Oscillator Sink’s video got me interested in Digitakt-as-monosynth. Obviously this thing is meant to excel as a sampler/sequencer, but with the single-cycle waveforms it’s actually got a lot of potential as a pretty powerful monosynth, especially on a gig where you don’t want to bring too much stuff.
Far as I can tell (and please tell me with as many RTFM’s as you want if this feature exists and I’m missing it) the two things that you can’t do (at least not with a simple knob-turn) on the digitakt playing a single-cycle waveform that would make it a fully functional VA monosynth are:
keyboard filter tracking: seems like this could just be a parameter with amount on the second filter page, no?
and
glide: I understand less about this, but certainly Digitakt is capable of at least making this sound by turning the tune knob on the SRC page, so it must be code to make it so yeah?
in that same spirit: would be nice to have slew on the LFOs. moving smoothly (based on an amount knob) between settings would make using the random LFO in hold mode so much more organic-sounding…
I think if I was to ask for anything simple on Elektron’s part it would be an improved or alternative interpolation algorithm for the sample playback. Lowering the pitch on samples causes them to be greatly muffled. BR and filter in EQ mode helps add treble back somewhat but TBH a sample-and-hold or sinc mode that could be selected in a menu per-track would be amazing.
I found a workaround for this just yesterday (inspired by the Mirage). I used the LPF with cutoff and resonance cranked, and fiddled with the cutoff until it was right around where the detail started to get lost. Then, LFO on Tune, multiplier to 2K, depth around 1.00, speed somewhere in the middle (you have to play with it). I didn’t use BR at all. It sounded good to me!
Edit - side note: I thought I wouldn’t care about song mode, but it’s turning out to be pretty great and I like it a lot. I’m very new to the Digitakt so I’m taking a lot for granted, but there’s a lot to love here - for example, keeping place in the menus is making an already very smooth and fast machine even moreso.
+1 for Sound Setup Menu like on a4,rydm,syntakt,digitone with vel,pb,modc,at,breath as source for multiple modulation targets. Shame it isnt implemented yet.
You can p-lock the delay time on the A4 but its tapestyle repitching mode is limiting. Would be good for your chorus but it’s crap for fast changes.
If DT ever gains the ability to p-lock its effects params natively, i hope the delay also gets a ‘direct jump’ mode to go alongside the regular ‘tape’ mode.
But but… I like the fact the delay on my Elektron boxes is actually dangerous. I don’t want to give up on that for a chorus effect. It will be difficult to fake feedback and the effect you get when changing the delay times (fast) with an lfo.
You can modulate every single setting of the delay by live recoding and/or p-locks or by using a midi loopback cable and midi track + lfo and/or p-locks. Midi CC 85-92 control all the delay settings.
It would be great to get the delay and reverb settings as lfo destination on audio tracks though. But I understand the lfo on audio tracks only has destinations on that track. The effects are global. It would be a fun mess to use 8 audio track lfo’s to modulate all 8 delay paramaters at once.
Actually a big reason /for me/ for wanting to have Chorus is to have another option for a stereo sound on just one track Otherwise, of course, I can use two tracks.
It would be great to have a setting to choose which mute mode sends MIDI messages. I would love to be able to mute the Digitone channels with my Digitakt, but I use pattern mutes in my workflow and switching between the two is not an option.
Here’s my wishlist, after using DT for a few days:
Glide
Control mapping (note, velocity, aftertouch, expression, mod wheel)
Chorus
Polyphony
Increased upward pitch range (E-mu could do 48 semitones in both directions) Thinking on it a bit more I think it’s a little ridiculous that there is such a limited upper limit - Elektron, if we’re okay with artifacts let us make that choice!
Stereo sample support (would be fine with limited effects as a trade)
Option to send p-locked Program Changes 2 steps early
MIDI Map
Alternative repitching algorithm(s) (higher quality, and/or sample-and-hold)
Removal of Master Length parameter, make the Digi trio work like the Model series to allow for polymeter without having to make a pattern infinite (strangely overriding ch.len)
Otherwise, of course, I can use two tracks.