Never should have waited - it’s awesome.
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I sometimes think about it but I have a DN and OT.
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What are your usage of 2 DT? One for drum and one for melodies?
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Well it’s early days but my stuff is really experimental so I don’t really think in terms of melody anymore, more texture driven (with beats/pulses).
Haven’t really defined it yet (I come from drone/noise/free improv with electronics) so using elektron boxes is my entry into working with beat/repetition etc.
I did find that I was building full tracks with conditional trigs and all that but then essentially ran out of tracks. I purchased a Blackbox to resample and then continue on the DT but it didn’t workout for me.
So two DT expands my track list but also allows me to mix and match two different patterns which is pretty cool.
So far, it’s been all fun 
Bill
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DT+OT seems like a good combo (or… OT+M:S??). Having said that though, I’ve been messing with a DN+OT setup over the past couple of days, and it is an absolute dream.
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Aside from syncing between the two DTs, and having double the tracks - does having 2 DTs add any additional functionality?
I too get frustrated with the 8 audio tracks on DT, but not sure if spending on a whole other DT is the way to go, unless it adds some extra functionality.
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Hi Citizen,
No - it doesn’t unlock any Easter eggs or anything like that, but I find that the two allows me to more easily use the same sound world across two devices (I design my own sounds) so that everything fits better, and I can move from pattern to pattern easier like a pair of decks, and also combine random patterns (or tracks from patterns) to get unexpected results. Oh, and haven’t done this yet, but resembling from one machine to another would be a different workflow from doing it internally.
I was using the DT with the DN (which I also love) but they didn’t always gel sound wise.
Hope that helps…
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Was that just due to the sound of DN’s FM synthesis not really complimenting your own sample selection?
Sorry for all the questions, but I’m really interested in the possibilities of this workflow!
If they are connected to one another midi wise you basically add 8 freely assignable lfos to each box.
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Hi Citizen,
Interesting. Do you have the same set of samples loaded on each unit, or do you have each dedicated for specific kinds of sounds? (ie. one for drums, and another for harmonic/melodic content)
As of right now - same samples in each. I found with one, I was constantly wanting to add more tracks with same sounds but running out of tracks. Also, I make all my own samples and couldn’t quite get the DN to blend (not yet anyway).
Do you mean in just a performance context? Are you cueing one device in your headphones, before making a transition between the two devices using a DJ mixer - just as if each DT was a deck?
Embarrassingly I haven’t performed with these yet. I’m working up a set but still in massive experimentation mode. I do perform but with other kit that isn’t beat orientated so this is a fairly new endeavor for me.
That said, I did set up a cueing system as you described and it works perfectly well. I believe this is what Dave Mech does much of the time with his double DT system.
Riiiiiiight…
yeah, I can see incredible potential with this. And obviously you could mix and match patterns from different projects.
This is exactly what I’ve been doing with some happy accidents.
Resembling? I assume you meant to type resampling? Not sure I can see the advantage here, but yeah, you could do it. Maybe switching between the original pattern, and mangled variations of the resampled pattern could yield some interesting results?
Yep, sorry - typo. I imagined I would find it less fiddly than menu diving into the machine that was playing. Using the second machine would mean I could put it on a separate set of tracks etc. But it’s a stretch I admit (no pun intended).
Was that just due to the sound of DN’s FM synthesis not really complimenting your own sample selection?
Pretty much yes - the DT and DN do work wonderfully together but I’m using samples from my other performance kit that I’ve designed from a wide range of sounds. Worked on them for years so they hang together very well. The DN is new and I for whatever reason (maybe that I’m used to hearing my own sounds as a ‘set’) I found it to be difficult.
All this said, I bet someone with a more conventionally musical practice would have better insight. I’m always pushing against the grain of whatever device I’m using and so my perspective is probably skewed quite a bit.
I think the biggest strength is basically having consistent sound sets, being able to mix and match from different patterns/projects for happy accidents, and the two-deck-dj thing.
Sorry for all the questions, but I’m really interested in the possibilities of this workflow!
No need for apologies - that’s what the forum is for!
All the best,
Bill
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8 audio tracks but with trig lock and resampling you have unlimited tracks. I really don’t see the advantage to get 2 DT unless you do live show, as said, transitions, mixing 2 patterns, etc…
For creating only, 2 DT will add cables, less spaces, and more useless complexity.
