I’m thinking of getting my son a Digitakt for his 16th birthday

Don’t forget the context: in the begining of music production especially if you are young you try to replicate stuff. If you have an MPC and try to make hip hop you will do tutorials on YT and learn practices from there. But if you have another tool and try to emulate the MPC sound you can get more creative. That’s the point there but it depends. The tools definitely does not mater that much. I know guys that make great music with only a laptop(see Recondite for example).

TBH there is no need for any defense

You are absolutely right. I’m just bored and got into the argument mood :slight_smile:

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Just another reply … if we take equipment and replace it with “samples” you are totally right. If we use hip-hop typcial samples and rhythms we will end up with hip-hop like tracks.

BUT this will happen with any kind of sampler. Particularly the “Art of Sampling” depends on the samples choosen … much more than the hardware used to make a track.

@Geneoart You will spoil the surprise but maybe is a good ideea to show your son this thread and see what are his expectations.

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I think we share a similar mindset. Yes, this is absolutely true. YT is full of “What’s up, let’s do a beat” videos. But there is a Dad too, and he can try to teach him sampling and using samples by many ways.

For me the simplicity of getting ones head around the gear would be my concern with a beginner. When I compare my personal experience with the MPC and the Elektron-boxes, which I had before the MPC … I would give my children an MPC first, but show them the Elektron boxes as well … :wink:

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Definitely a matter of taste. I’ve had a NI Maschine for a while, Ableton Push for a year and a MPC Live for 2 weeks. In the end I switched to DN/DT, some mono synths and a Microfreak. I love the elektron flow, it makes more sense for me but I’m a software programmer and that may be a reason.

Going to throw a curve ball in here and caveat it by saying I love my Digitakt.

What about a iPad Pro instead. It is £100 more expensive but is a lot more powerful. It can do all the mpc type stuff + loads and loads more.

Yeah but you need to buy all the extra stuff and it has social media on it :))

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@Geneoart amazing idea!!! and awesome generosity and support towards your son.

I own both, the Digitakt and MPC Live.

The MPC Live is obviously more powerful - slicing, more effects, sequencing more than 4 bars (without pattern chaining), song mode etc etc. It’s a great device, but can also be overwhelming. You did mention your son made beats on an iphone. Which app was he using? Depending on what he’s used to there the MPC could be a good choice (ie engaging and mastering the complexity without getting lost in all the possibilities).

The Digitakt is just a beautiful piece of kit and so smooth to use. Obviously less powerful than the MPC but for that the workflow and ease of use are much more streamlined. Personally, I made more beats on my Digitakt than on any other device…just because everything is so immediate and it really feels like an instrument. And the industrial design of the digitakt just gives off a nice feel & quality.

I feel the MPC vs Digitakt thing is a little like the MPC vs SP404 thing before. Features and power vs focus and immediacy.

When I do get into the MPC workflow mood, I love my MPC. All other times though, I’m frustrated by its omissions (too few q-links and no way to map a midi controller to that functionality, shoddy UI design at times, piano roll usage not really fluid, occasionally poor response of the touch screen…).

In contrast, I love my Digitakt always lol, and its limitations have forced me to come up with workarounds that have made me better and more confident in my knowledge and creativity in music. Plus, because of the immediacy of the Digitakt (no menu diving etc), I sound design MUCH more on the DT (even though the MPC Live can do anything the DT can and then some, it feels that by the time I’m on the right page and the q-links are set to the right page, inspiration has gone). it’s just a much more visceral experience for me on the DT.

The MPC ultimately feels more like I’m using a computer rather than hardware. Now if your son uses something like Beatmaker 2 to make beats on an iphone and likes that process, that needn’t be a bad thing. And in that case I believe the workflow will feel quite natural to him as well.

The more I think about it the more I feel:
MPC = primarily a production center that can be used as instrument also
DT = primarily an instrument that can be used as a production center also

what do you think your son will appreciate more?

I think whatever you do, it’ll be an awesome gift either way.

Just one last note: if you decide on an MPC, most definitely DO NOT get him an MPC1000 or anything like that. The loading times and poor quality of buttons & button switches can be be charming only in a throwback kind of way to someone born in the 80s or early 90s… for anyone who’s primarily used to speed and responsiveness with decent industrial design, the MPC 1000 will not feel enjoyable.

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I guess that the process of playing on pads and recording live on a MPC or “programming” steps on a XoX-box like interface is quite different. A software engineer might have quite easy access to a XoX-box workflow, because there is some similarity.

Careful now, DT for his birthday means DN by Christmas!

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Whatever gear you choose, the difficulty to learn is not a problem. Kids are smarter and smarter and if it’s his first “pro” machine gifted by his father, he will learn everything about it without difficulty.

I personnally will go for the Digitakt. I think your son already know how to produce into a DAW, and I think getting an MPC is just a mini DAW, and he may be frustrated.
I know the name MPC go with hip hop, but now, the producer use mainly DAW to produce, for the MPC we talk about MPC 60, MPC 3000 or MPC 2000XL.
The DT in other way, is a modern instrument very capable of making beats. If he like old school hip hop, he will love DT because no time stretch, no auto slice, etc… He will just learn to use ears to chop and adjust tones. And this is a really addictive and cool experience imo.
And last, I think the DT will keep more values after years than theses new MPC that are just a controller with a chip running linux and MPC Software 2.
The 404 is fun but yeah, maybe don’t fit with young producer. He can add an SP303 later for the sound of dilla and madlib.

Personnally, I make old shcool hip hop beat on DT and I love it.

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And forget to say, if you choose the DT, he is welcome to this awsome community of Elektronauts :slight_smile:

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I had no intention of making hip hop beats when I bought the DT but they came out all the same, along with all sorts of other stuff I hadn’t considered. Not used an MPC so I couldn’t tell you how limited DT is in comparison but it is more than capable for someone starting out imo, especially when they have no fixed ideas on how to get the job done.

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I’ll go against the grain and recommend the SP-404SX. IIMO it’s the perfect first machine for someone who hasn’t yet been spoiled by the double-edged luxuries of complex gear like elektrons. Very loose but direct, really focusing on sample choice and playback using your ears. No getting bogged down in menus or sequencer minutiae, but still deep enough to have fun, make full tracks and perform live. Great companion for other stuff - even with a studio full of gear it can still pull weight as a tape recorder or FX box. Arguably more street cred than a DT, with deep roots in lofi hiphop and a solid community.

If I was a kid starting out I’d obviously be happy with both, but feel like the 404 would provide more of that magic immediacy that young minds really run with.

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May be a silly question, but did he never mention something or give a hint?

My kids had always something in their mind, a flute, a piano, a guitar … and told me :thinking:

What about a couple of Korg units … Volcas (Beat + Samples + Bass) etc., or Novation Circuit?

mpc isn’t very complex and he’s more into mfdoom than techno or the experimental kind, then mpc is the way to go I think

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I totally get that an IPad would make a great choice but I’m pretty intent on getting him an instrument with knobs and pads etc…

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I know wants something to make “beats” with, definitely a sampler.

I’m not sure if it was mentioned already, but I thought I would throw in the 1010 Blackbox Studio. Great thread!

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Then … what would be the best sampling, chopping, mangling and arranging option?

It may be only me, but if I want a techno like beat or something experimental based on sampling, I use my OT and other Elektron gear, but if it shall be more groovy/funky with long loops and it takes some chopping, it’s the MPC or Live :wink:

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