As much as I love my Model:Cycles, if you want to learn FM, Digitone for sure
1 Like
Never seen this but I am investigating now. Thank you!
M:C isnāt a synth-synth as such, just a decent drum machine with a few things that can produce some tone based stuff on occasion but in a super limited way. DN is actually a better drum machine imo, and as a pure synth, it kicks the M:Cās ass in every way
1 Like
It really depends on what you want: do you want a full featured FM synth? then get the Digitone. Do you want something for percussive FM sounds? get the M:C at half the price and maybe a Volca FM or a Volca Drum(or both).
In contradiction to my post, I just ordered a Digitone from gear4music, arriving tomorrow. 
I was thinking it over for a long time. Cycles looks amazing for the price, but the Digitone has so much range and Iām fairly decent with FM anyway, especially percussion.
1 Like
In this regardā¦ does it make sense to have both? Digitone and Cylesā¦
Itās just that Iām getting a Digitone, but for that I need so sell some stuff. And Cycles might be one of the āstuffs". But Iām really enjoying the immediacy of the Cycles. And the control all feature f.x.
Should I expect Digitone to mostly cover the gap that Cycles will leave once itās gone?
They donāt really crossover too much imo. Digitone can do many more things but it takes slightly longer to get the right sounds. Cycles is more immediate but if you donāt like the sounds it produces, then it becomes limited. But it sounds like you like Cycles so try to save up for Digitone instead of selling your Cycles.
1 Like
@dreamspy Word to the wise, if you find an instrument you enjoy using, do not get rid of it. Keep the cycles!
2 Likes
Glad to hear that these instruments donāt overlap that much. So happily keeping the Cycles.
1 Like
To be frank, the DN is already an ease into the FM world.
I have both. The M:C is great, itās tons of fun, sounds good and is immediate. But itās not as deep as the DN.
1 Like
First poster here! Been reading forums for some time and great to be part of this community.
I recently got a Model:Cycles and am really enjoying it. Besides being my first Elektron box - and loving the workflow so far - i was also quite impressed with the sound quality and versatility of the Cycles.
In the meantime i just stumbled on a reasonably priced Digitone and was wondering if I should go for it. From a sound design and UI perspective it seems to be a winner, but my biggest question is whether 4 synth tracks will get you very far generally as a standalone instrument.
Iāve got a mid-sized eurorack system with very capable sample mangling and analogue synth voices. The Cycles and Digitone just seem to be really great companions to this set up. That said iām keen on limiting the number of synths on my desk and would like to avoid too much overlap.
Would appreciate having some other perspectives
4 Tracks but 8 voice polyphony and sound locks make it bigger than you think. Get it!
Sounds like you have a very good setup for a Digitone to slot into. Very little overlap with existing instruments. I say go for it - the DN is a winner.
On its own, I do find myself running out of tracks/voices if Iām trying to treat it as a standalone groovebox, more than I do with the Cycles. You can get nice arrangements going with it, but for the stuff I do, even with sound locks I tend to have to use two tracks for drums and that only leaves two for bass & either a pad or lead. The six tracks on the Cycles means it lends itself more to standalone use IMO but if you offload drums to a second box the DN can do everything else.
1 Like
I have both, go for itā¦the DN is an amazing addition to any rig.
With the MC handling percussion and some nice chords, the 4 poly tracks of DN will be plenty, especially with some euro thrown inā¦
With an expert sleepers FH2 or (similar), the 4 midi chanels of Elektron sequencer controlling parameters of your Euro would open possibilities exponentially as wellā¦
I can recommend it. Thereās just so much it can do. You can use it as a 2 osc VA, it can do the subbiest cleanest kicks youāve ever head, it can sound like a Melotron, a Moog, a 303 even like a 0coast. Itās great for clean subs too. Infinite percussionā¦
Not only that, you can do huge sounds using 16 oscs. You can layer all four, totally different voices, for huge drones.
Your imagination is more limiting than the hardware, which might seem like an odd thing to say when itās fairly simple for an FM synth, but youāll see when you start using it.
When you start processing it with external stuff it just takes on a whole new dimension, Guitar Distortion and reverbs just make it sound incredible.
1 Like
Thanks all for sharing your views. It does seem like a great synth to have and will likely just pull the trigger on it. Also have a CV.OCD which I can use to bridge the Digitone (or Cycles for that matter) to my euro rig.
2 Likes
DN will give you many more plockable options āper stepā when it comes to MIDI to CVā¦every CVOCD channel can be assigned a function from just one DN midi outā¦and if you use all 4 - Up to 4 tempo syncd LFOs (all plockable per step) controlling your Euroā¦gunna be coolā¦
Somewhat off topic. Just a couple of thoughts after reading through this thread. Please feel free to skip over this post.
I feel like the marketing of these devices have done a minor disservice to folks. FM, as a synthesis engine, is vast. Just because two devices use FM (which is really PM but thatās a whole other story) as their base sound generation doesnāt mean they are necessarily similar. I love my M:C but the fact that itās FM based is essentially just academic. Great box but without being able to rearrange algorithms and mix operators it doesnāt feel like using an FM box. I donāt own the DN (sadly) but based on everything Iāve read/ watched it seems like FM for people who want a subtractive approach, which is neat. It even has a filter which is odd for FM. If I ever find a killer deal on one Iād pick it up in a heartbeat for the plethora of obvious reasons but I wouldnāt expect it to replace my dx7 for deep FM. If that was my goal Iād look for an old TG77 or, if money wasnāt an object, an FS1R.
2 Likes
Itās not a subtractive approach at all Itās 4op with a few algos and a crossfade and just 2 operator envelopes. Itās a simplified TX81z with an elektron sequencer. The filter is just there for additional flexibility.
You canāt just dial in the square harmonic and have a fat square, it doesnāt work like that at all.
I feel like the marketing has done a minor disservice to you. 
I was totally hyped on the Cycles and bout pre-release but ended up selling it after a few months. Blasphemy I know, but it just never fit into my workflow somehow.
Sound wise IMO it is a percussive instrument. You can do much much more with it but it excels at being a percussive instrument. A drum machine that can make crazy unheard before noises and drones and bass, chords and subs that make you cry a single tear 
they are so good. But for me there was no way that (in my hands at least) it was going to become a 6 part Digitone replacement.
If you like the sounds and the workflow / it does what you want it to do / in the way that you want to use it / then definitely keep it and use it. A Digitone and a Model Cycles would have you covered for drums and synth sounds for a long time. Again it depends on if you like it and it gels. I wanted to use it this way paired with the Digitone but for me at least, I had the wrong expectations and learned a lesson.
Maybe in the future if I find myself in a place where the Cycles was what I needed to achieve a certain goal, Iād pick one up in a heartbeat.