There's just something about Elektron gear

I’ve spent some time (years) experimenting with different synths and methods of making electronic music. Listening back this morning to tracks I’ve recorded on the various gear, I was struck by how much I enjoyed the tracks made mostly/entirely using Elektron gear.

I compose loose and structured ambient pieces. There’s something about the ‘workflow’ or ‘compose-flow’ of Elektron gear that allows me to concentrate on the overall piece while building out sections and parts.

Just wanted to put this out there.

Peace.

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I made a similar experience.
The only other synth I had this feeling is the OP-1 I sold some months ago.
I can’t work in a daw, I don’t know why. It doesn’t make that fun.

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Couldn’t agree more! There’s a certain magic to them. At least it works that way for me. Things seem to fall into place in a musical sort of way. I’ve been gradually selling off other gear that I’ve accumulated. The items that I thought “some day I’ll master that”. Now that I’ve become an Elektron acolyte, I don’t need much else.

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Totally agree … I think the magic is the combination of excellent sound engines, a very deep sequencer, and that those boxes are multi-timbral. If we don’t expect a preset-machine and embrace the Elektron way of operating the gear, it’s like having a complex and almost modular system inside a small box on our desktop.

IMO electronic music and working with synths is almost about versatile sequencing and using as much as possible modulation options of all the various facilities This makes everything alive. This is, where the Elektron boxes shine. This makes making tracks fun :smiley:

BTW … let’s imagine what a Moog Modular would cost, if all the sonic and modulation capabilities of an A4 would be implemented :thinking:

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-Octatrack
-Controlling fire
-The wheel
-Optical lenses
-Compass
-Etc…

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Yes, I love the Elektron workflow too, for me it is the precision and as practical as is reasonably possible view of what each step contains, I have yet to find anything that can match it. I’d like to see some enhancements to it though, things like step preview and stackable parameter locks - where parameter locks can be stacked on a step and become active only under certain conditions.

But really a lot of the elegance of operation is and has long been in place on Elektron gear, other manufacturers are nipping at the heels, but none yet caught up, IMHO.

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absolutely, stacked conditions would be sick :ok_hand:t3:

I love the devices too… I had been composing in a DAW for a while mainly as a guitar player with a little synthesis on the side… I love what comes out of them, I love the ability to name patterns on the Digitone and arrange all of it together cohesively on the Octatrack…

Using a Digitone was a downright revelation to me and of course soon after I just had to try all of the Elektron boxes and those are the two I’ve settled on.

I wish every box had the joystick the Analog Keys has or some other 2D/3D parameter modulator, the crossfader is as close as I can get but even then it’s linear. Hopefully in the future :slight_smile:

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In my opinion Elektron are the Roland of 21st century. But , even more, they make great samplers . So they more are like roland and akai combaind :muscle:

I’ve been at this synthesis game for 40 years now, and I’ve rarely been as inspired by anything as I am Elektron gear. Octatrack, Machinedrum, Analog Four/Keys, Monomachine are all permanent fixtures in my studio and music. They are utterly inspiring.

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Elektron all the way

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I’m young and only recently got into synthesizers (as in like three years ago?) and my first synth was an MS2000. Great synth, though now its audio output doesn’t work and I use it as a MIDI controller.

Anyway, when I got my first Elektron boxes (MD (now sold) and MnM) it just all immediately made sense. Sure wrapping my head around some elektron workflow concepts was a bit of a curve, but nothing left me scratching my head wondering “who the hell designed this shit?”

It all just makes sense.

And yeah the fact that most other synths/samplers/drum machines don’t have p locks honestly is a deal breaker for me. I’m lightly considering a nice and simple mono synth like that BS101, but any" big, spendy" items just make me think “what’s the point?” or “I have software that already does this” (arturia, serum)

I hope to fix and then sell my ms2k and pickup an AK. Then literally my only hardware units will be Elektron. Just kinda makes sense to me. It also seems badass to have someone walk into my studio, and the only synth hardware they see is Elektron. But I’m probably just a dork :stuck_out_tongue:

Yes, there is. Sometimes you turn on one of their boxes and it actually boots up.