Just bought DN2 + DT2, New to Elektron and Excited

Elektron Gear Digitone/Digitone Keys
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What do people recommend as the best path forward for learning and developing a good workflow with the two devices?

I am coming from over 10 years of production experience with Ableton making Dubstep and Techno and bought these primarily to use for melodic, peaktime, hyper, and industrial Hard Techno.

I want to use them both for a solo live setup as well as using them in conjunction with Ableton.

Do people recommend just trying to start with one?
Which? DN2 or DT2
How steep is the curve to use multiple devices together? Any tips / tricks?

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The sequencers are identical.

Pick one. Start playing that and learn it.
Then pick the other one up, you’ll notice slight difference in layout, and obviously one is a synth, the other is a sampler.

Other than that get stuck in.

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Congrats! You’re going to have a blast.

I totally agree with @Microtribe, pick one to start with and focus on it.

It’s completely up to you (as stated, sampler vs. synth), but if I was pressed to recommend which one, I’d suggest starting with the DT2, just because you may be a little less distracted by the sound design aspect of things, and may be able to focus better on learning the ins and outs of sequencing (unless you’re an FM synthesis wiz already).

Have fun making noise!

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First thing you want to learn is to complain about the octatrack but if anyone says anything bad about it you really gotta give him the business, make sure he knows that he’s the one with the problem.

Next you want to realize that learning to interact with digitakt is the same as learning to interact with digitone so as was already stated, pick one and learn it. Being able to use it is another story altogether, and I’d probably recommend watching a bunch of youtube tutorials at like 90% speed so that you can follow along more effectively and pause it when you need to try things out.

The learning curve of multiple devices together depends on you. How you intend to use them together, what is controlling them, etc.

Programming 2 devices independently and syncing them is easy, arranging across 2 boxes and performing with it is not necessarily easy but setting up all your mutes on 1 box has some benefits, though not as much as you’d think if you use an Ableton session amount of tracks on each box independently.

Ableton won’t help you learn to use hardware, reading the manual and watching tutorials and asking questions might help you learn hardware if you have the capacity for doing so already. Knowing ableton will help you with the fundamentals of sound design if you’re using it for that already, and will make you one of those people who probably complains about the limitations of grooveboxes and makes a bunch of feature requests and maybe should have upgraded laptops instead, but there is nothing that says you are that type of person, it is just a type of person and they mostly have used ableton for 10 years and never touched a groovebox.

Other than that, have fun, experiment, don’t expect your first project save to be a banger, and welcome to the forum. Keep your chin up and ignore the haters, unless the haters are making a good point, then temporarily reevaluate your position.

Congratulations on your purchase, fantastic devices these elektron machines.

Also, first thing you might want to do is create project templates on each machine configured for all of the stuff you’ll normally use: all the midi setup, mixer and input settings, anything that is common to your workflow then save it as a blank project and lock it. From there, you can copy that project and start new projects with it so you don’t have to set everything up every time for every project.

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Start with the DT2. In the stock sounds youll find single cycle waveforms, use those for synthesis and really gel with the different components of the DT.

Then, when its time to jump over to DN usage, you can really milk the capabilities of the different synthesis :slightly_smiling_face:

(Im not just saying this as part of the DT Superiority Cult)

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What was said above, plus:

  • Watch XNB’s videos on YouTube or buy Dave Mech’s courses.

  • Twist knobs like there’s no tomorrow and it will come.

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“Im too depressed to turn knobs…whats the point?”

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That sounds like a great setup! So much to learn.

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I may or may not have also added an analog heat mk ii I found on facebook marketplace for $450… my digitone and digitakt get here tomorrow already hyped.

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as said above , don’t compare it to ableton, instead augment it with ableton, lately i 've been using my DNII with modular effetc and Unfiltered Audio plug ins and it sounds very good

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Don’t add more to your setup. Plenty to do already.

My favorite synth is DNII, it’s not unusual that it’s the only piece of gear I use in jam sessions, nowadays…
I suggest to focus on one box only, until you master it, then focus on the other box, then you’ll naturally use each box for what they bring to your music.

Whatever you pick first, focusing on one will let you learn faster than running two rabbits at the same time.

