Digitone or Octatrack?

hi guys, i have recently purchased the A4 Mk2 and the Rytm Mk2 which im really enjoying.
I have a credit note at Thomann and thought about getting the Digitone to have an FM Synth to my setup. Though i see that most people like to have the Dark Trinity A4 + Rytm + OT.

I’m not sure what to go for now though im more leaned to the Digitone.

What do you guys think? i mainly produce techno and will only use my machines inside the studio with Cubase for now.

Digitone is more straight forward, Octatrack is a bit trickier to learn, but ultimately much more powerful. The one is a synth, and the other a sampler though, so it depends on how much of one or the other you need. If you use a lot of samples and sample manipulation, the octa is ace, if you’re more synth oriented digitone is the obvious way to go.

I have and dig both, btt very different beasts. :slight_smile:

I‘d get DN and DT rather than the OT (ymmv)

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Fm Synthesis should be suit very well to your Setup. The Digitone is great Synth in Combo with an A4.
The Octatrack would be more an 8 Track DAW with great flexibility. Get the Digitone :wink:

…if ur planning live sets…and u don’t wanna read ur mails on stage, the ot is the only option to get rid of ur computer…

plus, sample manipulation goes deep and otherworldly endless within an ot…plus it can do a pretty slick job for u, if u want a wavetablesynth…

but controlling more than three elektron machines at once in a live situation asks for lot’s of preparation upfront, otherwise u easily get lost…

but since stage is no big issue for u by now, and the studio is all u want to see covered, another synth can’t be a mistake…

but ur really sure, u already took all the advantage of what u got already?
each elektron music machine has it’s own sweetspots, so knowing them inside out, makes a huge difference in unique results…
and i personally, using quite a bunch of these swedish nerdy dream boxes, can definitly say…no…have’nt seen even half of their individual potentials yet…still…and ot, once my first elektron peace of gear is now with me since years, striaght followed up by the a4 back in the days when it was brand new…and also here, still no clue what else it all can do for me, sonicwise, end of the day…

so, it might be not such a bad idea, if u take a little rest, before u spent the next money and have another closer look on what u got there already…
the dark trinity is no option for u anyway anymore…since there’s no grey trinity to collect these days…the mk2’s don’t match up anymore to each other with their different designs now…

and if it comes to fun and really nice and versatile presets ready to use right out of the box, the tone is definitly best choice for now…

but u sound like a collectors item digger big time, so be aware of the fact, that once u own the tone, ur only half a step away from wanting the takt next, also…which would complete ur set up soooo nicely…the two grey mk2’s and the two digi’s…ah, what a charme to look at…
but not knowing them all for sure from the inside insight, would be a big failure…keep that in mind…
the a4 only is already a sonic universe of it’s own and if u don’t dig deeper on each one of them, ur missing out quite a lot potential u even can’t think of by now…

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Why not all 3?!

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Thanks for your kind and informative reply…especially @reeloy :slight_smile:

I’m still new to the hardware world after working digitally for over 15 years…so yes…i too believe that i really need to know my machines before buying another one. But since i have a credit note at thomann i thought about going for the Digitone.

Now the Digitakt…it does look super cool but never really thought about it since i have the Rytm mk2. :thinking: …though it might be cool to have both mk2’s and both digi’s :slight_smile:

If you want the easiest way to jam with 3 (or more!) Elektron devices then you need the OT. Either that or be prepared for some cutting edge science and get people to donate at least 2 more arms so you can use everything at once.

The OT just makes life easier when master controlling across the pieces.

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that makes sense…will look into it in the future. but i think my next buy for production will be the Tone. i can always control all 3 from the DAW for now. but yes you do have a point.

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Because learning three boxes at once is not easy! Better start with only two. Ask me - I made that mistake :grin:

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…so hit that thomann card one more time…
but no, u definitly DON’T need even a takt then, on top of all this…
u got a rytm!!!..which is the only box i don’t have…because that would finally blow at least my head off…
i’m really suffering by the simple fact, knowing i’m constantly not digging all their full potential…

so if u pull the trigger one more time, take the tone and really really really call it a day then for quite a while…

and if u ever reach the point to say, ok, i’ve really seen them now and really know what they’re all capable of, then get the deepest of them all…the ot…but only then…

-get both, they rock, screw the money
-get neither, you don’t need either
-get the DT, it’s a great sounding poly and even standalone fully capable of creating entire tracks, FX are top notch
-get the OT, it’s the most iconic instrument in Elektron’s current roster and ideal as a mixer and sample mangler

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it’s not about the money…it’s all about knowing ur gear properly…there’s no real advantage in having them all without having a real clue what they can do for u…
they all sound good, right out of the box, no final mix attached…but where’s the fuzz if u always just scratch the surface on each of them…digging deeper makes ALL the difference…
and not one elektron music machine is telling u all it’s secrets in a first week…
no matter how experienced u are…
in fact, u never can be experienced enough…there is no such thing!..learning is a never ending story…
u never know it all…
accepting this, is priceless…

Yeah tell me about it. I made that mistake twice! Silly me. Now on OT only for nearly a year - only jus tnow getting my head round what I’d like to add to that eventually.

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Would you prefer a sample mangler or an FM synth? :smiley:

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well it would be cool to have a sample manager :slight_smile: also…still not sure between the 2. Does the OT come with samples already in the box?

If you buy it new- yes. But, since the storage is not part of the device(but on external storage) buying used YMMV

Get the OT and thank me later. I love to sample from my gear to the OT and the possible choices for live samples are endless. I like the sounds of the Digitone but not crazy about the crowded busy keypad layout or yellow eye bleed screen.

If you have other synths, it makes life easier because you can sample them and use in live events.

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I’m an A4 owner (my love for which is well documented here and elsewhere) and about to take delivery of an OT mkII.

I initially went to the shop interested in a Digitone. I told myself an OT would only be in the picture if I found a MkI used. They had an Octatrack MkII sandwiched between Digitone and Digitakt. I couldn’t stop looking at it. I played the Digitone and the only thing that stood out at me is how much it sounded like the Analog Four.

Started thinking about how I’d route signals. A4 doesn’t sequence MIDI but Digitone has no song mode. Not ideal. I kept looking at the OT, swinging that silky crossfader. The colour, the build quality. Hmmm.

Went to the counter, ordered the OT. A4 can sequence my analog gear, OT can sequence MIDI gear, all of which can be sampled by OT.

The only thing I’m missing is big chord stacks with six or eight notes, but I have some workarounds in mind using oscillator tuning on the A4 and resampling on the OT.

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