I think it was seen as a kind of admission of defeat. “You don’t need filters with FM.” Which is sorta true. It’s true if you have enough operators and patience, and little interest in coloring the noise.
I had my doubts at first, but the filtering really is a big deal on the DN. Easier colouring is nice, especially with the reduced operator count and resonant high-passing is a big friggin’ deal for some sounds. That feedback is remarkably good, but very much imperfect (such is FM) and filtering tames it. I just wish there was a notch so I could excise the fundamental when needed.
Yeah, filters are important, and definitional for subtractive synthesis. Without them you’re doing additive or something. FM “doesn’t need” them in the sense that you build up the rich tone with operators, and then shape the contour with a envelopes on the modulators. Instead of subtracting, you neglect to add. Downside is you’re stuck with one very particular kind of equivalent filter, upside is it’s per-operator and operators are cumulative.
But of course DN found a good use for them. They’re much easier to use than alternatives, and have a more appropriate sound these days thanks to the loudness war. FM sounds more natural overall (once you figure out how to make the less metallic sounds), but even if you’re going for that there’s nothing wrong with having the option to filter it too.
And of course, filters are instruments, especially analog ones. When you listen to that line in Da Funk you’re not hearing the oscillator, you’re hearing what the filter did when it heard the oscillator.
That’s an interesting topic as for me there is nothing more Elektron than parameter slides yet they seem to move away from that with stuff like chance/trig cond which I think are much less unique.
Any other company has parameter slides sequencing synth/sampler/grooveboxes?
Assignable midi arp and parameter slides would really bring the Syntakt full circle for me, or force me to grab a Digitone. I’d like to see at least one Elektron with digital synthesis featuring parameter slides. I’d be sad if they totally moved away from them.
Not sure about any videos but the manuals are actually very helpful. The main basics are to make sure you lock parameters on both steps you’re sliding between and then put a slide trig on the first one. That should get you most of the way there!
Only the samples were 12 bit, the sound engines were 24 bit! Also MD has more tracks than Syntakt (along with 16 LFOs). I think people saying it was just to streamline the workflow and simplify the UI are probably right. Seems like linear slides can’t be very CPU intensive but, like you said, I don’t really know what I’m talking about!
Syntakt has at least 26 unless i’m forgetting some! Would love a neighbor-tracks solution to allow them to be freely assignable, though. Slides would in effect add like 64 lfos
