Sequencer & Sound Programming Tips for Digitone

this guys videos are pretty illuminating.

all the videos are pretty short but concise.

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Applying a slow LFO to the Ratio can result in SIDlike Arps.

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Tips from Blush Response:

Do you have any pointers for people just starting to explore making FM sounds? How do you get into the mindset of actually crafting a sound?
I don’t use the filter. That’s the very first thing. If you’re supposed to be building harmonics from simple waveforms, then don’t use the filter for a start. The way I taught myself, I would just sit there and set the operators at different ratios and listen closely to the resulting sound when I turned the level up.
It’s really just about trial and error, and the Digitone makes it really easy to figure that out.

Have you found any particular modulator/carrier ratios to be extra useful?
I always like the modulator an octave down to get really kind of growly, nasty stuff. When I want pinging percussion, I’ll set the modulating oscillator super high. I don’t really kind of drift to anything, I just do what fits what I’m using it for at the moment. There’s no premeditation.

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Not so much a sound programming tip but more a sequencer tip—it’s possible to play two (or even three?) sounds at once on the same channel by using microtiming and sound locks, as long as they’re different notes (if they’re the same note the second will cut the first off). I’m using this to good effect on a video that I’ll be posting soon; it opens up so many possibilities.

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Very interesting! Sequencer or Sound programming…isnt that the Sequencer in Elektron machines are Part of the Sound programming? At least thats how i See it. I changed the thread title. Thank you for this.

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a neat trick that I found today:
you can use the modwheel modulation settings sort of like a macro knob for different parameters at once. just go to the menu (func+TRIG -> Modulation Wheel) and assign some parameters and set the modulation depth. you can then use the “Level/Data”-knob to control the modulation depth for up to 4 parameters. great for live performances!

you can take this further and use this feature to control multiple parameters on a per step basis.
sadly its not possible to edit modwheel depth per trig on a synth track unless you record it via midi. but there is a way around this by using of of digitone’s midi tracks. to achieve this you need to connect your “Midi Out/Sync A” to your “Midi In”. now on the SYN1-page you select the midichannel corresponding to your synth track and set some trigless trigs with different modwheel depth settings.

if you need the modwheel on your keyboard for live expression or just want more multi-parameter edits, you can do this another two times for the aftertouch- and breath-controller-settings :slight_smile:

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For some reason, sometimes, at some sounds, if you lenghten the amp release time, it gets rid of the click. Obviousely, I`m talking about sounds that have 0 or near 0 release.

this is more a question, but also relevant to any box with conditional locks

for the first time I ran into an/the issue where you have a 16 step pattern going, and let’s say I put down 3 c locks, 1/4, 3/5, 5/7

then if u go to change up the pattern length, say, to 64 step, my stupid brain thought that the locks would hold their conditions, but of course they don’t, and they of course copy out per page

without going into it am I correct in saying that this is a real bad idea - changing pattern length with c.locks in place… because it throws all the structure out… for instance how would I work out a 3/5 condition from a 16 step pattern that now exists in a 4 bar pattern, but still want it to be treated as if the trig was being evaluated every 16 steps? because in a 64 step pattern it will be evaluated every 64 steps

dunno if I sound crazy but does anyone have a quick and easy solve for situations like this or am I thinking about it too much

I think the even numbers arent so bad, 2/4/8, but three, even six and five, seven, seem problematic to me, because they fold back around each sequence on a different page. maybe I’m just not that great at maths.

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I’ve had my Digitone for a couple days now and am starting to dive deeper into sound design. I’ve used a DX7 and Sytrus in the past for FM sounds and for now, am attempting to remake a few sounds I like from those instruments.

I’m quickly starting to see the opinion of Elektron on how to approach sound design. For example, in Sytrus, if I want to creat a kick sound, for the thwack/thunk/thump part, I’d use a pitch envelope. On the Digitone, a LFO is used to accomplish this.

Admittedly, my FM skills are pretty basic and most fun sounds I’ve created with other synths are with 2, maybe 3 operators. I’ve watched the algorithm video up above and found that enlightening.

One of the opinions of the Digitone is how B1 and B2 are grouped together. I don’t fully understand yet why. How does grouping these two provide benefit compared to having separate control over each?

I suspect that’s because Elektron want to maintain the 4 control maximum idiom. If B1 and B2 were broken out in separate controls, it would require a new page. Right now I suspect they want “no more than 2 pages deep” as another design constraint.

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yeah, the 4 parameters (along with the ability to assign positive or negative values for each) available per modwheel, aftertouch, and breath assignment menu make for great LFO targets from a midi loopback, digitakt, or (my favorite) octatrack. opens up the sound design potential dramatically

thanks :thup:

What is everyone using to create “pure” white noise? I’ve noticed that turning the feedback up when using algorithm 8, and mix all the way to the right still sounds tonal. I’ve solved this by using a random LFO at high speed assigned to pitch, but am wondering if there’s a simpler technique.

Hmmm did you try to analyze what the presets e.g. do to create a snare or hihat? Those should involve White or pink noise.

The Manual Just describes what you did.

Blockquote

Feedback is used to increase the sharpness of a sound. Feedback is only applied to modulators. The output of the operator is fed back into itself, resulting in added harmonics. In Digitone, an operator with feedback with a parameter value around 35 results in a sawtooth waveform. If pushed to higher values, the feedback soon results in noise. For more information, please see “11.3.7 FDBK” on page 40.

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Yeah, good point. I’ll have a look at the presets. I’ve made a lot of non-tonal sounds with the DN so far, but mostly using tricks. I was hoping that there’d be a way to get it using just an unaffected operator, so it can be shaped more extensively…

Hmmm …

Getting the same issue with bass notes and stabs, LFO cycles clicking too.
I keep getting this problem and cant seem to get rid of it. Very shit

I just discovered this too. Unfortunately, they won’t reset when you press “FUNC NO” to reset the pattern. Is there a way to make this happen?

I suspect that after checking your amp attack and release times - any clicks might be related to voice stealing based on your polyphony settings - it’s worth running any track solo and fiddling with your voice count settings in cases where you are hearing clicks. Worth a try.
@Ess can you confirm or deny?

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Clicks can also appear if you trig long notes or shorter notes in a very short time and the phase of the osc is getting resetted.

To avoid that go to SYN2 page and set PHRT (phase reset) to OFF.

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