Lagging encoders on DNK

Elektron Gear Digitone/Digitone Keys
#1

Hi all,

First post here, after a while of mining the forum for tips, tricks, guides, and entertainment. Sadly, my first time out is to raise a concern and question.

After a few years of considering the Digitone and trying a few alternatives, I acquired a Digitone Keys with an EGB2 at a good price. I had to upgrade the OS from 1.20 to 1.32, but otherwise, out of the box, I’m loving the sound and flexibility, especially paired with my Digitakt. Unfortunately, I’m running into an issue that I haven’t seen mentioned specifically.

When I adjust parameters while the sequencer is running, I’m experiencing very strange encoder lag on the DNK. I’ll twist a Data Entry Knob, and the effect will happen a second or so after I make the move. This happens on various parameter pages, on various encoders. I know there’s numerous posts about encoder failure/issues, and about the minor instabilities of the MIDI clock, but nothing that reads like this.

As far as set-up goes, I’m running MIDI Out from my DT to the MIDI In of my DNK, with no USB ports involved. In the Sync and Port pages, the DNK is set to receive Transport, Clock and Note only, and the DT is set to send Transport, Clock, and Note. No CC/NRPN or Program Change is being sent or received, and the DNK Main Outs are going into the inputs of the DT.

Power-cycling the DNK seems to solve the issue, but that’s not really an ideal solution, and I really would like my real-time tweaking to be in, well, real-time. I’ve put it into Test Mode from the Startup Menu, and there were no errors found. In the meantime, I’ve swapped the settings and MIDI cable to have DNK in charge of Clock, Transport, and Note, which has worked so far with none of the same issues appearing on my DT.

Am I missing something in the Sync settings or Port Config? Does this seem like a hardware issue, one that could be fixed? Or just a bug, as it does seem like folks have quite a few bugs with the latest OS? Has anybody else experienced this, with the DNK or any other Elektron devices?
Any suggestions, comments, or similar experiences would be deeply appreciated.

Jumpy encoders
#2

This is, unfortunately, normal with the DN/K.

The lag is mostly visual though. The audio reacts quicker.

1 Like
#3

What happens when the DNK is entirely standalone and you start a new Project and then play/experiment ?

1 Like
#4

Good to know, or at least reassuring. “Mostly” is really the operative word, though.

1 Like
#5

I’ll check this out and get back!

I will say that I’ve tried it entirely standalone w/o starting a new project, and the same issue has occurred.

1 Like
#6

I believe from personal experience that the audio latency is well within acceptable range. The “mostly” refers the software acceleration curve that is meant to make the knobs able to make precise edits. It leads to a perceived latency as it “smooths” things out. The mod and pitch wheels on the DNK prove that this is the case as there is no acceleration curve applied to them. Try it.

Now, I can’t speak too much for using the Overbridge with the DNK with additional MIDI instruments. I would suggest recording the DNK and then recording other instruments separately.

#7

im also experiencing this, its a huge bummer

#8

Been a bit busy, but I can confirm, same issue, even on a new project and standalone.

At least it’s an intermittent issue, so when it does pop up, I can take it as a cue to use my ears over my eyes. But working on encoders, timely visual feedback would be nice, and was something I took for granted coming from the DT. Not the end of the world, but a bit frustrating to discover and live with.

Thanks for the input and confirmation, y’all.

#9

I get the same lag on my DN but only when multi-track recording with Overbridge and my other gear. I don’t get the lag when recording a single stereo master which is what I do now.

1 Like