Introducing Syntakt

True, I used to own an analog heat, but ended up selling it. Mainly because I found myself only using the saturation algorithm.

Which algoritm of the heat does the ST analog drive come closest to?

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Itā€™s more on the left side of the Analog Heat, but can go rather harsh when in the hands of @Fin25 ^^
It also depends a lot of how loud the AFX bus is impacted by the inputs.

Iā€™ll let more distorsion savvy people answer this one.

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Surprisingly tough question to answer, if Iā€™m honest.

If I was going to guess Iā€™d say it was probably closest to the Enhancement circuit, because it feels dirtier than clean boost, but doesnā€™t bloom out (technical term) the lows as much as the Saturation circuit, but doesnā€™t lose too much low end as you crank it up.

This is only a guess though, as the drive on Syntakt is just one knob, but I donā€™t know what or how many things the knob is affecting compared to the Heat, where I have a pretty high level of control over lots of parameters, which obviously has a massive effect on the sound.

Ultimately, itā€™s its own thing. I wonā€™t be selling my Heat because of it, thatā€™s for sure.

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Can you apply the analog effect only to the Master output rather than the single tracks?

@AdamJay said something similar.

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Yea, to me it can actually sound like a few different circuits since it is totally dependent on how hard you hit it.
You can get a full clip distorted sound with track levels all the way up. Keep track levels down a little and you get into enhancement/saturation/clean boost. Keep in mind that a mix of 12 tracks can really hit it hard. Gain staging is important.

And fortunately, like the heat, the filter comes after the drive circuit. So you can sculpt what it has done at the drive level, after the fact. This is where the Analog FX Blockā€™s double notch, and low pass notch filters really come in handy.

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I just wanted to chime in after having the Syntakt around for a few days. First, Iā€™ll note that Iā€™ve owned and sold both the Digitakt and the Digitone. Neither really clicked with me and I never found my way into the promised workflow that otherā€™s talk about all the time. I found sample management and the lack of kits on the Digitakt to be challenging and I think the DN would have been a much better fit for me had I bought the keyboard version as I really wanted to perform keys parts into it as opposed to using the chicletsā€¦

So anyway, for me the Syntakt is a completely different experience. Thereā€™s something very elegant and simple, in the good way, about how it all comes together. For some reason, itā€™s really drawing me in and Iā€™m grasping workflow much, more more easily than I was ever able to on the DT or DN. I think maybe the fact that the sounds are so easily realized or discovered is the largest part of things. Everything you need is all right in front of you. Things sound great from the get-go and itā€™s fun, even in my relatively early process of learning the machine.

Iā€™m really pleased Iā€™m finally getting Elektron workflow for the first time.

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I had overlooked that the ā€˜latchingā€™ Mute Mode is different to the Quick Mute Mode

So instead of FUNC + Track to toggle

Use

FUNC + {BANK} MUTE MODE

Then the FX Track IS selectable to mute/unmute !

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No worries. I saw that too.

I still canā€™t narrow down the cause for why itā€™s not working in the other project but it hasnā€™t stopped working in my current project.

Hard to call it a bug if I canā€™t replicate it. Iā€™m going with strange glitch for now.

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What app is this? :sweat_smile: Runs a Song Mode?

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3rd Full Song on Syntakt - Loving this box. Starting to bring in buddies nowā€¦ my Digitakt would have been obvious but wanted to try some of the granular synth of the Tracker (Digitakt can sort of do granular too but the Tracker goes polyphonic easier) - This song was all about trying to push that CHORDs machine farther than it seems to go and I used 8 different SY CHORDs on it. Hope you enjoy!

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Using Drambo to sequence both Digis in this setup. It serves as Clock source for both units. @othernet

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Not all features are shown in the VST version of Syntakt Overbridge in Cubase (on MAC OS X 11.6.5)

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Sold the Digitakt and have have a Pioneer SP -16, but maybe a good brother next, but wait for the second hand market.

Thought I would put this here tooā€¦ if anyone wants my live 11 Syntakt Overbridge template here it isā€¦ Note you need the latest version of overbridge installed( Overbridge 2.1.1). Template is pretty straight forward and really nothing special. Just a Overbridge track, a drum rack setup for all 12 tracks of the Syntakt, and then audio and midi tracks for each 12 tracks, and audio tracks for FX, and delay/reveb tracks. If you fine it usefulā€¦ there you goā€¦ if notā€¦ doesnā€™t hurt my feeling since I did it for my own workflow;).

Another noteā€¦ if you donā€™t have a syntakt hooked up and you try to open the overbridge plugin it will more than likely crash Live. just a fyi;)

Syntakt_template.als.zip (141.4 KB)

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Surprised no oneā€™s calling this thing a groovebox

Iā€™m getting groovebox vibes more than drum machine vibes

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The Syntakt is awesome!

Iā€™ve had it about 1 day. it does feel like a remix of Elektronā€™s greatest hits with the best possible UX/UI, and that is kind of great?!

I think Elektron was smart and did it in such a way where they can always add more machines in the future as they stumble across and commodify new styles of synthesis.

Its so easy to dial stuff in. I have an Analog Rytm mk2 and I think the analog voices on the Syntak track notes way better than the Rytm and some how (not sure how I suspect the voices arenā€™t exactly the same as the Rytm). The analog voices sound way less muddy.

A compressor would have been nice (digital or analog) It looks like theres enough space in the menus for something like that in the future :slight_smile:

I wonder if people would be bitching as much if Elektron released the Syntakt first, then the Cycles.

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Iā€™ve contacted Elektron about this and this is their answer :

Thanks for contacting us!

ā€‹
The external inputs of Syntakt are different from Digitakt and Digitone (they are physically a stereo pair with the option to mix L + R to mono), but we are looking into the possibilities of implementing a dual-mono option for a future OS. I canā€™t promise anything though.

Kind Regards

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Iā€™ve been saying it since I got one in my hands, the Syntakt has that easy-access analog girth I wanted without sacrificing the clear, crispy high end Iā€™ve come to love in the DT/DN. And the way the analog fx section can glue it all together without muddying things up? chefā€™s kiss

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