I get where you are coming from, for sure. Not every box has the right workflow to be integrated in a particular setup well, as it’s dependent on what the person has already, what exactly they intend to do, etc. I really hope it works out exactly how you’d want it. I know for myself, it’s been a bit of a dance between my ultimate expectations, teaching myself to switch quickly between instruments, and what the machine/instrument will actually do in any given moment.
I have a feeling the new chain mode will be good for you but if not you can sync DT to A4’s song mode if that works better for you…
Just for some perspective, there’s no right or wrong, I never use song mode and much prefer live hands on control and deciding things in the moment. I play guitar, keys, theremin, and sing. To me I actually feel song mode limits me from the free flow performance capabilities of the machines, but enjoy building chains on the fly. I have all my patterns memorized, and can rebuild structure dynamically as I go… 
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Well put @Open_Mike. I work very similarly. I’ve wanted to use the hell out of the OT’s arranger, but chaining patterns in the moment works out better for me right now. A more facile way of chaining patterns in the DT sounds pretty cool to me 
I have nothing wrong with song mode and very much encourage diversity and individual choices of how music is made and how one approaches and integrates the machines. That being said, I feel Elektron devices really shine for realtime performance decisions…
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To give you an update on this, we were aiming to have the video before Superbooth but we could not make it. Instead, we have several videos from Superbooth which shows the features.
Now, we are aiming to make the video when we are ready to show more of Digitakt.
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A static, looped song chain can be recorded to a cassette tape and played on a tape player.
Digitakt is an instrument and a central hub piece, a poor man’s Octatrack that nevertheless will demand just as much attention as an Octatrack.
It is clear that it wants to be played, isn’t it? Sure, it has flaws. Sure, it will probably complement any set up built around any other dominant hub instrument. But being a mere complement will never satisfy the possibilities of what this instrument is.
I think its workflow and ease of use is going to be addictive on a narcotic level. I think its inclusion will portend a hostile takeover of many users’ comfortable hardware set ups.
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Reading this has me hopeful that the mysterious DT master section has some kind of Scene mode. even if it is only an abbreviated version of what OT’s scenes are capable.
I wouldn’t mind a crossfader-esque function on one of the encoders.
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So Digitatakt looks to be shipping by June if things are still being worked on. As long we get a solid product, I can wait.
Does anyone who currently owns a RYTM want to comment on the reverb of the DT from the demos that are now available. It seems like it has a much deeper sound; similar to the A4 in its ability to sound big, but with a denser character like the RYTM. I don’t recall being able to get the reverb on the RYTM to sound as big, but I could be wrong. From what I can tell, I think I prefer the DT’s reverb over the RYTM’s.
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Yea , it sounds different, though hard to really study from videos.
It will help with the mono sample limitation.
I’ve come to grips with the limitations of mono samples. Fortunately, the important stereo stuff is usually in the FX, and DT’s got it with reverb and delay.
I think those FX combined with some clever trigless p-locking of the pan parameter on some steps will really open up mono samples. This is what I do when inputting dual mono channels from my TM-2 .wav module into A4. I have 3 sounds on one of the mono channels, though you’d never know thanks to p-locked pans + reverb/delay treatment.
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OK, this is what I would call “the usual.” A product is released with key features omitted (which are available on most of their other products), and instead of listening or trying to come up with a solution, customer’s are told to change their workflow and expectations. Even if you consider that Elektron may be excluding certain features to motivate users to buy more Elektron gear, it still doesn’t make sense.
The Analog Keys is the center of my setup and my songwriting. My workflow IS the Elektron workflow. I created SONGS with odd/multiple time signatures and lots of pattern switching because those were the features provided. For the AK/A4, OT, and even older products like Monomachine to have song mode but DT doesn’t, makes DT a bit of an orphan in some ways.
Imagine playing a melody by hand on the AK over a chain of multiple patterns, and having to switch patterns/chains on the DT simultaneously. Next thing, somebody will tell me I shouldn’t play the Keys. I know a lot of people write exclusively 4/4 groove music, and maybe it’s not a big deal if the drum pattern changes a bar late if you miss a switch cue. I don’t do that, I have a pattern of 7/8 going into a pattern of 19/8 and if I miss that cue, the song is messed up from there on.
So right now, it seems to me that the main reason I would have no use for DT is that I use another Elektron product. Tell me how that makes sense.
Or it has a new, more efficient way of handling it.
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Can’t you just set up the DT to listen to program changes from the a4k song mode?
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I think best (least stressful) thing is just don’t compare feature sets to the big boxes and expect them on DT. DT is cheaper and not on that level. You might get a pleasant surprise with the new chains mode tho, just wait it out
Something you need to tell us? You sound very confident…
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No scoop here Just going from Simon’s post about the new chains mode. Sounds like they’re aware of the disgruntled song mode posts and on the case
Won’t know for sure until DT exists in the wild, but that’s still not a solution. Using that technique means I’ll be locked into a 1:1 relationship between patterns on the two machines. What if I want to write a section of a song where AK plays the same pattern for 4 bars, but DT plays shifting patterns underneath? To make that happen, I would have to make multiple copies of the same pattern. And if I want to switch drums mid-pattern, forget about it, I’ll have to do it manually on the DT.
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4547 and counting…
I think the issue here, and one’s thats been present throughout the four and a half thousand posts on this topic is that Elektron have announced and are pre-selling a product that it appears is, at present, still incomplete. Whether this sales strategy is a good one remains to be seen.
This situation has lead to a number of posts from people including myself who are anxious as to what exactly they are buying.
Correctly Elektron employees have been told to keep silent on what the DT will do, but given the DT was announced nearly four months ago, this has lead to something of an information vacuum and a great deal of confusion as to what is going on.
No doubt this will all disappear once the beastie is in our hands but man this wait is killing me.
I sure hope so because I do like the sound and capabilities of this machine and I don’t want to just give up and say “oh well, it’s not for me”
The DT makes me think of the slickness of the sampling engine of the TE OP-1 (mono tracks and all), paired with the Elektron sequencer and OS/file structure. It’s almost like an 8-track OP-1 in that regard.
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