DAWless Elektron Setup Guide for MIDI (Digitakt, Syntakt, Digitone, Analog Four, Rytm)

[@TeftyMeems]

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[@cjlewis79]

Just got a syntakt to go with my digitone and digitakt and ran the Trinity thru my Keystep Pro following this tutorial and it runs like a charm! Thank you for this!

[@inkfingers]

The mystery of auto channel explained! Thank you so much 🎉

[@bunkkericast]

Finally someome explained this understandably, unlike digitakt midi tutorial videos. Thank you!

[@orkunbagatur5055]

Actually you can activate the pitch bend and modulation strips in this particular setup. I'm using OT as the master/brain of my setup with ST&DN all connected with the same principle. You have to activate "receive notes / receive CC/NRPN" under midi port config page ;)

[@TeftyMeems]

Thanks for the tip! If I recall correctly, I tried that a couple years ago but was unsuccessful. Maybe it was bugged back then or I had the setup incorrect. Cheers! ❤️

[@orkunbagatur5055]

@@TeftyMeems my pleasure 🙏 in my setup also it didn't worked when I first tried then I figured it out totally by chance :)

[@eliezerbrandao]

Hello! Tried this but still not working if a use de Pitch and Mod whells, only if I adjust this parameters on Digitakt. Are you using a MIDI controller or just adjusting there parameters on OT? Many Thanks!

[@orkunbagatur5055]

@@eliezerbrandao Bonjour! My Arturia keystep 37 is plugged to my OT and from there it goes first to ST then DN. I didn't change any particular midi configuration on OT for Pitch and Mod wheels. But I've discovered that if I turn on the "receive notes / receive CC/NRPN" on both ST & DN it started to work instantly ;) Not a super technical explanation but this was my humble experience about that issue 💁🏻‍♂

[@maarzt]

I'd really love for this to work - it doesn't on my end. I've found, on Elektron devices that the midi channels themselves (8 on the DT, 4 on the DN) do not forward mod wheel, pitch bend, after touch etc. on the otherehand, if you bypass the midi channel config on the designated channel page, and set it in the midi channels setup menu, it does. That can cause other issues though, if I recall.

[@sageof6paths1]

That was awesome!! For a noob just stepping into the Elektron product line, I have found most explanations for this brand difficult and confusing. Thank you so much for posting this!!

[@Tsumios]

thank you for your video... I already connect my devices this way, and it's nice to see I doing it right, at least as me :))) ... but I was confused with your autochannel numders choosing :))) why not set up it from left to right as it lays on table and on buttons - 13-14-15-16 ? ;)

[@EphemeralThought]

This is something I've been (low effort) trying to understand for a long time; thanks so much!

[@linuxbender]

Thanks! You have made my day.

[@TeftyMeems]

Thank you so much!

[@christophermatranga7778]

Thanks for this! super helpful, easy to understand, & instructive!

[@oldasrocks9121]

I've only watched 11 seconds so far and am thanking you: THANK YOU!

[@tweakmygroovebox608]

Nice video with clear explanation of set up- the auto channel explanation is extremely handy to know. In my current set up, the Digitakt is the master sequencer- but I'm guessing the keystep is the master sequencer in your set up with the Digitakt as a controller to turn on and off MIDI channels for playing live over the keyboard?

[@collinember]

that Autochannel thing saved my day - routing midi from Keyboard through Analog Four to a Vermona Performer! Thanks a lot - great channel, very inspiring music. Keep up with the great work!

[@everpuremusic]

Wow. That auto channel setting is going to be a life saver for me. Thanks for this!

[@teemunnee]

Amazing video, thank you. To fix the program change problem - all the devices need to be on the same auto channel. This can clearly run into some issues, and I've only found this to work well with my two boxes, no clue how you would do this with the setup in the video.

[@darylw-m9549]

This was really useful, thank you. It's also the most Elektron boxes I've seen in one shot. 🙂

[@dkamhaji]

Definitely filling the gaps on some setup videos out here by explaining thoroughly the use of auto channels. Thanks yo!

