My problem with them is the opposite. That all the machines waffle somewhere between focused and jack-of-all. I wish they’d make stuff that is super focused and other stuff that is more jack-of-all.
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In my opinion, this release is quite logical and well-balanced. It’s not very innovative, that’s true, it reuses old ideas. But currently it is very risky to develop anything radical. The prices and supply-chain issues, the oversaturated market of electronic music devices. Comparison to Korg makes sense.
Here I see a well-focused point: a compact but strong general purpose groovebox for electronic dance music, which reuses the best parts of the previous boxes.
A step up in polyphony, some fresh takes - and not for excessive price. The sound is strong and fresh and good allrounder (i.e. Analog Rytm and FM synths have a distinct sound not for everyone’s style). Techno-crowd should be really curious about this.
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Hmm, no.
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Let’s not lie to ourselves, everyone was hoping syntakt was going to be something really groundbreaking, to push the boundaries of electronic music……
Still going to get it because I think it’s really clever and solves a lot of my problems of not owning too much gear…
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Yeah, gear doesn’t do that though.
That’s our job.
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I don’t have to own everything in the world, and the more I buy the less music I make.
Most of us here were not super off from what it was going to be 
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Can‘t really agree with the statement that Elektron hasn‘t released boxes that are focused (e.g. Digitone/Digitakt). But what I do agree with is that Elektron’s product portfolio is inconsistent and has some glaring holes. From my point of view it would be pretty simple: Stick with the 3-tier system of Model/Digis/Flagship but differentiate clearly between and expand within the tiers. For drums I would offer three Digi-sized boxes for Analog/Digital/Sample-based drums and combine all three in an Analog-sized flagship box. For synths I would offer three Digi-sized boxes for Analog/FM/VA&Wavetable and again combine all three in an Analog-sized as well as Keys-sized flagship box/keyboard. For creative sampling and extended sequencing I would offer two Digi-sized boxes for Granular/Sequencing and combine them in an Analog-sized box that also includes mixer functionality. Digi-sized boxes should have two rows of 8 buttons with 4 pages for 4 bars in the sequencer as well as Overbridge. Flagship boxes should have 2 rows of 16 buttons with the first row representing bars and the second the steps in the bars for 16 bars in the sequencer, Overbridge as well as individual outs. All boxes should include updated technology and extended connectivity (eg USB-C connectors, WiFi, Ableton Link over WiFi, USB-host ability). The Model line is fine as is meaning playful and hands-on version of selected Digi-models without Overbridge and only 2-channel class compliant streaming.
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i wish you’d inserted your drone #7 then…
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While I do like the Syntakt it basically rehashes functionality from other boxes and sits awkwardly between Digi-sized and flagship boxes. I would have preferred a Digi-sized box focused on digital drum synthesis with a flagship model including analog/samples/digital coming down the line. Also, again having only 64 steps in the midi sequencer with only 4-note polyphony is pretty disappointing to me.
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No problem, that is a good question. I would like to see stuff like: Dual osc wavetable engines with cross-FM, some new strange digital filter designs, more interesting envelopes and LFO’s, modulatable micro-timing, a song mode, more interesting fx, env. follower as a mod source like in the Heat, pitch data as a mod source, polyphonic sample action, basically lots of the things that made the old Elektron units interesting and wild plus some modern additions.
I’m not saying that all of those things are innovative in and of themselves but they sure can be utilized in an innovative, less limited and streamlined way, like they’ve know to be able/willing to do back in the day.
edit: on the other hand the attention span of most people has suffered immensely during the last 10 years so maybe it would be a bad idea to create something that you actually have to learn how to use in order to make something meaningful, like with any real instrument.
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Yeah, but that’s me pushing the boundaries of patience, not music.
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I think you can’t talk knowingly about Syntakt before you tried it. It just sounds awesome, I was really impressed. The palette of sounds is wide (35 machines, I think) and way more defined than their other synth drum machines.
It does not feel like they lost focus at all, when you have it in your hands. Drums synthesized, that’s the idea. Even the Chords is pretty rhythm oriented. Well, OK, you can also do basslines or melodies. But I don’t see this as a handicap.
In fact, I can’t think of an Elektron box that isn’t the result of a very high focus on a concept.
Apart from the Monomachine, maybe.
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Yeah if possible, I would have paid up to $200, maybe even $300. It feels like the syntakt just doesn’t need to exist as a separate box.
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I think it seems like a groovebox, arguably the first time Elektron has done this - yes a lot of the others can be used as grooveboxes, but this one with 12 tracks, digital and analog synthesis and fx, and full DAW/OB integration in a smallish package, at a reasonable price.
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From the sounds of it though, those original out of production machines did the same thing, but better. That’s part of the problem. If you’re going to do everything, DO everything, but the syntakt doesn’t. It’s seems as much of a toy as the models line.
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The problem is as old as time - everyone thinks they’re an expert and that they know what “the market” wants.
They don’t. They know what they themselves want. And that’s it.
It’s never bloody good enough, whatever it is. We all contribute by whipping ourselves into a frenzy and telling ourselves that the next thing will be “the big one” but of course it never is! It’s an impossible expectation!
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Preach
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What is your measurement standard of quality?
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I’ve made bangers with the Models, I’ll make bangers with the Syntakt.
Because that’s what they’re for.
Bangers.
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Bang 
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