FWIW - ‘true’ polyphony will never happen (imho)
and there’s close to zero chance of an arp
no amount of longing is going to change this
if it’s not for you now, it won’t be, unless you like what it has or gets
imho - but i’ll eat my hat if wrong
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what kind of hat?
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I with you on the first half (it really inspires you to make music), but I’m more torn about the other half. To me, it sounds like a fairly cheap FM synth. I’m basing that on the YouTube demos so far, so I’m happy to be pleasantly surprised down the line. But to me, the Digitone sounds amazing in comparison to the Syntakt.
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Yeah 30-35% to manufacture it so yes €250-€300to manufacture it
If they account it as promo units than yes 10 influencers would cost €2k-3K in marketing
Always cheaper than paying a monthly salary to a couple of them
No. Let’s not. I don’t mean to flame, but please. The design is the design. If you don’t like it, use a different machine with different compromises.
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You guys made me order a M:C 
Not that I don’t want (or can’t afford) the ST but it’s just overkill for me. I’m looking for a drum machine to improvise on and 6 tracks is enough to, er… keep track of.
Also not that interested in analogue sounds any more. Besides, the M:C still has a few things going for it, not least the velocity and pressure sensitive pads. I dismissed it too soon but after listening to some demos realised that it’s more versatile than I thought. Thanks, good hearted forumites. 
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DN is amazing at what it does for sure. Goes from beautiful to insane and back easily. I’ve hear some pretty cool FM timbres coming out from the ST too so most likely there will be lots of pleasant things to discover.
It’s never going to sound lush and all those other lovely things the Digitone can sound like and I don’t think the sound is for everyone, but the different digital engines (at least the ones I’m familiar with from the M:C) can go to all sorts of places, it just takes a little time to figure out how all the different parameters interact with each other.
I’m probably coming from the very opposite end of the spectrum though, as I sold my Digitone because I was tired of having to work at making it sound the right amount of nasty. For me, the Syntakt should (and I really do hope it does) help me in my quest for easy, portable filth mongering.
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Still my main problem with Elektron (and almost any hardware sequencer). It’s still very hard to use it for not-so-repetitive music. I dream of having the same functionality but for much longer and detailed sequences.
No idea how it would work, though, especially graphically. Cirklon is ok from my point of view, but the power of having the sequencer and the sound sources in the same instrument is huge. So I’m still not happy, and probably never will be.
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Aha, I think I see where you went wrong. Ultimate boner softener.
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I wasn’t asking or expecting true polyphony. I’m saying that arp is a way to play the notes of a chord in succession, and if the synth is monophonic, that seems like a smart thing to enable.
Why would you say that there’s close to zero chance of an arp added in firmware updates? Because it wouldn’t gel with their UX philosophy that it needs to have a dedicated button maybe? Or perhaps because it’s a drum sequencer first and foremost? I’m sure you’re right though, it probably won’t happen.
For me, I do think the Digitone is the best compromise of what Elektron currently has to offer, since I’m pretty happy making drums on my MPC. What I miss is those happy accidents that came from ctrl+all and the groove from the p-locks.
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Just consider yourself saving $1000. It’s not for you, not the end of the world.
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Fr, don’t go into McDonald’s demanding a crunch wrap supreme
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I disagree, on a personal level. For me, on the Digitone at least, sounding good is something that starts happening near the end of the creative process, when the parts fit together just right, harmonically and rhythmically complementing each other while retaining some independence in the mix.
The sound first mentality, imo, leads to the assumption that music is the sum of its parts, rather than the product. And to the fetishization of sounds, particularly unique or aesthetically pleasing sounds.
A friend and I used to play 4-hand transcriptions of well-known symphonies. The absence of strings, woodwinds and brass did not detract from the realization of actual musical ideas.
On the subject of turning questions around: Instead of wondering how smart and talented Elektron is, how about considering how smart and talented Elektron thinks we are. Of course, this is all speculation, but I personally think the world is getting dumber. I wonder if Elektron thinks the same.
The Syntakt marketing focuses on “Machines”. Kind of caters to a musical “paint by numbers” mentality. Then there are the cute animations. And Elektron chooses, for the end user, what parameters are attached to what machines, in the spirit of the M:C. And they use some rather cryptic, not-so-descriptive names for knob functions, reminiscent of the TE OP-1. Strikes me as gimmicky.
None of this precludes the ST of being capable of making great tracks, however. Sorry if I’m coming across as a hater. If marketing appealed to our smartest, most enlightened selves, it’d do a pretty crappy job selling products.
Wouldn’t it be great, if we would discuss more about what we can do with the device instead of asking for more features?
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Don’t mean to sound negative, sorry if I am! The Syntakt seems like a truly amazing piece of gear and I’m definitely intrigued! Just going through some rationalization and trying to understand to myself what’s most important to me. What happened in my 3-5 month journey with the DN was that I rediscovered music making. That device not only blurred the line between the sequencer and the synth, it also blurred the line between drums and melody. I started to use weird percussion as part of the musical storytelling.
Even after selling both my DN and DT, Elektron devices continue to have a special place in my heart and I’m intrigued with the idea of re-incorporating one in my workflow. I’m in a different place today with the MPC acting as my main hub, so I’m more willing to accept what I then perceived as major shortcomings (essentially, no song mode and that it was so focused on live performance - now I know there is a way to record most of it through midi cc).
This is why the Syntakt is intriguing to me. The 12 tracks is a pretty sweet upgrade from 4 on the DN. The 8bit engine makes me smile. The analog parts make me warm. So there is stuff to love about it. I’m just not sure if I can justify double the price (compared to a used DN).
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if i tried to account for all my hunches on this it would take too much time to explain clearly, i’ve no agenda, i’m trying to be objectively helpful
i quoted the previous request somebody made for detailed polyphony on midi by way of a contrast, but i pulled my punches on expectations on an arp being added - i’d say nil too, but not for the more significant reasons for the former request
it makes no difference what a stranger says on teh internet, but evaluate the ST as a proposition with what it has - but don’t bank on either of those - there are no recent elektrons with ‘proper’ ratcheting and arp in the sequencer
even the midi tracks don’t do retrig as that’s baked into the nitty gritty that elektron use to deliver this, it’s not by creating virtual extra trigs that can be used in midi - that’s why the instruments with audio tracks only output basic midi (i.e. no arp or retrig on some devices)
like i said it’s all a bit hard to explain what’s clear in my mind - it’s based on real info picked up over the years and observations that i can rationalise, particularly with focus and usability of user interface
otoh, i could be wrong (but it’s where i think the evidence points)
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I meant this in the context of GAS, if the sound doesn’t intrigue you, it probably isn’t something you should buy.
I don’t think it’s about Elektron dumbing things down for their users. I think it’s about helping the musician focus on making music, rather than mastering complex technology.
I actually think the UX plays a surprisingly big part in what emotions it evokes, which is directly connected to your creativity. There’s a reason why instruments are designed the way they are, and why there are so many designs of the same guitar (or synth, in some cases) to choose from. Basically, UX -> emotions -> creativity.
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I’ve always had the same impression from reading the manuals and using the devices: the retrig and arp notes are not natively midi notes.
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