Using the Digitakt as a wavetable synthesizer

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#1

Hey gang. I’ve had some minor success using the Digitakt as a wavetable synth. It does pretty well but isn’t quite perfect. For my tests I used wavetables intended for use with the Synthesis Technology E352, which are .wav files with 64 samples, or 64 different waves. You can isolate one of the waveforms by dividing the sample length by the number of waves in the table, in this case 120/64 which is 1.87. Then, to scan the wavetable, edit or modulate the sample start point. Obviously this isn’t true wavetable morphing, but it works decently enough and sounds cool as hell.

The main issue I find with this method is that the start point scanning creates artifacts similar to clipping and doesn’t sound super smooth. You can kind of counter that effect by bringing down the low pass filter, but obviously that’s going to remove some of the rich harmonics that wavetables can produce.

I was wondering if anyone else tried this with better success, and what your method was.

I would also like to recommend to Elektron that the Digitakt be developed to have smooth wave morphing ability, because that would make it the best wavetable synth ever! Or, at least make another Digi box based around wavetables, because that would be so sick.

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Can you use the digitakt as a wavetable synth
The Digitakt Feature Request Thread
#2

Hey guys,

im looking to purchase a digitakt, one of the things holding me back is the question of should i buy a synth or the digitakt.

im interested to know if you can load up wavetables and use the lfo on the digitakt to scan through the wavetable when you are playing it.

also can i load up wavetables and pick a certain part of the wavetable to play.

thanks guys

#3

Hmmmm… buying a DT to use it mostly as a WT synth is a tough call.

As much as I love the DT I think you’d be disappointed compared to dedicated WT synths (hardware or software).

To me it’s more of an extra that you can do WT stuff, but IMO it’s like eating salad with a spoon.
Yeah you can make it work, and if all you have is a spoon it’s cool.

Now to take the other side if you look at the DT as an 8 voice box that can sequence itself to make evolving soundscapes, FX, and beats, It’s damn impressive from a sound design stand point, and I wound’t overlook it in that regard. Since I record the output to my computer, this makes the DT really interesting, and powerful for sound design. I can burn a whole pattern to make a single transition effect, and that is really fun to explore.

Hope this helps,

Gino

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#4

i say embrace the artifacts, in my opinion wavetable, like FM, sounds best when you unleash the screech. I have a Blofeld and almost always turn the “Brilliance” parameter all the way up, which opens up a harmonic filter used round off wavetable artifacts.

#5

It’s cool that it can double as a wavetable synth but i’d buy it for what it is, not the thing it can do a little. It’s a lot of fun when you start using a rk-002 cable from Retrokits for instance. Things can get wonderfully weird. If you want a wavetable synth first and foremost it might be better to buy a dedicated synth though.

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#6

You can use the technique described in the first post, but just to be clear, you cannot use the LFO to scroll through different samples while you’re playing. It should work in theory but I tried it recently and it looks like the Digitakt won’t change sample slot while you’re holding a note.

Would have been cool tho!

#7

You could solve this by making a sample chain of single cycle waveforms and scrolling through them with sample start :slight_smile:

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