This is a really good point. Elektron really needs to implement this feature into the Digi-boxes ASAP.
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RE-202 has analog dry through if you turn off the preamp emulation. Perhaps that will help?
I want a RE-202 at some point, seems like a great delay. That will likely wait until next year however, as I recently got some Roland tape echo flavor with my last hit of the year:
SP-404 MKII
Brings me back to my early days making electronic music with a 404 SX but with so many improvements that make it easier to work with, as well as fun again. Seems to be perfect for switching up my usual workflow. I like making polished sounding music in Ableton but I’m really enjoying giving in to wherever the 404 MKII takes me.
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Syntakt gone as is the SP404 mk2. Moving on the latter is a bit of a surprise. It’s such a fun quick sampling tool but as soon as I picked up an OP1F it lay there gathering dust. Can always return to it down the road easily enough but, being honest; I’m more at home with the Octatrack. Kind of feel like my 404 sampling itch can be scratched via Push/Ableton while the OT offers something you just can’t get elsewhere. Not that I’ve got an OT, must avoid GAS for now…
So down to AK, M8 and OP1F. All bought this year. Osmose still on order and I think after that I’ll try to whittle 4 down to 2. Fuck knows how l I’ll manage that…
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pretty sure I’m done with 2022 purchases so here are mine in purchase order:
- Digitone - a huge hit, this thing is insane
-
TR-6S - a miss at the moment reserved to return later
- Disliked:
- sound design is very hard with basically one knob, building kits was too hard and the ones came pre-loaded did not meet my taste.
- small buttons combined with lots of menu diving were a bummer for me.
- very very noisy when powered with USB from the mac, it’s pretty much gone when using a wall adapter though.
- Liked:
- the sounds are ace, especially the 808, 909 are really good, lots of effects to use, drive, saturation etc., very hard to dial in though with one knob and the small buttons, so eventually comes back to the “sound design” dislike.
- faders are great, really fun to use and bring in sounds.
- the channel link is a great feature.
- Disliked:
-
Zoom H6 - not decided yet. wasn’t actually a purchase but a gift from a friend
- Disliked:
- the menu is very slow to operate, some params are hard to reach and dial in, not impossible but far from being “instant”.
- the gain dials are REALLY hard to dial in to an even level, I hardly can set 2 channels to equal gain, takes me lots of time and eventually I touch it by accident and get angry
I could record 2 mono channels and later compensate but that’s just adding complexity I don’t want…
- Liked:
- very small, portable, easy to record, the inputs are great, with DN/AR on 3/4 volume I can reach almost 0 dbfs in ableton while the gain dial is on ~2-3 out of 10, so the inputs are great!
- the on board mixer view is neat, clearly can see levels / clipping
- I really like that I can record without daw if I don’t feel like turning the mac on…
- Disliked:
- Analog Rytm mk2 - a huge hit for me, I feel that there’s nothing this machine can’t do with enough will power… hoping Elektron will hear our “Feature Request” thread and throw in some extra features, but either way this machine is insane!
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Big hit …… your post formatting
Big +1 style points for bullet points
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Wicked ! Does the Waldforf M have a proper sequencer?
No sequencer on the Waldorf M, but it’s a gritty dirty beast with a great UI, the chief programmer has been on gearspace since launch and has supplied frequent bug fixes, most of the software features are finalized at this point so the last piece of the puzzle is the extra voice expansion card! Can’t wait!!
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agreed, the M is definitely the most exciting /satisfying purchase of the year, maybe ever
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Good to hear but how are you sequencing the Waldorf? I’d want a good sequencer for it.
This year I bought an OpSix and a Digitone.
I wish they were one big Elektron box, but so far I’m quite pleased with both.
Unless there’s a good deal on an A4 MK2 before year’s end, there shouldn’t be anything else added to the list.
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How’s the arp on the reissue?
I’m still somewhat tempted to pick one up for lack of Prophet-VS, but I wouldn’t mind some similar wavetables to drop in my MonoMachine either in the meantime while I rearrange things over the next few years to make space and save up $ 
Are you still trading it for a Take 5?
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yes i am. i just cant be without the take-5. i dont know if one’s better than the other. wish i could have both. but yeah, M rules. mind blowing sound, so fun to play with & program
i actually dont know how disappointed i’d be if no one wants to trade, but it’s not looking good anyway. i think i’d probably be happy if i could hold onto the m for a little longer. hard to tell which one is better for the sound im after. one is more rich and one is easier to fit in a mix. but they’re both excellent
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Which is which?
it seems to me like the t5 is more “electric”, full, and powerful. its incredible for brassy and woodwind type sounds with a lot of girth and organic thick vco tone behind it
the m sounds like an analog poly when you set the wave to saw or pulse because of that insanely good filter. but it doesnt quite have the fullness of a vco poly. its sort of like the peak in a way, but sounds much better to me. its more fun to program maybe. i just love getting my hands on it, turning the wave knobs, and setting the 8-stage wave envelope to loop rhythmically, modulating the waves and the vcf. then i set the dvcf to full boost or mshaper turn the asic bug on OR set to Mode 2, turn up the ring mod, detune wave 2, and set lfo 1 with a mod control of lfo 2/wave env/filt env and use a thinning pulse with a wide sine to modulate the vca or panning.
