Ess and the Digitone - King of FM!

[@elissitdesign]

I’m willing to bet there are lots of people wanting a solid tutorial series from Ess. There aren’t too many comprehensive tutorials on FM that break down workflow theories and concepts. I’d pay for it!

[@mynewcolour]

Pretty rare to have a synth demo that covers so much background, concepts, real music, technical stuff and bonus hugs!

[@GazWilliams]

Joseph // I love your comment, thanks so much!

[@bonsaibloom]

the hug at the end was so wholesome

[@LaymensLament]

Gotta say this Ess guy really seems to know his shit and also care about it, respect!

[@mosesmaximiliano3111]

i guess it is kinda randomly asking but do anyone know a good site to stream new tv shows online ?

[@andrzejkucharzyk9970]

@@mosesmaximiliano3111 wtf :D

[@boombap08]

Yoo thanks for this. Just got a DT and this guy is an absolute wizard. Amazing interview!

[@sawssman965]

It's really cool, isn't it?

[@wurlinnawurl]

Two years later and it is popular as ever.. I think it took a while for people to realize the digi's are not really cut down cheaper versions, but really there own thing.

[@nerfytheclown]

So freaking good. I know it's years after, but I am getting my Digitone Keys tomorrow and I am super pumped. Eating this up.

[@JC-bf9zm]

Those "sketches" that Ess shared at the end sound soooo good! He's probably too busy but I would pay him good dollars for an online Digitone tutorial series.

[@steventaylor3789]

Great interview Gaz. The idea that these instruments share a kinship with early electronic games really resonates. Nice to hear Ess talk about what he does and how the Digitone came about. Spot on with the learning curve. They’re not hard to use, you just need to sit down and learn it like any game. Lots of people do that all the time. There’s a reward in that just like anything. So maybe the manuals put people off and a quick start guide would help with the core functions as I think you hit the nail on the head - where to start? Quick start guide ta da!

[@HotStrange]

Steven Taylor I agree. Once you learn the machine it’s actually very intuitive. The only time the menu diving and page surfing has bothered me was with the Digitakt. But that’s because I prefer drum machines and samplers that have pads and more immediate control, not necessarily a fault of the machine itself. I sold it to get a Model:Samples and I couldn’t be happier. Will never sell my Digitone, though.

[@z3r0slugfm]

Really enjoyed this format. The DN was my first Elektron device since the Sidstation. Very lovely machine. Hope to see more of Ess’ work in the future.

[@wm2922]

Awesome interview!!! Gus, please do more of those, you're really good at that! Great questions, great energy, just the right amount of humour, loving it!

[@dep1001]

Awesome vid, Gaz! Simon is such a cool dude! Amazing the work he did on the Digitone! So glad that I have it in my arsenal :)

[@sndrcve]

Nice way to start and end with his music.

[@Rompler_Rocco]

"It's all about the music, after all" 👍👍👍👍❕

[@natefalcon4227]

Amazing video! So happy I discovered this channel during lockdown. I will be buying this as my first synth after only using Ableton for the past five years. Ess's music is really cool also. Keep doing what you are doing Gaz!

[@JakobHaq]

This was great guys! ☀️⭐️

[@andrzejkucharzyk9970]

I love elektron, please dont change guys

[@fnordboy]

What a fantastic interview/demo. I only recently picked up the Digitone, and absolutely love it. The Auvrel album is great as well I listen to it a lot. Ess has truly been the hit of TSR19 imo. All the videos he has been a part of have been great.

[@Unifono2012]

great interview, thanks. And great tunes!!

[@MichaalHell]

The opening is one of my favorite things to come out of the Digitone. Simon is straight up a genius

[@aethervagrant244]

Front 242 brought me to FM.

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

Im just unwrapping my Digitone , that i got from Thomann -Music - and the first thing that pops up, on youtube, is this segment ! Im so stoked, happy and elated ! - Big Thanx to Elektron for the best sounding fm maschine , since the virus - together with my Moog Grandma, my Deepmind 12 and JD-Xi Crossover from Roland - 2018 and 19 has REALLY beefed up my machinepark - and im a Bassplayer ! - I love this planet,- Thanx to Gaz , for knowledgeable insights, positivevhumour, wit and allways on point Inquisitive nature,-.

[@HotStrange]

The Digitone, I think, will go down in the Elektron Hall of Fame along with the Octatrack and MachineDrum. It’s become one of my favorite pieces of gear ever. So warm and lush sounding but can easily get into harsh, noisy, metallic territory. And having 4 tracks of midi sequencing make it a useful studio tool and potential “centerpiece” as well. Add in an interface, class compliant USB, midi control, amazing OLED screen, superior build quality, and the excellently integrated subtractive elements and you get a masterful piece of gear.

