Im currently bringing all my synths up to play with the digitakt at night, one by one so i can grab samples from them with no computer or vst distractions. Its been a great exersize in getting to know my synths parameters hands on with no computer and has led in new found territory for everything i have controlled with the DT.
The best so far are the access virus snow and volca FM, third would be blofeld.
Anything where the operators or oscillators evolve over time is getting the best resultsā¦that is what is missing or takes a bit of thought on the DTā¦
When trying things subtractive synths like Volca Bass or even Sub37 its not that juxtaposing to what the DT can doā¦so its a bit same same and usually just one extra sound if its analogue.
Access virus snow wins for versitility and built in distortions amps and fx. Great pads, Gnarly Basses, hurty noise and banging distorted drums and FM bells to boot. 4 very different voices from 1 box.
Once you get used to the menu diving its not any more complex than Elektron stuff. And you start to think about programing in alternate ways.
I would go for a semi modular desktop synth. They are about the same size as the dt and you get lots of happy accidents that you can sample. I personally have a mother 32 with dfam, but also the O-Coast ist a good choice, Pittsburgh have interesting boxes as well as the Doepfer Dark Energy.
Personal favorite of mine is the original Circuit. Small footprint, battery powered, and the only sounds Iām limited to are the ones I can create in the Editor. Iāve already made a handful of custom sounds (like 5-6) and they are versatile enough to make many different tracks/genres with. The mono station is also dope in tandem with the DT.
My āliveā set up (Iāve yet to play any shows) is a DT sequencing a Circuit, then running into an SP404a for FX/recording/resampling abilities.
The 404a/sx is especially helpful for sequencing/triggering long stereo samples.
My favorite setup which I use for smal jam sessions with friends is the Digitakt and the Electribe 2.
With the 8 Sample parts from the Digitakt and 8/16 Midi tracks/parts from the Electribe 2 for the synth or drum sounds it give you a huge range of sounds. And I only have to carry the two smal devices.
In my studio, the Digitakt controls the System 1, Toraiz AS1 and the Minilogue.
+1 for performance mode on A4/AK and DT muting etc.! Iāve got DT and AK as my main setup (and Sub Phatty and Yamaha MOX for bigger setups), picking up a used Blo today for another portable little box and the extra soundscapeā¦
For me this works fine I call it Digitribe setup.
Sometimes the combo has some midi bugs (timing, note triggering failures) but mostly they run smoothly together.
I think they are made for each other and I hope that Korg brings an new update with a optimized midi contol?
Iāve been using the DT with a Prophet 08ā¦ itās a lot of fun to make a split sound on the P8, then sequence say voice A with the DT and use voice B to improvise over live.
itās not directly what topic suggests but to me sounds like a good idea to have a recording sample session for DT from Reaktorās generative ensembles such as Metaphysical Functions or Skrewell, especially if you got Lemurized one.
If only the thing had 16 voice polyphony to use 16 sample slotsā¦
But, alas, it wants MIDI slavesā¦ it NEEDS MIDI slavesā¦
So where do I get some decent slaves?
I started with a Blofeld, figured itās mutlitimbral and has some sweet sounds for the price, but Iām on the fence about keeping it. Not super inspiring, and the knobs are funky (itās brand new). For the price, it probably canāt be beat by other hardwareā¦ so Iām looking at āsoftwareā but maybe in iOS?
Iām now looking at either Korg plugKey, or some interface to use an iPad as a synth module. New iPad is $300, so even with a $100 interface, this is less than a Blofeld! Thatās $100 left for software to keep it even. I think a LOT of software can be had for $100. Would this be stable to use live on stage? Probablyā¦ And I could use LoopyHD with clock-sync alongside the DT!
Are there any multitimbral iOS synths? If not, what are good AU apps? I donāt think NAVE is, or Animoog (those are my 2 favs on my iPad2), but I donāt own that many! I have the Moog Model D, SunrizerXS, DM1, and a few others. Can I use something with InterAppAudio to route MIDI channels to different non-AU apps?
Or is there something besides Blofeld that will be awesome and fill out my tracks?
You can plug the USB of the DT directly into the iPad if you have a camera connection kit. There are many many apps that you can use, Where to startā¦
KQ Dixie for FM synth (and access to thousands of pre-sets from Yamaha synths)
Iām using a MicroMonsta and Behringer Model D with my Digitakt. Both are incredibly affordable and sound great, though theyāre admittedly a bit ābread and butterā. Iāve been thinking about swapping the Monsta for an Access Virus B/Indigo.
