Hi!
First time poster, lurked around for a while. So I’m pretty new to Elektron gear - I bought a Digitakt a month ago after eyeing it up for about a year, absolutely love it but planning to build a setup with that and the Digitone. I want to incorporate pedals into my setup but not in a straight signal path so I can choose which pedals I have for each device I want. After diving into these forums, I saw someone suggest the Boredbrain Patchulator 8000 for this which seems perfect for what I want. I just wondered if I could get some advice on a couple of things;
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I’ve attached a diagram (apologies for it being rough, certainly not a graphic designer!) - does this seem right for the signal path that I want?
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Does anyone have any recommendations for a mixer to send the audio path out to?
Thank you very much in advance for any advice you may have 
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Although a nice idea you’re essentially monophying your Digitone and Digitakt since the patchulator is mono in mono out.
Have you considered getting a mixer with send / returns? That way you can quickly send the output of any instrument to a pedal and back into the mixer. Much easier, quicker and gives more flexibility. And you can keep your DT and DN stereo 
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I agree with @DaveMech, personally have a thing for mixers that also act as sound cards, it simplifies the setup IMO.
A patchbay is a good option if you frequently need to repatch your gear.
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I haden’t considered that but that does make a lot more sense than the patchulator idea! Thank you is there any particular mixer you recommend? I’m assuming that I’d need one with stereo inputs with an aux send/return, but I am pretty new to this side (guitarist mainly) so could well be wrong. Cheers!
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Really depends on the budget and if you want to buy a mixer you could add stuff to later-on. My jam is more with DJ mixers for live performance reasons. If you go that route the Xone:96 is a great option for you as it has stereo sends (plus you can use one or even two of the headphone cues as extra sends). Xone PX5 is nice as well (I have a few videos on my channel going into detail about these two)
For regular mixing desks on a budget I often have found that the trouble is that the auxiliaries are often mono as are most of the channels. I think Mackie has a few mixers with more stereo ins maybe, but I’m sure there are other members that can help better with finding the right mixing desk.
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If your pedals are mono, a mixer with mono sends can do the trick. A cheap mixer can be ok, just pay attention it doesn’t add noise to your signal.
For the studio, I love the Qu series. But they are pretty expensive, and not the kind you bring in a live session (except the QuPac that is pretty cool for this)
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Thank you Dave, really appreciate it I’ll check out the videos later on - I saw you have Digitakt tutorials so I’ve subscribed as I think I’ll find them really handy. I checked out the Xone’s and they’re a bit out of my budget but I do appreciate the suggestion. All the best!
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Hi! My pedals are mono but I am thinking of using my Source Audio Collider further down the line as it has stereo input/output and would be ace texturally, however I think mono would probably be okay for that one! I checked out the Qu series, they look ace but I think I’ll only need 3 or 4 stereo inputs and I think I wouldn’t use it to it’s full potential but I do appreciate the suggestion. The idea for my setup is basically to just put the DT, DN, Lemondrop, Keystep (or smaller MIDI keyboard if I can find one), a few pedals and a mixer onto a board so I can make music either at my desk, on the sofa etc. Looks like I have a lot of research to do into mixers but I’m grateful that you and DaveMech have given me a starting point for what I need. I did look at the Keith McMillen K-Mix for a mixer but not too sure on the send/return capabilities of it at the moment but something to think about and look at. Thank you very much for your help!
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Fwiw, the newer versions of Patchulator are stereo. They have TRS jacks now.
Currently using it in a stereo setup in conjunction with a mixer.
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Hi there!
Reviving this as I am eyeing the Patchulator V2, and I have a few questions for anyone with some experience with it or with patchbays in general. I’m not an expert in this passive analog field by any means, so bear with me.
My current workflow involves sampling a lot/using FX out of and into several different “Grooveboxe/samplers/FX processors”. This includes Syntakt, Digitakt I, Digitakt II, OP-1 Field, OP-Z, iPad with it’s own interface, Mac with it’s own interface. Constantly having to change signal paths makes me not use gear to it’s full potential as I just get tired of doing it. So I’m looking at: Getting a cheap mixer with enough I/O, at least 3 stereo in/out (space, audio coloring/degredation is a concern), Audio interface that acts like a standalone mixer (MOTU Ultralite MK5 seems to be the cheapest and best option), a patchbay. I mostly need only the ability to re-route signals quickly, levelling I can do on devices themselves, but I do understand that visual feedback would be missing if I use a patchbay.
