ish to 1000€).
What has been said about “bad timing” might be a crucial factor combined with the non traditional shape turning off many people before really trying. (I personally adore the shape and how it can sit neatly in front of other machines.)
It’s sad because the Digitone Keys as an electronic instrument really is something very special. Great sounding, intuitive, deep, extremely versatile.
Still, I’m super happy that it has been put out on the market in the first place.
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My comment is not directed at anyone specifically, and only as the observation of someone with first-hand familiarity with product development and business management.
Do we have the data to determine a product a “success” for a company – the Digitone Keys – or any product that hasn’t explicitly been said by a company not to be “successful” ? I haven’t seen that information yet regarding the Digitone Keys.
As a business you measure success in many different ways. Lowering a price can actually be a sign of success. Sales volume ( which we don’t know, nor do we know the sales expectation ) isn’t a measure either. It depends on a company’s objective for a product. There are many reasons and objectives for a product, beside maximized high premium profit and/or sales volume, that all can serve a company’s overall goals and objective.
Plus “success” is not a black and white thing, it gets measured along a scale, with many criteria.
Even pausing manufacture isn’t a determining sign, their are plenty of reasons to pause manufacture. Even discontinuing a product isn’t by itself proof of a product being unsuccessful. All products have a life cycle.
We really can’t say the Digitone Keys was not a success for Elektron. What we know is someone was told that “the digitone keys is paused for now, with no confirmed plans to make them again”. We also know the qualities that it had. We can say that it was, or was not successful for us. We only know those sorts of things without inside information.
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From my experience, pausing the sale of a product for an indefinite amount of time is quite an unusual move. My guess is Elektron is doing this for a specific reason, though I have no idea what that is. Re-releasing it without any notable upgrades or at least some kind of refresh would seem strange indeed, especially when it’s been unavailable for more than a year.
One thing we do know that I think is pretty important is that the price of elektrons have been rising and the dtk is a lot more material to build it then others. It is a bigger thing compared to other elektrons with a good amount of special parts that are only used on it. I think with the analog rhythm costing almost two grand now and a syntakt is a grand, I’m not sure how the dtk can cost a grand when it must be much more to ship it, build it, and get the keys from fatar… leads me to believe that they probably planned it like this from the start… like they made it because they thought it was cool, but not near as profitable as anything else they can do so won’t waste the resources forever but still wanted to make it…
After they discontinued the case I had a feeling it was almost done. It is a great idea but elektron are more known for small boxes. This is just the feeling I get, I don’t know anything about the companies business.
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Well if something is sold out, meaning, no more in stock, it sounds like a success to me. It’s the opposite of having a ton of gear no-one wants to buy, that you have to throw away to the garbage.
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Yeah true it’s not been the first to do it like that
Just that it’s not what a “normal” synth looks like.