Introducing Digitone II

I prefer Squid Game-@Eaves, but nice take :slightly_smiling_face:

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Two questions:

Does the DN2’s arpeggiator work globally or can each track have its own arp?
Is the arp p-lockable?

Yes. Settings are stored with presets so you can have a different arp per step with preset locks.

Not at all. No lfo/mod destinations. And lock trigs on other parameters don’t behave normally. I didn’t understand behaviour but it is an additional…limitation. Works during release.

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One bar guitar practice :

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What happen to those string guitars when heavy distortion is applied? :laughing:

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I hit play on the distorted clip while the previous clip was still playing so I got a nice phasey mashup of the two. Sounds wicked.

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Is the Digitone2 a game-changer for digital synthesis and a Syntakt-Killer?

At present, the Syntakt’s only standout advantage lies in its four impressive analog sound engines. For nearly €1000, that feels underwhelming.

The new Digitone2 seems to outclass the Syntakt in every digital aspect. Or am I missing something?

To stay competitive, the Syntakt urgently needs new digital machines that offer capabilities beyond what the Digitone2 provides. Alternatively, Elektron could release a Syntakt2 with eight analog synthesizers. However, that raises questions about heat dissipation…

Another possibility is for the Syntakt2 to include a wavetable synthesis feature—leaving the Digitakt2 without any notable upgrades.

But Elektron will probably come up with something else.
So far, all marketing decisions since the beginning have seemed great - ignoring the battery grip…

The Digitone1 used to be just a preset machine for me—a simple acoustic complement to the Digitakt, only brought out when I needed to fill in a few missing frequencies.
But now, I’m setting aside my beloved Syntakt to focus on the Digitone2 instead—at least until the buttons get sticky from overuse. Isopropanol and water are ready for the cleaning process.
What a beast of a device!

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Why would two products from the same company need to compete with each other? They are different instruments with different feature sets

16 analog voices !

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I miss Syntakt heat these cold days !

Yes but the goal of Syntakt and Model Cycle is to focus on specific sounds per machine, sweet spots ready.

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I’m slightly struggling with this whole Syntakt vs Digitone 2 thing (and IIRC there’s a thread on that topic somewhere here).

I haven’t yet bought a DN2 because I’m waiting for Overbridge and for a few more of the early phase bugs to be squashed.

I may need to sell my ST to fund the DN2 so this is a tricky one. ST is one of my favourite bits of gear ever made, but I hear so many examples of where the DN2 can cover the same ground as the ST that I suspect the ST will end up being redundant in my setup and will go eventually anyway.

I also don’t think the ST will get another gamechanger firmware upgrade. It’s running on a different (and older) platform to the two new Digi 2 boxes, so for now I’m assuming that the ST has what it has and is what it is.

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Hmm, so where is the Digitone FX block? :thinking:

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The heat in my studio comes from my Machines. I’ve never put the heat on in this room and I live in Montreal.

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Is the FX block digital on the ST?

Getting good drum sounds on the Syntakt is very quick. I can spend an hour tweaking the Digitone 2 and not get as good a drum sound IMO. Also control all on the Syntakt is amazing since the machines have a narrower range of sounds, your kick drums stay kicks, cymbals stay cymbals, etc. Control all on the digitone is much more unwieldy. Also Digitone 2 doesn’t have the FX block, so can’t modulate any of the FX parameters. Just because the Digitone can do most of the same things on paper, doesn’t mean it does them as well or as quickly.

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There’s a lengthy topic on that:

The answer is: that depends completely on what you want to do with your ST/DN and what you appreciate about ST. Many still see value in ST because it’s so easy and sweet spotty, but many also prefer DN2. Probably best to discuss this in that topic.

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I actually just wanted to tell you how amazing the Digitone II is, but then I got lost in my thoughts…
There I was, standing at the table the whole time, new DN2 in hand, pressing buttons, turning knobs, and having an absolute blast.
Meanwhile, my beloved Syntakt softly calls out: ā€˜Come back! Come back!’ And the Digitakt chimes in: ā€˜Record the sounds! Throw it into me! Stereo!’
Don’t worry, dream team—each of you will get your turn.

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It’s primarily analog. But just the routing options alone are awesome, even if we pretend that it’s 100% digital: to be able to sequence/glue/modulate/mangle select tracks, and even the return FX together is special

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