I really dig this little box

Yeah - I can fully agree with this! I recently dialed in a 4-track pattern, and started tweaking with the Synth balance, then the algorithm, then started p-locking algo, and feedback, etc. etc. I ended up copying the pattern 2 or 3 times with various tweaks to those few parameters and ended up with something I liked every time.

Sat down Saturday morning and laid down a sound-locked drum beat at 77 bpm in no time at all, Now I’m getting to work adding in the rest of the tracks, and have so many ideas. I really have enjoyed learning this synth - dare I say it, even more than I love the Digitakt!

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How I learned to stop worrrying and love the Digitone

Warning: WALL OF TEXT. Sorry.

Many of you on this forum will have seen me vocalizing my issues regarding the Digitone and its many (many many) drawbacks and handicaps. To give a bit of background, this is my 5th Elektron box. I own (or have owned) an Analog Four, Octatrack, Monomachine (x2, sold), and a Machinedrum (sold) and I’ve gotten the chance to play with the Rytm on a few occasions at a buddy’s house. I say this not to brag, but to give you some context as to where I am coming from - I am well-versed in Elektron’s way of doing things across multiple devices. I also have a Virus C, 0Coast, and Fatman (the latter 2 being analog).

I initially bought the Digitone in hopes of having a new type of synthesis to learn and to have a smaller box with the amazing Elektron sequencer built in that I could easily travel with or sit on my couch and knock out sketches and ideas. Given my love of all the other boxes, I figured the DN was a no-brainer in terms of adding it to my setup both for the formerly mentioned purposes, plus it would add a different sound pallet to my already existing hardware collection.

While I read the manual, checked out tons of forum posts, and watched a gazillion videos on the machine, you all know that getting one in hand is a much different experience than just research. Once I got it, I realized all of the little things that were missing from the bigger machines - slides, individual track times, individual track swing, bandpass/notch filters, the way the voice stealing works, no frigging MIDI arp. All these things infuriated me to no end. Elektron is obviously capable of creating these features, so what’s the point (besides money) to leave them off?

So I told myself “well, you still have a few weeks to try it out before the return window is closed, so I might as well dive into it and see what I can come up with”. I downloaded the demo packs for all of the soundbanks, rearranged the location of all the presets (any sounds I don’t create myself got copied to banks F-H) and started creating.

Holy crap. The sounds I was able to create even in the first few hours were great. I love doing sound design and the shit I’m getting out of this machine brings a smile to my face every single time. I’ll sit with my Virus or A4 and just make sounds that will get used for songs later, or my bandmate will send me a track in progress and I’ll replace sounds he’s got in there with custom ones, and I can see this being added to the mix. The DN’s biggest strength is how it sounds. Everything from metallic bass stabs to ethereal pads to morphing sound fx and percussion to beautiful leads, I’ve gotten tons of great material out of it already (probably 2 dozen presets since last Tuesday). LFOs and parameter locks on harmonics, ratios, levels, and feedback can all create wildly different and evolving sounds that are fantastic. While some of the limitations of flaws (clicks everywhere!) get in the way of sound otherwise choice sounds, I believe I am growing to accept that as an inevitability with this particular machine.

As for the form factor, it’s pretty much the perfect size. It’s easy to carry, fits in my lap (I can use it on my couch while my wife is watching the Kardashians…) and the buttons/knobs are laid out in a way that is easy for muscle memory to retrieve. The inputs/outputs are acceptable, though individual outs would always be welcome (firmware update??? :wink: ).

My conclusion is that I will probably keep the synth, if anything, just for it’s sound design capabilities (assuming my bandmate thinks the sounds are something that would work for the music we’re currently writing). I can hope that Elektron will update it with things like MIDI Arp, bandpass/notch filters, dedicated LFO filters in all those empty spaces on the 2nd filter page (or perhaps dedicated delay controls per track!!?), a 3rd LFO or the ability to assign one LFO to multiple sources, assignable envelopes, p-locking FX, p-locking arpeggiator settings (though a PITA workaround someone mentioned is saving different versions of a sound with the arp settings then using soundlocks), more MIDI note polyphony (which would be faked in a way using microtiming), and making it easier to avoid clicks during long pads and reoccurring notes, but as we all know, we can’t bank on any of that happening so we have to enjoy the synth as it is. The DN is a sound-design beast, and while some of the features and sequencer is lacking in certain areas where the bigger boxes excel, I’m beginning to see it’s beauty shine through (or stab through, depending on the preset) and I can see myself getting good use out of it over time, especially when sequenced by my DAW. Plus, I feel like this paired with my A4 will create the ultimate ambient dream-machine.

