To Digitakt or to Maschine?

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#21

This is a really tough one @killkrt !

From looking at your first post, I’d say Maschine was your best bet. You already have a hybrid set up and Maschine can act as a great middle ground from your modular to DAW. And though you have a KK Mk1, you will notice the hands on control of your Komplete stuff being more involved and visual thanks to the screens. Maschine will help you get from A to B quicker than a Digitakt will.

But, the Digitakt is a lot of fun. If you are finding things are a little stale with your current set up or the sounds you’re getting from your vst’s then a DT can definitely take you into new sonic realms very easily while making you feel in control and involved (if you get me there). It’s hard to explain but with the OT, when it came to samples I always thought I was shooting blind (until recently) and getting mixed results. But with the DT it just kind of made me feel like a sample manipulating master at times haha. I really enjoyed the whole shaping of samples in different ways thing though.

The DT is a fancy sketchbook at times but can easily be a tool for full songs in a way that wouldn’t seem intuitive on Maschine (or current set up). Maschine is the safe option for you but DT may just be a gamble that would pay off really nicely.

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#22

It not really Maschine more Komplete as a whole package which TBH makes the DT look like a bit of a toy.

I have both, the DT being far more fun.

Str.

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#23

Then I think you’ve made the right choice.

BTW: I wouldn’t think of the DT as a sketchbook: Once you create a beat, with plocks, cond. trigs, the LFO mappings… that isn’t going to translate to some other beat making tool. If mixing with other things, you’ll sync it to your DAW, and work with it as performed audio from there.

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#24

Don’t take me wrong, I don’t want to say that DT is a toy or just a sketchbook!

Actually as far I’ve seen from YouTube reviews/demos/gigging and read from your comments, DT is an incredible piece of gear.
I still feel that I made the wrong decision buying a Maschine over a DT :roll_eyes:

As I explained you, some of the missing DT features are quite dealbreaker for me, and Maschine seems more close to what I am feeling missing from my setup.

Anyway I think that maybe my next investment will be for DT or OT, checking tons of reviews of Electron gears I felt so attracted to them… So, see you later :kissing_heart:

Thank you to everybody that helped me in this decision. You were so helpful and patient! :+1:

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#25

If you come from a tracker mindset, I think you’ll love Elektron stuff. Similar story as you and a few others, I started out on FastTracker, MadTracker, then Jeskola Buzz… then Reason, Cubase, Logic, Ableton, but really struggled to be productive and inspired in those environments despite knowing them well and liking the software.

Long story short, bought a Machinedrum and instantly fell in love with the Elektron way of working, partially because it felt a bit like the trackers of old but with crazy sound design power… added A4, DT, DN, OT to the setup, and I’m having more fun than ever making tracks with them. It does depend what kind of music you’re making to some extent, I’m into techno type stuff and I find the Elektron workflow perfect for this kind of thing, just live jamming and recording the master out. If you’re into more intricate arranging, you might not find its for you.

But I’m going to go against the flow anyway and say get the Digitakt. It might not be as practical as Maschine but you might just fall in love and get inspired again.

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#26

I had a Maschine mk1 for a while, loved the workflow for making beats but found it really hard to break out of a “loop” with it. The arranger in Maschine sucks if you want to make the type of music which has long automation over several patterns etc (you’d have to create multiple patterns, one for each chunk of automation… or use other solutions like MIDI from your DAW to control it).

I do wonder though if I went back to it now having worked with hardware for a while, and approached it with a “live jam” type of mindset rather than trying to capture everything as editable automation in my DAW etc, I might have a lot more fun.

I did play with the mk3 for a few days and it’s a really lovely bit of kit!

#27

Lots of cool pieces of gear out there. I would like the combo of Digitakt, Maschine Jam & Bitwig Studio. Digitakt as a compact standalone or tethered/connected creative tool, can be used as an audio interface and plugin via Overbridge. Maschine Jam to use as a hardware controller with Maschine, Ableton or Bitwig software … You basically have 4 sequencers to choose from. The sound libaries (samples & instruments) from Native Instruments and Bitwig or Ableton could be sampled on the Digitakt and mangled for hours upon hours of fun

#28

I’m about to sell my Maschine MK3 and go the Digitakt route. I’m very tired of the integration labor with Maschine and Ableton. Want to simplify, clear my desk up. Maschine has been great as a groove box, and the pads are awesome, but I’m finding that I want to simplify -go more hardware vs. computer. Also considering OT, but it kinda scares me. /shrug

#29

This works really well :slight_smile:
Morphing in Maschine Jam to any external synths (Volcas, DT…) has proven very handy for transitions between states/presets.
The Maschine Jam ARP is brilliant when using it with virtual instruments or even external synths.
I was on the verge of dropping Maschine for another sequencer but in the end it has proven very versatile.
Furthermore, using Jam as a MIDI controller (through the use of a MIDI to USB host) could widen possibilities :slight_smile:

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#30

These libraries only are worth it :slight_smile: