Do you think dn1 still a good investment or 64 steps limiting for melodic stuff nowadays? I don’t intend to use it as a standalone groove box so I thought 4 track and 8 voices is fine for bass pads and lead or some multitibral stuff. I guess FM engine is really the heart of the box anyways?
Would love your thoughts on this
There’s a whole thread on this:
Short answer: Yes, it’s a bargain for what you get.
FM is only a part of it. It’s as much a Virtual Analog Synth, and the possibilites are just manifolds more. For good measure, most of what I do on DNII is either impossible on OG or will sound less good (an example I mentioned before: an approximated Saw i just a “bleh” version of a Saw.)
If you can afford Digitone II, I wouldn’t bother with the OG DN. It’s not worth the trouble.
thanks yea… Price is just the big factor, I can find MK1 regularly for 1/3 the price of a new dn2. or half the price of a used dn2.
Thnx I’ll think more about it
another option might be to take an OG and something like those small but great Zoom pedals to expand the fx and then add the FLEXFM groove box which will be pretty wild.
Yep.
And if you end up wanting a DN2 a few months from now you can sell the DN1 for about the same price as you paid for it.
fair point
And if you hate it at that point (like me), don’t give up on the DNII.
This, too. They’re both amazing value for money at their price points.
There’s a whole class of sounds the DN1 can’t make (eg. “Supersaw” sounds) but Youtube is full of videos showing what it can do.
My advice: Watch a lot of videos first.
Do you have a main sequencer? If so, I would get a DN1 and then a Blofeld down the line. Can make a lot of more sounds and sounds better imo, there are sounds examples in this thread and even DN2 comparisons to them so you can judge by yourself.
What makes DN2 worth it is ultimately the sequencing capability aswell as the extra tracks, it can act as your main brain. It’s very fun and intuitive for learning synthesis too. But like I say, the FM is the deepest part about the DN2 anyways and you get it on the DN1 too 
Remember: There’s also a whole range of sounds a DN2 can’t make. 
A whole miniscule range.
Thread recommendations:
I do sequence from ableton typically and I have an octatrack. My main synth is a rev2, so thinking about it, pairing a DN1 with the rev2 gives my analog subtractive and FM in that package so I’m less concerned about missing out on DN2’s virtual analog stuff as rev2 is quite powerful with two layers, 8 voices, 4 lfos, third envelope, gated sequencer etc. It’s more so the 64 step limitation for sequencing but I guess pattern chains and song mode help you get around this limitations. The DN would be a better sequencer overall for the rev2 compared to octatrack as it has 8 note midi polyphony and better note edit from what I can tell.
DN2 is far more than 3x the capabilities of MK1. Far, far more. To the point that I got rid of DT1/DN1 and am solely relying on this for everything but samples, and for that (I am a simple man) Koala does the job.
The difference is really staggering. I absolutely love the OG DN, but what the DN 2 offers seems almost endless. The ST, DN2, and TV have completely killed my GAS.
Conditional trigs, too.
eg. You can easily have variations that only happen once every 4 times around the pattern.
Many “64-step” patterns are easier to program as 16-step patterns with conditions.
Pattern chains are a pain because they’re temporary and aren’t saved in the project (why??)
But far, far less than an MPC One.
And yet, here we are, discussing DN2…
Damnit Jeanne, I’m not into your style of music, but bucketloads of respect for your control of the Elektrons. You seem to have some sort of direct brain → Digitone interface. You seem to be able to dial in a sound just like that. I call it wizardy.
ok show me how you triglock 8 Parameters per step on the MPC while the beat plays