So, the Patchulator V2:
- It has 8in/8out on TRS balanced/stereo jacks. If I use short unbalanced connections there should not be much interference? or will there be, from my phone, WiFi, bluetooth connections?
- Since it’s passive, is there any serious amount of signal degradation, level changes when patching things into longer chains on the device itself. Meaning: Will the signal mostly retain it’s original strength and quality when patching through it?
- Do the included 3.5mm patch connections degrade the signal themselves?
- Is it better to get a full size 48 patchbay (again space concerns, and no space for rackmounts).
- Would a cheap mixer, specifically Mackie 802VLZ4 work? How is the sound quality, noise on it, if anyone has experience?
- Should I just cash out and get a MOTU Ultralite MK5, even though patching would be mostly what I need?
Thanks for any answers!
I’m no expert, but I went from a Patchulator V2 to a rackmount patchbay with a MOTU Ultralite MK5. The Patchulator was great. I did have some grounding noise issues with the Oto Bim and Bam. They were fine when patched, but when unpatched there was some kind of ground interference. Since it wasn’t an issue when patched, I never really investigated further. It could have been the cables I was using for all I know. I never had any issues with RF signals. Any amount of signal strength with long chains (or the included patch cables) was unnoticeable.
I ended up upgrading to a rackmount patchbay - both to have more inputs/outputs and to ultimately save space. The Patchulator size is small in isolation, but it takes up a lot of room once fully patched as it has jacks on all sides. I found a smaller rack with a flat top and while it still takes up quite a bit of space, it’s easy to organize and can just sit against a wall/corner. Again, no RF interference or audibly noticeable drop in signal strength in long chains.
I have most of the ins/outs of the Ultralite MK5 (which is racked in the same rackmount) available on the rackmount patchbay. This setup has proved to be quite fruitful. I essentially have my entire studio routed to the patchbay and can easily set up multiple channels of ins and/or outs into my DAW with the MK5. I do any mixing I need in the DAW. If I want to mix signals outside of the computer and with the patchbay, I have one of those Pladask Elektrisk stereo matrix mixers. Was also considering a Bastl Bestie, but the matrix mixer is awesome for routing stuff.
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Based on your description of what you want to achieve and your list of gear, I would suggest that you might want to consider a bigger mixer with plenty of I/O and routing capability, as that could obviate the need for a patchbay.
Currently I’m looking for a mixer to use in a similar way to what you’re wanting to do, fast and flexible FX sending and resampling routing. The Behringer X2442USB seems to be the most well-equipped mixer at the lowest price that I can find so far. Take a look at the I/O on that thing: Four sends, inserts and direct outs on the 8 mono channels, two stereo subgroups with dual outputs so you can send them to two different places at once, buttons for quick routing of channels to main or the subgroups.
There’s a few other substantially more expensive mixers, a Yamaha and a Mackie, that have similar specs but all seem to lack either the inserts/direct outs/doubled up group outs/FX or some combination thereof. The closest in terms of matching the I/O might be the Mackie 1642VLZ4 which seems to just lack the compressors, FX, and USB, which you might consider to be acceptable.
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Wow! This is exactly what I am looking for! I can have my Syntakt permanently (more or less) connected to the iPad as an interface so that eliminates one device needing separate i/o. Amazing really, how is the sound? Is it usable for sampling and recording into a DAW if it’s routed directly from this mixer?
Thanks a lot for your suggestions. While that would be great, I want to avoid anything that takes up too much space. I used to have a Soundcraft 12 channel mixer interface and said to myself never again, as it was just putting me off. I like compact things and some space to breathe on my desk.
The MOTU Ultralite or something similar will be mine one day, but currently I don’t want to spend as much + I really want to focus on sampling stuff one thing at a time, recording it one thing at a time, just need to be able to send signals through all devices from all devices the fastest and cheapest way possible while enjoying doing it, if that makes sense 
Thank you both!
