i think they are definitely very different beasts…
the digitakt can be more of a sequencer studio brain for sure…
these updates are pretty rad…
but i think that people truly have over looked the way in which the 404 mk2 can be a brain as well…
the opened sampling, resampling, and both at the same time, really puts the 404 in a place of its own.
with its massive recording times, its an open ended recorder/looper/multi tracker that can be used in 100 ways.
ultimately got rid of my digitakt for these reasons…
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this is an interesting viewpoint! you’re the 2nd person i’ve heard recently comparing SP MK2 and DT (when to me the better foil for Digitakt is the current MPC line)
my familiarity with SPs makes the new 404 easier to use quickly and i love the simplicity of one cable power/audio/midi from my laptop but…it’s hard to avoid acknowledging the sheer depth of DT features
MK2 has the edge as far as sample storage, sample time, portability and quality of the pads
I’d still probably recommend Digitakt to a newbie or somebody who wanted one piece of hardware to master or use as their main hub
Really good points, thank you
- About Akai, funny you see them as mainly marketed to hip hop producers because, while true, i’ve seen em used for house and other styles often enough that I didn’t think people see MPCs as only capable of one thing. I ignored Elektron for years because of how they’re marketed so I get where you’re coming from though
- I’m reading about Zencore now for the first time because I’d never heard of it! Roland gear never got on my nerves due to aesthetic (everything is covered in rgb leds these days, i just have to grit my teeth and live with it) and I personally wouldn’t say they get overlooked or ignored by my friends. Tons of people I know have the TR-8, TR 6, or several Boutique/Aira synths. A few got MC-101s for beatmaking and one recently grabbed the VT4 as his main fx pedal. I personally haven’t caved because most Roland gear seems stuck in the past…there hasn’t been enough innovation or creation of new instruments for me to invest in something from them. I don’t think they’re bad, just would rather try something new
I also like gear that’s portable (rechargeable batteries preferred). If I missed it and they’ve got something that really fits the way I work then I’d check em out. The new SP is the only thing that forced me to take serious notice and buy.
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These new digitakt updates are really inspiring. Getting amazing textures just bouncing the same sample between multiple slots and playing the sample machines against each other, adjusting sample lengths etc.
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Sounds really interesting! Could you maybe post a video or soundclip of it? Or maybe a explain a bit more how you have things set up?
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I’ll post something. Give me a day or three.
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Have a similar gripe with the pitch machine - it only works in bars, so if you want to auto-pitch your 4 step sample to within the same bar you’re out of luck. I’ve tried a using the sequencer scale to see if that would make a difference, but bar length is tied to the BPM rather than the track scaling.
I assume that an octave up/down would double/half the length of samples so it probably isn’t the biggest deal to just figure it out, but I guess the point of the pitch machine is the convenience of letting the machine work it out. Actually sent them in a change request on this, you wouldn’t think it should be that difficult to implement.
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