New Elektron box, seems like a stripped down version of the Digitakt: https://www.elektron.se/products/modelsamples/
I like the dedicated knob interface, but it feels like their product lineup is getting a little confusing…
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I’m definitely not the intended market, but all I can say is I’m very grateful they averted any potential for GAS from me. Wallet: Secure.
Edit: But for people who were saying all they wanted was an Elektron sequencer in a box, well, that’s this plus sample playback, so I guess they got what they wanted.
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I am going to be my good old grumpy self and just say this: Elektron is just scraping at the bottom of the barrel and avoiding R&D costs. They are following Roland’s steps to the T. This little box is boring. They would be better of pushing something truly novel or going back and reviving updated versions of the Monomachine and the Machinedrum.
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- 2 × slots for attaching Powerhandle BP-1 (battery pack to be released at a later date)
This could be a big deal for me. I love all my Elektron machines, but even after researching and buying several iterations of portable power supply for them, nothing has reduced the friction enough for me to regularly take them out of the house with me, to the extent that I just purchased an OP-Z simply for its portability.
That said, I somewhat agree with the comments above. Doesn’t seem like anything innovative or novel here. Not nearly as much to get excited about as there usually might be with the release of a new Elektron machine.
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One person’s boring is another person’s accessible 
At US$449 it’s significantly cheaper than the rest of their lineup
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What’s surprising to me is that it’s even less forward thinking than I thought it would be. I would have bet on a Drumbox alright but Rytm like, in a Digitakt / Digitone form factor. This would have made a lot of sense and it might even have looked a bit like this actually. It’s a bit confusing indeed. (I’ve got nothing against this box either though, it looks ok)
A sample is a 16 bit, 48 kHz, mono audio file.
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AFAIK other than maybe the OT, all other Elektron boxes with samplers (RYTM, Digitakt, etc) use this format. Sad, yes, especially for a box dedicated to sample playback… but I think the entire concept is poorly executed on Elektron’s part. They need major software updates (for instance, to support stereo samples!) across their lineup rather than a new piece of hardware that is redundant to at least three of their major already shipping products (OT, RYTM, Digitakt).
As a Digitakt owner this holds zero interest for me personally, and it’s obviously not pushing any boundaries in terms of R&D, but I can absolutely see the logic behind it.
I think their product line is still pretty coherent: Model series for entry-level gear, Digi series for mid-level tools which do one specific thing well, and then the more comprehensive possibilities of bigger boxes like the Octatrack and Rytm.
After the mess Elektron have endured with Overbridge, I see this as a relatively quick & easy way to bring in a bunch of new users & grow their income. Hopefully that’ll help give them a stronger base from which to put out more ambitious machines in the future; if all we get in the next few years are these smaller devices I’d be worried, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.
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The one thing that this product has that the others don’t (apart from the Octatrack), is a per-track time scale multiplier. AFAIK the OP-Z can do it too.
I did own an Analog4 once, and I always got annoyed by the lack of per-track scale. Maybe this means that they might add it to the other products…
Not entirely.
The MIDI note output sends note and velocity only, no CC. And that’s a big part of the Elektron MIDI sequencer, p-locking CC#s.
But it may be enough for some folks.
As for the power handles, this box is already larger than a Digitakt in width. Power handles will take it to OT size. Not a complaint, but a consideration. I’d rather it be as wide as an OT than as deep as an AR MKII.
But as a portable option, this doesn’t make me want an OP-Z any less, at least.
I suspect this will be a first Elektron for many, many people.
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IMO this is a huge mistake on their part…
Well it may be a bummer for power users, but I don’t know that this is the box aimed at them.
(more or less) knob per function, very simplified FX section, class complaint usb audio (no Overbridge).
They’re aiming at a lower cost market, which makes the product unique for existing users. We’re usually expecting to want the new Elektron box. But I believe this one is more intended for those who don’t yet have one.
I imagine introducing the Digitakt helped bring in new users, some of whom began to see the value in an A4 or AR, and bought up. The same intent could be present here. A base model.
I’m quite happy with my OT MKII and Digitone. I don’t need to want this.
It looks like the control panel for my Japanese toilet seat.
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Agreed, it’s clearly for a different target market. But think about that market for a second: the competition is Volca sample / Roland SPx / Electribe… those have the ability to live sample as well as playback. And this, as you pointed out, doesn’t really fully have all the sequencing ability of a standard Elektron with respect to external gear.
So a person who buys this as a stepping stone to Digitakt will neither be able to use it effectively with gear they own already or other simple fun things, nor will they be able to sample their own bits and take it on the road with them.
Yet it costs more than the competition but lacks essential features of either Elektron OR budget-minded sample grooveboxes.
Colour me blind, but I just don’t see people really loving this. If they were going to get a Digitakt but bought this because it’s cheaper, the lack of sampling will bug them. If they were going to get this as a cheap Elektron for the sequencer, the crippled sequencer will bug them. And if money was really a problem, the Volca Sample or a used Electribe will be a far more attractive option for their dollar, if sampling is in fact their jam.
This is the worst of the Elektron sample-oriented feature set with the worst of the sequencer feature set, stuck together in limbo. Help me see why anybody in these budget mindsets would really find it a win, especially at its price? Honest question.
Having bought the new Octatrack for shows, I was pretty shocked to find so few substantial updates for such a large amount of money.
That said, the RTYM ii is a stunning machine, one of the few bits of kit I enjoy gassing about to others
Interesting. I had no idea you could live sample on the Volca Sample.
Perhaps I should not have sold mine.
You can’t, sorry I was referring to the Elektribes and Roland SP series. The Volca sample is competition because it’s so much cheaper.
This is more affordable than other Elektron gear, but still kind of expensive for what is does for someone starting out, compared to other options. More capabilities than a Volca Sample but at 3x the price. The industrial design reminds me of contemporary Akai stuff.
lol all that negativity…
I definitely won’t buy it, but as someone who gave his digitakt away and isn’t missing it even a tiny bit, this one checks multiple boxes for me! the digitakt always felt so cramped for me and therefore uninspiring. this looks much simpler and direct.
I agree on that one. IMO tough not as confusing as an ikea-style-folded pseudo modular 
But if anyone else had similar experiences as me, it could also just mean that they had they saw demand for something more stripped down like this.
I almost forgot it’s that time of the year again…