Digitakt II vs. Digitone II as an Elektron entry point – torn between the two, would love community input
Hey everyone,
I’m trying to decide between the Digitakt II and Digitone II as my first Elektron device and would love to hear your experience/opinion.
Here’s my current setup and thinking:
Ableton Live 12 Suite, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, MicroFreak, MicroKorg, Arturia Keystep 37 MK2, Endorphin.es Evil Pet (granular). Plus an Akai MPC Sample that I’m planning to sell.
Why the MPC Sample is going:
I don’t get along well with the pad-performance workflow of the MPC — I’ve realized I’m more of a step-sequencer person (explicit step-by-step programming rather than live pad performance). On top of that, it bugs me that you can only put one effect on a sample — if you want to add more effects, you have to resample every time, and in doing so you lose access to the parameters of the previous effects.
This is why I’ve been eyeing the digitakt 2 for a while, since it basically offers everything I’m missing in the MPC sample.
My case for the Digitakt II:
+ Would directly close the sample-modulation gap I have with the MPC Sample (P-Locks, 5 playback machines like Werp/Repitch/Stretch/Slice/Grid, filter section, LFOs per track)
+ Able to sound extremely versatile depending on what you feed it, could use my current hardware + possible future synths, field recordings etc as sound sources
+ Currently available as B-stock for €829 (Digitone II only available new starting at €939)
+ Can also drive external synths/Evil Pet via MIDI tracks
- no direct polyphony** **on a single sample track without a work arround if you sample a synth
What’s making me hesitate:
I’ve read (including here on this sub) that the Stretch/Werp machine still doesn’t sound particularly great, and that many people recommend warping loops in Ableton beforehand and then transferring them over. That would undercut part of the Digitakt’s advantage over the MPC if I have to go through Ableton anyway for clean timing. I might just use Ableton all the way for sampling and arrangement then.
This is why I started being more and more interested in the Digitone II. I watched pretty much every synths YouTubers videos about it and I’m pretty impressed by its sound sculpting abilities and overall versatility.
My case for the Digitone II:
+ could make a wide variety of sounds right out the box
+ Great sound source to pair with the Evil Pet (generate FM textures → process further with granular)
+ Can also act as a MIDI sequencer hub for Evil Pet/MicroFreak/MicroKorg via MIDI tracks
+ could potentially replace the microfreak entirely. (
Not the MicroKorg though, I love it vor its vocoder that I can feed into Granulator III or the evil pet)
- I guess would always somehow sound like Fm synthesis, unlike the DT II
- wouldn’t have a hardware sampler than (for now)
Time factor / “truly master one box” instead of half-mastering many:
What I care about most right is sound design and developing my own sonic aesthetic. But I generally have very little time to make music since I’m pretty busy, which is why the idea of having as much as possible in one box — one I can actually learn properly instead of owning several devices I only half-know — really appeals to me. I get that the Digitakt as a sampler can sound extremely versatile depending on what you feed it, but that also means relying on external gear that you first need to learn yourself. The Digitone, on the other hand, gives you everything in one box you can take with you and use to build interesting sounds from scratch, once you’ve mastered the machine itself.
So my Questions for you all:
- How much of a dealbreaker is the Stretch/Werp quality in daily use really — or is it overrated if you lean on Repitch/Slice instead?
- In my situation (step-sequencer preference, no live performance ambitions, final arrangement happens in Ableton), would you get the Digitakt or Digitone first?
- Which one of the two is the more powerful sound designing tool in your opinion?
Tysm if you made it to this point of my inner monologue, I’ve been thinking about this way too much, the GAS is serious and I can’t keep annoying my Wife about this Topic any longer, since I’ve not been talking about anything else this weekend. So your answers and opinions are highly appreciated!