Just wish they had their act together like roland or novation who generally manage to have stock in Australian stores on the day of their ‘global’ releases!
2 Likes
this thing (sq-1) sucks imo. it doubles the speed if midi clocked and can’t save a sequence. I bought one used it twice and stuck it back in the box where it still rests today. if i did modular, i might like it more. I wanted to use it for my werkststt but couldnt get anything decent out of it. anybody want to buy it or trade for a volca? I’ll throw in the cable kit. lol
1 Like
have you ever driven a car without power steering, modern suspension or fuel injection?
1 Like
yes I have, I have even driven a model T.
2 Likes
Most ppl these days can’t even handle a stick lol
Back on topic (if possible). I hope the Aussie shortage gets cleared up soon 
finally!
I’m so glad I live 10 minutes away from them lol
1 Like
Oh gawd, I have the same problem… I just got the Digitakt first thing in the morning on my local retailer, now I will have the longest workday… and will be playing with it at night, but the question is:
How to tell the wife? any suggestions? Hahahahahahahaa
1 Like
Okay, I ordered one direct from Elektron and also:
Anyone know how long they take to ship?
I’ll tell my wife DT is for my 4 years old child, because I don’t let him play with my OT. 
“Very frustrating for a young boy. We have to buy it !”
2 Likes
After one day and evening with the Digitakt, here are my impressions. I’m staying away from what you’ve already been told from others, homing in on stuff that might be more subjective and not always mentioned in this or other threads.
-
The form factor encourages you to use the DigiTakt in ways previous Elektron gear hasn’t. Despite not being battery powered, everything about it just feels easier. You’re more likely to carry it around, bring it about, use it more spontaneously, to hook it into and out from all kinds of contexts where a heavier piece might’ve had a higher psychological threshold.
-
It’s not as immediate as you’d think. Compared to Elektron’s other instruments, it’s more straight forward so if you’re firmly stuck in Elektron land, then yes, this certainly is more hands on. But it’s no Circuit. It carries legacy artefacts from the A4 and Rytm in particular and a spiritual descendant from the Volca Sample, it is not. Don’t let this stop you. Just be aware that in this regard, it is not an Electribe for the ages. There’s menu diving, although shallow. There’s a confusing file structure, although not that confusing. There’s just tons of stuff going on at the screen sometimes. But it’s comprehensible. It’s Elektron, all right.
-
However - however - it does have something else going for it, when it comes to immediacy. It seems those micro moments of delay and waiting that’s especially apparent in the Octatrack, are just gone here. The UI itself and the stuff it does, seems to be optimised to come as close to a one knob per function-experience as possible. Screen updates, push to launch, saving. All that just flows in a way that’s new for Elektron. This is a subtle improvement if you break it down into numbers, but it contributes immensely to the more straight-to-the-music feel that the Digitakt has. If you’ve used an Electribe Sampler (the latest one), and then go for the DigiTakt, you’re gonna feel like you went from a Trabant to a Porsche.
-
Sampling is a treat. Within minutes, I had sampled one shots, chords and sequences from my Reface CS and Volca Sample, assigned them to tracks in the Digi and just made all kinds of sweet stuff with it. The sample workflow is really designed to just record, assign and play. And the above point, the speed of the interface, really helps in this regard. It’s not just a matter of design, cause in all honesty, as I said before, we remain in Elektron land and it’s not here they’ve made their greatest improvements. On screen, the UI’s a damn mess from time to time. But some goddam solution architect or laser developer found the Mega Optimiser Workflow Code Button and just pushed it. And more than anywhere else, you can tell in the sampling workflow. It’s a testament to how well this works, than you soon stop watching the screen and just work the buttons, knowing what’s going on without looking.
-
For a piano player such as myself, the new mechanics are seductive. I feel like I’m touching the DigiTakt in ways that makes me blush and my wife go “Hey! I’m right here!”.
-
It sounds amazing. You already knew that, but it has to be said again - record your material right, and this box can do entire sessions on its own. I don’t know about all this mono talk. I just think it sounds bloody awesome.
-
For me, it replaces the Octatrack. I won’t look back to the Octa again, other than with fond memories. But for many, it won’t. It’s not an Octatrack Light. It’s something else. I know it sounds odd to say they don’t compare, given their heritage and common origin, but I’m close to saying that they don’t. I mean, they’re both samplers, right? But maybe I should give the Digi a few more days. I had the Octa for three years, after all.
And that’s it, for now.
40 Likes
Great review. This touches on all the points on why I decided to ditch the OT for the DT.
2 Likes
Thanks. Yes, I do believe they’re so different, it’s not a matter of going for the high or lo spec version of an Elektron sampler, but really more about what kind of flavour you prefer.
I’m torn at the moment… I just sold my OP-1 to buy an MPC Live, but the live arrived DOA so it’s on its way back for a refund. I was surprised just how unportable it was too - for something that’s meant to be.
I’m toying with going cheap and getting an MPC500, or an Electribe Sampler 2, but I’ve also got the Digitakt on my radar too.
You sound like you’ve got quite a bit of experience in this space… Care to help a brother out (please)?
Cheers
Josh
1 Like
I absolutely agree. This is my first impression as well. I only got to mess around with it a bit last night, but was expecting to be able to turn it on and have it be as immediate as my old Electribe ESX-1 from back in the day. Definitely not the case. If you’ve never touched an Elektron like me, even things like changing banks require a look in the manual. The file structure is really not intuitive and I still don’t 100% have my head around it. I wasn’t able to audition samples, but that may be a bug.
On launching a brand new project, there are already samples assigned with parameters assigned. So its not as simple as just assigning new samples. Today’s mission when I get home is figuring out how to clear all of that data when I launch a new pattern, so it’s truly a blank slate to build on. It shouldn’t be hard to figure out, but again, it’s not as simple as something like an Electribe. I’m not complaining, and I’m sure it will be easy enough to learn, but there is a learning curve.
I also need to figure out what OS I’m on because I had a number of things happen that seem like bugs.
1 Like
Great review bro
my thomann oder has shipped this morning. I’m on holidays n they said there was a problem with my credit card but shipped it anyway on invoice cause I’m such a good customer 
aka cause I has so much gas sound.
I’ve been feelin it’s more a replacement for the UW part of the MD than of the OT.
oh man can’t wait to get home wooo
1 Like
This actually makes a lot of sense considering almost zero of the unique OT features (in relation to other Elektron units) are onboard and timing of the MD’s retirement… Maybe I’ve been looking at this all wrong, Whoops 
1 Like
which if true means we could possibly get a magic new mini MnM kinda digi box in due course. I’d be into that
1 Like
This sounds weird, have you asked in bug thread? I don’t have DT but pre-populating tracks in new projects doesn’t really sound like something Elektron would do. You’re not confusing +drive samples/sounds with project ram assigned samples/sounds right? Stuff like that is easily confused on someones first Elektron box 
Nope. When I added a new project, there are sounds on the eight trigs. I’m pretty sure I read in the manual that that’s the case. I still haven’t committed the manual to memory yet, so don’t quote me on that.
2 Likes