Elektron
Digitakt
💾 Firmware 1.51A
Features
Clear all Trigs in Pattern
-
Exit Grid Recording mode
-
Select the pattern to clear
-
Press
FUNC and▶️ to clear the pattern's trigs
Clear Step Param Lock
-
Press
⏺ to enter recording mode -
Hold down
TRIG for the step(s) to remove -
Press the
DATA ENTRY knob for the parameter to remove
Compressor WTF
-
Press
FUNC andLFO to access the Compressor -
“THR” is the threshold: lowever values mean more compression
-
“RAT” is the ratio: higher values mean more compression
-
“SCS” is the sidechain source, i.e. what is triggering compression
Value Meaning MAIN Main L/R mix triggers compression, i.e. the conventional approach TRK1–8 Track 1–8, respectively, triggers the compression, i.e. sidechaining. IN L Left input triggers the compression, i.e. sidechaining from external source. IN R Right input triggers the compression, i.e. sidechaining from external source. -
“SCF” filters the sidechain, with negative being a low-pass and positive being high-pass
Muting the sidechained track stops all compression, however make-up gain is still applied, so this tends to not sound great
Control ALL
-
Press and hold
TRK -
Adjust any parameter and it adjusts for all audio tracks
-
Press
NO to revert changes -
Release
TRK
Copy Pattern
-
Exit Grid Recording mode
-
Select the pattern to copy from
-
Press
FUNC and⏺ to copy the pattern -
Selec the pattern to copy to
-
Press
FUNC and⏹️ to paste the pattern
Copy Track Sound
-
Select the track to copy from
-
Tab
⏺ -
Hold down
TRK and tap⏺ -
Hold down
TRK and tap the track to copy to -
Hold down
TRK and tap⏹️
This copies the sound, which is the sample + params
Copy Track Triggers
-
Select the track to copy from
-
Tab
⏺ -
Hold down
FUNC and tap⏺ -
Hold down
TRK and tap the track to copy to -
Hold down
FUNC and tap⏹️
This copies trigs, but not parameters/sound
Copy Track Triggers Page
-
In recording mode, navigate to the page to copy
-
Hold down
PAGE and tap⏺ -
Navigate to the page to paste to
-
Hold down
PAGE and tap⏹️
Copy Trig
-
Hold down the trig to copy
-
Press
⏺ to copy it -
Release and hold down the trig to paste to
-
Press
⏹️ to paste
You can only paste to one trig at a time, but you can keep pasting as long as you don't copy something else
Fill Mode WTF
-
Press
YES andPAGE to activate fills for the next repetition of the pattern -
Hold
PAGE to activate fills immediately while held down -
To latch fill mode, you must be stopped!
-
Then, press
YES andPAGE , releasePAGE , then releaseYES -
Press
PAGE to unlatch Fill Mode (you can do this while playing)
LFO Page WTF
-
Set the Speed to 8
-
Set the MULT to 16
-
This will produce one cycle for each page, assuming the use of 1⁄16 notes per step
-
I find the relationship confusing
SPD⁄MULT 2 8 32 128 8 128 32 8 2 32 32 8 2 1⁄2 64 16 4 1 1⁄4 -
For “FAD” a negative value is a fade-in
-
The “MODE” values are as follows:
Value Meaning FRE Free-running, never restarting on triggers (though seems to restart on play) TRG Restarts when a note is triggered HLD Free-running, but a trigger latches to the current value until the next trig ONE Runs once, like an envelope HLF Runs for half the wave, then stops, like an envelope
Ratchet or Flam Steps (Retrig)
-
Press and hold any
TRIG keys -
Press
↑ or↓ to open menu -
“Retrig” must be on
-
Press
↑ or↓ to change the rate of retriggering -
Turn
D to configure how long retriggering will happen -
Turn
H to adjust the velocity curve. Negative values will fade out, positive fade up.
MIDI trigs cannot be ratcheted. Also note if a trig occurs before the rate + length would complete, the retriggering will be stopped by the trig
Sample Slices - Ordered
-
Ensure the track is using the “Slice” machine
-
Place trigs, e.g. every step or every other step
-
Press
YES , then choose “Create Linear Locks” -
Press
YES to confirm
Sample Slices - Random
-
Ensure the track is using the “Slice” machine
-
Place trigs, e.g. every step or every other step
-
Press
YES , then choose “Create Random Locks” -
Press
YES to confirm
Save and Restore a Pattern Quickly
-
Hold
FUNC and tapYES -
Adjust anything anywhere you want
-
Hold
FUNC and tapNO , and all changes are reverted to the save point
Sounds - Adding to Project
-
Add a sound to the Pool, which allows sound locks
Step Press FUNC and⋯ Select “Manage Sounds” For each sound you want to add, press YES to select itTap FUNC andYES to audition itPress → to open a menuSelect “Copy To…”, then “Pool” -
Press
FUNC and turnLevel/Data -
Press
← to reveal a menu -
Select “View Pool”, “View +Drive”, or “Filter” as needed
-
Tap
FUNC andYES to audition sounds -
Select the sound
-
You can hold
FUNC and tap a track to change which track you will load into -
Tap
YES to change the sound of the track
Sounds - Flip per Step
-
Hold down any of the trig buttons you want to flip
-
Turn
Level/Data -
Release the trigs when you've selected the sound
-
Press and hold the trigs again, and the name of the sound will show on the screen
Sounds - Saving
-
Press
FUNC and⋯ -
Select “Export Sounds”
-
Use
Level/Data to choose an empty slot -
Name the sound
-
Add tags by navigating and tapping
Yes to toggle tags -
Navigate back to “Save”, then tap
Yes to save
Step Recording
-
Press
⏺ and⏹️ to enter step recording mode -
Press a
TRIG key to indicate where to start recording -
Enter notes via MIDI keyboard, and each step will advance
-
Tap
NO to add a rest, or just tap the next trig where you want to enter a note
Ties and length changes don't seem possible
Time Division
-
Press
FUNC andPAGE to enter the scale menu -
Change scale as needed. 1x are 1⁄16 notes, 2x are 1⁄32 notes, 1⁄2x are 1⁄8 notes, etc.
Trig Conditions WTF
-
Hold down
TRIG step(s) to lock trigs, or don't to affect track -
Choose the condition
Condition Meaning X% Play X% of the time FILL Played only when in fill mode FILL Played when not in fill mode A:B Trigger A times out of B repeats of the pattern PRE Play if most previous condition was true PRE Played when most previous condition not true 1ST Play only the first time the pattern is looped 1ST Play always, exception the first time the pattern is looped NEI Play if most previous condition on track-1 was true NEI Played when most previous condition on track-1 not true
To trig different notes on the same step under different conditions, micro-timing can be used to move any step completely forward or backward one step
Notes and Non-Obvious Behaviors
-
A Sound is a sample + the configuration of Digitakt parameters, like a preset
-
Almost everything (including tempo and audio routing) is per pattern, so add patterns by copying one with the settings you want
-
Program change trigs won't work if MIDI → SYNC → PR CH SEND is checked
-
Also note that program changes are handled by external hardware differently, so they may simply queue a program change for the next bar
-
MIDI Outputs for the audio channels send CC only, not notes
MIDI Info & CCs
✅ Responds to Program Change
| Param | CC # |
|---|---|
| Filter Cutoff | 74 |
| Filter Resonance | 75 |
| Reverb Send | 83 |
| Delay Send | 82 |
| Compressor Threshold | 111 |
| Compresser Dry/Wet | 118 |