I have been searching for a new synthesizer, and I have looked at every forum and youtube video especially here, and when it comes to digitone people always say that is not as good as monomachine. But I’m not willing to pay USD 2000 for the momachine, but at the same time, I’m afraid of buying the digitone and regretting it. I like to create things from scratch and people say that digitone is easier to use and basically you get a standard sound, that’s what I’m most afraid of. anyways thanks
They’re just kind of different things. Digitone is only FM synthesis, whereas Monomachine has lots of synth engines but all of them are kind of “primitive.” It has FM and you can get cool sounds, but it ain’t exactly winning any awards. It also has a cool drum machine thing with samples built in. BBOX machine. That thing’s fun.
Monomachine is very flexible with its routing. This allows more experimentation if you want to go down that route–it was nothing I ever explored though.
idk man people like what they like. I think you’d be happy with the Digitone. When it comes to Elektron machines there isn’t a straightforward “x is better than y” they’re just different things.
You shouldn’t have to pay $2000 USD for a Monomachine. There’s that one on Reverb but that’s way higher than previous prices. But yeah, Digitone is still under half that price…Up to you. I personally don’t think the Monomachine is worth that much money but it is a very nice box.
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So… I’d say that they’re both entirely comparable and entirely incomparable… comparable in so far as one digital synth is the same deal as another - they make synthesiser sounds. Incomparable in so far as they sound really quite different regardless that there is a bit of FM crossover (but even then…).
I have both. Love both. The MNM is an absolute classic. The DN will be in a few years time.
Both are so flexible and amazing sounding in their own ways… it’s not much help but all I can really recommend is to consume as many videos as you can on each and then see which best aligns with your needs.
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Digitone is an amazing synth.
Its sound goes from pure high definition to gritty, and it is a real pleasure to play with. Everything is tailored to reach quickly your goals or have fun wandering in sound design.
Monomachine is hard to tame, and its sounds show how old it is, despite being a powerful groove box. Many weird corners, starting with the filters (unless you like their distorsion).
Go for DN and don’t look back. It’s a desert island synth.
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Buy the Digitone. Just buy it.
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Actually I haven’t heard a single person (who knows both machines) saying that. So I guess what you call “people” needs to be quite a very small subset of Elektron users.
Of course when you are after the exact sound of the MnM or some of its special tricks then that’s the machine to hunt for, but this still doesn’t make the Digitone anything less than a great machine.
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Some people on the internet say Pepsi’s better than Coke… 
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One important factor that separates the two a little more (full disclosure, I’ve never owned a MnM but I’ve researched the hell out of it) is the allocation of voices. As far as I’m aware (someone correct me if I’m wrong) the MnM is either six mono tracks or a six-voice polysynth using only one of the tracks as the base sound. Digitone, while only having four tracks, can spread its eight voices across all the tracks as you please - there’s even some delight to be hand by pushing it hard and having voices of different tracks choke each other. Anyway, I thought it was worth mentioning. I adore my DN so much (as both a drum machine and a synth) that I’m currently saving up for a DN Keys to have even more of its goodness available at all times. And, let’s hope Elektron does a 20th Anniversary Edition of the MnM to end the crazy online prices🤞
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I have a MnM. And thank god I got one in a trade before the prices became unreasonable. I do not think it is worth more than I got it for…But, it is hella fun.
Although, it does not have a modern sequencer with trig conditions and scale per pattern. There are work arounds, but it isn’t a modern Elektron box. It’s younger brother- the Analog Four is very similar in it’s lay out, but it’s analogue and only 4 voices… Yet, again an amazing synth. As for the Digitone- That is a modern Elektron Box with stable OB (as far as I’ve heard) and a lot of sequencer functions the MnM doesn’t have. Also, if you are interested in FM synthesis, the MnM is a strange bedfellow. The FM on it is not very conducive to easy sound design. I don’t own a DN, but I’ve heard it’s much easier to get consistent results.
If the MnM were a decent price, I’d say go for it…But with these inflated prices, and the MnM being limited in se3quencing, I would suggest the DN, or even a A4 mk1, which is super powerful, but analogue. In the end, every box Elektron has made, there will be people on this forum praising it, because they are all well designed boxes with their own quirks and super powers.
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I don’t think there’s any person that’s bought a $700 synth and were disappointed that they didn’t opt for a $2000 synth.
If the Digitone sounds good to you. Get it. There’s plenty of demos available enough to get its vibe.
Monomachine- powerful. I miss it, but it’s interface is frustrating after being spoiled by Elektron’s advancements(and said advancements not being in it)
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I would not say one is better than the other but once you learn the monomachine I think it’s more versatile (in a different kind of way). You could use it as a chip tune synth, you could use it to make crazy idm, you could use it to make synth pop, you could make insane fm sounds that don’t sound like fm at all (you will never get these types of sounds with digitone), you can use as an fx processor, and an fx maker.
A lot of my favorite artists use/used the monomachine so I may be a bit biased (autechre, the knife, crystal castles, Sophie).
Monomachine has much better arp, it has slides which digitone does not have, and it has more fx (though they are kind of weird). Filters are better too imo but also have a weird implementation.
I don’t think you can really compare the two. Fm implementation is way different on both and monomachine has a lot more sound engines.
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You could probably achieve the same thing by p-locking portamento and using a suitable portamento style. Probably…
For certain sounds sure but it will not get you many others.
this gentleman begs to differ
fantastic sound design in that track. makes me want a digitone lol
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That’s great sound design. Maybe I should get a Digitone as well… 
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There! That! I had a Mnm for seven years and as soon as the younger machines with better UI landed in my Homestudio, and also with better Sound, the Mnm needed to go. The Mnm is a great machine, but s/h prices are overprized. 700 would be fair, and the machines Sounds rather dusty and lofi in comparison. Digitone is totally different. Better sounding, much easier to use, Computer Integration, what are you waiting for?
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Maybe some people say Digitone is no Monomachine but don’t necessarilt mean it as a knock on the Digitone. In a recent thread on the greatest gear of all time Digitone gets 20+ mentions out of 116 posts. I think that’s pretty impressive and actually a bit surprising. Maybe a bit of recency bias there but impressive nonetheless.
When the DN came out, I wasn’t very interested in it TBH. Somehow the sound just didn’t speak to me. But it has definitely grown on me, to the point I find it very likely I’ll be grabbing a s/h DN when I find a good deal.
The real question is not what people say. I guess that most people comparing the digitone and the mono don’t even own the two of them.
Those two sound very different, I don’t really understand a comparison.
The questions are:
What is your budget and what sound are you after ?
Listen to many demos, and chose the sound that you like ?
Or buy a digitone and see if you like it ? If you buy a digitone second hand, you’ll have no problem selling at no loss
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Some people keep asking for new versions of old classics, that’s why there’s this comparison. And some people thought the Digitone was the new Mnm, but it’s not. It’s an awesome synth on its own and I much prefer it to the Mnm.
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This. Totally different and not comparable.
Choose based on liking, both are great sounding (although the MnM needs more effort to make it sound great), but cover different grounds.
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