seems you’ve found the issue. 
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Yeah getting out of the init/preset sounds is key and using the Fx block in various creative ways can also lead to very interesting sounds and grooves. Experiment by taking machines to the edge. Modulate the heck out of everything you can. Enough LFO’s and envelopes to work with, but also the sequencer is a (stepped) modulation source so don’t forget to experiment with recording knob movements into the sequencer or using lots of parameter locks to make sounds more dynamic and such. Basically: try to design your own sounds from the ground up.
Thanks for the mention @Azzarole! I indeed have an in depth course for Syntakt. Especially part 2 goes deep into sound design and how to go about finding those sweet spots that you like. More info here: Shop — Dave Mech
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There’s nothing wrong, though, learning the Syntakt outside the Sound design aspect with minimal Presets tweaking.
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In six weeks, you’ve made a great start as a beginner with the syntakt, but you are mistaken to think you’ve learned everything you need to. Maintain the Zen mind—beginner’s mind—approach each session as if it’s your first encounter with the machine. Explore every function and tweak every parameter with curiosity, as though discovering it anew. In your time with the syntakt, you’ve only begun to scratch the surface of its capabilities. Dive deeper into the layers of each sound, and you’ll uncover sonic landscapes you never imagined possible. The path to innovation is paved with the experiments that at first seem mundane.
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I put together a syntakt album and yeah I agree. After I finished it I was convinced anything else I made would be too samey, and I really only like using one box at a time, so I sold it.
When you like a sound, save it as a new Sound/preset.
Next time you start a new pattern, include some of your Sounds instead of starting from scratch or from other people s’ sounds.
You will tweak them, making them your own time after time. Pushing further into new territories.
I second the idea to take a unique machine and try to create a whole track out of it.
It’s hard, but the lessons you learn and the presets you’ll create out of this will make you master the box a lot more.
As it’s been said already, abusing modulations and in particular p-locks will make your track more alive.
Plock the velocities, see how you can turn retrig as a new sound design tool, sculpt your pattern with the AFX track, use sound locks…
An exercise for this would be to force you to use one track only (plus AFX bus).
I encourage you to try these leads seriously. You’ll make this box your own.
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Post the album link? Would love to hear it.
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Ty!
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To quote Mick Gordon:
To change the outcome you need to change the process.
Helped me a lot to get out of my routines and comfort zone and find different results.
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This album is great man!
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One day I will start doing that! But I also feel that it kind of helps me to never save anything 
I don’t mean to use presets as fixed things, more like a known base from which you can explore further.
Few things that helped:
- When I’m on the train and such I write down conceptual ideas or paste screenshots from the ST tips & tricks thread to try later – things like
disconnect percussive tracks from main & send them thru rev/dly only, plock some FX track stuff like dly delay time & rev predelay.
or: route a bunch of melodic tracks thru the fx track, use the amp as a gate, randomise the trigs with probability. Try the same with various filters.
… and so on. Results are usually fun, as well as the process. Kinda treat it like homework.
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Also @LyingDalai +1 for saving presets & (clean) patterns as starting points for different things, never liked doing it but it really sped up the process for me.
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Study other folks’ projects, @Eaves, @Jeanne, @UserFriendly & others’ Patreons are your friend.
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Ignore the labels of the machines. For instance the rimshot engines are fuckin wild for melodies, I like PC carbon for textures etc.
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I’m a big fan of “exercising” on machines. Basically not focusing on making a track, or a song, or even a sound that I plan on saving. Instead, I try to to take time to explore different things just for the sake of it. For example using one machine to make all the elements of a song. Kick, hat, snar, ect. You learn a lot about machines strengths and weaknesses this way. Or maybe audio rate modulation on the overdrive? Then a LFO on the AM LFO that’s modulating the overdrive? It makes no sense at all but maybe it will do something interesting. But it really gets wild when you set all that up and then change some element BEFORE what you are modulating. Like pitch or FM feedback. Whatever. I often find sweet spots in elektron machines when I actively try to hurt them or brick them. They rarely do, but it helps get in the mindset of experimentation. Syntakt is one of my favorites because it has to really be pushed to really be opened up outside of itself.
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In my experience it’s often quite some work to find the sweetspots of the Syntakt (and also the Analog Rytm). Once I found some sounds I really like it was hard to move on and I got stuck with this stuff. Using the factory sounds as starting point didn’t work for me as well because again, there was only a little margin where it sounded good.
So yeah as others here have already said: practice sound design a lot and build your own pool.
the unofficial elektron motto
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Once again, echoing what some have already said.
I just figure the hearing it from different people might be a good thing.
- Explore the LFOs. Assign them to targets you wouldn’t use intuitively. Try them at all speeds and depths. Modulate, p-lock.
- Envelopes. Again speeds, shapes and depths you outside of your go-to values. Explore the interaction between the Machines own decay parameters and the amp and filter envelopes.
- Sound Packs/presets. Great way to see what can be done with the added benefit of using them as a start point for your own presets.
- Use the “wrong” Machines. Make kicks with SD Machines. Make hats with BD Machines etc etc. Not saying you will get results you will want (you might though), but you will learn possibilities along the way.
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Yeah, I feel that. I can do groovy dance, trip-hop or dark ambient but the aggressive stuff… perhaps I’m trying too hard to avoid 4/4 stompy shit. But it’s certainly not the tools I’m using.
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T-shirt 
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… 
…
no bad idea…i have this little thing i do, at each superbooth…
whenever someone in a good claim/brand shirt is crossing my way, i say, oooh, let me take a shirt shot…
and a shirt with nothing but a small elektron logo with the understatement claim “PLOK TO ROK” on it, would defenitly make a grrrreat shirt shot…
in pre pandemic days, i would have called cenk now, to tell him, he must poke the swedish bear… 
back to topic…
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