Complaining about song mode isn’t about actually using song mode.
It’s about winning.
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Haha. True. Victory at all costs!
What happened to «No Song mode, but Chain mode will be there, and our goal is to make it a viable alternativ» ?
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I’ll post Ess’s response to this very quote from March last year which I’m sure you’ve already read. I’ll even do it in italics so you know I’m serious. 
I am really so, so deeply sorry about this. At the time we were working on a sort of song mode alternative, but it fell flat and we ran out of time for the release - this is what happened, nothing else to it than that.
I hate making empty promises, and I really do not want to accidentally trick anyone- this is why I tend to be a bit vague and always say that I cannot promise a lot of things.
I think there is still a possibility for this though, but it’s all a question of when and how - there is a lot of other things to be done, but I think and hope that we can have some time and resources for updates soon.
Again, don’t take this as an ‘official’ confirmation of anything, but just know that I hear this clearly and recognize the issues/desires. (And agree with a lot of it! Lots of little things I would like to see added myself… There is never a lack of ideas, just time.)
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My eyes went weird reading that, haha! But yes, I agree, people get up in arms about Elektron (you can see it in all the negative comments made on any official Elektron post of Facebook and Instagram) about what they want versus what they’ve got. They forget just how much Elektron has changed the game and brought so many amazing features to musicians all across the world. I for one am only going to request things politely from now on and accept their honest replies when they come. For example, because I was nice about raising the hanging notes issue on DN, I was given an equally polite reply about how they’re working on it. People forget themselves sometimes and don’t realise how they come across on the interwebs.
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I come across like a dickhead, but that’s because I’m a dickhead.
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I’m not up in arms or angry or anything. But I still think it’s a valid question. Even though Ess responded with why they hadn’t managed to do it yet. Now another year has passed so it’s a reasonable question, don’t you think?
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It is reasonable. And my point was made as a general assessment of how people comment on things. Nothing directed at you whatsoever. I don’t even remember your comments on this thread. All is good 
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I see it very much as this. It’s easy for us, all we have to worry about is the thing we want. The people we want it from have a lot of plates spinning and not a lot of time to spend on each plate. Constantly asking them what’s on their plate is just distracting them from dealing with their shit, making it less likely that they’ll ever get round to the thing we want from them, as it gets pushed out of the way by other, more pressing issues that need their time and attention.
Besides, they won’t tell you anyway, even if you ask real nice, not unless they’re about to release it, at which point they’d be telling you about it regardless.
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That is exactly what is all to it. If you can just save your created pattern chain within the project. Done! Fixed! Case closed.
Song mode basically is just that. Pattern chain with the ability to save it within your project so you can recall it again after a power cycle and not have to redo everything from scratch again.
It’s honestly a weird oversight by Elektron they implemented Pattern Chain like that without the ability to save it. So lets just hope it was just that. An oversight…but since this topic started back in 2017… ahh well…what more can we say.
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I have my doubts about that…
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Cant you just reroute the midi and send program changes with a midi track? If all you want is the ability to save pattern chains.
I never used song mode on any of the elektron devices I’ve owned. I hope they put resources into developing the digis in other ways. I’d love some more sound design options on the digitone.
So this escalated quickly in a day. Isn’t it possible to have a thread where people can vote on a poll Wich feature they would like in a machine. Then you can say you would like that. All I see on this forum are people coming every month and baggering on Elektron that it is still not possible that they add a specific feature. Instead of moaning just work with what you have and hopefully the feature you like would be implemented one day. People on here can help to find work around for your wishes instead of debating if a feature should be added or not. Everybody has a different workflow and that is fine.
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I just completed a full track arrangement on the Octatrack by using chains just going left to right through the patterns using a different master length per pattern for ones I wanted longer and shorter…
I find it far easier than using the Octatrack arranger…
If I want to play the track completely again I just re-chain it left to right.
Think this is possible for the digitakt also isn’t it?
Song mode is too hard on a tiny screen compared to a daw
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Just because you personally don’t use it that way, doesn’t mean that a song mode doesn’t make a lot of sense.
For example, in a live setting sequencing one or more hardware synths with the Digitakt and wanting to tweak the knobs on your synths while the drum track/sequences play.
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“ I think if you want a song mode get one of those and midi sync the Digitakt to it. ”
Sure, if you want a song mode, spend another 1-2 thousand bucks and have two machines to do it.
Or… they could just implement it.
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Song mode across elektron boxes is not simply saving pattern chains. Depending on the box there’s pattern offsets, bpm info, mutes, how many times a pattern repeats.
It’s not something arbitrary and that likely why it’s yet to be implemented especially with the limited dsp power on the digitakt.
I would love to see song mode added to the digitakt but save pattern chain does not equal song mode in elektronville.
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Man you might find if song mode ever does get added You might not find it that great…
I have tried with the Octatrack it’s difficult to use trying to to arrange with little dots and dashes etc. Digitakt doesn’t even have transpose, and you can set how many times a pattern repeats with master length using chains…
Can’t you try using ELK- HERD app to organise your patterns and use a chain left to right?
Might be less of a headache than an actual song mode
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I think this is the wrong idea. Why buy the product and assume “they could just implement” it. Something that might never happen. All I say is live with the fact it doesn’t have it. File a ticket with Elektron, ask for the feature and meanwhile work around it that it doesn’t have a song mode. And maybe one day they implement it. But in my opinion it is wrong to think they need to.
It is not a competition. I was just saying how I think they intended the product and how I see people use it without a “song mode”. No doubt there will be perfect examples of people using a form of song mode in a live set up.
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I use song mode all the time on my A4/AR2/MD and find it easy to use and very very helpful in songwriting.
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