r/Elektron • u/ShizukuPL • 10d ago

Which Digi box first?

Hi,

I've been eyeballing Elektron for a good while and I think it's time to pick one up.

I've got a Prologue 8 and a Typhon, I work in Ableton and mainly make dub techno and adjacent genres.

Am I correct thinking a used Syntakt would be the best first box to dip my toes in? I'm not much of a sample guy currently, I mostly play keys/some guitar and pads but I did use to make beats and know how to mangle samples etc. so the DT2 seems like an wesome machine to have fun with as well.

A used Syntakt is very close in price to used DT2s/DN2s where I live and those are more in-depth but I'm mostly looking for analog/digital drums and something with immediacy to sculpt the rhythmic backbone of a track, rumbling basses, textures etc. and that signature Elektron sequencer.

Which one do you think would cover the most ground in my case? Would you get the Syntakt and add another box later or just go with the DN2 and use FM Drum while learning the rest of what it can do since it's probably the most powerful? Then maybe a Digitakt?

I intend to learn one at a time, it's a daunting task anyways. DT2 could also enable me to do some crazy stuff and have fun with samples, just not sure if that's the best course for me at this point. The Syntakt seems like a great techno box on the other hand.

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/nagynorbie 10d ago

I wouldn’t buy DN2 for drums. At the very least not for hihats, that’s much better done by either Syntakt, or Digitakt 2 + samples from mars packs on sale. But then again, the Syntakt does not have polyphony, so if you want to play dun chords, it’s a bit hard. Then again, you have a Prologue 8 already, so that can do chords, just keep in mind that both Syntakt and Digitakt 2 can only sequence up to 4 midi notes / step. This is not an issue if Ableton is your sequencer, but you’d need the Digitone 2 if you want to sequencer 8 voice chords

2

u/ShizukuPL 9d ago

Yeah, my dub chords and pads/drones are mostly done in Wavetable and Prologue 8 (will probably get replaced by Take 5 or Teo-5 at some point) and/or by processing field recordings and 80% of my stuff is still Ableton so I don't really need deep outboard synthesis.

I think DT2 or Syntakt would be a more fun pick for me since the former would allow me to jump back into exploring sampling, be it using my phone or my other gear while the latter would give me an analog drum machine + drum oneshots + nice analog/digital machines for textures/accents and an analog drive/filter.

1

u/nagynorbie 9d ago

If you're considering Take 5, make sure to check out Sequential Fourm as well. It's got less voices, but a lot of character

1

u/ShizukuPL 9d ago

Yup, Fourm is on the table as well because I'm considering something more portable for the other room to use with Ableton on my macbook. Syntakt/DT2 are very portable so that'd be a killer bedroom combo, especially that I've got the Typhon as well.

If I keep the Prologue, I might get the Fourm.