So this is a boring classic question I think and some of you are pulling your hair right now from questions like this, but c’est la vie! Opinions are always helpful.
Some context:
I recently got my first Elektron machine, the Digitone. So far I am amazed and still amazed to be because of how the machine changed my decades old habits and perception of fossilised musical possibilities and thoughts about FM Synthesis (Yes I have got a long history with FM). It was my friend who has Digitakt and Digitone who dragged me into this fantastic world. Since then I went DAWless, back to knobs and oscillator manipulations (except for my work stuck in DAWs…).
I had the chance to try the Digitakt and I am blown away by its capabilities that according to what I saw and experienced are centred around its Sampler, 8 tracks and 8 Midis… It’s soo convincing to be the partner of Digitone for all what it can offer and for merging FM with Samples.
However, I never had the chance to try a Syntakt and I am always dazzled by the capabilities of that machine from what I saw on Youtube and the description and samples on the Elektron’s product page. I really don’t get it! I do not understand the concept.
So:
Is Syntakt a Synth or not ? As in I can now hook my Digitone to a 7 octaves keyboard and perform on it, and it is CLEAR to me what the Digitone is. Does the Syntakt do that? Like for the lack of a better description , does Syntakt have oscillators and algorithms just like the Digitone?
Or, Does Syntakt only have a preset number of playable sounds that you can modify using the different tools onboard? IS it Polyphonic?
How solid the Syntakt is as a drum machine? If I can simply sample any drum kit one shots or loops to Digitakt, what makes the Syntakt better in this sense ?
Any other insights will be great,
Thank you for taking the time to read
I’m sure many here will reply better, but here goes:
Syntakt is what you would call a Swiss army knife of synths. It has 12 tracks, 8 of those are digital and 4 are analog. You can chose between several “machines” on each of those tracks and each machine comes with a SYN page of up to 8 “carefully” chosen parameters to enable as quick as possible creation of the sounds you may want. Those machines represent different forms of synthesis from FM to substractive and everything in between, except anything involving samples. Many of the machines are drum synth oriented though, but you can still use them for whatever.
It is multitimbral (i.e. 12 tracks), but it is not polyphonic (you can not steal notes from other tracks like you can on the Digitone), so playing a sound polyphonically requires additional tools, like a smartphone + MIDI to poly app, and a bit of tinkering.
It is however probably the fastest synthesis based machine to create your own sounds on without relying on presets (even though it supports those).
It uses the machine paradigm which you can think of as synth engines that are reduced to a set of 8 useful macros. Some of them are oscillators and algorithms, others are modal synthesis and percussion modelling.
yep, it’s a synth
yes, you can connect a midi controller.
Not really. It has 12 monophonic tracks, one of which is an analog cymbals voice unsuited for tonal music. you can also use a midi filter to make the 8 digital tracks play polyphonically, but it sure does seem like a bit of a hassle. I guess voice sharing would be a pretty swell upgrade if they ever get around to it.
Like… really really good. It’s not as flexible as a sampler obviously, but I love all the sounds and the way you can shape the sounds. If you have a digitakt, it will compliment the device.
Why Digitone when you can just sample an FM synth plugin?
Dynamic synthesis. Being able to assign FM amount to velocity, or a S&H LFO to pitch of the second oscillator in a ringmod configuration, etc etc. Would take a lot of multisampling.
Yeah, it’s primarily a drum synth, with machines/macro-based engines, but so is the Machinedrum
Thanks @pselodux, totally agree. I was thinking of ways to copy or reproduce some drums one-shots with the Digitakt and whether I can get that same outcome from the Syntakt.
I understand that it is a full creative/ aesthetic process, I think I am still adjusting to the mindset of using Elektron machines.
Thanks millions @RobertSyrett you hit every spot.
Having monophonic tracks explains a lot about these synth engines and I can further differentiate between the Syntakt and Digitone.
I am gradually migrating to the Elektron system with the hope that I can harness these machines in a context where some scoring goals should be met within a deadline. By the way, the Elektron sound goes great with large orchestral arrangements.
This is true, but I would add that the 8 macros can be thought of as “oscillator macros”. Each track also has one or two filters (band-selectable, one will have an amp envelope), an amp, fx sends and two LFOs which can be assigned to parameters chosen from the 8 macros, filter, amp, etc. Analog tracks have one, resonant, band-selectable filter; digital tracks have a resonant band-selectable filter and a band-pass filter.
It’s the difference between “sampler” and “synth”.
A sample is a recording and in case of a synth patch this will be exactly a recording of one of many possible patch variations. Modifying a sample later is IMO somehow limited. Depending on the sampler we can have many FX possibilities, but this does IMO not compare to change a synth patch.
A synth allows deep modulation/change of the patch/sound all the time. We can change and edit the patch even in a live-performance, record some automation, and can even edit and modulate the automation live.
This is not better or worse … it’s about the intended sound and sound scapes we want to have.
The strong points of Digitakt can’t be downplayed by the strengths of Syntakt. Digitakt also has “synthesis” through single cycle wav forms which you probably know but I’m also mentioning. There is power in the 3 together that any one does not possess on its own, it’s just in how you plan to use them or how productive you will be using the combination of any 2 or more in tandem. Some people are most productive with one box. Realistically if you’re looking for a drum machine where you can refine sounds but can play immediately digitakt will shine, if you want to design sounds and have a drum machine which with some effort will be explosive syntakt, if you want a drum machine with polyphony that you’re already familiar with, a second digitone is not out of the question
I feel like if one were an octopus, and another were a dolphin, we would see less overlap or reason to question the validity of one vs another - elektron designed 3 nearly identical pans of chocolate brownies so the overlap is hard to escape.
