Hello, I’ve started playing with hardware in July of this year with my Model:Cycles. I instantly fell in love with it and it’s immediacy.
Since I’m part of a collective that owns a soundsystem I had the luck and privilege to play it live after only a month. I played an entirely improvised set Tekno, Hard Bounce/Trance set with only thje M:C and a ZOOM pedal. Sequencing and mangling the sound live for 45 minutes using no prepared patterns. People liked it. I liked it.
I immediately started to look into leveling up with another machine. I wanted something that could sustain an improv set by itself, I was thinking I was going to sell the Cycles eventually.
I ended up getting a TR8S and I really really liked how immediate it was. I was having a blast with it after only a couple hours. Felt like I could play it confidently live after only one week.
But then I got bored of improvising, I started looking into sequencing patterns and more complicated melodies and rythms. I quickly got bored of the pre-loaded TR8S sounds and looked into uploading my own sample… what a mess. Sample management on the TR8S is complete UX garbage and makes me not want to use it at all.
I have a scheduled set at the start of December. I’m playing Electro Cumbia along side a friend with a guitar and looper pedal. What a nightmare is it to get the TR8S to do anything but drums. Sequencing melodies is so tedious. There’s no notes, motion record is fiddly, uploading samples is hell. Playing in key with the guitar player is so. incredibly. tedious. So I started looking into syncing a DAW to it to play longer loops, vocals, basslines. It quickly turned from fun to work. I now understand why the TR8S is considered a somewhat hardcore drum machine and not a groovebox, It only does drums well and I would need a much bigger setup to use it effectively.
In the midst of all this frustration I picked up the Cycles again which I hadn’t sold yet and I quickly discovered again how fun that machine is. It is so immediate and creative but also deep and “composable”. When I use it I feel like I’m in complete control but also feel so spontaneous and free. I think I got the Elektron bug.
So what do you guys think? I feel like getting a Digitakt MK1 makes sense. It does everyting I would need to do. I can sample the Cycles into it and mangle the sample to change it even more. I can use single cycle waveforms to synthesize basslines and other stuff. Resampling looks insane. Also sampling from my phone via USB. I really don’t want to learn ableton and bring a laptop jhust to play a loop of birds chirping or some vocals. I feel like now that I’m over my “improvised jamming” phase and into more of a composing mindset it would be a step in the right direction.
I might do my Electro Cumbia set with the TR8S and then look into the Digitakt. Cool machine but doesn’t feel like a central workstation like the Digitakt does.
More seriously, the ideal solution would be to invest directly in the DT2. For the 16 tracks and especially the 20GB of memory.
For example, I just spent a week sorting through a little over 50GB of samples and loading a 5GB selection onto my DT2.
With that, I’m set for a very long time.
Obviously, this requires high-quality samples to compete with the sounds of the TR-8S
Yeah sample memory makes me worried as that’s one thing I found really frustrating about the TR8S. And the DT doesn’t even have preset sounds like the Roland so that makes me worried. But then again the DT2 is almost double in price… I’ll think about it.
DT2 is a no-brainer… but if you like the rest of the TR-8S, how about the Model:Samples along with the M:C and the Roland? You could even sequence some of the TR-8S tracks on one of the Elektrons.
The original Digitakt is still very much an incredible instrument. I have two suggestions. Either invest in a used one, and keep the TR-8S and use them together, or sell the TR-8S and get the DT2. It’s quite a bit more powerful over all, and would easily take the place of the other two. However, just adding the DT1 to the TR-8S would really open things up for you. Single cycle waveforms for example will give you basically a full synthesis engine (nice sounding one too). Basically subtractive wavetable more or less depending on how you use it. (locking or using LFOs to change wave slot, etc.) Then of course you have the easiest to use sampler ever made IMO. It’s not the most in-depth, but the things you can do with it, and the ease that you can do them makes up for that.
I think you’re on the right track if you want to do more sequences and programmed sorts of things.
Like you said the TR-8S is incredible for on-the-fly stuff. If you can hold onto it too, I would and do this over the top of your programmed Digi stuff.
i’d also consider various akai boxes… live 1, live 2 , akai force … ive seen the akai mpc one +for £350 , similar to digitakt 1 . its got a different workflow … it can run synths, samples, autosample, … more outputs, cv, usb , sdcard … proper pads etc…
I think you’re putting the cart before the horse with these live sets. It’s great to be ambitious but it’s hard to have a barbeque with no food and no fire. Get a tool, learn the tool, then schedule the live sets.
