Hey guys I could use some guidance and advice on a setup I’m working towards. I’m looking to make a small self contained rig to create some simple, video-gamey style tunes.
What I’m looking to do:
I’m an Ableton user but I suppose you could chalk this up to a “dawless” setup. I have no plans on ditching the daw for good but I really just want to make some simple music for fun and enjoy the process outside of the computer in a setup I could also bring somewhere for some live bleepin and bloopin.
https://soundcloud.com/pkmood/grassy - Here is an example track I made that I think will show what I am after.
This is a pretty simple song/arrangement I made with 100% synthesized sounds from my first synth, the DSI Rev2 including the drums. There is a delay on the master. It’s only 4 tracks or so of loops I made and then arranged on the fly, a workflow I think would translate very well to elektron gear…
My Elektron Experience:
I ended up selling my Rev2 to fund an Analog Four mk2 because on paper it seemed really perfect for this kind of stuff. I knew what I was getting into with the limitations and to be honest they really excited me. The moment the A4 arrived I knew I made a mistake and that I should have never given up my first synth, the Rev2.
I reverted the shipment on my sold Rev2, gave the guy a refund and an apology and ate the shipping costs but the Rev2 was back in my arms.
Nothing against the A4 at all but unfortunately I have a limited gear budget and could not afford to have both. Selling the synth I loved and learned on was not the right way to try something new so regretfully I didn’t get a chance to fully explore the A4 before returning it but I knew it was the right choice to make.
I have a little bit of experience on a DT but I never used it to sequence external gear. I really dug the plocking/retriggering for rhythmic stuff and pattern chaining works well for the way I like to build up songs and loops.
Things I’m wondering about:
The plan now is to save up for a Digitakt that I can use beside my Rev2 Keyboard, not instead of it. I’m looking for some thoughts on setup and workflow with these two units working as a standalone rig. 8 tracks of flexible sampling plus the ability to sequence and save program changes on the rev2 seems great on paper. Anything I should know?
Here are a few things that I’ve been thinking about.
- Any suggestions for any essential tools to help this setup? mixer? special midi cables?
- Rev2 is bi-timbral. I could probably sequence two totally different patches from the DT
- Can I use the Rev2 knobs for one of these patches and the DT midi controls for the second one?
- Could use two DT midi tracks both on the same midi channel to increase polyphony?
- Rev2 keyboard as its own controller but also used to play/record triggers for DT sounds.
- Rev2 outputs fed into DT inputs for live monitoring. (Have they given us a way to do this through effects yet?)
Open to hearing anything else out. Thanks!