Feelings about switching Digitakt for OT

Are you sure of that? :smile:

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I was asking myself exactly the same question while typing… :smiley:

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Not if one of those three is an Analog Heat :nerd_face: !

I had a machinedrum a few years back, didn’t click with it, fell down the eurorack rabbit hole, and sold it. Digitakt was announced shortly after my first child was born and I wanted something straightforward that I could jam on while sitting on the couch. It fit that description amazingly. Then, I caught a good deal on a Digitone last year and it has captured me like nothing else ever has. Now, it’s early 2019 and I have reconfigured to Digitone + Octatrack mk2 (scored another deal I couldn’t pass up). Like many, the OT is the single synth buy that cost the most, and I still feel like it’s well worth it. There are some workflow differences compared to using DT/DN that I need to get used to, but every time I turn it on, I get more and more comfortable with it. This forum helps immensely, as well as reading the manual (who knew??). Take small bites, learn it a section at a time. Join the OT journey!

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Well I did it!

Big day of change - sold my rytm mk1 and got a great deal on both the OT mk2 and rytm mk2!

Going to try and set everything up in an easy way for me to understand:) first then slowly change things around.

Thanks to everyone for msking this big decission much less intimidating for me.

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I’m happy for you.
Big times to come!

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I’m a DT user who is now tempted by the OT.
What I fear is that it will just be a waste of all the accumulated muscle memory and familiarity with the machine that I’ve built over the last 18 months. - and that I will realise I gain nothing.

But tempted. Those routing possibilities. Stereo. Track length multipliers…

Just popping in to say after having a DT since launch definitely can’t imagine getting rid of it any time in the near or distant future. Partially because I have too many patterns and projects done but also in the works… hard to break that cycle but also you can push these machines so far I have yet to really feel its limits. I do use it with other synths and samplers at the same time though. I dunno I also try my best to just keep up momentum with out buying new gear… because new gear means a longer delay before you get new music really flowing unless it is something relatively simple. Either way people can make fantastic stuff on both so unless your really feel like you music is getting stagnant or something it seems silly to dive into more new complicated gear, unless of course you just feel like it. Its all about what you want… if you feel like learning some new gear then why not but it won’t make you better at music, just will give you some more tools to work with.

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you’d def gain a lot, but the handling IS very different actually, so muscle memory wouldn’t translate beyond a few moves. What’s more, the DT can’t be beat for immediacy and UX elegance.

I treat my OT and DT as separate instruments, not least because I feel the DT is more of a “mini-version” of the RYTM rather than the OT.

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Agreed. I kept the DT and traded in the DN. I feel so much more comfortable with samplers and love using them.

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So now you are rocking OT, AR and DT?

Yes:)

One thing I just noticed is that the 12pads on my rytm mk2 are a bit “loose” in their square holes - there is about 1mm of “play” and the pads shift while being played. Is this normal? This was not the case on my rytm mk1.

The OT can´t replace the DT.
fact !

…but depends on the goals and the workflow if a OT might be the better solution,
OR the DT :wink:

DT can go much further when working with samples the creative way,
based on p-locking ofcourse.
buuuut if you use these boxes just as a simple drumbox, then OT ofcourse :wink:

I was visiting a friend in Berlin this weekend for my birthday and popped into an event and to my surprise, Dataline was performing and was using the three Elektron machines you mentioned, DT, OT, and Rytm. It sounded huge on the club’s sound system, so I think you should be able to do a lot with this setup.

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Wow walking into seeing Cenk play;) sounds pretty amazing in itself.

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This. Seeing the OT as an extended or “better” DT does do justice to both devices.

The features they share are, IMHO, better implemented on the DT. That’s why so many love the DT and cannot warm up with the OT.

But what makes the OT so outstanding (not only in comparison to the DT) is what it brings new to the table and isn’t shared with the DT, namely it’s dynamic features:

  • resampling on the fly (manually or programmed)
  • mangling of other sound sources
  • crossfader and the scenes
  • cue out to incorporate external fx
  • mixer capabilities for small setups

That’s like having a completely different machine which enables a vast universe of additional workflows simply not possible with the DT.

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Absolutely. It was a surprise ending to an already fantastic day!

I had a Digitakt and traded it for an Octatrack and definitely don’t regret it because I needed something to be the hub of live setup and the Octatrack fits the bill. BUT I loved the Digitakt and made some tracks that I really like on it - things that I probably wouldn’t have made with the Octatrack. I worked a lot faster on the Digi - probably because there were less choices - and I ended up finding some interesting workarounds for some of it’s limitations (like no timestretching). If I was made of money I would have kept the Digitakt for sure but unfortunately I couldn’t afford to keep both.

Hey again folks, thanks again for everyones’ help and advice. Now I am thinking of the best way to set up my digitakt, rytm, and OT for live use.

I was going to use rytm for drums and DT for bass both going into OT as master and mixer. I would like to have some samples going out and into my delay and reverb units too. My goal is to only have one set of audio cables from OT to go into the club’s system.

Please let me know if you think this is a good plan - I’m going to try it out tomorrow. Rytm will go into A/B and DT into C/D on the OT. I will set the top 4pads (2voices) on the rytm to go out of the indidual ouputs only and into the delay/reverb units then back into the rytm’s audio in.

Do you think this “aux send/return” idea will work well on the rytm?

Any other ideas?

I love throwing a few samples through the roland space echo and eventide space pedals:)


All set up this morning😎

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