Elektron Digitakt: How to Sequence External Hardware

[@Klocaine237]

Wow someone that does it short and freakin easier than i thought. Here comes the rabbit hole. Thanks

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Have fun!

[@Vingul]

The only hardware I have is a Digitakt and I'm thinking about getting a TD-3, perfect combo for the vid.

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Thanks! It’s a fun little synth for sure :)

[@eliasgarciasceptre]

Make more sequence videos on the digitakt this is a game change

[@arabbshtawe1185]

hey igot a used Digitakt in great condition tried to connect my Moog other 32 as external hardware and did all what you have done' when I press the midi a my Moog does flash but I have no sound what to do ?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

hey! this type of thing can be hard to diagnose over the internet. but definitely check your output volume, make sure your 32 is outputting an audible tone (twiddle all the knobs while pressing a key) and check your cables. sometimes power cycling helps with ghosts in the machine. good luck!

[@j7d6]

Great Video! How do i actually record the Sound of the Synth with the Digitakt?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Thanks :) Check out my video “Elektron Digitakt: 2 Ways To Load Samples”

[@festerjnr9906]

I’ve got a volca fm2 and can’t for the life of me get the digitakt to pick it up, any help from any commenters?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Some info from drolez.com for ya: One of the most useful thing is to change the MIDI channel of your Volca FM. Note that this trick works with all Volcas, Volca Drum, Volca Drum, Volca Samples etc. To do so: While holding down the MEMORY button, turn your Volca on Keyboard buttons 1 to 16 correspond to the MIDI channels 1 to 16. Press thebnbutton to set the desired channel, and the LED below the keyboard button will light up.

[@michele709]

Can you change the trigger note by pressing the relative pitch on the td-3 instead of selecting it with the knob on the digitakt?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Hey, I’m not entirely sure about that one. Definitely the pitch knob will work but not sure about the octaves.

[@Rexmex5296]

What about scales

[@eliasgarciasceptre]

Yoooooo damn wtf

[@romeopopescu]

Great! Simple, clear explanation covered everything one needs to get started!

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Glad it was helpful!

[@neonpop80]

Hey thanks for the concise explanation. Im wondering if the Digitakt can make drum roll and fill effects? Or even a master filter sweep would be awesome

[@Reis_mit]

Yes, all of that is possible. Drumroll - retrig feature Trig with Fill condition for the fills (triggered by the "Fill" Button) Trk + encoder - affect All (can be used not only for filter sweep, also for delay, reverb, reverse etc - and then reverted with reload pattern)

[@simonecerquiglini2685]

Simple clear and fast! Tnx

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Glad it helped!

[@jadedwane2393]

Can I hook up my Tr8s drum machine and play my hats through the midi channel on DT ??? Then use the rest from Digitakt , I’m having trouble linking the two together

[@digitalhillbilly8863]

Nice intro to sequencing on the Digitakt. Thank you.

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching

[@ultrajayme]

When I do this, and I hit the 9 key, I'm triggering trk 2, a snare, and not my 303. Hmm

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Have you checked your midi routing preferences in settings?

[@ultrajayme]

@@nicolasfieldsoundservices yeah I did all that. I think it's in the TD-3. I switched the sound source to internal on the TD-3 and when I got play on digitakt it didn't play the Pattern in digitakt but I could play chromatic notes on the TD-3. It has to do with something super simple in the TD-3 but I can't figure out what it is. I'm working on it now but I had to walk away from it for the day.

[@EmilianoViera]

Do you know if there is a way to send slide commands to the TD-3 ?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Not entirely sure on this… but I think I remember getting slides by programming longer note lengths between notes? Sorry for the less than authoritative answer!

[@EmilianoViera]

@@nicolasfieldsoundservices Thanks!

[@zeibeats]

so i have td3mo basically the same, i synced it with my analog rytm mk1 that was not easy, voice is coming out but it sounds very badly, not how it's supposed to sound like, + it doesnt work with the sequencer good enough, what it does on the pattern, my td3mo is hitting the right paytern counts but since the analog rytm sequencer is 1 tact (16) i organized my td sound on analog patters on every skip count: 1 -3 - 5 - 7 -9 - 11 - 13 - 15 - and the td3 sound on the sequencer plays only 1 - 5 - 9 - 15, like it's delayed in half time, please dave me what the hell is going on

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Manually adjust the clock source and rate by pressing the BACK and WRITE/NEXT buttons at the same time: Clock Source: Press Selector 1 (INT/TD-3), 2 (MIDI/DIN), 3 (USB/COMPUTER), or 4 (TRIG/SYNC IN). Clock Rate: Press Selector 5 (1PPs), 6 (2PPQ), 7 (24PPQ), or 8 (48PPQ). The tempo will not match unless all interconnected devices are set to the same PPQ Rate. 24 or 48 PPQ (Pulses per quarter) are recommended.

[@zeibeats]

what about the td3 midi settings?

[@AllenAndersonTaylor]

Let's say I write a MIDI sequence in Ableton, can I import it into the elektron?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

yes, you can sequence the digitakt via ableton. you must set your digitakt to receive midi.

[@Fetzenwolf]

Hello Nicolas, is it possible to use the Reverb and delay of the Digitakt with the TD-3 ?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

If I’m not mistaken, yes you can. You just have to route the actual audio output of the TD3 into the Input of the Digitakt. This allows you to use the digitakt as a mixer and apply effects.

