Thank you all for your answers, I think I’m gonna love this one. I’m gonna jam the hell out of it at work and sample the drums a lot with the AR !
1 Like
I wish the lowpass filter wasn’t there on the delay. It doesn’t sound great and muddies up the mix, and it makes glitches from delay time changes unintelligible.
That’s why I haven’t taken the plunge yet. All I hear in demos is this annoying vanilla hi hat sound and the bit wonky snare. People should mix hi hats lower:)) The rest is fine but it has a certain sound and most what I’ve heard sound a bit the same.
You have to really push it to go beyond “this sound”. The Elektron playlist of M:C tracks has a really broad palette of sounds, and the patterns Ess made are really something else.
I guess it’s the difference between playing with it and mastering it.
3 Likes
Yeah so many demos just use the basic metal machine for hihats, so I’m pretty burned out on it now; I rarely use that machine anymore. I think the best sounds come from ignoring the machine names and just going with what sounds good.
3 Likes
If I knew that they are going to release new machines, I’d buy it immediately
Actually isn’t every machine pre-EQ-d so it fits a certain frequency range? That would make bending the machines for different duty a bit harder.
No, only the hihat machine. I’ve made several videos where I’ve used the same machine type for all sounds.
I don’t think it needs any more machine types. It just needs some creativity to open it up, which I feel is the point of most Elektron machines anyway.
2 Likes
I’ve had a bit of an epiphany with mines of late and I’m really getting into how to open up a much broader range of tones - the way the 4 sound shaping knobs for the various machines are parameterised really rewards more subtle tweaks and LFO depths.
That said… yeah, it doesn’t need more machines but it would certainly be nice to have another - perhaps another which is suited to tonal purposes. To draw an equivalence with the MNM having FM static and FM parallel.
2 Likes
My model:cycles is far and away my favorite synthesizer OR sequencer ever. It was my first Elektron machine, though - so I wondered what Digitakt had in store. Having now bought the DT, I have to say that I still really prefer the immediacy of the M:C. The knob-per-function interface is just so much more musical, and the presence of four such radically sound-altering parameters right on the front panel is just an amazing feature.
I’m sure I will come to love my digitakt, but I don’t even think it sounds as good as the MC. Yes, I understand sampling will always be somewhat lossy, and that synths and samplers just have different sonic character.
Should I be selling my DT for the M:S, if I love M:C this much?
2 Likes
If you use your DT for midi sequencing, then no. If that’s of no concern and you don’t mind not having a proper envelopes for amp and filter, then why not? But, the DT is also good as a basic mixer alongside an extra synth/drum machine (like Cycles), so there’s that to consider too. And finally, direct sampling is great on the DT - do you use it? USB transfer on the Samples is fine, but it depends on your workflow and/or needs.
1 Like
Thanks Craig - this helps me decide. I do use DT for sequencing and sampling my Pro3, and it’s fine for that. With the lack of off-grid sequencing in Pro3, and its monotimbrality, if I’m going to make the layered polyrhythmic music I prefer, I need a combo sequencer+sampler.
It’s just that MC is such a fantastic instrument, it has made me question the relative value of both the DT and even the Pro3. The latter is a better match for me than the former, in terms of immediacy and musicality, but model:cycles is just the king. It’s actually elevated my sense of how much fun and how musical and electronic instrument can be, and has me questioning everything else in my studio. It’s also the cheapest instrument I’ve ever owned! What a stroke of brilliance from Elektron.
Probably these preferences say more about me than about the instruments themselves, but Model:cycles has been a complete eye opener.
1 Like
Model:Samples and Cycles have no inputs. So in a small set up, having the inputs on either of the Digis can avoid the need for a separate mixer. Plus, Overbridge, of course, for using them as a multi input soundcard.
1 Like
So let me get this straight:
I have a small DAWless setup: Boomstar and Digitakt. I can listen to the Boomstar through the Digitakt? Without having to sample it or use the filters, envelopes, etc?
I’ll PM you to keep this thread on topic 
3 Likes
I think Craig did a great job of outlining the differences so I don’t have too much more to add. I’ve had a DT since they were first released and I’ve considered a few times getting an M:S instead but ultimately the additional flexibility of the DT was preferrable for me. Especially as I have a big load of one shot samples and soundscapes that I couldn’t use as flexibly within the M:S. If I was doing only drums with the DT then I think the M:S would be an excellent companion to the M:C.
1 Like
you can also use tracks on either Model box to sequence external synths. so if you’re only sequencing a Pro 3, between the two I’m guessing you’d have enough tracks to sacrifice one (or more) to sequencing it. but to Craig’s point: if it’s more than a synth or two, you might quickly start to run out of actual internal tracks on the Models.
my recommendation would be, assuming you’re financially OK to do so, to pick one up and try it out. then just return it if you’re not getting on with it. if you love the immediacy of the M:C so much, you might really like it.
I totally agree with all your points though. the M:C actually had me considering swapping my OT for a M:S for a little while (to be fair, I drastically under-utilize the OT; it’s mainly for drum samples). the way I look at it is that I love the Korg Volca Sample, but it’s so fiddly to work with and the sequencer is such crap that I never really use it. throw that same basic user experience into an Elektron sequencer and you’ve got a Model:Samples. a much better instrument.
DT has the ability to Save the Patches of other synths with its MIDI Tracks so no need to remember everything or write down everything. This is a Big Plus for me.
I think it can be done with the Models but it’s painful.