Hi guys Got my digitakt a few days ago. So after fiddling around I want do get more productive. My target is to Build a live set (Techno,housemusic) in 1 Project that will run like 1-1.5 hours for a buddies birthday rave in 2 months. As Equipment I have the digitakt and volca keys controlled via midi. Samples are from Maschine library, dfam and microbrute. Main question: I dont really know Where to start. Maybe some more experienced folks of you could help me out with how to set everything up. I comprehend the System of Tracks, patterns and bancs partly but how can i Arrange everything that i have a fluent Stream of technoid music with smooth transitions. Sorry for my Language… Thanks for your answers
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Hey,
i dont own a Digitakt but a Rytm so i hope you can still find my tips useful.
Since you are playing techno and house i assume you want your set to sound like a continuous piece of music. If you feel confident to do a lot of improvisation i would recommend you to prepare one pattern for the intro and just improvise from there by working the sequencer and swapping sounds. For me saving individual sounds and loading them into my current kit is one key element of my rytm-workflow. Im sure thats possible on the DT aswell.
Otherwise you could prepare for the gig by just jamming a lot and saving a lot of kits and patterns corresponding to each other. While performing you could then play your set from pattern to pattern (also kit to kit) and stay on each pattern as long as you want. Couple of mutes/unmutes and sweeps to keep things interesting and then next pattern. Tricky part here are the transistions because when you change a pattern all the sounds and the overall feel will change abruptly. Letting a pattern fade out with a lot of reverb and delay will work wonders here.
This video comes to mind:
€dit:
This one might also be of interest, showing a more pattern based approach including other gear…
… as well as this one, where he explains the general setup of his machines and DT patterns:
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Just put together a 20min set of material from an EP I released today. Mixture of loops and longer samples, some addition percussion and effects for transitions. Also a KP3 for effects and looping as I ran out of memory in one project so used the KP3 to loop whilst loading up the 2nd project.
Video is here - https://youtu.be/4L-jP2Unfvg
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I did a Digitakt only 30mins performance at Triptronics a while back: https://soundcloud.com/teafella/triptronics-feb2018
No video for this one but I assure you my fingers where moving quite quickly on this one. Mostly straight dance junk.
So its definitely possible…Your set is only as good your ability to manage files and presets with this thing.
Transitions can be a bit of an issue unless you plan them very carefully and morph songs into one another by duplicating certain elements in tracks. Otherwise try not to change your delay and reverb settings too much between patterns and you can use those tails to move to other tracks.
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As a new owner of the Digitakt (as I am too) you’ll find that you’ll make a bit of a hash of files etc in projects as you do some trial and error in your jamming and music making getting to know the machine.
In order to create a live set you’ll have to be pretty organised with what you load into a project(s).
This kind of organisation will be more apparent as you know the machine better.
If you end up with tracks or jammable sets scattered over multiple projects then it’d be a good idea to have a “filler” instrument or effects like rapturerapture mentioned above by using a KP3 to keep the music going whilst loading new projects.
You can jam for a long time just with 8 tracks, the secret is knowing what you can tweak to keep things moving and sounding different. The “Copy/Paste and Reload Pattern” trick is a great one to have a few different skits going on at a time.
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I’m not sure if it’s the best approach for long shows, but I basically approach it like a DJ. I make tracks, then see which flow best together, then make a playlist and practice.
In this way, track building takes time, but the result is a dynamic performance. I’ve done 50mins sets in this way, and could definitely build another 50mins in another bank.
I usually have one track (song) on one pattern with either an accompanied track next to it (a good transition) or a B section next to it (for a break/bridge section).
I hope that helps! Enjoy!
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just digitakt and abyss live set clocking in at just under 40mins
i suggest making a bank or two’s worth of patterns (maybe 4/5 songs per bank) and just play around and practice til yr smooth and sounding good. sounds simple but the digitakt is perfectly simple - all up to your tunes/timing