[@Fetzenwolf]

Thanks, i will try it.@@nicolasfieldsoundservices

[@matt.danger]

Hello ! Thank very much you for you tutorial ! I have a question : you show us how to record a sequence on the Digitakt but is it possible to record the sequence with the synthetiser itself ? And can you record it when it is playing or you have to record step by step ?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Hi Matthieu. Thank you for watching! Yes it is certainly possible to use the built-in sequencer on the TD-3, however this built in sequencer (along with the original 303) is famously clunky to program. I am not sure about writing sequences on the TD-03 on the fly. Generally, I use the Digitakt to sequence all of my hardware to keep my workflow as simple as possible.

[@matt.danger]

@@nicolasfieldsoundservices oh ok, it was not exactly what i wanted to know, excuse me my message wasn't clear. I wanted to know if, as you are sequencing the synthetiser on your Digitakt, can you play it with the synth itself (on the keys). I don't know if my questions is clear 🙄😬

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

​@@matt.danger Hi Matthieu, if I'm understanding you correctly you're asking if you can play the synthesizer into the digitakt to create the sequence? The answer is no --the Digitakt is sending midi to the synthesizer. You can however turn on the chromatic function on the Digitakt and record the synth sequence as a live performance. I believe you can ALSO connect a midi keyboard to the Digitakt to use when recording sequences if that's more your speed.

[@matt.danger]

@@nicolasfieldsoundservices thank you ! It was exactly what i wanted to know :) 🙏🏻

[@HousewerkRecords]

Hey, this is awesome. So will the digital sequence external software like Blue or Sylenth in Logic Pro X.

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Yes, you can sequence software synths with the digitakt for sure! It also integrates nicely with DAW via overbridge for multitracking. Pretty dope.

[@LisaFly9]

Great video. Thank you for posting!

[@steveedwards4495]

Brilliant thanks for this mate. Exactly the two bits of gear I want to sequence. One question, I've got one sound source but no mixer, do I run the sound out from the TD3 into the digitakt? Then sound out from the Digitakt to my speaker?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Absolutely! Just use one of the two Ins on the Digitakt. You can also process the sound through the digitakts mixer :)

[@steveedwards4495]

@@nicolasfieldsoundservices excellent cheers buddy 👍

[@juliettbravobravo]

Thank you for this fantastic brief guide!

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

You're very welcome!

[@ocelot972]

apart from the pitch can you also control the rest of the usual step sequencing parameters such as gate, velocity etc. and can you tie steps?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

yup! anything that is CC mappable can be mapped to the rotary encoders. not sure what you mean about tie steps, but it's a powerful sequencer so it can probably do what you need!

[@El_seniorlax]

Thanks for the vid 👍 In order to be able to sequence more devices, do you need a midi thru and select each Midi Channel individualy?

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

thank you for watching! yes a use a MIDI solutions quadrathru to sequence 4 pieces of hardware --just select the midi channel on the digitakt :D

[@El_seniorlax]

@@nicolasfieldsoundservices I just order both! I will check your other videos, nice content and keep up the good work.

[@fatcheese5534]

Now wait a minute! I have 2 TD-3’s. However… when I press play on my Squarp Pyramid they do not play the notes send to the TD-3’s! And yes… I have selected the right MIDI channel. Because I can play it but as soon as I hit play on the Pyramid the TD-3’s are also running there internal sequence. This takes priority over receiving notes. But it seems that is not the case with n your video. Is there a setting on the TD-3 I am missing? Thanks in advance for reading and hopefully responding to my question.

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Haha, I have experienced this. For a while, I would just hit the Start/Stop button on the TD-3 after hitting play on the Digitakt (this stops the internal sequencer but keeps playing the midi input). Obviously this isn't ideal, but it works. On my digitakt I realized I was sending Start/Stop messages, and was able to turn this off. So now it simply plays the midi without starting/stopping the sequencer. There is likely a similar option on the Squarp. Hope this helps, and thanks for tuning in :)

[@Klocaine237]

Gotta get rid of the squarp

[@fatcheese5534]

@@Klocaine237 Never!!! 😜

[@BzhReflex]

@@fatcheese5534 On Pyramid midi settings, you can set for both Midi out A or B if it send Start and stop

[@fatcheese5534]

@@BzhReflex Thanks! Why didn’t I think of that! 🫣

[@damelos4039]

Now THAT's a tutorial. Straight to the point. No channel logos/themes and intros playing. Slow enough to follow along, detailed enough that you understand context. No "watch my muscle memory" type videos. Hate those. THANK YOU!!!

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

Thanks for watching :)

[@TheBeavil]

How you handling the slides and accents?

[@leftmono1016]

Not sure about the TD3 but I’ve sequenced the MB33 clone with a Digitakt. Any note that runs into the next one (legato I guess) creates a slide. Any note with velocity over 120 creates an accent. Assume the TD3 works in a similar way. Although ultimately, it’s far easier to play with accents and slides using the 303 sequencer on the TD3.

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

good question! not entirely sure about accents --I can modulate the accent knob while a sequence is playing. I think this is controllable via CC and can be automated via the digitakt as well. Regarding slides, I have found that if I set the trig length to overlap another trig it leads to a pleasant slide!

[@vladostefanek]

accent on the TD-3 reacts to midi velocity. slide is triggered by note overlap so you have to increase the step length where you want the notes to slide. I guess you have to be in poly mode so the notes don't re-trigger.

[@TheBeavil]

@@vladostefanek Cheers

[@arjanpetersen]

@@nicolasfieldsoundservices ah do you get proper slides like on the device itself?