Daigo Isshoni R1811
I think I paid ¥1,000, which is extremely expensive for a notebook in Japan. (I think the Campus notebooks go for around ¥250)
Cheap notebooks work just as well, but sometimes buying a nice pen and notebook will put you in a better head space to actually use it.
I’m in a sort of similar position. I’m very much committed to one box, and mastering it, rather than lots of boxes. I have a DT1 currently and have had an amazing time using it as my only device to create entire tracks. Sure, it’s not really designed for that, but you can do it, and the benefits of the DT are myriad and so I can overlook its shortcomings (mostly). Like you, I value the hands-on nature of the DT, and this is precisely why I never went for an M8, amazing machine that it seems to be. The DT is just so tactile. I don’t even perform, yet I love being able to be hands-on even at the composition stage (otherwise I’d just use a laptop).
So… not sure any of the above is actually helpful! TL;DR: I get where you’re coming from.
(Bonus: For me, I’m now choosing between the DT2 and the Polyend Tracker+ for my upgrade. The latter is much less tactile but does seem useful as a one-box-to-rule-them-all machine for making entire tracks, and of course has synths.)
how does it work?? What’s the workflow 
And I ask not as a troll — this is an honest question
My general process is:
There are tons of processes out there from free association to ultra formal processes like ISO9000 or CMM. Pick up some books on creativity or Business Processes depending on how your brain is wired. Actually consider reading up on processes that seem awful to you - you might be able to steal part of it for yourself.
okay… failing at step 1 already 
how would I know what I want??
Start by writing “I don’t know what I want, but I want to finish a track” and see where that takes you. Doodle, write down a funny word that pops into your head.
You can post here, you can fill up a notebook.
A pack of playing cards, dice, or better tarot cards can be extremely useful. How to use them? Who knows, just pull a card or roll the dice and let the result inspire you.
Edit: Eno’s Oblique Strategies are essentially highly abstract tarot cards.
Also worth reading is Munson’s How to Get Lost in Tokyo Like You Really Mean It. (Available on every platform in case you object to Amazon)
Although the title and content focuses on Tokyo, it is really a general purpose travel & creativity strategy book. Easily worth 10x the price.
Edit2: you can also draw a picture of a timeline of a track and fill the details in with your pen. Look up mid (20th) century Graphic Scores (Morton Feldman and more) for more inspiration.
I would live that, an additional layer that capture how you mess with your patterns, mutes, ctrl-al, adjusting parameters…
But no, nothing like this now.
wow… look at this:
such a great advice / great way to plan music! I tried it once but I couldn’t think of a good “system” on my own and then I stopped using this system after 10 minutes but this is awesome
is anyone using this in production / successfully already??
If you use Overbridge and record automations, you sort of get this.
The first episode of Soundbreaking discusses the role of a producer and how some artists self-produce while others do better with a producer / cattle prod. I’m very organized and have been super productive in everything except music. I’m retired and play every damn day (a lot), but I rarely ever finish an actual song, other than learning the occasional cover. I would definitely do better with someone riding herd over me.
I definitely grew up with analog tape machines, but I used them (first 2-track 1/4", then cassette) for re-recording vinyl only, not for song composition. I own M8 and DT1. I recently made songs on both M8 and DN2, and while I love the sounds, buttons, knobs, and most of the UI of the DN2, I did miss the greater flexibility and information display of the M8 while using the DN2.
M8 plus DT2 would be the best of both worlds, I think, and while you would run into situations where what you want is on the wrong machine, you can probably develop work patterns to minimize this. If you are determined to have only one, then I think M8 plus LPP3 and the Launch Control XL mk3 would be a terrific modular groovebox (modular in the sense that either or both controllers can be omitted as the mood strikes). I very recently got LPP3, more for composition on the M8 than performance, and the main thing keeping me from getting the LCXL is that I would substitute the Faderfox UC4 that I already own.
DT2 on its own will probably get better with enough practice and some conscious attention to workflow. There is probably no perfect solution (I’ve felt this with many “which groovebox should I get?” threads, even with varying criteria) but the most obvious choices you have, which I’ve outlined in this post, are all really good ones, if you don’t let that elusive perfection spoil your enjoyment.
Ye. I think I’m gonna investigate a little further with DTII. . I’ve never really used it for performance , so maybe that will be the way forward, but I’m going to need a tutorial or something so I can see how others use it (so effectively).
BTW … Does the M8 record velocity when using the LPP in note mode ?
You mention song composition and I’m totally with you on this
For me personally I have gotten so used to using a DAW for the last 20 years for song composition that I almost find it waaaay to troublesome to use my hardware set up for that purpose ,as far as song composition it just makes sense to jam parts (syntakt,DFAM,Erica db-01,etc)into Ableton and work from there
That is why I wouldn’t personally get a digitakt2 because sampling within Ableton is just more easy in the long run for me
Everybody’s got there own methods but that’s mine
You can live record into song mode in the sense that you can play through once and it will retain the pattern mutes (“Song Row Mutes”) per row. With a little practice, you can play through a track by duplicating the current row (fn + down), adjusting the mutes as the song enters the new row, repeating.
I think song mode is great for its limited purpose, which i undersrand to be : creating a basic arrangement for track elements. It frees the hands and brain to play in key automations live, record/multitrack that into daw for further arrangement and automation as desired.
I do all my best (hobbyist) work on single machines, and butting up against the limitations is a not-incidental part of the process.
Many people happily use devices such as the M8 or Digitakt as an entire ecosystem. I envy them because it looks like a lean, efficient, portable workflow. I love how freaky fluent some folks are with those devices.
I am apparently sample commitment phobic and if I do not record the audio from samplers, sequencers, groove boxes or trackers into a DAW relatively early on, I will simply iterate forever within the device and never get to an end state. I guess I tend to use these devices more as instruments.
Moving the audio into a DAW requires that I shift focus away from sound creation and towards composition. I ironically use very little of what the DAW can provide but can more visually see how the tracks line up and can work together… I unfortunately require a healthy separation between the two processes.
As such, having a DAW always ready to record from these devices is probably the most important part of my workflow. The various devices can come or go as necessary.
Horses for courses.
+1 on Azzarole’s and obscurerobot’s workflow comments. As the article Elevate shares suggests, many decisions that support these processes can be quite idiosyncratic to the individual.
I do take many digital notes. They are generally thematic and center around a word or phrase. The end composition may or may not reflect the initial idea presented by them.
Pretty sure it does but I’m away from my LPP at the moment. (I’m travelling and have the M8 with me.)
the mp has audio tracks so you can actually just use it like a 4 track if you want, just use 4 tracks… so the M8 is probably not as intuitive.
It’s not really helpful to try to find something which will solve all your problems forever. It’s easier to break down your problems into little pieces. Your goal is not to find the ultimate workflow but to create ONE track. And it doesn’t really matter how you did it: Through planning, by sampling somebody else or by pure luck through randomizing synth patches on a Digitone. Get that one track done, it’s certainly an achievable goal. And then you can think about your second track. Nobody forces you to use the same workflow twice.
Sure, having a strict workflow is efficient but are you going to produce one track per day or are you looking to create one album per year? A few nice tracks per lifetime would be pretty good after all.
Just get that track done, get it out of your system and move on. This is art, it doesn’t have to be efficient or cost effective.
I think this is key. If there was a workflow that clicked for you, just stop thinking about potential issues and limitations of a device and make music.
Yes! At least for me. This is one of the things that makes the device special to me. Once you have a collection of patterns that make up a “song,” you can play it, not just hit play and watch it do its thing