Hi everyone, first post!
I’m in the lookout for my first hardware synth; plus a sort of tactile, out-of-the-DAW solution I can sketch ideas in, and as such, the Digitone seems to fit the bill pretty well. Mostly!
To provide some background: I’m primarily a guitar player/songwriter, and I’ve been doing home recording for a bit over 10 years. Along the way I’ve made use of a multitude of soft-synths, but it’s never really been the driving force behind my writing, despite my interest in sound design. I figured it’s a good time to learn a new instrument or skill, and synths just made sense.
As preparation to potentially acquiring a Digitone, I’ve been experimenting with some free FM synths like Dexed and PM4 with… little success to be honest. While I understand the basic principles behind FM after reading guides and watching some YouTube tutorials on FM, Dexed’s UI does (IMO) very little in the way of providing enough feedback to understand what’s actually happening, and I bounced out almost immediately out of disinterest in it. I fared a lot better with PM4, but I still can’t say I managed to get particularly inspiring sounds out of it.
After hitting this wall I started having my doubts whether the Digitone would be the right thing for me for this very reason. I’m aware that Elektron has managed to create a different, more user-friendly approach to FM, and from what I’ve seen in countless videos, the UI seems great, and infinitely more clear than something like Dexed. And while fortunately there are return policies in case of the unit and I not understanding each other, I’d definitely love to get into it properly and avoid the hassle.
So what do y’all think? Should I look somewhere else?
imo that‘s the most fun about fm. not knowing what exactly will happen.
Happy accidents, exploring, following your ears.
The digitone is mostly sweetspot fm. you get great sounds easily. So it‘s mostly about turning knobs and see what happens.
You just have to know some basic things, like where you turn up fm amount and where you adjust the fm envelopes.
For the algorithms and ratios just turn knobs and listen.
And if you need more control, there is still a nice sounding filter available.
It can totally be used as subtractive synth
I’m primarily looking for something that can double as both synth and a “sketchpad” of sorts so I can write down ideas in and then finish them in the box.
In terms of how the DN fits the bill, the sequencer itself seems really good for writing, and the small frame seems good for relative mobility (couch writing, to give an example). Plus Overbridge seems to really facilitate the “finishing ideas in the box” part.
As for the DN as a synth, some of Jeremy Blake’s ambient explorations have been REALLY appealing to me in terms of what the unit can do, and it’s likely the kind of sounds I’d be pursuing.
The FM seems to be the wall I’ve hit and am not sure the DN would help me overcome it.
Let me prelude this by pointing out that you’re asking on an Elektron forum if you should get an Elektron. Prepare for a storm of affirmation
Outside of that, yes the Digitone is awesome. You can take it in a variety of different directions. The synth sounds great. It can be challenging, but the interface makes it as enjoyable as possible. And the digi form factors make the interface very magnetic and easy to return to.
If you are looking for a first synth to start understanding ‘what’s happening’, i’d start with an analog subtractive synth. I don’t think there is a strong likelihood of you understanding what is happening with FM synthesis - many people that design FM sounds don’t even understand what’s happening, really.
Which pieces of gear resonate with you will be a very personal thing.
That said, I love love love my Digitone. I have done live electronic shows with JUST the DN, so it is certainly versatile enough to create full-sounding “complete” music with just that box.
I currently have it paired with the Digitakt and a Novation Circuit Mono Station on the side for some analog fun. Side note, the Circuit Mono was my gateway to the Digitone. I love the CMS sequencer with its parameter/sound locks and such, but wanted more in terms of sequencing, voices and sound sculpting to create more complete music. The DN really delivered.
I got a Digitone and quickly sold stuff to get another one (unique position I know but it is very capable on its own).
It is my favorite synth to explore and create unique sounds with for sure.
You can do full tribal almost DFAM like sounds (FM) or have 3 tracks for bass/lead/pad and have a 4th track for drums.
FM was confusing for me as well until the DN made it easy. It’s also easy to get lost but I find that a lot of the accidents I make are my favorite sounds!
