I like the Syntakt as a supplementary drum machine. Use a sampler for your bread and butter sounds (909 kick, hats, clap, whatever). Then use the Syntakt to get WEIRD.
I think I would be frustrated trying to do all my drums with the Syntakt, but if you use it as more of a bleep, bloop, texture, zap, donk, laser, FM bells, etc machine it’s pretty choice. Yes, it is expensive, but other than a Machinedrum or a modular system can anything do a better job of that stuff?
1010music Razzmatazz? Cheaper, smaller, FM, more control, weird enough.
Sell it. I didn’t dig the Syntakt from the beginning but kept silent on here as it seems contrary opinions on anything get attacked rather than pondered. You don’t need us to validate your feelings about the machine - it’s obvious the novelty has worn off.
I don’t feel that at all. I’ve been highly skeptical about the Syntakt for a long time and was quite vocal about it. But I was never met with attacks as far as I can remember. Then after diving deep into the device for a couple of months, I turned around and realized I love almost everything about it, so that can happen too. 
I think the debate keeps Elektron and ourselves on our toes and it’s good to learn from different perspectives. This forum is by far the most inclusive of different opinions I’ve seen so far.
Got Syntakt last week, first impressions were…I should probably sell it, it seemed to me that it is made for techno and industrial, a week later of playing with it and combining it with Digitakt I fell in love. For me the thing is, I don’t like 99% preset sounds and most of the times with gear that is a red flag for me, but I’ve started making my own sounds, that had particular purpose, and it’s good now, kinda want Digitone now too, as lush chords would be great for me even I’m not too much in to FM synths.
That exactly it! Once I completely skipped the presets and learned how to dial in my sounds from scratch, the Syntakt always get me in the ballpark of what I’m after in seconds. It’s amazingly quick to compose with once you get to that point.
I suggest you look into the MC-101. It might just be the perfect companion for the Syntakt. I’ll be posting a jam with the two playing together later this week.
yes this is how I use it too
rytm is drum boss
syntakt for extra bells and whistles
digitone mainly for melody these days
Don’t sell your elektron these are not the droids you are looking for, move along.
I bought a Syntakt and I just didn’t really gel with it.
Maybe I would have if I’d put more time into it, but I found I was having to force myself to use it to see if I could get over the hump rather than doing it because I was enjoying it like I did with other grooveboxes I’d owned (Circuit Tracks, Polyend Tracker, MC-707)
It’s OK if a device is clearly a very good musical instrument, but you just aren’t into it.
Can anyone weigh in on how Raw compares to the sound of other Elektron offerings like the A4? I realize that the number of sound design tools are not really comparable but I’m curious about the raw sound (pun blah blah).
I have the A4 mki and while I like how it sounds (quite a bit) it definitely has a particular quality (that many users have complained about over the years). I have also read disparaging comments about the Rytm’s bass synth but not so much Syntakt.
I’ve watched videos but they’re mostly jams and not so much the nerdy let’s compare oscillator and filter sweep types. Any opinions? Thx
this is how I felt initially about both my Octatrack and Virus TI2. But on digging deeper into both, they turned out to be fantastic for my needs and deep sound exploring tools. Syntakt is great for just one box and you could always try using effects or modulation with LFOs and envelopes to tweak the hats and claps to perfection. I would first try to use these things to improve the sounds before selling it. What exactly is it that you do not like about the claps and hi hats on your Syntakt?
ST does amazing bass, either with the analog voices (SY DUAL VCO or SY RAW) or the digital ones (SY TONE, SY SWARM and SY BITS). Portamento is a cool addition to get your groove.
On this aspect, I feel like ST is more than decent.
Almost any machine does cool bass sounds, for example BD Modern …
CY Alloy and Analog Cymbal machines really sucks for bass. 
But CY Alloy can do cool (but thin) bass sounds that one can layer with the lowend of another machine 
If the Cycles had the sonic options of the Syntakt I’d probably be in heaven. Put some more effort into sound design I’m sure it can produce some nice sounds.
I’ve had my Syntakt for a year now and have barely touched it. Not because I dislike it, but more because I’m still so enamored with the Digitakt. I’m also not crazy about how little you can edit some of the machines, despite there being so many of them.
What’s funny is I can’t get Overbridge audio to properly sync with audio from my Focusrite, so its only real use has been as an Overbridge interface for my synths. Definitely a bit of a waste, but my hope is to one day give this box the love it deserves.
It can be really hard to tell whether it’s the instrument that is failing to inspire you or if you’re just not being open to its possibilities. An especially easy trap for me to fall into is to think that the only way to use a piece of gear is what you hear everyone else doing with it. That especially applies to the Syntakt, I think, both because of the particular character of its sounds and the fact that it’s a new instrument that still has a lot of undiscovered territory to be found.
I’ve already sold and re-bought the Syntakt once, and I think I’m keeping it. I’m not the biggest fan of most of the music I’ve heard other folks make with it, I’ve actually made a few things with it that I really like. And that’s what matters!
So, IMHO it’s really on you to decide whether and why to keep it. The only advice I would give is to not worry about it too much. Make a choice and don’t stress. If you need the money, sell it. Or put it away for a while if you can afford to.
If you want some evidence that it can do non-industrial stuff, here’s a silly January thing I made this year that is…well, not industrial, I think.
That’s true !Had the same feeling and sold it.
Totally. The analog cowbell is also great for adding overtones to a thick bass.