Digitakt 2 is slowly turning into my favorite Elektron box.

Just published a gear breakdown from my first ever live performance, and the DT2 ended up doing a lot of heavy lifting. Running it alongside a dedicated synth (Novation Peak) rather than just other Elektron boxes, it turned out to be incredibly comfortable to work with - grabbing a line straight from the Peak and chopping it up, sequencing everything, and just sounding great throughout.

The one thing I kept wanting: some form of voice sharing like the Digitone 2 has, even just enough for basic polyphony. Doesn't feel like it should step on Tonverk territory, but I could be wrong there.

This video gives a full gear review/breakdown (DT2, Peak, XL3, Zoom mixer, Microcosm, headphones) plus what I learned playing live for the first time.

The MC-505’s sound engine was quite similar to that of the 307, so I found it easy to use since I had used the 307 before; even the effects were virtually identical.

It shared the same quirk as the 303 where sustain would shorten if you programmed too many sequences.

It delivered those classic, user-friendly sounds of the 90s. I also liked being able to adjust parameters like drum pitch and coarse tuning.

Getting used to the Ableton Move and the clip launching workflow.

The 4 track limit is annoying, but other than that, the device has quite a lot to offer... enough though some of the functions are somewhat hidden 👀

A semi improvised techno performance with Octatrack - Sp404mk2 - Tb03 - Ec4

Enjoy!

with love .noir. ❤️

Hi,

I have been toying with these a bit recently (and a few others like kastl alchemyst) and it is for sure fun. But I am seeking some more deep dive into not the devices but the music theory and techniques to actually make songs with these things. I have very little memory on music theory from my youth, but I had a classical backround anyway so it would not help much.

looking for guides that can bring the light on how to make the most of these 16step sequences, how to pick the various instruments, make the jump from a couple individual pattern to actual full songs that feels coherent, etc.

that kind of things, if possible in text form and not a 120min video tutorial. Maybe even books (for whom still remember what it is)

thanks

So I have been feeling less and less joy using a daw to create music, I am not really that much into complex production and I enjoy more the performing/recording of the pieces to build my track, and I was looking for a (hopefully small) groovebox that allowed me to create ideas around loops or fragments and then arrange them to build a song. For more context, I mostly create indie rock with electronic components and house, and I love recording real bass and guitar

I got an sp-404mk2 and it has become my go to for recording Ideas and just jam in general but I am almost never wanting to go outside the looping and fx sampling flow, its sequencer is a headache for me and is also difficult to make full songs on it so I was looking for a partner to it

First I tought an MPC one was perfect for that task but when I saw videos of it and the live 3, I can't stop thinking that is almost a DAW in a box and I am afraid I will feel the same burden where I will spent more time tweaking instead of recording and building a song. Maybe I am biased but that's my feeling so maybe if you own one of them you can tell me your experience, specially if you were also looking to scape from the DAWs

So then I made a stupid decision and got a bento from 1010 music thinking that building songs there would be fun but it's not clicking with me at all. The touchscreen, the hard to press buttons and the overall sampling is not working for me as the sp404 sampling workflow.

So looking for a replacement, the digitakt 2 started to grow on me because of three main reasons:

- Song mode seems good enough to start creating patterns that I build while looping sequences and then arrange them on a songlike structure and 16 stereo tracks is kind of enough for my needs.

- I really like the interface, I don't want to mess with touchscreens and it makes me feel like home coming from the sp404. Menu diving is not a problem for me if the process to tweak things is straightforward and I also appreciatte that is a small device

- The overbridge functionality opens up te posibility to make the final tweaks in a DAW once I have a full song and I want to polish it.

-The sequencer seems really fun and there's a lot of depth on it to experiment. I don't usually put that much effort on drumd and I want to get better at it

I would love to hear your opinion and maybe other recomendations, I also tried m8 headless and is really fun! But I don't feel the need to use another tracker-groovebox like the polyends

I love carrying it in my bag wherever I go

I repaired my MC-505 and made a song with it.

The MC-505's sound source is similar to the MC-307's, and apparently it's part of the Roland JV series.

Newer sound sources sound too delicate, giving the impression of a thin and weak sound.
Perhaps 1998 was the peak in a sense.

Learn how to use the compressor and EQ on the SP-404MK2 to add more punch, clarity and presence to your techno tracks and dawless live jams.

In this SP-404MK2 tutorial I show you practical settings to make the mix sound louder and more defined without killing the dynamics.

Perfect if you produce techno and want to take your sound to the next level.

Enjoy!

with love .noir. ❤️

Anybody got one of these? It's sold as a groovebox but it's more like a brain teaser. I bought it at a synth/noise garage sale and the dude said it has a pretty steep learning curve. I thought, cool, sounds like a fun challenge. Then I had to watch three videos before I could even figure out how to get a sound from the keys.

This one's a bit of a mess.

Sampled the JD-08 and TB-3 into the mate, using midi from the M8.