Elektron as first device to make music

Elektron Gear
#22

Be careful what you do, really think about it. You’re still going to make music you don’t like and you still won’t know what you’re doing with your equipment :+1: all these people reccomending elektron devices are giving out bad bad advice in my opinion. All gear is pretty straightforward to understand (which you didnt grasp before) but if there’s any that will make it difficult for you its elektron stuff. I understand you want to get away from a computer but you also need to prove to yourself that you’re actually going to put the time in and effort to do a lot of learning before you waste a load of money.

It’s your money to waste though!

#23

Well, if you’re determined not to go the software route, and you’re pretty sure you want to work with samples instead of dedicated synthesisers, you probably can’t do better that the Digitakt right now. I came to it from an Electribe, having tired of the ET’s limitations. To get the most from DT you’ll have to get familiar with using single-cycle waveforms and a bunch of other stuff – but it is a great machine.

#24

Thanks Saltaire, yeah I get what you’re saying. Especially that I’l be making stuff I don’t necessarily like… I just know one of the big factors before was that I got too much at once and was overwhelmed. So I figure starting with one piece would be different, one piece that can do quite a lot .

Are you recommending the DAW route then or an alternative piece of gear that’s simpler to use ?

#25

Well as somebody above pointed out the novation circuit would be worth looking at. It’s really cheap and should be the easiest thing to pick up but its really impressive in its power. You can bang out track after track on that thing. Get Tue love back with something more accessible like the circuit and then progress from there maybe?

But honestly yes I would recommend getting a daw and going through a good period of learning. Imo hardware setups don’t make it easier to make music at all, its actually more likely to just cause you problems. With the computer you can always do exactly what you want to do and so much quicker than on hardware too

#26

I have an Electribe but it is quite basic. You run out of notes quite quickly on it. I bought a Digitakt, but returned it. Not that I didn’t like it I really liked it. I just felt that I would probably get an Octatrack after trying that Elektron sequencer. I have been using Ableton for a long time and before that Maschine, so I did find the Digitakt quite limiting. Look into Maschine. You can do a lot on your Maschine without having to look at your computer. You have the best of both worlds with sampling and synthesis as it can host VSTS. The sequencer is not the best and I hated automation on it, but for the money you can’t go wrong. The MK 3 looks great as well.

#27

I know this is a forum for people who like gear, but I feel like almost everyone just reccomends buying gear as an answer to a problem. Im gonna shush now though because everybody is allowed to voice their opinion.

#28

I had a similar situation. I knew the tools of Elektron, but I felt that I lacked some basis for understanding them. So first I bought and studied Korg Electribe 2, and then MD, Oct, A4.

#29

You should think about and decide what it is you are trying to achieve. The DAW is in many ways more complex than any Elektron machine. It is also a grind to work in a DAW, a different process altogether. Making music on the Elektrons is a much more fluid and iterative process where you “play” until you like something that comes out of it. As you learn to use the machine you will know more and more how to achieve specific things. A DAW is (and of course this is only my opinion) a tool that brings together many different aspects of music production. It makes me micro manage everything, often lost in automatisation and tasks which basically don’t involve sounds coming out.

Do you want to have fun and maybe come up with stuff in the process? Digitakt is a good bet
Do you want to produce and finish tracks the quickest possible way? Learn a DAW

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#30

Mmm i think you’re packaging your opinions as objective truth’s there but hey ho. Funnily you said ‘and this is only my opinion’ on the one part where it was probably objectively true.

I don’t know why im being so argumentative this morning, I cant seem to help myself, good luck OP I hope that whatever you decide to do results in you making lots of lovely music! Plus if you do get a digitakt its a beautiful little bugger just to have and hold so why not? Peace x

#31

This is all strictly subjective. And I agree with you, it can quickly end up being a money sink. If you look at it from money perspective, better look for something more profitable :slight_smile:

#32

If you feel you need less screen time then you’re indeed unlikely to enjoy using any kind of software to make music. I started out with trackers on the Amiga, and with my current work it still took me years to get to a point where I could use a DAW without feeling I needed to be doing work on my computer instead of making music.

