Model:Cycles Q & A with Ess

I like it that in :Cycles parameters are gathered into macro knobs the destination and course of which were very carefully chosen.
It is something I value a lot, for live improvisation.

But the thing that made me get one is how I love my Digitone, from day 1. It came right at the moment in my musical journey where I was fascinated and gathering knowledge on FM, and was the best tool ever to explore the sonic landscapes… No doubt M:C will give me some new directions in this regard.

Now my question: would you give us some further informations to us synthesis nerds that would make it possible to traduce M:C machines on DN? PC démo was interesting, but I would love it that you describe a bit further what parameters are hidden bellow each knob :slight_smile:

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Something that crosses my mind semi frequently about Elektron gear in general, given the tracker influences, is that note fx such as glide, vibrato, and so on could be incorporated into trig conditions, any thoughts on this?

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Why is the last active project/pattern not loaded on startup?

What is the save policy? I rarely ever save my patterns on the Digis - is this a must for the Models? I think I lost the last pattern I was making yesterday… so seems like I really need to save before powering off?

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Separate outs could be done via the Class Compliant USB audio, no need for Overbridge support. That would be an amazing upgrade that would silence a lot of the “toy” naysayers.

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Why didn’t you put more secondary functions onto the knobs? I am really missing direct access to step length and transpose / root note for example

(Also asked by other people)

No plans so far. It is technically possible, but making a machine takes a lot of work from both me and our DSP engineer Oscar who implements it on hardware (in assembler!) … So a lot of time has to be allocated for it and at the moment we want to focus on other things.

No.

Lots! This is always the case. I keep finding tricks on the Digitone every single time I use it, haha. It’s just how it should be with a well designed piece of kit. :wink:

Sure, why not. I’ll try and find the time.

No, you can only mute tracks.

No, when the mix is clipping internally it just sounds like that. I guess you could call it ‘natural’ cross modulation since the energy of the frequencies on the tracks will affect the mix clipping differently, essentially interacting with each other.

You can achieve a similar effect on the Digitone and Digitakt, but you need to get it really loud. I usually do it by using filter resonance at max, that’s pretty much the strongest signal you can generate on those boxes.

1: I didn’t contribute to the Model:series design process much, but I’m fairly sure it was a decision based on the form factor (lack of physical space) and cost.

2: Multi-channel via class compliant audio is a bit tricky and CPU heavy, not sure if possible.

No, the Dist on the tracks (when you increase Volume to the point of distortion (post 70)) is a digital model not based on any specific hardware.

I removed the knobs (using a spoon as leverage) and then simply put the sticker on top, cut out the holes.

I’d buy the one I gravitate towards the most, which in my case is definitely the Digitone. From a purely spec/feature stand point I guess it depends on what you’re looking to do. It’s easier to do drum tracks on the Cycles with the six sequencer tracks.

I would really enjoy portamento, it was brought up for sure but I can’t remember what the issue was - most likely time. Working with teams on projects you always need to be very mindful about how you allocate your time and work, it’s unfortunately not as simple to say ‘let’s do this or that’.

No, but a multi-map feature like that would be sick.

Yes, many times. I got all the gear needed a while back but never got around to doing it. But just this week I’ve been encouraged to do it, but maybe in an unexpected and fun way, so hopefully I will find the time to do it very soon.

It’s described better in the manual, but basically it mixes in the first inversion then the second inversion of the chord - then the last steps are octave transpositions of the same chord.

Again I did not have much to do with the Model: series design from the get go, but in this case it has to do with how much complexity that would have added to the project and was deemed as out of scope for multiple reasons.

Short answer is: you can’t! Hehe, I mean what would have been the point of making the M:C otherwise? But you could probably get close with the Digitone in many cases. I think I’ll keep some of the inner workings a bit of a mystery, more exciting that way, no? Hehe.

You need to power the unit down by pressing the power off button, that way it saves the current state. If the power is disconnected somehow the changes made from the point of starting up will not be retained. It’s a limitation of the hardware.

Jon who came up with the Model:series concept/design wants to keep as few secondary functions as possible to retain the one-knob-per-function workflow and the immediacy of that. It’s a design philosophy behind the model line simply.

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Can you update the thread title? It’s making my brain twitch:

M:C Q&A

Edit: /sarcasm

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It doesn’t allow me to enter all caps - believe me I’ve tried!

Edit: Made it look nicer

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Hefty reply :+1:t6:

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Thanks but it’s not described at all in the current manual. The word ‘inversion’ isn’t even in the document.

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Possible in future update? Any workarounds you found?

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On the DN if you retrig the same note too fast you can get a click. i avoid in the sequencer by plocking note length and release, and only ever really an issue for me when sequencing rythms. I havent heard this in any of the cycles demos, have you implemented some clever solution to this there?

@eangman this correct? not in the manual? wheres the batphone…

I got a question about the LFO? MIDI implementation would indicate that it uses a finer resolution than 0-127. Is this correct? Can I obtain finer param values through LFO?

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I find it really interesting to read ess’ reply and get an insight into the design and development process of these devices. I would have never guessed that something like a portamento function is simply missing because of limited time. It’s a bit sad to learn that these lovely devices could be even better if they had more time to develope them. I understand that time is money but it’s just sad for me as an artist.

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@nuri This is actually one of the things that put me off the Digitone, when I tried it out in the store. I experienced lot of these click noises when trying out different sounds. :frowning:
Then when I got home I found a thread about it and another one about hanging notes on this forum and I canceled my order.

I liked the noisy dirty atmospheric sound you managed to queeze out of the ‘clean’ Model:Cycles @ the presentation. M:C has some nice bite to it! The buttons/design look great and have some nice functionality (Enjoying the DN for now, equally nice for shure) Great job!

Good work on the M:C !
Any chance we can have a direct jump option for patterns, so they can be played legato like my AK ?

I would give it another chance! Besides my guitar and bike, both of which I love as much as one can an inanimate object (before getting to creepy waifu territory), my dn is next! It has become an invaluable travel buddy for me since I travel often for work! In fact, im writing this at a national lab in japan where im doing an experiment, and it has become pretty quiet here due to corona, but look what trusty companion has been keeping me company when im free! image|375x500
Both the clicking and hanging (which ive only noticed when switching tracks while holding a note on a midi controller, which i think one could argue you just shouldnt do) are barely ever a problem for me, and avoidable if they do come up. Anyhow I digress, probably due to corona imposed lonliness.

The point for me is, the clicking does make it a bit annoying for fast drum programming on the DN sometimes, whereas it seems like its not a problem on the MC, the fast fm retrigs on the MC just sound frickn awesome. Not sure if ill get it, but if I do that is prob the biggest selling point for me

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@Ess, thank you and your colleagues for making this box. It’s going to give me many hours of joy once I get it.

Could you explain the VDep control in the Pads menu, please? My guess is that it can adjust the sensitivity of the pads for lighter players, or else that it can limit the possible range? So, using low VDep settings, I imagine that I could get it so all lighter hits trigger a velocity of 100, with harder smacks accenting notes at 100-127 velocity?

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I, too, am wondering if the velocity sensitivity of the pads can be adjusted. Seen comments by a couple of different reviewers (eg. Loopop) that you have to hit the pads pretty hard for velocity sensitivity

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