My take on the sound is that they took both ends of the fidelity spectrum and put it in one box. On the lofi side it does 8bit stuff really well, and on the hifi side it does juicy analog basses. It’s a mashup.
It makes complete sense that it’s an eclectic and sometimes polarizing mix.
Also agree with many who have pointed out that character isn’t a bad thing, in fact we’d be complaining about a lack of “soul” or “purpose” if it didn’t have a recognizable sound character. To me it definitely has that “Elektron sound” and although I don’t like all of it, I find that it challenges my ears in a good way. An acquired taste so to speak.
But I have to agree on the hats, not a fan , and it’s why I’d love to see a sample player introduced (if the hardware was built to support it)
Now is the time. You sit at your sonic workspace and turn on the Elektron Syntakt. It breathes into life, and the glint of red light spirits you into action. Analog synthesis meets digital synthesis. A musical cyborg companion. Your pathfinder on a new musical journey, one both familiar and new. You begin turning knobs, finding pleasing and even unsettling sounds. The beat starts. Pieces fall into place like a dozen meteorites on a perfect trajectory into an unnamed expanse. Time crumbles, limitations blur, and it is just you and the machine.
A message comes across your field of view in another space, not entirely grounded in our reality:
We thank you for joining us on this adventure. There is much to explore. This is our collective step in the ethereal Ouroboros of a new musical epic.
Curious how the Syntakt users so far have been finding it’s dual vco machine for analogue bass capabilities for standalone bass lines. Does it compare in any aspects to the Moog Sub series or Pro-one/prophet-y vibes? Thanks
It’s good but not a Moog level of good (I also have Sub 37)
Good enough to make bass lines in general, but lack of glide / arp / noise etc it’s a limitation
This. It’s too early in the Syntakt game to base a thumbs up/thumbs down on early videos/demos. It takes a bit for larger numbers of users to really dig deep and rinse a new Elektron, get that wow-factor going.
I’ve found there’s a lot to explore at the extreme ranges of most of the synth engines after playing around with mine for a week or so - I think that the people complaining about limited sound design are missing that for sure. Really easy to summon a wide variety of clicks and scrapes just by pitching way down and getting surgical with the filters.
For sure, it’s all too easy (I guess) for folk to equate a handful of parameters on a regular VA type synth and work out that it can’t be too adaptable … but overlooking the fact that the parameters of these are not stacked on a VA architecture but are built on a much more complex FM/Operator ‘type’ architecture - and not only that there’s the fact that controls can be macros for many parameters.
If you think about how varied each parameter alone can be and then do the maths, it’s possible to locate thousands of permutations and a lot of gold. It’s very forgiving to program, so the tradeoff is that the sounds are more in a sweetspot than they would if all parameters were exposed
The lesson is to explore what you find interesting wrt sound and I find a lot of stuff that works for me - and I’m not looking at this to sound like an 808 or 303 or whatever, how would that be innovative … it’s nonetheless a great instrument for electronic and experimental music and always inspiring - just a pity that the default sounds per machine are a bit ‘safe’, a lot of the opinions are bound to relate to the fact that reviewers are gravitating around those sounds, rather than having learned the nuances of sound design first
Yeah that’s one thing I find annoying - when you load in a machine the parameters are already tuned to a certain default preset, but you can just randomise the page a few times to hit a completely different starting point so it’s not a big deal.
This, exactly … one has to check the parameters on the synth pages in combination with filter, amp, and LFO … and then … imagine, what the parameters can do when combined.
Just as an example: The Dual VCO is very simplified subtractive synthesis, but to use the two separate DEC parameters in combination with the usual envelopes creates potential for some interesting extra timbres … and there is more …
After using it a few days I couldn’t simply pigeon hole it’s sound, a non owner earlier in the thread said it sounded mushy, my reply would be if I wanted the pattern to sound mushy then I could, but it could sound warm creamy analog or crispy digital and may other descriptions, the current pattern I have going sounds like a 1990’s ambient house thing.
Like a few have mentioned stand in front of it and listen through your monitors it just seems a whole different experience to listening to YouTube through my monitors, plenty of punch/edge/clang, the first preset as soon as you turn the device on is kinda mind blowing in the flesh.
he he he come on man. thats how a lot of people get stuff out to each other.
I mean the quality now is super good. GRANTED not perfect…
but I can still hear the diff between clangy and not…even with stuff posted on YT years ago. not many albums I have are performed live in front of me by Ae each time I want to hear a track. hell…I dont even make the effort to put a CD or LP on anymore…I just listen on YT. [pathetic]. I mean I do…but when im werking at my desk…not very often.
stuff still sounds great tho…
my go to
in no way saying “bad box”, just diff sound. im not trying to disparage in any way.
Interesting talk about the Hihat. Hihats are such an important part of electronic music, and I don’t get why there’s not more variety out there. I’m really curious what I’ll get out of the Syntakt. Apparently, it got shipped to me can’t wait
, and it’s why I’d love to see a sample player introduced (if the hardware was built to support it)
(I also have Sub 37)
does smoove really well too!