Now discuss among yourselves.

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Haha so do we. My wife got one for our live act, I watched her play the Digitone for one day and ordered myself one immediately. This thing is just so… man I’m getting a little teary!

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What an awesome summary of the DN, @slicetwo. It definitely has it’s limitations and the constant clicking from overlapping sounds is a massive bugbear, but there’s so much more charm to be found in the box all the little quirks seem to pale into obscurity.

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I’m using it as a drum machine. To my ears it’s awesome. Put a bunch of drum sounds in your sound pool and then go to town. Two things it needs; retrig and independent track lengths. Although not having retrig stops me from getting vulgar with overuse.

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Is there anyone who’s using DN & MnM at the same time? Just wondering if the FM is similar or wildly different?

I love the crazy sounds I can muster out of the MnM, but i’ve really been eyeing a DN.

fwiw you can “hack” retrigs by saving sounds with different arp speeds and using sound locks.

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It does have independent track lengths, just not independent track speeds.

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Seems like with both digi boxes, lots of people either love them for what they are or hate them for what they aren’t.

They way my (tiny) brain works kinda saves me money in the long haul because I rarely gather up lists of what my gear ‘can’t’ do and ponder those lists.

When I researched the DT (drug on for months as I was considering other things at the same time) I saw so many amazing YouTube clips of people doing insane, creative music on them, I figured if they could, then there’s no excuse why I couldn’t. I dove in and got a lot of tunes written and had a blast doing it.

Deciding to get an OT is a whole other can of worms. I’m very glad I got it, but when describing it to others, the word ‘fun’ rarely comes up :slight_smile:

The DN is on my wish list for sure

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The DN FM is pretty different. It can get a lot more lush than the MnM, mostly because of the polyphony, but the engine itself can produce some lovely silky sounds that I’ve never been able to get on the MnM (not that it isn’t possible!). The MnM FM machines are more limited than the DN, even though it’s possible to get more uneven ratios etc. (but then again, you can use high speed LFOs on the DN as non-keytracked operators)

I think the two boxes would work well together*. The MnM’s strength is its routing; shaping an existing sound using filters, effects etc., where the DN’s raw synthesis is so strong and diverse that it doesn’t really need much shaping (though the filter and drive are very useful!). They’re very different to each other because of this, and so would not, for example, recommend people sell the MnM to get the DN (I nearly did this!).

* I haven’t actually tried using them together yet, maybe soon!

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Blimey. Will give that a go, have you tried it on drum sounds?

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That’s actually all I’ve tried it with! Especially hi hats

Works great… snare rolls and 64th note hi hat fills… That work around was a mind blower for me

Wasn’t sure which thread to post this in but just wanted to say I joined the Digitone club this week and I’m loving this very deep box of chocolates. Had to trade in my Model cycles to get it which was a wrench but I’m very pleased now.

I’ve got a 2 bar loop going which utilises the 4 synth tracks and boy do those lfos and sequencer goodies make for so much gratifying variation. I’ve been tweaking for hours. Made some mistakes but loving the experimenting.

I’ve also just utilised 3 of the midi tracks to send out to crave, typhon and 0-Coast… Mind = blown :grin:

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Also got the cycles as my first elektron gear to see what the sequencer was like. Loved the sounds so traded it for a DN. The DN is phenomenal! So feature rich, well designed, programmed, and built. :heart: Elektron

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I have both after first owning the DNK, selling that and later buying a DN. Definitely didn’t need the keys version, this is much more flexible and focused.

I made a lot of fun sounds on the Cycles, it can do stuff DN can’t and is more fluid and portable so it’s not going anywhere

But man, DN is something else. What a powerhouse. Its simplicity is its greatest strength. This and the Cycles are two of my best purchases ever.

I still think the Cycles is the king of Elektron boxes, but DN’s a close second hands down.

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