OT sound vs Digitakt

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#21

I have a borrowed Digitakt for the next few weeks, alongside my own OT MKII.
Hoping to do a reverb comparison as one thing I have been doing on OT is modulating some reverb parameters with the LFOs and conditional trigless locks, something DT can only do with a MIDI cable loop. (edit: comparison done at Elektron Reverb Comparison )

Overall, though I definitely prefer the OT’s capabilities over the DT, especially filter/eq/fx options. To a point that supersedes any subjectice difference in sound quality.

Yes the workflow is not the same. But the new buttons on the MKII speed it up nicely. It is more intuitive than the MK1. A few hours watching videos and reading the manual (before receiving the instrument) certainly will help a user to hit the ground running once it arrives.

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#22

Same here. I got the Digitakt to replace an Analog Rytm, to use with an Octatrack, and it has filled that role perfectly. DT and OT are both samplers with step sequencers, and that’s about where the comparisons end for me. The workflows are very different.

I think I’m a minority in this, but I’m not too into sampling on the DT. I like that it can sample, but I tend to use it in a way similar to how I use the AR, loading a bunch of samples into the +Drive and just working with that. It’s not as conducive to sampling on the fly for me, but then again I do have many more years experience with the OT.

With the DT I enjoy having a bunch of samples ready to select and quickly knocking out beats. With the OT it’s like, let me spend 20 minutes tweaking a hi-hat sample with the LFOs and effects to get crazy sequences with endless variations. Both approaches are important to me.

Oh, but this thread is about sound… well, I think the workflow of each is pretty integral to their respective sounds. DT does the simple and immediate, nice, punchy sounding stuff, and OT can do pretty much anything if you put some work into it. DT is like a dedicated instrument to me, where the OT is like a science lab that can take on many roles. I think either would make anyone very happy.

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#23

Hi,
Having had the Digitakt for 3 weeks then sending it back and replacing with the Octatrack 5 days ago, from my perspective, there is a marked difference in the sound of the two machines.
The Digitakt seems to punch through things a bit more and, for want of a better word, makes the sounds seem more" polished.
However, the Octatrack has more depth and potential. I would disagree with the comment above about integrating with a DAW; I use my newly delivered device with Ableton and find integration straightforward and the two systems can compliment each other and offer great flexibly.
The Octatrack takes more work; it is not an instant machine and requires time and patience. However, the payback from the machine is greater than the Digitakt.
The Digitakt is like a great drawing pencil and lovely sketchbook; the Octatrack is like a huge array of paints, a multitude of brushes; a chisel; and a large block of marble. These take longer to work with but the result has more potential to be incredible.
I hope that helps.

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#24

Thanks guys, Your comments are helpfull and confirm my thoughts, i think i’ll end up with both…

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#25

Merlin’s Guide was the most helpful thing I read while I was waiting for mine. I also read the manual and watched all the Cuckoo videos while I was waiting, but Merlin’s Guide is the only one that really made sense without actually having had the machine in my hands and tried it. The manual and the videos were more helpful after I spent a few days messing around with the OT and then revisited them.

#26

Was in same situation ended up getting cheap mk1 OT and the DT - spent a few days with both with no prior experience and to be honest I find the OT easier to work with.

#27

it’s not really a matter of opinion though, the fact that the DT can (or will soon be able to) stream all 8 tracks simultaneously via usb to the computer is a huge advantage that the OT will never have.

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#28

I have both OT MK II and Digitak now. When I first got OT I felt it didn’t sound as great, but then I realised that I was just doing it wrong. Sounds amazing, just got to learn the machine’s capabilities - there are a lot of things that are just hidden or not as obvious. The OT feature set makes Digitakt seem like a lot more simple machine - although very very amazing in its own right. I am still learning how to integrate both together, but early experiments have opened up a lot of possibilities I never thought of. I also prefer OT sequencer button layout to Digitakt. The sequencer is a LOT more advanced too - this is something I didn’t realise when I got Digitakt, as I was under the impression it was the same. Good luck - both are great, but the extra cash is definitely visible in the OT imo.

#30

Sounds like you’re learning toward both and that has to be the best option other than the money.