[@markolijus]

Very cool Gaz! great inteview, Ess is master of many skills and this was very enjoyable...I was intimidated with all Elektron stuff because of that 'learnig curve' thing, but hearing and seeing this, i migh just get me one of those :) cheers

[@ItsMedicationTime]

Really enjoyed some more insight into the Digitone! Thx Gaz & Ess!!

[@hakonsoreide]

Very interesting talk about the Digitone. I'm a bit surprised you forgot to EQ out the noisy bumps every time your hands and elbows move against the table. Also, a square of acoustic foam under the mic table stand also works to reduce it. My table sounds a bit like that too. I'm wanting to replace it with a solid slab of wood some day soon.

[@northern_kind]

It’s worth the effort in time getting to grips with the Elektron workflow. I’m an analogue head but just love the Digitone.

[@weisland2807]

nice interview! dn is my next machine for sure. ps! shoulda used a lo-cut on that mic. lotsa lowend rumble that made me uneasy.. had to keep turning down the volume to hear if the ruckus was coming from my surroundings somewhere hehe! luckily my mixer has a filter.. :)

[@weisland2807]

also props to Ess! That guy is legit and trustworthy af.. Not hating on Cenk, but it is nice to hear Elektron representatives not trying to sneak superlatives about Elektron in every other sentence. I actually believe it when he says nice things about the devices! And he listens to his counterpart, plus tries to answer the questions.. I feel Cenk always tried to convince us to get Elektronized, and had a bit o an aggressive style in interviews. He does nice live performances tho ;)

[@PooNinja]

Nice interview and what a cool instrument or instrument of instruments as it were 😈👍🏽 And the drone footage of my dream warehouse 🤣

[@Rustik1722]

Digitone is a game changer in my production techniques and style for sure. I love my D TONE! I just want a new analog Elektron item!

[@slakk5093]

Great vid Gaz. Loved the music at the Start

[@elliotdavidson7137]

nice one! slight sound edit problem though...Lots of bass thuds going on in background , was fine playing it on mobile but not on speakers had to remove all the sub, i think it might be picked up by the mic because its mounted on the table and it picked up you guys enthusiastically thumping the table, sorry for being a nerd .

[@KozmykJ]

That's what I like about running my Windows sound through Voicemeeter (Banana). Dead easy to slap a High Pass on when there's to much down there. I started with straight Voicemeeter but moved on to VM Banana when I needed more channel options. Originally I just wanted separate output matrix control but the extra inputs came in handy when I started using OBS.

[@SyncdAlien]

Interesting, thanks! 👍

[@jreynoldsish]

Great well rounded video, awesome music good chemistry and sweet extra tidbits of history! I've been considering a Digitone to replace my setup of a Reface DX sequenced by an Octatrack and I have a question specific to how FM is packaged into the Digitone. Around 3:30 a subtraction process on top of the FM is discussed. This is the first time I've heard mention of this design difference specifically. Beyond the great Elektron sequencing workflow, is the major difference this filter after the FM or are there more little details like this that give the Digitone a sound of it's own?

[@grandmasterjo1]

Simone says “ let there be crispy graphics “ 😝😝 The Digi series is brilliant. Hope Elektron comes out with another Digi giving us the machines of the great Monomachine 👍

[@noordholland648]

i think this is a monomachine offspring

[@ProckGnosis]

Great job Gaz, and interesting to get Ess's perspective on this. I like seeing different (and non-Yamaha) approaches to FM. Part of the reason I really liked the Alesis Fusion's implementation of FM as well. Doing Superbooth? Wasn't going to go, but now I'm contemplating it. Have a window of time opening up that I didn't think would. Cheers...

[@goodboid]

Could we have the chorus for the Digitakt too please?

[@ryanhursh6322]

Would like the second second filter page too. Very helpful. Another LFO also wouldn’t made me angry.

[@lstlvls2521]

@@ryanhursh6322 And now with Digitakt OS 1.30 you have both a second filter page and a second LFO. :D

[@FNX_Techno]

@@lstlvls2521 unbefuckinleavable good support :D

[@0Fdigital]

Awesome, video, and lovely sounds. I had the pleasure of meeting Ess (and Olle, and a few others) last year at their offices in Sweden. Such a lovely guy (all of them were, actually!), very passionate; we had a great chat about the demoscene, Max/MSP and nanoloop. Really left a good impression on me!

[@cohaagenup]

I was already buying a Digitone, but that reference to SND and Atavism made me want to buy 10.

