Support will advise you best, based on your particular issue … you need to raise a support ticket after you create an account with your registered device at Elektron.se
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Thank you very much, I actually contacted the support and we`ll see.
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My Digitakt encoders seem to change values on their own slightly. This happens after not using it for a couple of days and then powering it on. But the issue goes away after a few minutes of use. Does anyone know what causes this? Is it related to dust, humidity, a hardware failure, etc or are the encoders just too sensitive?
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If its anything like mine there are some bad spots on some encoders that are too sensitive causing triggering. Microtiming is the only parameter that is actually changed ime, either learn to live with it or send it back for repair, it wont get any better.
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I’ve experienced this as well… So annoying… Probably have to get used to it… Such a shame
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My F encoder has started feeling crappy. it’s similar to when the bearing seals fail on your skateboard wheels and thing gets noisy! I guess the grease inside the encoder has leaked out leaving it feeling like this. All other encoders are smooth. I’m going to open it up to take a peek.
Never ever do this!
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The “encoders” can become jumpy because they’re actually not encoders.
They’re endless sine-cosine potentiometers.
They’re from these series, possibly a customized version:
http://www.taiwanalpha.com/downloads?target=products&id=93
Maintenance for these is the same as for normal potentiometers as far as I know.
Simplest solution is fader/potentiometer spray like Kontakt PR.
And like Hawk said, never ever use WD40!
Keep in mind that it’s not a really long-life part(15k turns), so eventually they’ll just need to be replaced.
Yea they’re these ones - Alpha OB10K (there are 2 versions, pictured has longer shaft than the digi ones):
Will look up Kontakt PR thanks
Im wondering why Elektron use those “encoders”.
I had to replace the encoders on my Analog Rytm and My Octatrack and again im gonna have to change 1 encoders on my Octatrack.
I have a Nord Modular g2 since 2007 and never had any problem with the encoders never.
Its really the only thing i dont like about Elektron.
So does that mean these pots have poor quality control?, as mine were problematic out of the box, it just took more than a year of os updates to discover it wasn’t a software bug.
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Those are definitely not the ones.
They’re the same type of potmeter though, it’s a good picture to show the inner workings.
The pots in the Digi’s are from the Alpha RV142FPF series, which are threaded, 14mm, and have a button.
If you need replacements, just ask Elektron. The pots could very well be special ordered and the only way to be sure you have the right ones is to get them directly from Elektron.
Both Analog Rytm and Octatrack, like all the mk1 versions use the same type of potentiometers(edit: my bad, they’re just normal encoders), but a more durable design from a different brand.
But as you noticed yourself, that extra durability doesn’t always translate directly to a longer life for the components.
As for why manufacturers use them, it’s a more technical story and has mostly to do with tracking the position of the knobs.
- A standard potentiometer just gives you the position by measuring it’s resistance.
- A “normal” encoder doesn’t tell you its position, it just gives of pulses which tell you the direction of travel. You count the pulses to know how fast/far it goes.
- A sine/cosine potentiometer gives you both essentially. From the moment you start measuring it’s resistance you can keep track of the position. And since it’s endless it can also be used for relative control.
Even with very fast turns you can always discern how far it travelled and which direction.
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I’m not buying any from anywhere just yet. If I do it will be direct from Elektron 
No, it doesn’t mean that.
A few pots on my Digi’s also showed some skipping sometimes, but it hasn’t gotten any worse in my case. I think the firmware just needs a little more tweaking on some of the pages.
And reading a couple accounts of bad pots on elektronauts doesn’t really count either.
No-one is gonna post a topic to say how good their pots are working
Components have tolerances in manufacturing, storing, handling, soldering and durability.
That goes for every component in these devices and again the manufacturing of the device itself.
So you see, it’s not that simple and anyone of these things can have an effect on the durability of the end product.
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There is a difference between a bit of sensitive skipping now and then and encoders making physical decisions without being touched, 2 or more bad encoders on a brand new machine is a bit more than bad luck. They really need a different way of testing the encoders to pick up the poorly performing ones before they are sent out as the faults are not registered in test mode.
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I agree with you that the test mode should pick out the bad “encoders”.
But keep in mind that this type of potentiometer is not that easy to debug and there is limited time to test each device(that Swedish time is expensive).
It’s quite common for a normal encoder to have skippy behaviour, especially when it doesn’t have any detents. But that is also very easy to debug because you know the order the pulses are supposed to follow and you just ignore the bad ones.
Now imagine keeping track of two resistance values and trying to make out if the knob just moved, or if it’s not making good contact, resulting in resistance jumps. Not that easy.
I think 2 or more bad potentiometers on a brand new machine is exactly that, bad luck.
It’s also not a real issue because of a thing called warranty.
If something like that happens, just bring/send it back to the store and ask for replacement.
From what I read/hear, Elektron isn’t difficult at all about repairing or sending replacement parts.
Google “Waldorf Blofeld encoder problem”, that was way worse and an actual quality control(and design) issue. Or the DSI Prophet 8 encoder problem https://www.sequential.com/note-dave-concerning-encoder-issues/, which they solved in a good way.
These things sometimes happen, even to the best of them.
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Maybe Elektron could add a setting for adjusting the encoder resolution (if technically possible?). Because I always get the damn sample selection window popping up on my Digitakt. I think even the slightest bit of dust in the encoder will cause this. The 'takt encoders have always felt a bit too sensitive to me.
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I get the same problem sometimes, but with the LFO destination menu.
With continuous controls like Filter Frequency it’s not that big a deal, but selection menu’s should never be this sensitive.
My guess is the pot sensitivity is not per page or per function, but managed globally.
A menu option for the sensitivity would be awesome, but also not that likely to be implemented.
Personally, I think they should ditch the accelleration.
Using an accelleration scheme with this type of potentiometer is not a good idea.
My suggestion would be:
- Coarse controls with no accelleration as standard.
- Turning while pushed down would go through predefined numbers(like synced delay times).
- Holding ‘func’ would switch them to precise mode.
- Holding ‘func’ and pushing down would reset the control(or go back to saved pattern state).
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This arrived a couple of days ago, opened up the DT and sprayed a little into the thin slit on the pot’s plastic casing. It has helped quite a lot, pot isn’t scratchy any more. It still feels different - looser but also stiffer to turn from static position - so not sure if the pot will hold up for long. Cheers for the tip!
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