Elektron build quality

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

The Octatrack seriously excites me! I’ve been watching every YouTube video I can find for 2 weeks now. I know it can be a bit “arcane” but it seems so capable of so much - MIDI, CC, looping, sampling, conditional trigs, - and I have the motivation and time to learn. I think I will really enjoy the Octatrack.

But, $1300 is a lot of money for me. Doable, but a lot. How is Elektron on quality control (I’m an Elektron newb)? Will the OLED screen (MK2) fail in a couple years? Will my Octatrack break? If it breaks can I get it serviced? I see a fair amount of quality issues discussed on this forum in the last few days that cause me to hesitate.

How “solid” is Elektron gear?

#2

i have had 5 different machines (AR, A4, 3 OTs) and haven’t had one single problem.

5 Likes
#3

I have 8 Elektron boxes, I’ve never had a mechanical failure of any kind. Both my MnM and MD were bought year of mkl release and gigged a bunch, sometimes in less than ideal conditions. Very solid and road worthy. I’m honestly shocked I haven’t had to do a battery replacement

4 Likes
#4

I’ve owned AK, AR, A4, MM x2, MD, and now OT MKII.

Too soon to tell on OT MKII (though it did arrive flawless), but of all the others I only had one issue with one of the Monomachines I purchased used. Internal PSU was faulty. Was still within the 3 year manufacturer’s warranty, and Elektron repaired it.
It was gone for about 10 days for the repair.

It is typically less common for users to start threads about their instruments working without issue than to start threads about hardware faults, which to a certain extent, are unavoidable.

5 Likes
#5

After about 3 years of use, my OT MK1 started failing. Trigs 13-16 stopped working (lighting up) under certain conditions. Wasn’t really a bummer but it meant I couldn’t get a good 2nd hand price when I sold it

1 Like
#6

I’ve had two octas (both marks), AR, A4 and AH now, and still have all of them (except the first octa which I traded for an A4). There hasn’t been a hardware failure with any of them, aside from a few trigs on my AR that started to act a bit flakey when I gigged with it without transporting it with the PL protective lid.

Assuming you use the PL lids and transport the units with a reasonable care, I’d say these boxes last as well if not better than the competition.

Furthermore, Elektron support can also help you outside of warranty.

2 Likes
#7

right !

1 Like
#8

Really good build quality. I own OT MK1 and it’s def worth the money. Still missing a easy MIDI drumpad setup for slices but, yeah, this is a software thing.

#9

Had all Elektron Machines and now i have 4 : the Monomachine mk2 , Octa mk1 , Analog 4 mk1 and Rytm Mk1.
I would say the quality is great though i hate the paint on the new black machine (easy to scratch and ugly).
Had to replace defectives encoders on the Octatrack and the Analog Rytm.

#10

I’ve had 2 x MD, MnM, DT, OT mk1, A4 mk1 x 2, & a heat. some I had to sell due to finances n others I still have years later.
never had any hardware issues whatsoever. rock solid.

elektron support are great too. best I’ve ever encountered. Sent me free trig buttons on a few occasions when I needed replacements due to me gluing stickers on to the originals (silly me). :slight_smile:

1 Like
#11

A few trig buttons on my 6.5+ year old MDUW+ and OT require a little extra force to activate (cue button on OT started doing this recently too), but my 5 year old MNM works flawlessly, AR & AH have been solid, and the DT… well, I’m hoping it’s on par with the others.

#12

My Ot is around 5 year old, no issues except PSU socket or cable. Need to check this, but I can’t replicate when Ot turn off without my approval.
No problem with my around 4 year old A4.

#13

Rock solid build quality on the older machines, for sure. AR, A4, AH and Digitakt are with me - and the A4 is with me for the longest time now. Never had any issues - at all. Same goes for the OT, which i had to sell couple of months ago - and still regret it :frowning:

No one can tell about durability of the new MK2’s, thats obvious. But i would assume that their quality at least equals to what we are used to. So i think you are safe to buy that grey Sampling Powerhouse :wink:

#14

Oh yeah, I forgot that my OT will turn off if I even touch the power cable… and one of the channels of the headphone outs doesn’t work. Other than that and some wonky buttons it’s pretty solid! :wink:

#15

Maybe we need the good ol wall test…
Take a mk1 and a mk2, throw them each at a wall, power up and if still working repeat…
Take notes on components broken on each throw, see how many throws each can take before rendered useless. :stuck_out_tongue:
Or maybe no one should ever do this, but if you do, post stats! :joy:

3 Likes
#16

Also, please record the sounds and release as a sample pack. (not a sadist, I swear)

3 Likes
#17

I have a Monomachine, Machinedrum and Octatrack and they’ve all been faultless. The Octatrack was clearly the recipient of some cost saving measures compared to the silver machines, mostly in terms of the faceplate (stamped/drilled steel rather than CNCd aluminium) but there’s nothing to suggest that mechanical reliability is any worse.

If there’s a concern I have right now it’s around the robustness of Elektron’s firmware/software. I always feel hardware designed for playing live should be super super solid and reliable and there seem to be a lot of nasty bugs being released in the newest stuff. Hopefully it’ll all get resolved.

#18

Maybe I have had bad luck since I had problems with both AR and A4. My AR had this pad problem that it was triggering wrong pads. My A4s screen started ghosting or something all of a sudden. I got both warranty fixed and they were just fine after that. Also A4s paint would fade out a bit. BUT having said this, I have also had many Elektrons without a single problem. The overall build quality feels good just had bad luck with those few units.

#19

Broken Dreams soundpack for DT/AR

(Don’t load sounds into OT at risk of your device becoming inflicted with existential anxiety)

1 Like
#20

Had an A4 - paint was chipping around the screws. Well-known issue with a batch of them. My first Rytm’s screen began to burn out after a relatively short while. My second Rytm has been very solid. No issues. My Machinedrum was solid as a rock. I’m very hesitant to buy a Digitakt until all bugs have been worked out. Hoping any screen issues can be fixed via an update. From what I’ve read/seen these can vary from slight to troubling. But I’m personally cautious about being an early adopter of anything new whether it’s synths, software, phones, computers, etc. Rather tired of being a paying beta tester for all these companies. Oh, and by the way, stay off my lawn.

1 Like