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Really important imo! Some things to add in that direction:

  • make and save some kits that contain all the sounds you need in a project. Once you open the kit in a new project, everything you need is already assigned to the correct track. Neat! And it works independent of projects.
  • come up with some structures that help you build up muscle memory. Like: where are the drums on your tracks? Upper half (1-8) or lower half (9-16)? Or you might prefer left half for drums, right half for melodic things or MIDI? You decide. But remember: If you’re planning to use Overbridge with Ableton, there’s a limit of 15 individual tracks. So track 16 should probably not contain something you will always use and want to record individually, like a kick.
  • in addition to structure for tracks, patterns of patterns are also helpful. Like: Pattern 9 is always a variation of pattern 1. Or if your track has several parts but you don’t need all 16 pattern slots, leave a gap between groups of patterns that form a part. Whatever makes sense for you, easier to establish early and then internalize.

I’m not a sampler guy btw so I would defini start with DN. Maybe use presets first and tweak them so you don’t get lost in sound design instead of learning/making tracks. If you’re more of a sampler guy, start with DT. Whatever it is you start with, I’d suggest to crank out patterns and music as soon as you can and see what questions or “issues” pop up. Then look for solutions or workarounds. You’ll likely have some DAW routines that won’t work, so be open to let the Elektrons show you how they want you to work and then see how you can combine that with the way you like to make things.

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Just throwing my newbie two cents in here. Anyway, congratulations on your purchase, great machines! I would say the DT might be easier to get to know the lay of the land, and how to do things ‘the Elektron way’. DN is pretty similar in a lot of ways, but adds complexity with the FM synthesis instead of sample playback, which is a whole new chapter in itself. That being said, I constantly switch between them, depending on what I want to focus on at that moment. Just take your time. Myself, I watched a LOT of Youtube vids from (for instance) Cuckoo and XNB, where they break down almost all aspects of the device. Last night I successfully tried to replicate Red Means Recording’s Reese Bass. Over time you’ll get a more complete interlinked diagram in you mind where and how to achieve something you had in mind.

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read the manuals.

learn different parts of the functionality at a time.

take your time, try not to be judgemental.

i would recommend trying using one at a time, and both at a time, see how you feel.

i have both of them and often use one at a time to learn it’s nuances.

practice.

have fun, they are both respecitvely very creative and fun boxes.

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I’ve still not read the manual for my DT2, just had fun following along YouTube vids. I promise I will though, soon.

You’re in the right place, welcome!

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I’ll just chime in and be another one of those “choose one box” guys. I started with the Model:Cycles, albeit without any other music production knowledge, and it kept me busy for weeks and months. I made almost all of my tracks on Elektron devices and while it’s easy (and tempting) to add loads of other gear, it can be confusing and crippling at the same time.

With each of your boxes, you’ll be able to create whole albums. If you’re familiar with samples, you’ll only need to learn the workflow of the Digitakt to get going.

The most effective way is to make tracks! You don’t need to understand everything perfectly to do that. Sit down for a few hours and just try to create a nice loop and then another. Maybe all you’ll ever use the boxes for is just that: Create an interesting loop, load it into your DAW and go from there. Or you may end up sequencing the hell out of it and programming whole songs in no time. Have fun.

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:arrow_up: this! From my experience, the first patterns I make with an Elektron are always some of the most interesting. I think it’s because I’m so excited and also don’t know how some stuff is done “properly” on the machine, so the results tend to be really creative.

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Was new to Elektron devices so got Dave Mech’s Digitakt II class, was a HUGE help to get me up and running and highly recommend it! Would agree with others to zero in on one box and go from there. Lots of power in just the Digitakt alone!

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Give at least one of those boxes ten minutes a day, every day. There’s lots to learn and Elektrons are muscle memory dependent, so even if you’re tired or lazy, do it and it’ll build up fast.

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So we are 5 days in and I love the Elektron workflow. Have not opened Ableton since getting these and honestly for someone with long term daw experience the learning curve is really reasonable. Just started diving into combining the devices and man is there a lot of possibilities.

The digitone sounds really good and the design approach to controlling fm synthesis with it is pretty clear. Really been enjoying it for ukg basses and techno leads/patches.

The digitakt… just wow. I work primarily as a sample based producer in the daw and the way it makes manipulation quick and easy is really nice.

Already recommended this set up to several of my friends and don’t see much world where i go back.

Also the analog heat mkii just sounds so good as well

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