I come from the guitar/drum/bass world so this whole synth stuff is new to me as well. If I were to restart my synth journey, I would have started with the DN…
Haha, perhaps a bit too literally I suppose I didn’t express myself properly. I’m not particularly interested in the science of “what’s happening” – what I meant with that was more in the sense of an instrument’s UI not gelling with me. In particular, regarding Dexed - while naturally, this being an instrument, the sound itself should be enough to guide me, I found myself more fighting the cluttered UI than getting any useful sounds out of it.
Thanks for the welcome Ryan!
A good interface is definitely one thing that I’m looking forward to play with if I do end up getting a new instrument; so I’m happy to read good feedback on this overall.
Elektron have done for FM synthesis what Tarantino did for John Travolta.
I see the Digitone as a significant a moment in FM or general synthesis terms as the FS1R.
Sure Digitone is about simplicity and results, but both synths are milestones in synth history.
I think to a degree not understanding what is happening will always lead you to just stumbling blindly until you find a sound you like, which honetly isn’t the worst way to working especially given you will have some filters on the digitone to clean up a sound and the digitone already guides your hand a bit in the right direction. Still if you think of a sound and want to make it you might be more or less shooting in the dark, learning FM isn’t quite as straight forward as subtractive I suppose there would probably be a method of approach to learn it through experimentation but things don’t exactly act in a straight forwards logical way all the time, which is why it is probably a good idea to study up and figure out the logical reasons why you might use different algorithms and such.
given the fact, that u write ur own stuff and are firm with playing guitar, i hardly recommend to think twice, before ur buying into synthesis…
because…an octatrack might be the better overall solution, when it comes to producing music…and since u already mentioned that fm synthesis all in all is not that much ur first choice, but dn might do the trick for u, i think u really should think abaout sampling for a minute…
a sampler is not a synth…right…but it’s an amazing music instrument…
and the octatrack is a full on action sampler AND a studio in a box…
it can record, add lots of fx (including eq, compression, reverbs, delay, filters)
it can create beats, basslines, pads, athmospheres and yup, also can act like a synth…
.in this case as a full on wavetable synth…
u can use it as a looper, backing and composing machine, in the studio as on stage…
it’s a mixer for external gear and u can get to final mixes with it…including ur guitar, ur vocals ur whatsoever…performing and creating goes here hand in hand…
and it offers all the cool sequencer and performance gimmicks that elektron made what it is today, same as in the dn…
8 stereo sampling engines on 8 sequencer tracks combined with 8 external midi tracks…
or…
8 synth voices on 4 sequencer tracks combined with 4 external midi tracks…
think about it…
If you’re looking for a sketchpad or a way to transport quick licks and melodies the Digitone clears that fully. It can be the beginning and end of a track, and the ultimate practice tool I think. One of it’s main features is a deep sound design where you can spend hours just sculpting, but the sequencer and trigs make it a full on instrument too. It might be a bit overkill for what you are looking for, but you won’t regret it
Another guitar player here. I got an Octatrack, thinking it would be good for sampling and looping. I gave up on it after less than a year, and swapped to a Digitakt.
I LOVE the Digitakt. It’s so easy to use, and to sample, and to bend sounds in all kinds of ways. But it drives me nuts that I can’t play chords on it.
As a guitarist, I’m used to immediacy. I can play three notes on the Digitakt, and resample them into a chord, but that’s no way to work. Likewise, the Digitakt’s MIDI works really well with synth apps on the iPad, but setup and stability is just as clunky.
So I too am thinking of the Digitone. To be honest, I would like one whatever kind of synthesis it did. I like the Elektron sequencer a lot, and pairing it with any poly synth is genius.
The combination of the Digitakt and the Digitone, with a guitar and something like Ableton or Beatmaker 3 to arrange the results, seems like heaven to me.
I know that this post ended up more about me than about you, but hopefully you’ll get something out of it :).
I suppose I didn’t express myself properly. I’m not particularly interested in the science of “what’s happening” – what I meant with that was more in the sense of an instrument’s UI not gelling with me. In particular, regarding Dexed - while naturally, this being an instrument, the sound itself should be enough to guide me, I found myself more fighting the cluttered UI than getting any useful sounds out of it.