The Elektron Syntakt made me sell all my synths

Humanprogram · 2023-02-15T15:04:40.600Z

It’s definitely got me using my other (mostly semi-modular) synths differently. In my current setup, I’ve been exploring further-out patches on other synths, sampling them into DT, and sending that through Syntakt’s FX block. I find the ST’s macros and fx let me develop evolving/dynamic sounds and performances that far surpass my ability to live-patch other synths…

Fuseball:

I’d like to pair the ST with a fairly portable poly module - something simple but it needs patch storage.

I feel like the Nymphes comes close to fitting the bill here? I love mine, and it complements the ST’s sounds well. I especially like how widely assignable the AT and MW modulations are, which work very flexibly from Digi box midi tracks.

oieubbrgov · 2023-02-15T15:13:44.665Z

I sold mt LXR-02 right after I bought the Syntakt because there was too much overlap and the SYntakt was just a much more modern machine. That said, I kinda miss the immediate harshness of the LXR. You can get there with the Syntakt but it requires a bit more work. Also… no kits and no kit morphing, obviously.

JL · 2023-02-15T15:38:51.555Z

I’m thinking of selling my LXR-02 and Monologue to buy a Syntakt, but I’m still not sure. I might miss the Monologue’s one-knob interface.

I think if they ever improve the modifiers as scenes or some kind of morphing/performance thing that would do it.

estragon · 2023-02-16T02:09:25.618Z

The last update definitely made it easier to sell my Nord Drum and Virus TI, though they were on their way out anyway. I think it’s tougher to see it replacing my other Elektrons, the stuff I make with my Digitone and A4 is completely different.

peaceful · 2023-02-16T02:32:44.049Z

I sold a Roland TR-8S and a Polyend Tracker to fund the Syntakt. After I bought it, I sold a Behringer TD-3 and my Dreadbox Typhon has sat unused for many many months. I might sell that soon, too.

Even though it is now my music foundation, my Syntakt really can’t replace polysynths (although plugins can)…

mleaf · 2023-02-16T03:43:59.082Z

Why is the Syntakt making the DN sellable for some of you folks, does it really cover what the DN can do in such depth?

Zelio · 2023-02-16T04:03:22.239Z

It’s like a AR/A4 kinda thing : the ST is faster, like the AR, but the DN is deeper, like the A4.

RSG · 2023-02-16T04:53:41.611Z

Well… luckily I was already a Blokas Midihub user, then I got an RK-002 to try with my Analog Keys. Decided to sell the Keys and get the tabletop version Four, but ended up, somehow, with a Syntakt. Certainly less deep ‘sound creation wise’, but it’s so easy to get usable sounds out of it, and to make polysynths via the Midihub or the RK-002. More than anything, it frees up tracks on my Octatrack to do better performance mixing, and ties me up trying to learn how! 🫠

x0x · 2023-02-16T07:44:15.570Z

peaceful:

Even though it is now my music foundation, my Syntakt really can’t replace polysynths (although plugins can)…

I thinking of just using an iPad for Poly. The Syntakt makes it so easy to connect/control etc.

x0x · 2023-02-16T07:54:22.401Z

mleaf:

Why is the Syntakt making the DN sellable for some of you folks, does it really cover what the DN can do in such depth?

I also have a Digitone, but the Syntakt has a some 2-Operator FM machines so you can get a lot of FM tones. Obviously they are monophonic so designed for percussion and melodic sounds, but I think a lot of people were mainly using the Digitone as an FM drum machine/groovebox anyway so the Syntakt can replace it in that regard. Obviously if you want polyphony then the Digitone is still “relevant”

Zelio:

It’s like a AR/A4 kinda thing : the ST is faster, like the AR, but the DN is deeper, like the A4.

Yes there’s that too

Fuseball · 2023-02-16T14:28:22.277Z

Humanprogram:

I feel like the Nymphes comes close to fitting the bill here? I love mine, and it complements the ST’s sounds well. I especially like how widely assignable the AT and MW modulations are, which work very flexibly from Digi box midi tracks.

For some reason the Nymphes wasn’t really on my radar. After listening to some demos and realising how flexible it is, it seems like a perfect polyphonic companion for the ST. The other contender was going to be a JU-06a, but the Nymphes sounds a lot more interesting (and I don’t much care for modern Rolands).

InternalVoice · 2023-02-16T15:36:44.938Z

I agree, you can do a lot of this with the digitone so it is likely possible with the ST ( many of their machines use 4op synthesis). I’m really into speech synthesis. Though a simplified speech machine might quickly grow overused.

Jeanne · 2023-02-16T16:24:58.702Z

Once again a few months later, my percussion sounds on the ST have surpassed those of the Digitone.

Digitakt is there for a few colour splashes (field recordings etc.)

Analog Four is for analog awesomeness, together with the ST’s analog voices (yum yum square wave).

And now I got the Opsix, which does “everything else”.

graverubber · 2023-02-16T16:42:28.887Z

I love the OpSix. I’m curious to see where you go with it.

HoldMyBeer · 2023-02-16T17:51:42.246Z

The same thing happened to me a couple days ago. A Syntakt broke into my apartment brandishing some sort of a weapon (looked like an Overbridge with nails sticking out of it), and made me sell all of my synths. Then it drank most of my beer, and read me some of its beat poetry before leaving. At least it let me keep my harmonica, because now I’ve got the blues.

rev_c · 2023-02-16T18:35:34.634Z

That must be the new firmware beta.

Riuozami · 2023-02-16T18:42:14.062Z

Ah yeah that one, it could be

johnl · 2023-02-16T19:43:02.680Z

Humanprogram:

Fuseball:

fairly portable poly module - something simple but it needs patch storage.

I feel like the Nymphes comes close

It’s a pity the Syntakt MIDI sequencing is only 4 note poly, if it were even 6, this would be gold. Any good workaround?

Humanprogram · 2023-02-16T21:18:24.050Z

johnl:

Syntakt MIDI sequencing is only 4 note poly, if it were even 6, this would be gold. Any good workaround?

The Nymphes does have a chord mode where you can save 6 different chords in each patch (and modulate between them) when in one of its stacked-oscillator play modes, so your m11 and so-what chords are safe to play from one midi track.

Overall Nymphes’s patch programming interface takes a lot of getting used to, and I don’t think it’s for everyone, but it’s modulation setup really is perfectly matched for the digi box midi tracks, and it sounds great going into ST’s Fx block, where a little delay-modulation chorus on it always sounds nice.

pselodux · 2023-02-17T02:20:49.717Z

mleaf:

Why is the Syntakt making the DN sellable for some of you folks, does it really cover what the DN can do in such depth?

I don’t think it’s that, necessarily. I just think that the Digitone’s nature pushes me towards making lush, melodic music most of the time, and the lack of a decoupled kit system means that it’s very difficult to make tracks that have a lot of sections using the same sounds. For some reason it really gets to me more than on any other Elektron device.

On the other hand, with 12 tracks on the Syntakt, it means I can basically use one pattern to create an entire track arrangement, muting and unmuting tracks to create movement, with some tracks dedicated to being the “B section” etc. Of course this means some care has to be taken in order to not have things clash.

I think also part of it is that I’m heading in a direction with my hardware tracks where I want to spend less time on detailed sound design, and more on making fun tracks to play out live, or to record into DAW and add to later. I have less desire to spend hours hunched over a little hardware box tweaking micro parameters.