Hi there,
I’m a Cubase user and I plan to buy a Syntakt but not for techno style.
I’m a huge fan of Thom Yorke and Radiohead and I would like to make this kind of rhythms (15 steps, Iduotheque… etc.).
Most of the videos and music made with the Syntakt are industrial techno.
However I’ve seen few people using the Syntakt for ambient, electro and even cold wave.
So do you think the Syntakt could be a good choice for other stuff than techno in complement of my DAW ?
Sure, I do a lot of stuff that’s not exactly techno and it’s working out just fine. I don’t use very complicated ryhtms but that’s absolutely possibly with the sequencer.
But you have to work it a bit to get some nice sounds out of it.
I wouldn’t call this techno.
Apologies for the shameless self-promotion, but the point is just to show that it’s perfectly possible to do all sorts of music on this thing. And it’s fun too! 
Welcome, PXion. I am not a Syntakt owner, but I owned (and sold) the Model:Cycles on which Syntakt was based.
I think you have to ask yourself what you want to add to your existing setup. The Elektron sequencer is top-notch, and you can set length and clock multiplier for individual tracks, meaning 15 steps (and various polymeters) is definitely within reach. Syntakt has 8 digital tracks (to M:C’s 6) with filter, envelope, and expanded FX, plus 4 analog tracks, so there is a lot to sequence. But it cannot do polyphony (without elaborate and inconvenient workarounds, like using parallel tracks), and much of the Radiohead / Yorke sound uses that. So you need to figure out whether you need that from an external box. Syntakt by itself can definitely do ambient and dub. It has a chord machine, but that is relatively limited, and I would think it would not suffice for electro. Again: can you, or are you willing to, supplement as needed?
I’m sure actual Syntakt users will chime in and say more useful things.
Go watch Captain Pikant’s Syntakt review. He actually recreates the Idiotheque beat in it.
I mainly make 80s inflected funk and electro, and swirly, dubby stuff with mine. It’s pretty flexible.
To my ear, 15 Step lives by the live and sampled elements: the live drums, processed samples played by pads, the vocals, guitar and bass. I’m sure you just meant it as an example, but IMO that one in particular might be hard to approximate with a Syntakt as it doesn’t sample. I’m sure you’d get some interesting tracks done trying, tho’.
I’d say it’s great or all kinds of electronic music.
Some chill vibes:
Here’s industrial but with a bit more complex rhythms (though still 16 steps long) and kosmische Musik on top (especially second half): COSMIC INDUSTRIAL (Syntakt feat. drum spells and tone spells) - YouTube
And here are some drones by Oscillator Sink: #Jamuary2023 - Day 29 - Elektron Syntakt - YouTube
I see that the reputation of the Elektron community is justified ! 
Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences and advices.
What attracts me with the Syntakt is the all-in-one side : no need samples, everything is in the box.
Ang when I see we can do this kind of stuff, I really like that !
I make footwork on mine. It’s a sequencer and a very dynamic synth. You can make anything you want with it.
IMO this is driven by using the Elektron step-sequencer, which has a kind of techno-vibe or workflow. But this is shared by many groove boxes, providing a step sequencer.
Alternatively the MPC series provide linear sequencers, are played differently, and tend to support more groovy stuff, which is supposed to be less quantized to the grid.
First question I would ask myself … why a groove box at all?
Elektron sequencers allow for microtiming and recording events live, which can get us far away from techno-beats. I did some funky groove stuff with the sequencers, just for fun. But one pattern is 64 events maximum. Pattern can be chained to create longer pattern, and if this fits to your musical ideas, the machine will do a good job.
If you like the sound of the Syntakt as well … why not give it a try 
My suggestion would be, ask yourself whether you would be more of an Elektron or MPC person.
Syntakt running 1.20 is even suitable for goa trance 
(however, proper acid machine still required for those screaming acid lines)
If you say that three times @Jeanne will pop out of the mirror and kill you with a screaming Syntakt acid line.
I don’t want to perform live, just to have fun at home.
I use DAW since always with a lot of virtual instruments and samples.
A MPC (or others Maschine +) is like a standalone DAW : I don’t think it would do much for me because I can do the same (and much more) with Cubase.
The Syntakt seduces me because it’s a different workflow. I’ve never had a groovebox and I would like to give it a try. The idea would be to start working with Syntakt and why not continue on Cubase with Overbridge in order to complete my songs.
And here’s something to come down after that:
mellow electronica with soft squelchy melody.
chords are sh01a but sequenced by the syntakt.
Nowadays it’s true, that MPC-like machines are very close to what we can do with a DAW. The MPC provides DAW like features, which have been added to the original workflow without destroying or replacing it. It’s a stand alone workstation having all the old school MPC goodness.
From my experience with MPC, Cubase, and Ableton I can tell that the workflow is different for each of them. Same goes for Elektron-based machines.
I use MPC, if I want to hit the pads live and need linear sequencing and Elektron if I like to push buttons on a grid based song writing process
… and acid done with the digital SY BITS. Makes 11 tracks for acid on the Syntakt, and of course the 12th can kinda do, too
I make ambient music.
I’ve never even looked at a single drum sound on the Syntakt…
pads, textures, arpeggios… It’s a absolutely brilliant. The only real limit is your imagination
