why only 8???
Audio or midi? 
midi
audio tracks would probably tax the cpu a lot more.
I read this post in its entirety from a totally objective viewpoint, and can obviously see how the OP upset some people, and understand why they are being hostile. Just read the responses. Iām probably not going to use all 8 of the midi tracks when my DT arrives, and if I wanted to communicate this, I would have done so in a much less confrontational manner.
4 Likes
In a perfect world the user would have the option of using up to 16 audio trax or up to 16 midi trax, in any combination.
Everyoneās happy, or are they 
The Electribe sampler has 16 freely assignable audio/MIDI tracks.
In theory, thatās ideal.
In practice, its CPU canāt handle more than about 8 simultaneous audio tracks anyway.
So I set up my Electribe template to be 8 tracks audio/8 tracks MIDI, and then a few months laterā¦ Elektron show us the Digitakt, with a very similar architecture.
I think people have been a little harsh on the OP, but I will say to him: Iāve found that in a pattern-based machine, extra MIDI tracks is no bad thing. You might want two different synth parts, to be played on the same synth, in the same pattern but not simultaneously. Or you might have a Blofeld and want to operate eight timbres separatelyā¦
Can we get a subforum for whining so I can make a point of never reading it?
3 Likes
Agreed.
This thread sucks
1 Like
Nothing to see here folks, please keep grooving in an orderly or any other kind of fashion you wishā¦
3 Likes
At least you would have to add a bigger cpu. I mean doublesizedā¦ then the price is higher and someone asks, why dt is expesnsive :-))
I dont own a DT (just OT), but for me samples are just 30-50% of a trackā¦ adding other outboard and sequence with the electron sequencer is the most fast and cool experience i had over the last 10 yearsā¦ a daw is much more capable, but 1000 times slower 
1 Like
OT from 2010 can do 8 audio tracksā¦ you would think a cpu that can do 16 audio tracks costs pennies in 2017.
With OT I kind of see the point of several MIDI tracks as OT is designed to be used to create full tracks, itās like a ādaw in a boxā. With Digitakt, you are pretty much limited to one 64 step pattern at a time. I would imagine my workflow with DT would be to sequence one external device, sample it, then sequence another etc.
(Now Iām just waiting for the hordes of Elektron fanboys coming at me for this commentā¦ Maybe some of the sarcastic responses even get a like from Elektron employee like the one from yesterday gotā¦ Nice atmosphere you got here at Elektronauts )
That Kitkat is massive!
1 Like
Please resist stirring it with comments like this one then
You may not understand why the product is designed exactly this way, but donāt fall into the trap of saying it was like this in 1980 why isnāt the feature list piled higher now that everything is faster and cheaper ā¦ that doesnāt make it better, besides irrespective of your tastes, the product is specified and it seems to be a pretty hot one in terms of interest
Nobody would debate that added flexibility could be handy, but itās clearly extremely unlikely to happen
Weāve had countless posts commenting on the toxicity of the thread, donāt stir it up further by baiting with terms like fanboys ā¦ letās be honest, itās an academic point (midi track count), Iām not sure itās worth that much continued analysis
carry on folks, but letās not take this minor point so seriously
letās not forget the trials and tribulations of supporting OB with an excess of audio tracks, 8 audio and 8 midi doesnāt look so ill-conceived now does it !
9 Likes
AHHHHHH! THATāS what you are getting at with your initial question!
Yeah, that certainly seems like the most efficient and compact workflow. One respective reason for the extra features(midi) is that a company wouldnāt benefit from selling a very strict workflow. Another reason is that the latest sequencer tricks applied to the Elektron Analog Boxes being applied to midi was a good portion of the selling point with the DT. A sub point to that is, with the conditional midi, that wouldnāt really be all that helpful with a strict midi then sample workflow as with probability/etc is more a variation over time instead of being merely a source for sampling.
But I DO get how just using one midi track at a time and immediately sampling would make the most sense and would, thus, lead to a potentially cheaper/more sonically capable machine, I think the combination of a lower cost unit, up to date Elektron midi and the sampling ease of use made for the best approach to the marketāwhich IS the bottom line
3 Likes
Good points, however I get the impression that the digitaktās sampling workflow isnāt designed with live sampling in mind, at least not as much as the octatrack is!
1 Like
Lemons - might I suggest you study this video and then think of all the polymetric possibilities that open up with 8 separate midi tracks all triggering aspects of the audio engine in the DTā¦
1 Like
Why doesnt the Digitakt have an analog synth in there? I could really use oneā¦ I dont need MIDI tracks, just get rid of those and put an analog synth in there instead
Also it needs multi-FX units for every track - I would gladly give up MIDI tracks, for an analog synth and multi-FXā¦ i hope that comes in a future update
Eight seems plenty for what it is. Itās fairly worthless for almost everyone that doesnāt have other Elektron gear that has song mode though. What are you supposed to do with eight midi tracks if you have to keep changing patterns manually (no song mode or ability to save chains)?
Could be very useful though for A4, AK, Rytm users. I have an AK so Iām interested in he digitakt. The bugs seem pretty alarming though. Will look to see the progress in a year.
Trying hard to connect with you by re-reading OP - Iām not quite seeing it - itās a straight up question with some exploration of the possible design/workflow choices, pretty much devoid of emotion:
"Why does Digitakt have 8 MIDI tracks? Does anyone need as many? Or is there someone who sequences 8 separate MIDI devices with their Digitakt simultaneously?
Wouldnāt it be much more useful to have more audio tracks instead? I am willing to bet even 4 MIDI tracks would be overkill for most.I wonder if some of the MIDI tracks could be converted to audio tracks in a future update."
Edit; mines just arrived but it doesnāt stop me listening to genuine questions and design critique:
I think good community vibes and being friendly to each other are much more important than gear opinion disputes. If you have been sincere in your questioning than I apologize on behalf of the entire community for getting so feistyā¦ Itās tough though because reading your inquiries not only in this thread but connecting them to all those from the past as well itās honestly really hard to tell if your being sincere or trying to get a rise out of the community. Again, if this is not the case I apologize for even mentioning it, but it does seem it could be that way. One example is how youāll ask why something not a certain way, one that you would prefer, and then after others reply you often tell them to use something else instead of hearing their reply, but then accuse the rest of not hearing yours. Also quick replies about people responding being fanboys, and lines like letās watch the fanboys come at me, etcā¦ Honestly itās quite confusing and in the end we are all just members of a community and you are an equal part of itā¦ I wish you the best and hope we can get back to being a happy bunch of gear foolsā¦
2 Likes