Status update on Digitakt OS

i am glad i did not jumped on the DT. my lessons learned from that and not just for elektron. buy devices that have been matured and wait a bit longer , never I want to be anymore first receivers. also waiting for os updates for the AH still no sysex to save settings and also a lot more feature under the hood that have not been published via os.

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I guess they are incredibly busy, which is understandable with so many products.
I think im gonna wait for the A4 MK2.
Overbridge could take a very long time to be released + bugfix for the current MK2.
I think nobody will be disappointed when everything is ready :slight_smile: but it could take a while …

You are definitely right. I have never bought a product recently released in my life, because it costs more and must be tested before it works properly. People have too many expectations and I just can not understand this thing about preorders, beta testers. People must learn to buy rather than compete for those who have the new product first. Of course the digitakt has already been released several months ago and on one hand I understand them, but I have already read several comments from people who have “learned the lesson”, so it is useless to take it too much. Now the mk2s have come out, they are beautiful, they have new functions and people compete to be among the first to receive it, but in a few days we will find them here crying because the new flaming beast is full of bugs. Learn to buy, learn to be patient, friends. Sometimes buying the product that has just been replaced is even the best choice :wink: P.s. with 1700 euros I took home Rytm, A4 mkI and two thomann hardcases. The same price as Rytm mk2 :smile: who cares?

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I broadly agree but unfortunately with modern hardware that is tied to software longevity of product support is an issue, in theory a newer product should be supported far in to the future. Old hardware may already be obsolete in some respects.

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Well, once a drum machine or a synth has a stable and functional OS it can stay there for eternity. What you say maybe is more true for computers and smartphones

We only each have the ability to control our own actions. No matter how much we want, hope, or expect something from anyone other than ourselves it is completely out of our control.

By observing the electronic music industry over the past few years, unfortunately it seems to be a general trend to release unfinished products and let the first pile of users find the bugs and over the course of some months to a year the manufacturer works them out.

At this point it seems the only sure fire way to receive a reliable product at time of purchase from most manufacturers is to sit that period out and wait until a stable os is released and all reports on the webz confirm a general reliability…

Any other action leaves the purchaser absolutely out of control as to when or if the product will become stable or work as advertised…

I wish this wasn’t the case, but it is. So far this has not happened with the DT so it’s never crossed my mind to purchase one. If and when a stable os is released and verified by many users on the forum, I will then allow the thought of whether or not it is something I’d like to purchase cross my mind… And yes the “If” must be included at this point. I have faith that Elektron will work it out and think a stable os will come but seeing how it hasn’t happened yet the “if” must still be in place…

Pre-order Blues, becoming an electronic musician traditional. I make sure to never put that one in my setlists…

I don’t support the manufacturers doing this in any way, but I know how to make sure I don’t get caught up in it…

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I never once spoke of a promise…There’s no need to use yourself as a human shield to protect Elektron from my comments…

So glad I didn’t invest in one of these. I was real close but went OT instead. Hope you guys get things together this year. Growing pains with new business changes happen.

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I think you misunderstood what I was saying. Hardware that relies on functioning software as part of a broader ecosystem as is the case with the Digitakt (needs OB for multi channel output and patch/sample management) relies on that software so therefore will become, in some ways, obsolete once the software is no longer updated/supported. The Nord modular is a good example of this. I agree that hardware that is self contained will not become obsolete, and yes including the examples you mention.

The nord modular software still runs fine after all these years…

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The Digitakt has been my first Elektron device so I can’t compare this launch to previous ones, but I feel their communication over recent weeks has been pretty much what you’d expect from any responsible manufacturer; I don’t doubt that Elektron are working really hard to get everything fixed, and I appreciate the regular updates.

Two things worry me, though: one, the suggestion of an OS update arriving in December was only made three weeks ago. The fact that it’s slipped again in such a short period of time is a bit worrying.

Second, while communication has been good over recent weeks it had been pretty poor in the preceding months: we’d heard little or nothing about Overbridge before then, for example. It’s becoming difficult to escape the feeling that however hard Elektron have been working, the launch of so many new devices has caused a few problems this year.

In both cases, I think being clearer about exactly what the problems are, and the specific steps being take to address them would be really helpful, and help us to be more confident that schedules aren’t going to keep being pushed back.

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I believe there are lots of issues when trying to run it on new operating systems.

I hope Elektron realize there’s something to be learned from this and that maybe their current development setup/process doesn’t scale well enough. The change in their communication style seems to indicate that’s the case, but eventually they will have to deliver and prove that they’ve successfully adapted to the challenges of launching multiple devices simultaneously, which seems to be in the cards for 2018.
I work in an organization that transformed from shipping on-premise software releases every few years to updating cloud services almost daily. It’s a painful process, and it’s both inevitable and worth it. Ok, once again I’ve digressed. Anyway, I’m mildly disappointed as I mainly use my DT as a glorified Volca Sample and it’s already pretty good at that.

I am glad that this did not happen… I had a bad feeling about this deadline. Deadlines in software development are never realistic, and imposed by management on the developers. Which is understandable, of course, but it hurts the software and the end users, and leads to clenched work.
When a deadline is public, it’s even worse, so I am very glad that they managed to escape this.
What Is important though is that they PRed that they work hard on this release. Digitakt has 2 software issues which seriously hurt my workflow, so I wait eagerly, but if waiting a little more will lead to better results, I can do that.

Elektron <3

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Tax reform?
Star Wars?
Or both?

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I’m glad for the update and love my DT. If I find another for cheap, I might get it.
I’m sure they will straighten it out.

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True story William. Neither me have the Digitakt but i love the way they interact with the people that invest or future buyers of their machines. AKAI NEED THIS!

I was in love with this place for some time and bought my first elektron stuff like some days ago!

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Haha what human shield? I just think it’s really strange that you stopped using the DT because it doesn’t have a feature that was never even on the spec sheet to begin with. Did you not realise when you bought it that it didn’t have a song mode? There are a lot of valid criticisms you can level at Elektron re the DT but I don’t think lack of song mode is one of them.

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No one should be surprised or upset at the news. If you bothered to do any research on this board or others about Elektron and their releases and updates, you would have known exactly what you were in for if you decided to be an initial purchaser of a Digitakt. You could hope that this time would be different, but based on everything they’ve done pre- and post- Octatrack, you should know that:

Elektron makes very cool hardware that does things no other gear does,
Elektron used to provide free OS updates for years and years after a product release,
Elektron often makes additional hardware tweaks available for old gear years after it’s initial release,
Elektron has recently (starting w. the OT) been releasing hardware with an unfinished and buggy OS,
Elektron has been releasing a lot of new hardware and a significant software platform (OB) recently,
Elektron OS updates still appear for free for older hardware, but not as frequently as in years past and often with less ‘meat’ in each update

So, based on all that, DT owners should know that eventually, the OS will stabilize enough to be useful, but the timeframe for that point is indeterminate, based on Elektron and based on each user’s particular needs. For some, that day may never come, but for others, it’s already here.

They did state that the pattern-chain mode was supposed to be a “viable alternative” for songmode in DT. In its current state, it’s not.