If you like cycles you might like digitakt but maybe you just like the models form factor with all the controls on the face.
Other than that, digitakt is great. Very easy to use. Cheap right now and very reliable.
If you can live with the limitations the original DT is a great value and a good machine, but there are limitations just like every drum machine or sampler or elektron device, frankly.
Do your homework. Watch videos. Read the manual. Those will tell you more than any stranger on the internet ever can, I promise.
Otherwise, I think that for what you want, it’s probably a good choice and as stated, the cost is quite reasonable. I’m still using the DT1 also, however I’m using an MPC a lot more right now. Maybe check that out as well, because the price will be similar (for an MPC One) and there is more room to move your shoulders.
One thing about the DT is that it is less comfortable to put it in a backpack and take with you than the models. It has sharp edges and a little bit heavy and the screen is bigger so easier to scratch and damage. It’s not bad if you have a plan for carrying it around and plugging it in and probably not too bad compared to the TR8S, but it may be less portable for you than the cycles so just one thing to keep in mind.
Of course with an MPC the above problems will be exaggerated but my point is that if you’re going to go to the trouble of getting a new machine just do a bit more research first.
I would love to keep the TR8S or downgrade to TR8 but I really don’t hjave the space or budget for both. Also I want to keep my setup portable as livesets are my priority.
I would absolutely love to keep everything but my budget is super low and space is a concern too as I want to prioritize live sets and don’t really want to bring the TR8S around. That’s also another thing that puts me off about it. I didn’t think it would feel so big but it absolutely does.
DT2 as suggested for a single machine would be optimal. That said, I used a DT1 as my ONLY machine for a long time, and never had a complaint with it. It’s extremely flexible. Also, on the carrying around in the backpack thing, I agree with the points above by Mr. Shigs. So the solution of course is to get an Analog Case for it. With a few minor modifications to the foam, you can play the Digi while it’s in the case. You can also swap the hinges out for removable lid type.
Here’s a setup I did like this. It was amazing to move it around and play/record in different places. They make a single Digi-sized box that’s perfect for one, and the same things can be done to it. I just removed the old hinges, added removable style. I also added barrel connectors to the back for power, and then made jumpers to go from the case to the power connectors on the digis. (for the dual setup, I also make a metal bracket for the VESA mounts to keep them from knocking together during travel, but that wouldn’t be needed for a single.
Well I had the TR8S for 2 months before scheduling this cumbia set. The Cycles set was pure fun at a private party (still about 50 people dancing so very cool).
When i researched for what to upgrade from the M:C i thought what I liked about it was the on face controls so I chose the TR8S. But now that I’m getting into sequencing and building more complicated patterns I’m really missing the Elektron workflow so thjat’s why DT seems more appealing. I was also missing a way to quickly sample into the TR8S so I started using a DAW to run texture and vocal loops but I hate using a computer honestly.
Honestly getting the TR8S was probably too impulsive because I was inspiredby that first set.
I’m gonna do this cumbia set with the TR8S of course because thats the machine I know and have my patterns on. But after that I’ll think about getting a digitakt, either getting rid of TR8S and getting DT2 or using DT1 and TR8S together for a while and eventually choosing which one I want to keep.
MPC One looks cool too but learning yet another workflow kind of scares me. I don’t have so much time and it seems even deeper than DT. Cool suggestion tho.
Yeah I don’t think I need the DT2. The only thing that seems like a big upgrade is sample space. Other than that the other features seem redundant for the type of music I want to make. Also 8 tracks + 6 tracks (on the cycles) + Sample Locks and Machine Locks is plenty enough for me.
I’ll tell you that the biggest thing that takes up space on DT1 is when people buy 10 sample packs and upload them all at one time. If you need 10 sample packs to make one song then maybe the DT2 is a better device for you but to me, I think that just because you have 1,000,000 samples on the device doesn’t make a better song.
You can always dump your samples and upload more if you come to that point but TBH, I have never run out of space or felt limited in that regard on the DT1.
Long samples might also be your biggest enemy, but I have a lot of those too and still not an issue for me. But again, I am more selective about what I put onto and take off of the machine so that helps as a matter of good practice.
It sounds like you know what you need and it wasn’t found in the TR8S. Take the same knowledge with you as you make your decision and I think that you’ll be happy either way.
With a few minor modifications to the foam, you can play the Digi while it’s in the case. You can also swap the hinges out for removable lid type.
