DT is by far the superior sampler of the two (and I’ve had both), so don’t worry about it!
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To each their own, but I bought a DT for this exact reason. I have a 2.5 y/o daughter and a very busy job, but the immediacy of the DT and it’s 8x2 sequencer layout helped me make beats in 20 minutes whenever I found some time for myself.
Don’t just upload a ton of drums and search for good ones on the +Drive, because then it definitely becomes “menu-divey.” The DT shines by doing all of that extra work on a computer and filling it with quality sounds so you do less futzing around and actually make music.
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I also tend to have too many samples in DT. If you don’t mind me asking, how many samples do you use? Ballpark is fine.
I used eight at a time.
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Too many, as well lol but after finding a good 15 kicks, 15 snares, 10 claps, and 15 hats, I load them to a project and still have like 60 extra sample slots left for other samples. Not to mention sounds I’ve saved to the sound browser. I make one beat per pattern, so that way I’m quicker and I get 16 different beats per bank.
I agree with the first part. that’s what makes samplers suck: searching through your massive library of kicks for the “perfect” one.
but I would also say that, for me, the DT shines by how easy it is to just create or find a sound elsewhere, sample it, and get to work with it. more fun than navigating through a library of samples. and more likely to have happy accidents that way.
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I find it difficult to cherry pick samples and not uploading the rest to DT, as you tend to pick only similar samples when auditioning them solo. But samples you don’t expect, or like in general, tend to shine in mixes when you least expect. So I cannot let go of my sample folders in DT.
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When we had our second child I had a period of years that I didn’t make time to do much outside of occasional modular interludes. Your time will eventually return. There is also something to be said for reassessing your priorities as you progress through life. I make time for music now, but it isn’t what it was before kids, and I’m ok with that. Enjoy the journey.
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I wasn’t mad on the DT either, just did not like the (for me) cramped feeling of the UI, which I don’t get with the DN* or other Elektron gear, I much prefer the ARmk2 and OT so the DT was an easy one to sell. I doubt I’ll ever get another but the last update was great, hope to see some of that appear on AR eventually.
*The DT trig button usage for too many functions and mute modes LEDs being the main irks, DN is better in this regard. Thought it sounded nice though and I liked the features but did not enjoy using it.
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Thanks - this is something I’ve had to accept - maybe all I have time for is the occasional jam.
I didn’t like how good the digitakt sounded… too hi-fi and crisp for me and was sold after a few months… liked the idea though but prefer a more dirtier sound…
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Maybe try the Octatrack… 
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I battled with this for a good while. Bouncing between synthesis of drum machines and sample curating and mangling on the DT. What I ended up with, in the end, is feeding an analog synth (in this case, a Moog Grandmother & Novation Peak) into the DT and sampling that. I’m slowly building out a sound library of tones I love and still get the flexibility of mangling, if I so wish.
So when it comes to actually beat making and song writing, it’s quick. I’ve got some synthesized sounds already. Lay them out and start building on the DT by itself. Chillin on my couch while the GF is doing homework or whatever. If there’s something in particular I want, a sound I can’t get on the machine, I just used a quick and dirty OSC tone on the DT itself and replace it later when I have a chance to sample one of my synths.
As far as the menu-diveyness of it all… I find the Screen>Page>Encoder relationship to be pretty intuitive. I guess that’s personal preference. The pages of the DT and DN help me focus and understand what I’m looking at in little chunks. Alternately, all the knobs and sliders of my Peak confuse the heck out of me, a little overwhelming.
That said, if the workflow isn’t jiving with you, no reason to force the situation… grab a TR8s or something a little more straight-forward and start having fun. You’re supposed to PLAY an instrument after all. Not WORK it. If it ain’t fun and a lil frustrating, move on.
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Get an AR2 if you can.
Analog drum synth, sampler, analog filter + intuitive interface 
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This 
%
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Thank you for sharing this, that’s some amazing usage of the DT and i’m deeply into trance so spot on for me 
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awesome, glad to hear 
yes that blog is a treasure trove full of unusual DT techniques.
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So the problem is the DT sounds too good?
There’s a first for everything!
Fugget about it, and run that puppy through this
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Sort of yeah… suppose it’s like the comparison between vinyl and mp3… mp3 sounds crisp and clear whereas vinyl has some kind of depth to it…