[@el_dani]

the bassdrum of the table is groundbreaking

[@simonyricools]

It's a subtractive audio track with only a lowpass filter

[@nomad1517]

Did he design those models? If he did, god bless him. Works of art and so much fun.

[@SyncdAlien]

Interesting!

[@isaac.anthony]

Were all of the Elektron boxes modeled in MAX/MSP before they became hardware?

[@TheoVoidTV]

I have the digitakt and digitone combo. So much fun!!!!!

[@johnnyraphaell]

Thanks for the funny time with you! Very good presentation of this amazing instrument! 🙌🏻 ☝🏼have a Question, why is it clicking, when the voice changes? Its not the envelopes...

[@DavidWood2]

As of now, the Thomann link in the description is for the Digitakt, not the Digitone featured in this video.

[@genebrady]

Is there a preset for that 808 Rimshot at 17:11? How do I program that?

[@robertsyrett1992]

I need more Simon interviews.

[@DaraM73]

Look at them...so in love. But who wouldn’t be?

[@wax83]

Now I see! "The carrieer output is always full volume" he says so that's why I couldn't make only the filter to output sound.. Via self oscillation that is of course.

[@BrunoWiebelt]

best explain why I love the digitone so much... Ess is cool

[@johnrichardson3297]

Gas Williams , Love the track by Ess, BTW, I just bought an early used DSI Tempest.. and the interface for saving and loading on my Tempest is very/extremely limited for immediacy. Elektron have a good thing here.

[@overtonwindowshopper]

it's making me very anxious that the gameboy is still on by the end of the video

[@aethervagrant244]

Also it seems to have an aftermarket backlight. Mine sure didnt

[@JLeonSarmiento]

How did Elektron let this genius go?

[@cooptrol]

Haha Mark Fell has always something to do with great stuff some way or another.... 10:37

[@sound-wizzard]

Your intro is longer than the first 2 lotr films

[@GazWilliams]

Yep! Haha I love Ess’s music and I wanted to show that prior to getting down to the nitty gritty

[@sound-wizzard]

@@GazWilliams 😂

[@liverawkstar]

what an awesome upload love Ess and his music the bamdcamp link is sweet stuff

[@Rustik1722]

G-Spot, can you and Gameboy recommend stands for the DBoxes? I realize that Elektron doesn't yet offer them so what is he using? Thanks!

[@KozmykJ]

Interesting episode. Being Old old skool when it comes to synths I love my FM sounds and the things that produce them. Currently collecting all and any FM plugins that I can find. My motivation has been to find a way to recreate the CX-5M "Take Off" patch sound. Fond memories of my old Gower studio, CX-5 Take Off, Yamaha D1500. 15" Tannoys and _ _ substances. Lost for hours ... I have a theory that part of the uniqueness of this patch is created from quantization/zipper interactions. EDIT - Doh !! "Aliasing" THAT was the word I was after ... SOME of the plugins have bit rate reducers that allow me to get close but I've yet to Nail it. I still have the CX-5M but it's a lot of potch to set it up (and desk space) for just one sound ...

[@aaronmarshall]

Do you pronounce digital over there like Digg-ital? I say digital like Dij-ital, like a didgeridoo.

[@lstlvls2521]

The 'digi' in Digitakt and Digitone is pronounced 'dig' as in to implement a shovel on dirt and 'ee' as in EbenEEzer. It's the Swedish heritage. But you can pronounce it however you wish. :)

[@pleggli]

a lot of bottom end in this video at times. I guess the desk acts as a huge bass drum or something.

[@simplemindedspacetrash7499]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@Dj_Shroom]

HPF would have been good idea on the talking mic ;) Pretty boomy sound when Ess's hand hits the table ;) Otherwise the content was excellent!

[@ACCOUNTANTB]

its unique in its class, however ..the display is too small and the buttons....they should upgrade it with bigger screen capabilities and bigger buttons

[@Srejv]

Everything at max because... you know. ;)

[@URRBANELEKTRO]

Auvrel e.p. is brilliant !!!

[@Dougie-]

Great box, but wrong synthesis. Next up is a DigiWave(table), isn't it? :P

[@KarzenX]

Is that Bill Skarsgård ? ☝🏼🤡

[@supchikov]

Зошибиз дунули. Аппарат чумовой.

[@saragrimaldi8093]

Every thump on the table is a brain cell deputed to hearing that die. Nice video but was better to have the camera fixed on the device; there are more cuts between angles than presets on the device.

[@gjanalog5675]

As fun and exciting the elektron digis are, this vid was equally dull, dry and a few times, I found my will to keep breathing beginning to wane. Luv u guys tho.