I’ve been saying it since I got one in my hands, the Syntakt has that easy-access analog girth I wanted without sacrificing the clear, crispy high end I’ve come to love in the DT/DN. And the way the analog fx section can glue it all together without muddying things up? chef’s kiss
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I’ve had every elektron box. This is as good as any of them, even the machinedrum!
It’s not for everyone, no piece of gear is or needs to be! But for me this is as good as any of them!
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I love the fact that this box has digital and analog elements in a Digitakt form factor. Elektron has plenty of time to add newer machines to this if they want to but as it is it’s already fantastic. I wasn’t sure what Elektron would do next because they’ve already innovated in so many areas. I think the Syntakt was a smart move.
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I’m having a blast with this thing. I love the sound of the drums and synths paired with the workflow I’m familiar with from loads of time using the DT. Make music and have fun, folks!
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That’s how I’ve been using it so far … it’s like a really percussive groove box. I’ve been managing to sketch out the essential parts of a track in about an hour (6 in about 6 hours of messing around with it).
This box is a dub techno dream, I’m finding it really easy to come up with new ideas and sounds. It all just sounds really good to me.
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Anybody know if the PSU-3b you get with the digitone/Digitakt will work ok with the Syntakt, as the PSU-3c you get with the Syntakt is physically smaller however it appears to be the same spec.
Just good to know so I don’t have to be careful which one I use.
Totally fine
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It’s funny – lots of posts about how this isn’t innovative. I remember when Digitakt came out, and everyone was just begging for machines to be in a future update. Everyone wanted digital synth drums, a la MD. Well, here it is. In a package that has been refined over two units. What’s the problem?
I, for one, am totally stoked about this box – it’s everything I was hoping to get from Elektron, pre-digitakt, AND 4 analog voices, which wasn’t even on my wish list.
Now to sell something to fund one…
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I was on the flip side. All I wanted was a few analog voices in a Digi form factor, and I now get all that AND a 12 track bag of analog/digital machine chips with an analog fx finish? Yes please!
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My first Elektron device was the Digitone, and I bought it in September. It’s my first hardware device and the Elektron sequencer has spurred more musical ideas in the past 4 months than Ableton devices had in 4 years.
My only complaint was that drum sequencing was incredibly challenging given the limited number of voices. I was shopping around for a drum machine to pair with it, and then Syntakt dropped. I personally don’t care if it’s a rehash of prior innovation, I’m just incredibly happy to have 12 tracks to play with, and a number of excellent drum synthesis machines.
The analog drive makes the DN pairing especially sweet.
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We’ve had such kind of honest bitter take from a lot of users, including people that had never touched a unit. Honest doesn’t mean objective…
Granted, it’s not the original trinity level of innovation.
But the “best of” aspect + 12 tracks + AFX means a lot for someone that travels with his gear. I love this compact format.
There are not a lot of bugs, the Syntakt was gig-ready from day 1.
The UX is very coherent and makes the use easy, miles away from MM or OT.
The sound has been refined, the Syntakt sounds great, whole new level IMO. The hybrid digital + analog synthesis is a first for Elektron.
And I don’t know a lot of drum machines with that wide offer for synthesis.
It’s easy to list what’s missing, but we have here a solid, compact and coherent groovebox that offers what a lot of users need, new or old: it’s #1 on Thomann from day 1.
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Oh yeah, there’s a lot of great things about this box, but still, this is honest feedback from someone who has clearly used the Syntakt and was even part of designing (?) its trinity siblings. I requested the arp on day one of release but was told this would most likely never happen because this is a drum machine, so personally I find Cenk’s comment to validate that my request isn’t really that unreasonable. He misses the arp too.
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Of course, and I do too. But the arp is neither on the MD, the AR, the DT or the Model series. And I can add it with a Keystep.
We can spend so much time listing what’s missing: a glide, additional FX (
BR/SRR as global FX), a LFO on retrig time, sampling à la MD, Kits, voice sharing similar to DN, jump mode like the Analog series, alternative sequencer reading (ping pong/Random, etc), saving midi tracks configuration as “Midi instruments” like we save sounds, shortcuts to save sounds and plocks, the list doesn’t end.
Focusing on what’s missing and calling it lack of innovation is IMO a bit ridiculous.
The innovation is in a brand new box, that is not a mk2 (or color change 
), and the very well thought workflow where every piece added is judged with a sense of coherence with the rest of the product line, with both new and refined analog and digital synthesis engines, and the possibilities offered by opening the synth aspect on a drum machine (with ADSR and the osc looping for instance).
I have a thing for the graphics, as well, as I kind of despise numbers when making music. The pixel art makes remembering my favorite settings way easier. And way more fun than the kind of 80’s power plant operating screens of the early trinity. This is the kind of subtle innovation that gets easily overlooked, but I can state it affects the way I interact with the machine.
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Or use the brilliant arp from OT midi. Problem solved!
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I guess it comes to this:
Machine Drum
Analog Rytm
Digi Takt
none of them claim to be anything more than a drum machine whereas
Syn(thesizer) Takt
claims to be a “12 track drum computer & synthesizer”, not a “syn(thesized) takt(beat) Machine”.
so people asking for arp and polyphony is not that surprising imo. The Syntakt is in between both worlds and that’s a good thing but people will want features from both world. The price is also in between the flagship models and the Digi models so you could expect some more goodies.
Mind you, I think it’s a really great box (and will get my hands on one) but innovation is not the word that comes to mind. Refinement perhaps and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I think they have new engineers (?) so it’s a nice box for them to learn the code base, try out a few new things and grow from there. It also responds to some actual user needs (I like the Digi format and 12 tracks in one box? yes!), bring a very powerful yet user friendly box to new comers and they can (up)sell it to M:C/AR users (And when I see the flagship prices going crazy, the DIGI format is very welcome).
But anyway, let’s remember that polyphony was not available on the A4 at first and Elektron has always been very generous with updates. I will buy it for what it is though because there’s already a lot to like about it as is!
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Regarding (lack of) innovation, those were his words, not mine. I just thought it carried a bit more weight when coming from someone who knows these machines inside out.
But I think Cenk wasn’t focusing only on what’s missing in his assessment. Yes, we can list a hundred things, but I’d say that a few things are more important than others, and an arp would go a really long way.
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I think that fitting all the digital and analog voices/fx in a Digitakt-sized box is the Syntakt’s most significant innovation so far. Look at the Syntakt’s PCB board! This was a very ambitious project.
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I wasn’t saying your words were ridiculous. Sorry if this wasn’t clear.
When the Digitakt came out, lots of users were saying it was a step backwards compared to OT and AR.
It’s one of the best sells on Thomann, even today, for a reason: the workflow is simple enough and the sound ace for anyone to craft decent beats in no time. It was innovative, despite or because its limitations.
Stating that Syntakt is not innovative because it has the same face as the Digitakt is IMO ridiculous. Even if you’re a power user.
There are lots them here, btw, that have been using Elektron machines for years if not decades, and know every Elektron machine pretty well.
To me, ST introduces ways to create new and great sounds, in a natural UX and compact format. Pushing the existing paradigm further: this hybrid approach, digital/analog and drums/synth is a path that Elektron hadn’t taken yet.
This machine does offer something new compared to the other Elektron machines, and the whole groove box market.
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I agree 100%.
personally I’m very happy it’s in the Digi form factor. it’s a very elegant size & ux imo. no need to reinvent the wheel there (imo again).
I think ST is amazin. ticks nearly every box for me👌ymmv.
[I been using elektron since the original MD mk1, fairly well versed.]
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