obviously it has more versatile range of timbres, and a lot of the wavetables sound really good and musical , but the take 5 can do a lot for a vco poly. the M sits in a mix more easily. easier to layer. it can get as thin as you want, but still sound warm and basically analog. very smooth polished sound i’ve never heard before. but i’ve gotten used to taking a very strong organic core tone and sculpting it into something more dynamic and unique timbrally. so it’s really tough to choose between one. not only because i cant justify buying one without selling another, but having more than one poly is very distracting for me and keeps me from actually making music. they would compliment each other very well though, i think. they are the best options of their respective type, imho
it’s kind of like the a4 vs the digitone. both are unbelievably good. but one has a little bit of a “stronger” core with some extreme mangling power and the other can technically get further “out there” with alien tones. so it’s a question of whether i want the most options imaginable from the best sounding hybrid around, or the most rich sounding core with some very malleable intuitive controls for shaping that core. M is more versatile on paper, but t5 is more powerful in some ways because of the sum of its parts. i dont know if that analogy, or any of this makes sense at all. its very difficult for me to articulate how tough this decision is. you can work harder to get more satisfying results, or you can have basically a preset browsing megasynth that feeds you wild tones with every twist of a knob. but they arent really that different in a lot of ways
i think i just need a good “bread and butter” synth. and although the M can do anything you want it to, im more used to harnessing something unruly and making it musical , even if it is going to be pretty hard to layer more than like 2 loops in the hardware realm. it seems more “alive” in a natural way, whereas M sounds like an alien crunchy tone through a beautiful smooth filter, which is just an unbelievable combination. i want to say “artificial” but i think that has a negative connotation. thick vs thin does too. neither are thin. both have the most interesting & flexible timbre sculpting tools i’ve seen outside of the P12. but they are different synths
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Couldn’t agree more about quantity VS quality. Plenty of machines, but they all sound very harsh and M:C-like to me, unlike the DN which sounds so lush. Hard for me to understand why the Syntakt is more expensive.
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I don’t like to be negative, but I really didn’t like the Syntakt.
It was my first Elektron box and it’s kind of scared me away from trying any more which is a shame (I’ll still probably get a Digitone at some point).
The TR-6S/TR-8S seems to have many more (and better sounding) options for drum sounds while being much cheaper (Though the sequencing is obviously much weaker)
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Boooooooooooo
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
You’re breaking the first rule of Secret Weapon Club
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HIT:
Korg Monologue
Second time buying it, still a nasty little mono!
M-Audio Q49 mk2
Simple and solid midi keyboard, turns my Digitone into a poor man’s Digitone Keys (with Midi Host of course).
Zoom G3n
Basically the same as the Zoom Stompbox MS-70, but you get three effects laid out next to each other, which is easier to grasp for an ADHD person like me.
MISS:
Korg NTS-1:
Why is this a thing?
Novation Circuit Tracks:
Same sound engine guys? And not sure why but I prefer the sequencer on the Launchpad Pro mk3.
Novation Bassline 2:
My goodness I hate this thing. Too big, sounds flat, and the workflow is just tedious. Give me a WYSIWYG Minibrute any day.
Misses:
NGNY - not because the idea isn’t good, but because I am weak. Not sure if I will try again next year.
Syntakt - Simply didn’t like the sound palette. It’s an amazing machine, just not for me. Sold.
TD-3 - bought this because I could get it dirt cheap and I was on kind of an acid binge (the music, you rascal). Sold.
MPC one. Although I probably didn’t give it enough time, I didn’t like the workflow and the thing froze on me a couple of times. Feature creep seems to be a problem and I couldn’t really justify owning a DT, OT, SP404 AND and MPC anyway. Decided to sell it quickly so I did not lose any money on it. In fact, I gained a little and used that to buy the Hydrasynth Explorer
Hits:
SP404 mk2 (x2) - sold the first one because no polyphony and not being able to play chromatically in pattern mode. Both issues solved, I am a happy camper now.
Octatrack mk2 (my third). Magic.
Arturia Keylab 49 mk2 - perfect midi controller for hardware, as well as perfect integration with analog lab and very decent integration with Ableton.
Hydrasynth Explorer - I allow myself only one hardware synth and I think this is it for me. I’ve only played around a bit, but this is the first synth that constantly makes me smile. I love love love the sound, the brilliant UI, Polytouch, scale modes. Hell, even the frikkin manual is brilliant. I think I am in love (definitely honeymoon period though)
The only constant in my setup:
Digitakt. Never left, never will. Until the mk2 at least.
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