For me, I would start by thinking what else I would use the new box with or for. If all I was going to have as hardware for like a year was the one item, then OT would have to win because it can do a lot more. In my actual personal decision, it was wanting to integrate so much stuff that the OT’s additional power won out.

So the DT is more compact in size, features, and price, and it’s a lot easier to just go with the workflow and see what happens (I hope I can get there once I have the OT on Monday, but I bet it will take months where the DT took like a week, for me), but I felt like the DT wasn’t as powerful for the kind of exploration that I wanted to do, so devoting myself to the OT felt like a mission and the DT felt like a great tool for what I originally wanted (a way to trigger drum samples with a drum computer), but getting a sense of what Elektron was really about made me rethink everything and want to have a love affair with an OT. It was a tough call and maybe we won’t bond, but I have some high expectations that this winter will be about me and the OT.

[But I’m also using “sound” to mean everything audio-wise, like how the OT can make sounds that the DT can’t make, including stereo but a whole lot more too. I haven’t sat there side-by-side trying to figure out which one, for example, did a better job of playing a specific sample, and I think that might be a way to get a more straightforward answer, if they just got A-Bed. Maybe I’m rambling about sound quality and audio capabilities, but I don’t know the answer and am just considering what other people said in this thread.]

#31

for the record, i got an OTmk2 last weekend!

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#32

Just checking to see if anyone has noticed this.

Sample loaded to the Digitakt via pc is different in sound loaded to the Octatrack.

I think the reason they sound different is that the Digi works at 48000 and the Octa at 44100.

The same sample loaded to both machines, the Digitakt plays them back at around 1 semitone higher than the Octa.

Looking at the difference in sample rate this pitch up/down could be the reason they sound different side by side.

Figured this by recreating a track ive made on the Digi on the Octa.

Sounds recorded in sound identical which is as expected.

Just something to keep an eye out for :blush:

#33

Probably as they advertised on Sample Engine exquisite on the Digitakt it must comes from somewhere. It’s not really surprising, as it’s physical gear, circuitry inside vary so the sound must probably vary and get it own character… I would not worry too much as a sampler is done to tweak your sound accordingly to your hear and taste so you take your sample inside and from there taking them to somewhere else… That’s the way to use the sampler… and that’s what’s make us musician in the end. Not 2 people will use it the same way.

#34

I don’t think they are meant to sound the same. The digitakt does something to the sample that makes them sound different. It’s discussed in a couple of threads.

Edit: link added

#35

I don’t think we’re talking about the reported frequency bump on the DT.

It’s this, if you’re loading the same sample in to both, the Octa will play it back at 44.1khz and the Digi at 48khz. The speed (and therefore pitch) will be different.

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#36

Aye just something Ive noticed , im learning the Octa at the moment by recreating a song from my Digi :grin:

#37

I have a DT and an OT MKII and love them both.
Concerning OB, I’ve had OB for my Analog Heat for quite a while now and it’s still not anything close to stable.
I’ve ended not using the OB at all and just thinking of AH as an outboard hardware device and an awesome one.
I wouldn’t base any part of a DT vs OT decison on OB.
Based on the recent marketing statement and my limited ability to read between the lines, I wouldn’t hold my breath to see an actual released version in the near future. Never mind a stable one.
Get what works for you now.
Also there’s far too many acronyms in this post.
TMAMJADB!

#38

Ever notice the smiley face inside the OT? :slight_smile:

There is one, at the bottom of the file browser when your loading a sample… It looks “indifferent” if the sample rate is not correct…

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#39

Indifferent can mean OT doesn’t care? :sketchy: :content:

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#40

The OT cares a lot, it’s concerned about giving you problems and wants you to know if you give it a wrong sample rate file, it will play it anyway, but it’s not happy about it because it’ll be the wrong speed…
It looks indifferent, because it cares and is worried about your sample playback…
It can be happy too!

And it gets sad when it can’t play the sample you want…

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#41

Had an OT few years back and sold it to buy other gear. Had a DT recently but sold it and bought OTmk2. Apart from the sound which I think sounds very good, like a good synth playing live. I had the factory kick with some overdrive playing a pattern alongside the 0coast with a bass patch and it sounded rocking. And that was just those two sounds.
However I just couldn’t overcome the trig button layout, the two rows of eight, it just felt like a toy. The other elephant in the room is the mono sampling. Fine for kick drums though.

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