You don’t need a computer to record a full track. A lot of classic electronic music was and still is recorded straight to two-track.

#33

Something else you might want to consider if you’re mostly interested in sampling is Maschine.

Sure, it needs a computer, but you only have to look the computer when you name a new project. Everything else can be done from the controller.

The Mk3 is just out and really cool, but it also means you can get a Mk2 for a really friendly price second-hand right now. Just make sure the seller is willing to include a license transfer for the software.

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#34

I didnt like maschine studio, mk2 is ok, but mk3 is amazing

I think if you buy one thing, then go NI of Elektron
Novation is a different thing, bad sound unpleasant touch

What you shouldnt do is to keep on buying, like many people do here
Dont underestimate the possibilities of only one maschine

#35

Another option, not previously mentioned, is the Roland JD-Xi.
It has 2 polyphonic sequencer tracks and 27 monophonic sequencer tracks to play with.
Plus you might find that you like playing an instrument that has velocity sensitive keys and pitch and mod wheels.
Cheaper than a digitakt too (no sampling though).

#36

It’s funny but this thread kinda makes me think of (not to hijack but) buying something like a multi-track recorder. I know the OT is there, but it’s kind’ve an island box. And with the way modern elektron instruments are going with only one stereo out, plus OB, it still feels like there’s room for an Elektron Multi-tracker for mixing that somehow used the OB protocol from box to box, processing and essentially finishing a track OTB. I wonder if they’ll ever do it? It could be totally seperate to what the Octatrack does, but more of a compositional song box that really had a lot storage and ram to deal with it all.

So anyway, I don’t know. I think what I’m trying to recommend is an 8-track recorder or something. Not necessarily the OT, because it’s pretty damn complicated, but just a straight up 8-track recorder that maybe could midi sync to your Elektron box of choice.

That way, you could still compose OTB (off the box/computer) but also get something fun like a Digitakt. And you could do multi passes out of the stereo outs anyway, as needed, sketching into your multitrack recorder.

#37

This thread is absolutely incredible

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#38

I don’t know you all, I went down a rabbit hole itb for like 5 years before I went to hardware, even though I kind of wanted hardware from the beginning…
I learned a lot but I think if I had a dedicated focused hardware box from the beginning it would have kept me more on a track and less wandering around in software land…

Do you folks with years of experience remember what it’s like to not know about midi and basic daw terms and parameters and stuff?
Is a DAW easier to learn than a DT?
It took me years of messing around and learning all sorts of stuff to even grasp what hardware I might want and how to go about connecting it all and using it appropriately…

I kinda feel if I was recommend a box from the beginning, I could have been learning that the whole time instead of taking years just to figure out that’s what I wanted all along.
I am content with my experience though because I learned so much through the process. Now I use mostly hardware but am free to integrate all of what I learned with the computer which is super powerful.

I just get this feeling that especially if you don’t want to use a computer and are interested in hardware, something like a DT could help keep the focus and I think it might even be easier to learn and definitely have less distractions than a DAW. You’ll probably end up using a DAW or at least experimenting with one, but don’t let it convince you you don’t need hardware, if you want hardware…

#39

The heart wants what the heart wants. :slight_smile:

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#40

I tried to make tracks with DAW for a long time, but really started to feel the pleasure and adrenaline rush when playing some hardware instruments.
This pleasure led me to play a lot with my instruments (Volcas, then OP-1, then Elektron) which brought me to actually know them deeply.
But the amazing thing with these boxes is that it brought me to actually creating tracks rather quickly.

The main thing with an instrument is IMHO to feel a bond with it, so that you always want to come back to it and play.
The rest comes naturally.

1 Like
#41

DAWs weren’t even a thing yet when I was getting started so everyone had hardware if they were doing any kind of electronic music. You had people using trackers of course, but I didn’t know anyone at that time that was tracking. What was far more common was to find people sequencing with a computer, stand alone sequencer or a workstation synth and then recording to DAT or ADAT. So yeah you had to learn the vernacular of the different manufacturers and figure out interoperability to get everything synced up and working together.