Hi there,
I want to map the Expressive E Touché to the Digitone. I would like to automate more than 1 parameter with each axis of the Touché and I was hoping to achieve this by changing the Touché CCs to something like the Digi’s Pitch or Modwheel CCs and using the 4 different targets.
I hear that the Digitone can’t currently record pitch/mod modulations though. Is this correct? And if so, is there a workaround?
Digitone + Touché could be a fun combo 
Have a nice weekend!
That is correct.
The only “workaround” I can think of would be to assign the CC’s on the Touché accordingly and then record the automation to a DAW rather than the Elektron sequencer and then send the automation from that Midi track in your DAW to the track’s midi channel
It’s definitely a compromise but it would allow for more tweaking than just live recording and committing to audio.
It’s a shame because I really enjoy using my Touche with my Elektron boxes and the results from the Digitone can get pretty wild but it’s really only an option for live play/performance.
@TheRoost Thanks a lot! What a shame. I think I read somewhere that Elektron was aware of the issue and was working on it (would make sense with the new Digitone Keys and it’s built in pitch and mod wheel). Hopefully not just wishful thinking from my part.
I feel this might be a dumb question but I don’t have the Digitone yet so I can’t try it out. I’m confused by the limitations above. What happens if you connect a synth to the Digitone, say a Micromonsta or an iPad synth, you sequence a MIDI track and then press record and tweak parameters of the external synth.
Are those CC parameters going to be recorded in the Digitone sequence? Or is it like pitch and mod and you can’t record/automate/P-Lock external CCs altogether?
Nope, the sequencer doesn’t record MIDI CC which is the same reason the Touche’s movements aren’t recorded.
Ok thanks, good to know. You can still assign MIDI cc’s for the external synth in the Digitone modulation MIDI page and tweak and p-lock those from there right?
That would be quite a surprise if true - if the external synth has CC’s which align with DN parameters and the external device is transmitting on the Auto Channel of the DN then i don’t see why not - this is exactly how probably all the other Elektron sequencers work
PS There is a topic on Elektron user experience with the Expressive E Touché already
Thank you for the link about that other Touché thread. I saw it but it wasn’t specifically covering mapping it to the Digitone and the issue of not being able to record pitch and mod, which isn’t specific to the Touché. I thought other people might run or might have ran into this problem of recording the data being played by the controller
The synthesis side of all the current Elektron machines are purposely not set to record pitchbend/aftertouch/modwheel/breath - these are performance controls - there are countless other ways to record the parameter variations that may be attributed to those control sources - it’s a surprise at first, but it’s a design choice and it probably won’t ever change
If a controller can send CC’s (or NRPNs) the DN (or a.n.other Elektron) understands then those control values can be recorded - alternatively explore routing the PB MW AT etc to a MIDI track and pipe that internal MIDI track back into the DN audio side … so called MIDI Loopback (also discussed a lot) - it is used a fair bit but brings with it compromises and hassles for those not on top of their MIDI and it’s not exactly something Elektron would be expecting people to do (midi cable out straight back to MIDI in, so issues wouldn’t be a top priority for them imho and probably why the routing isn’t supported directly internally)
There’s nothing especially unique about how Elektron handle the data on a DN compared to the other units, so any discussions on most of the gear will likely have some applicability - which is why, as someone who doesn’t own a DN, i can put these ideas forward - there are very few questions which haven’t been explored in some way or another
Thanks a lot for the clarifications.
Yes but in order for the Touché to be listened by the Digitone, I thought you needed to use the pitchbend/aftertouch/modwheel/breath controls and change the Touché’s midi cc’s to mirror one of these controls, and since those controls can’t be recorded, jamming on Touché then can’t be recorded.
It feels like such a drag when you can plug the Touché to any DAW, press record, play the Touché and play back your jam including all the expressive modulations and live automations.
I wonder if people buying the Digitone Keys, which has Pitchwheel, Modwheel, Aftertouch… run into the same limitation.
They will if they see it as a limitation and overlook the possibilities it offers and the other ways to record expressive parameter controls - as said, this is by design, it’s a choice and it makes sense - and there are workarounds as explained - perhaps a third party controller is limited if it offers restricted configuration possibilities - most that i am familiar with are fairly deep and allow non-traditional mapping - there are always solutions - but recording these outlined midi controls is extremely unlikely to be implemented any time soon, something to keep in mind if that feels like a limitation
I understand, Thanks for the insights!
Yes, I was looking forward pairing my Touché with the Digitone and record live performances. So I’ll def keep this in mind.