… or a Roland TR-8S or MC-707 …
I’m not really looking for an alternative I have Digitakt, Octa and a Tr8-S. I really was just hoping for some inspiration I guess. Thank you though.
1 Like
Thanks 
Ah thank you!
I was in the same boat and I spent about 4 months digging this unit.It’s interesting device ,has lots of possibilities but I found myself stomping on the spot .
All I did sounded almost the same and it takes a lot of time to get where I want to be ,while on the same digitakt or just directly in ableton it could be done for a second .
Hihats,chords are the weakest thing ,so after that time I’ve sold it ,bought octatrack and didn’t look back .
2 Likes
after i sold syntakt, i realized that the rytm as a drum machine, especially from elektron, is the very best. it was one of the first elektron devices to be found in many well-known studios with official sound options. syntakt seemed to me like a toy here, which sounds too much like syntakt. it’s different with rytm, because it can sound so diverse and it’s a real analogue machine, which can also layer samples and much more. if elektron releases one last update to go into the sound even more, then this machine will be the ultimate. But that’s my opinion. I’m also a very analogue fan. that’s why rytm and a4 are the best for me from elektron.
but one must not forget that rytm and a4 are very expensive devices. so it wasn’t easy for me to get there.
5 Likes
In other words, you don’t need a Syntakt for your music 
Still, I could imagine you like the RYTM (which I wouldn’t consider for my music - my equivalent is the Analog Four).
I love my Syntakt, I find new cool sounds all the time. But my style is indeed Industrial and Power Noise, and if I don’t do that, I do Techno of the harder varieties (Hard Techno, Gabber).
3 Likes
Do you have used the analog voice with sound lock ?
Just for this, this ST is quite interesting.
On my side I’m more on those voice than the digital one.
But few Digital one are really interesting on the synth side.
I admit right now I use more the preset than doing all the sound by myself.
12 voice is a lot for making it’s own sound.
2 Likes
Since you mentioned percussive sounds in your original post (hats, clap, etc.), I right away wondered whether a Digitone would give you more inspiration. I don’t have a Syntakt, but I love my Digitone, especially for percussive sounds. I haven’t found that the sound engine or interface pushes me in any particular direction, although it does take some time and work to figure out how to best use the algorithms for different types of percussive sounds.
I know you mentioned not looking for an alternative, but in case you find yourself coming back to wanting to introduce something new to your rig for percussion (and, of course, other great stuff), Digitone is worth a look/listen.
Really enjoying your SoundCloud, by the way!
1 Like
sounds like a sell, plus there are plenty of people looking for a used syntakt out there.
2 Likes
Had a listen, bit harder than what I’d normally go for but enjoyable. Dj Rush is as close as I get to hard techno. I enjoy Kink when he does techno as well- his Hate podcast was great.
I have wanted a Rytm for a bit, but can’t really justify it atm. I have a rule, I don’t buy any new gear until I finish some music and since I have two babies that’s a bit tricky atm (they do quite often sound like gabba though haha).
5 Likes
Thanks!
I had a digitone for a while. I enjoyed it but was reaching for FM vsts over it so we parted ways. I use a vst emulation of the portasound keyboards loads.
It’s the downside to a hybrid setup, there are endless possibilities.
I’ll try it this week. I’m going to have one more session with it before I put it up for sale
1 Like
some interesting thoughts here from a vid i just happened to watch recently:
personally, im not a fan of the “common” sounds that i hear coming out of the Syntakt
1 Like
I had similar, if not exactly the same complaints with this unit. I just kept making endless industrial loops with it, which is not where I want to be. As it was the most expensive, “nicest” bit of kit I’d ever owned, I wasted months really trying to love it.
I eventually sold it and it was a huge relief. I’m much happier with the Analog Heat and more software-focused production now. I’m actually finishing music again, and the guilt of not using it is gone!
If you have that feeling, you know what to do. For the record, I really don’t like the Syntakt. For a drum machine, it really didn’t hit a lot of the sounds I was looking for.
4 Likes
I listened to a few of your songs, great job! I only listened via the phone so apologies that I can’t give it a more thorough listen, but my overall impression, besides being nicely produced and catchy, is that you make heavy use of samples and that you’re looking for very distinct sounds for your claps, hats and percussion because they have a prominent place in your music.
That alone means that you have to work with a machine where you truly like the sounds of the claps, hats etc that it can generate. I don’t know how much you’ve worked to dial in 2-3 claps or hats that you like, it might be that they’re in there somewhere, or it may be that you simply don’t like the sound of the Syntakt. Only you can decide if it’s worth the time and whether you’re enjoying the exploration or not.
If you didn’t already say you’re a Digitakt owner, they would have been my recommendation here since that way you are sure to find the sounds you are after.
I personally love the Syntakt precisely because it’s a jack of all trades kind of multitimbral synthesizer combining analog and digital synthesis, a wide range of machines (likely with more to come) and a super creative sequencer all in one box. But my music isn’t nearly as drum-focused as your music so maybe the balance between drums and melody suits my style of music better than yours. (a couple of examples).
All this said, I’d agree that hats are probably its weakest point. And I personally don’t use claps all that often as I mostly prefer to dial in snares to fill that space. Since those are the two elements you point out as the weakest, and since three of the songs I listened to all made heavy use of them, I can see how that makes you enjoy the Syntakt less.
Are there other aspects of the Syntakt that you like? Since you already have a Digitakt, maybe use the DT for your claps, hats and other samples, and leverage the Syntakt for other things? But again, follow your gut. If you don’t enjoy the exploration, you won’t enjoy it more just because others try to convince you that it’s fun. 
4 Likes
Preordered when it was announced, quickly wrote a couple tracks, returned it, had the same initial feelings about mine as well. Picked up another one when they went on sale, sadly it’s still been in the box unopened. The reason I bought it again was its compact size and I can sketch tracks very quickly on it, for some reason I can crank out Electro Breakbeats extremely quickly but feel disappointed when trying to do anything resembling the 4x4 Techno sounds in my head. Still not sure if I’m taking the Syntakt or RYTM with me when I travel…
1 Like
Yeah, out of box that would not be the case. There are going to be ways to optimize OB and your computer, even if you’re not seeing this on the Digitakt.
People here can help you with the latency, at least!
1 Like
Sell and buy it again when enough new machines (and effects?) are added that you actually want.
I think the free sound pack was a quick move to try and boost sales in the short term and indication they know they need to bring more sauce to the machine based on sales/the economy/Elektron inner logic etc… otherwise I imagine they have a timeline of updates with new machines over a 1-2 year period, because they said for the raw/swarm update that they were “focusing on synth sounds” for that update, indicating that a future update will focus on drums, perhaps. But i imagine they are basically making them up as they go along to buy time on development, sell more units, and dedicate more time to developing their new product platform for a new generation of flagships, budget machines, and virtual machines.
There are reasons to believe that Syntakt is a stopgap digi machine cobbled together from existing tech, with a handful of expansions and new features. I personally love that it is a little freak born from the need for a product, as so many classic devices are
2 Likes
that all sounds fairly possible to me.
1 Like