i owned a M:C a few times and always wished i had more of a reason to keep it. I really love the plasticky build and aesthetic of the thing, and the immediacy of the knob-per-function playability. but the overall sound palette gets tiresome quickly, the UI/little screen is horrible, and crucially i hate macros, which make sound design on the thing unpredictable and frustrating. and once youve used something with a much broader range of functionality and programmability (ie a digitone etc) its difficult to settle into really using and enjoying it as it always feels like theres a bunch of stuff missing. big fan of the design tho.
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All good points, though I think the use experience is pretty good. Might keep it around just to have some travel box or for friends to use with my DN.
One huge benefit was the sound: it uses less oversampling or lower rates and also gain/distortion works a bit differently, so the sound because of that was very nice. But the drawbacks were mentioned already: limited palette and quite clunky controls. I did not feel the immediacy and fun of an Elektron sequencer.
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I completely disagree. After two years with DN and A4, I really enjoyed the simplicity of ST machines. If youâre not a pro sound designer, these streamlined macros can encourage you to make own sounds instead of relying on presets. Especially when combined with DN that has the power to go very deep, itâs nice to have something simpler and faster like ST or MC. But thatâs a personal thing of course, you seem to crave having all the options.
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Thank you for comment. I also like the design of Elektron products, and I like the toy-like feel and colors of the Cycles.
great model cycles example, mario/ess
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Other M:C examples
I agree there is a sound that is hard to escape completely.
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thanks Ld
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Model:Cycles has its own unique sound, which is darker than the digis. Some people hate it. My favourite machine on the cycles is the cymbal machine by far, sounds freaking glorious where it just sounds meh on my Syntakt. Itâs a quirky lil box that is more limited than the digis, and sometimes those limitations can make you end up working more for good results. I really love CTRL-AL on the cycles, as there are so many knobs to CTRL-AL with!
I bought a Syntakt thinking its like a super cycles. Turned out its too dissimar sounding from the cycles, and you cannot get patterns made on the cycles property translate over to a Syntakt one. Ended up keeping both, and in fact, if it ever comes time to sell, for me personally, Syntakt might end up being easier to let goâŚ
For the OP, Iâd say, stick with any single Elektron for at least a year before getting more or swapping. These boxes take a while to get to grips with, as they have a very deep sound design potential under the surface, if one is willing to work for itâŚ
just my 2 cents (jm2c)
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Wel, I just bought cycles number 3. Canât remember why i sold the first one but i sold nr. 2 because i thought the syntakt can replace it. After a year of syntakt ownership the short answer is: no
i felt never really comfortable with the syntakt. Its a great machine but this armada of machines was just too much for me and i did not fully explore all the potential. The hardware is amazing but not hands on enough for me. Lots of back and forth between the menus to change small things.
I was skeptical when i ordered another M:C though. But playing with it for 10 minutes and immediately felt in love again. It sounds like there is a glue comp on the master, punchy and much faster to find the sweetspots. The parameter ranges work really well here while on syntakt i find it harder to find the sweetspots. Yes, weak snare and no clap but i like the rest, especially kick and also reverb. The tone synth does sound more gnarly as well. I donât care too much for the chord machines. Thanks to this forum i found already ways to create better snare and clap as well. The exposed interface and limitations already forced my creativity again. Working arround or (try to) break the limitations,
Conclusion: i gonna sell the syntakt and keep the cycles 
I donât really need all the extras and i have other drummachines as well. Thats the main purpose.
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Iâve been feeling the same for a while.
Not sure that Iâll sell the Syntakt, but have been keeping an eye out for a good discount on another Cycles.
Iâve kind of been hoping that Elektron would update it - with USB-C support, if nothing else, but that seems very unlikely.
I sold my Syntakt too. I miss it, but will be waiting for the ST2. Most of all I miss the SY Tone engine tbh, so immediate and fun.
I got the M:C, then the Digitone. I like sound design better on the Digitone. I like playing the M:C better.
I still have mine, I dust it off about once a year and get bored of it within a week.
It does make really nice kicks; everything about it is lacking for me. Strong disagree about the hats - to be fair Iâm fussy about hats and I like ratty LFSR or ring modded squares best for that. There is a very particular type of snare it makes that I find acceptable and requires basically sacrificing the reverb. It makes some pretty good sort of polite, percussive, melodic sounds. It can make some ratty, fizzy noise, but itâs not my cup of tea. In general, the shorter I made my sounds the more I like them, again, except for kicks which can hum and buzz beautifully.
The velocity and LFO implementations are really interesting in theory, but theyâre a bit hampered by lack of exciting destinations. The buttons are straight up annoying - feels like chewing with your fingers.
I think its sonic character is kind of like boba tea - everything it does is going to be kind of fruity and/or creamy. Itâs a very particular vibe.
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This is a pretty epic description. If gear reviews used language like this, I would have probably saved a ton of money over the years.
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SY Tone and Toy imo are Syntaktâs (probably not so secret) secret weapons. Theyâre so versatile and contrast so well with more beefier analog sounds.
FWIW, I had a Cycles for a few months and only used it twice. That was mostly because I bought it to use on the go and just never felt the need to make music on the go. But I also felt like the UI was a bit obtuse compared to other Elektrons. Yes, itâs mostly hands on, but things like LFOs and saving/renaming patterns (donât remember exactly) where confusing enough that it just didnât make me want to use it more.
I still really like the idea of using this as a nice drum machine to add to an OG DN thatâs cheap, small and easy to understand. They can be bought used for around 200⏠and are well worth that, so just try one. On the other hand, with uses DT and DN for a little more, you could consider getting one of these as drum machines. I much prefer DNs drum sound, but they are harder to tweak.
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I donât know if I really need my Model:Samples, but the Cycles is quite portable, battery efficient, the lo-fi sqwankiness of it is great.
I will probably update my Digitone to 2 eventually, however I see the Cycles as its own crusty digital thing.
If I had a Syntakt AND a Digitone Iâd not bother keeping. But itâs so good at what it does!
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I have a DT and DT2 and just ordered a Cycles. The portability, low cost, and power efficiency made it of interest for me. Like the idea of having one for travel etc and still having some of the core Elektron features.
I have had a week with the Cycles, coming from DN and DN2, and am really impressed with Cycles as itâs own variation on the FM theme. It has a pretty impressive range and portion of DN features for being pretty inexpensive, light and economical on power use. For me it is the perfect portable device as it keeps most of the Elektron workflow and sounds great. Obviously itâs not a DN, but it is awesome for its own reasons. Glad I got one.
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I meant to add that I started running it off a USB battery bank and keeping a log so I know what to expect when I have it on the sailboat. So far a 10,000mAh battery, and not a new one by any stretch, is going strong at 8hrs of use. Will see what I end up at, but it seems like it will likely be at least 10-12hrs comfortably, maybe more.
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