Can you use them all (16!) at the same time?
(Ie. have 8 Midi LFOs from one unit modulating parameters on the other, while the other unit is doing the same back?) 
…and presumably you could send multiple LFOs to modulate several parameters on a single track, yes?
That could yield some pretty damn wild results! 
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Yeah, you touch on something here that I’m only just beginning to awaken to:
I’ve only recently started to work with (the limitations of) hardware - having come from a traditional DAW environment - and the limitless options for sound sources it provides.
Your post touches on the benefits of actually spending time to craft a personal, ‘hand-made’, curated selection of samples/sound sources: having sounds ready at hand that you know you like, and that are most likely complementary should equate to a faster creative process, less ‘decision paralysis’ and a more cohesive sound.
Working with the DT has prompted me to be more selective about what I transfer into it and sample into it. The limited space really forces you to be selective.
What are your thoughts on these observations? I’m currently in a phase of creating my own, streamlined sample library, so these ideas are very much at the front of mind.
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Yes you can
In the end I found it a bit too much to keep track of as I like to keep a same workflow and setup accross the board but it is possible yeah. At one point I tried connecting 2x DT plus 2x DN in such a way that they all acted like one big machine. But again, keeping track of all the midi and having to replicate settings of one device in another one’s midi tracks to make sure everything switches in the correct way when switching patterns turned out to be too much administrative work 
.
What works for me now is (with DT to DN midi) having 2 midi tracks routed to 2 audio tracks of DN, then 1 midi track to each of track 3 and 4 of DN, a midi track routed to delay, and one to reverb. This is copied to each and every pattern. So that gives me 4 LFO’s for the track 1 and 2 on DN etc. Plenty to work with and easy 't keep track of you could do a similar thing on both dt’s modulating certain tracks of the other.
Working with 2 decks of DT is great btw. Add a multi functional mixer like xone db4 and you’ll have plenty to work with live.
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Your post touches on the benefits of actually spending time to craft a personal, ‘hand-made’, curated selection of samples/sound sources: having sounds ready at hand that you know you like, and that are most likely complementary should equate to a faster creative process, less ‘decision paralysis’ and a more cohesive sound.
Yes - I really wouldn’t be comfortable using off the shelf samples no matter how good. It’s my hang up from being a composer/sound artist and not a judgement on other people… different practices vary. Fwiw, the given samples/presets in both the DT/DN sound fantastic, I’m just not making conventional beat music.
Working with the DT has prompted me to be more selective about what I transfer into it and sample into it. The limited space really forces you to be selective.
Absolutely - my Ableton set has about 500 stereo sound files, between 3 and. 20 minutes each mixed across 8 faders/tracks…no way as of now to do that in HW nevermind the DT!
But as I began dabbling in ‘pulse-based’ material i.e. beats… although I could make cool stuff in Ableton it never amouned to much. The DT and to some extent DN HAS… physically engaging with it, both tactically and it’s limitations has opened a whole new area for me.
I did, however, drag short mono versions of portions of my Ableton set into the DT, and that’s my little noisy sample library I was talking about.
Hope your exploration is as fun as mine has been
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In theory, yes, but not really - if I place a long trig locked sample (or a resampled loop) at the start of a pattern, it will be chopped off by any further trigs in that pattern.
Unless there is a trick to get around this? 
Yes, resample with the sound to layer on top 
Oh, definitely - in the few weeks I’ve had the DT it’s like a whole world of exploration has opened up. Every few sessions I have little ‘revelations’ as to the ultimate potential within this deceptively simple device.
And the tactility of working with hardware, and away from the computer was something I had underestimated until I tried it. I’ve used MIDI controllers with Ableton and even Maschine (which I also love!) - but there is something to be said for the focused headspace of creating on a hardware unit…
…I tend to find myself more absorbed and ‘in the zone’ when compared to using a computer. And truthfully, the ‘admin’ of organising stupidly large sample libraries and VSTs was getting to be no fun.
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Yep, this has been my experience as well. I don’t knock laptop type work but I had done it for so long (over 15 years) I just needed a different experience for live performance.
And for beat based material, elektron allowed me to step out of my usual way of working.
So much fun!
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