Considering entering the Elektron world by purchasing a Digitone. I am entirely new to the production game. A hobby house DJ in my younger years. Now merely looking for a creative outlet and a little fun. A few questions for the group if you will:
Current setup is TR-8s and a Minilogue XD. Both those rigs have internal sequencers. Am I able to use program them up and route through Digitone’s sequencer via MIDI? And if so, will each of those be considered one voice despite being programed with multiple voices?
Looking to make some Progressive House, Tech House, even Deep House. Would these pieces of gear ‘play well together’ and provide the basis for making appropriate sounds?
I’m willing to commit significant time to learn Elektron workflow and Digitone’s capabilities, but I am a family man and don’t have unlimited free time. I’m also not what you would call, tech savvy. Possible to have a decent handle on the Digitone with an ‘hour here, hour there’ type commitment? Knowing full well that we’re talking months and years, not days or weeks.
Appreciate any insight provided in advance. Looking forward to joining the community should it all work out.
Each individual thing will probably be it’s own midi voice. But you’re free to layer midi tracks if you want to extend some of Elektrons sequencer tricks(track scaling/step per length)
An hour here hour there will be fine. There’s plenty of presets to draw you in to FM. The rest is just exploring the tricks you can finagle out of there sequencer
I can’t help you with #2, perhaps check YouTube for Digitone house? I bet you’ll find a lot of results
The digitone has a polyphonic sequencer and 4 dedicated midi tracks. Meaning, you could dedicate midi track 1 to sequencing your minilogue xd (great choice) and not lose anything on your internal voices. You could still use tracks 2-4 for 3 more external synths. I would say just share clock between the tr8s and digitone.
As for sound. You can def get house and techno out of the digitone I’ll post ya some examples. but I’d say keep in mind that it is flexible and pretty much comes down to who’s using it. There’s definitely a sound to it at first but the more time spent the more diverse you’ll find the sounds you can make.
Digitone is exceptional! I use mine as a midi sequencer for my entire studio, made possible with the addition of a Midi Solutions Quadra thru.
I think you will have a good handle on the Elektron Workflow after a few weeks of use. Read the manual and you’ll find that this device is extremely capable as a xox style sequencer and from a sound design stand point.
I can make many different types of sounds on the Digitone, but where I think it shines the most is melodic content, arpeggios, and basslines. Believe me though, it can do drums, percussion, pads, and fx also. Being digital, It can also do many Virtual Analog type sounds due to the filters being akin to a subtractive synthesizer. Built in FX (delay, reverb, chorus) round out the package nicely and the cherry on top is Master Overdrive. I bet it would sound great with the TR8S on drum duties.
Only had gear for a month. Adding the DN makes 3 pieces. The others are Minilogue XD and TR-8s. Question…
Do I need a MIDI Thru box to connect these 3 pieces. I imagine I want the DN to be the centre given its prodigious sequencer. How to connect it all via MIDI?
Midi thru box is ideal. This way you don’t have to daisy chain all your gear with midi, which requires more gear to be powered up in order to receive midi down the chain. I use a Midi Solutions Quadra Thru. Best $50 I’ve ever spent.
You don’t need a MIDI Thru box, because the TR-8S’s MIDI Out port can be configured as a MIDI Thru port in its UTILITY > MIDI menu.
Therefore you could connect:
DN MIDI Out to TR-8S MIDI In
TR-8S MIDI Out to MXD MIDI In
This would allow the DN to sequence, or synchronize with, the other two.
You could also connect MXD MIDI Out to DN MIDI In to use the MXD as a controller keyboard for the whole rig. All it takes is some careful setting up of the MIDI channels and settings on the three instruments. It’s easy after you get to learn what each control does, and we can help you with it.
There are other configurations that you could use instead, depending on what role you want each instrument to play.
You have a flexible system with these three instruments, and there is not necessarily any need to buy a MIDI Thru box.
Sounds like the Digitone would be a great to round out your set up. Chords, leads, basslines. The Digitone can do it.
The only thing that bothers me is that I can’t get the signal dirty enough but that’s just aesthetic. I usually start a composition on the AR and DN, then sample it to (and resample and resample it on) the DT.
yeah the DN sound really benefits from external overdrive/saturation. I use decapitator on it all the time, sometimes pedals too but they’re all mono so a bit of a compromise.
Just wanted to add that, to me the DN is the most capable, most diverse, easy to use and best sounding Elektron device i own, (armkii, a4mkii, DT and DN)…
Also coming from a TX81Z it is FM made simple…and you will be all over it in no time.
but I’d say keep in mind that it is flexible and pretty much comes down to who’s using it. There’s definitely a sound to it at first but the more time spent the more diverse you’ll find the sounds you can make.