[@TeftyMeems]

Happy to help!

[@viavsaragov]

Thanks a lot for your video! I've made the same thing using octatrack instead of digitakt. So glad for that solution👍🔥

[@synaptyx]

Thank you so much for this, that's a huge headache avoided! :D

[@TonyThomas10000]

Takes me back to the days when I had racks of MIDI gear and sub-mixers galore. I don't miss them. I love being able to pull up my ITB rig in 30 seconds or less. Bless you for your patience!

[@TeftyMeems]

I'm always switching it up. Sometimes I'm pure in ITB. Sometimes pure hardware. Most times it's a mix of both. Cheers Tony 🍻

[@TonyThomas10000]

@@TeftyMeems I have just about every virtual synth and drum machine known to man, plus all kinds of effects. I started working in the box back in the 90s and haven't looked back!

[@thelevicole]

this is going to unlock a lot for me! Kinda hurts my brain, but also makes sense...

[@jolieuke]

Thank you so much ! I have a few Elektron boxes but always play one at the time. I think it's time to have fun with all together ... Thanks again !

[@fred0c]

Would love to see you hook up the mpc one to this setup. I know you mentioned it in vid, but love to see vid with addition of the MPC as the main brain.

[@raytbrown2]

Me too!

[@kosmicdriver]

Pretty helpful info 👌

[@maxdiamond55]

great video, thanks. will try these principles for my setup.

[@reinasgallery]

it shouldn’t be surprising that a fellow destiny community member is also a synth lover because the soul of sci-fi is really tied to the synthesizer but I was not expecting to find you on my suggested feed for synth stuff haha that’s awesome

[@DaVeTheWaVe]

You forgot something: with this setup you haven’t sequence or arp from keystep because it don’t have midi clock. You should have a midi cable from a elektron through to midi in of keystep. Keystep must be setup to take midi clock and transport in. Done

[@JimBo-jf2qp]

Is it possible to set the Keystep to use its internal clock? Then you could use its sequencer and arp. I guess that it would then be the master, right?

[@DaVeTheWaVe]

@@JimBo-jf2qp no, it shouldn’t be master

[@thesmok1000]

Thank you for that :) It solved my problem!

[@totalSLACK]

so.. please help my brain here. I have keystep, Syntakt and a Minitaur. i want to play keystep notes to sequence a Syntakt midi sequence channel being sent to the Minitaur. And id need to have Minitaur audio playing thru Syntakt headphones out. would it work to have this setup? Keystep > midi out to midi in > Syntakt > midi out to midi in > Minitaur > audio out to audio in > Syntakt would this work to sequence the Syntakt midi channel and have it play the Minitaur with it's audio playing back thru the Syntakt headphones? would I need the Minitaur midi out going back into Syntakt midi thru?

[@teemunnee]

You probably figured this out, but yes, that's exactly how you would do it. MIDI doesn't send audio, and vice versa. Make sure that you hit the "master" button on the Syntakt (Func + LFO) and turn the input channel up to hear the audio from the Minotaur. And if you want the clock going to the Keystep to use its arp, you'll have to have a midi or sync cable going back to the Keystep from the Syntakt or the Minitaur.

[@infinitespheres]

Thank you for this video! Thats exactly what i need now :)

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

Subbed! Excellent tutorial as I am planning to use my Octatrack as the central MIDI brain of my studio with my Digitone, Analog 4 and other synths.

[@maarzt]

Great vid. Everything you said and...from my own time in the gear and Elektron trenches (ongoing) here's something Ive learned. I have the digitakt + digitone, but not the Syntakt; this isnt relevant to the analogs. Not sure about the Octa, but that one is weird anyway....so...the midi track channels that you set on on the track interface will NOT forward mod wheel, pitch bend, after touch or anything like that. BUT if you keep the track off (ie channel = "X") and set the track channel in settings, that will forward all of that (mw, pb, at etc). HOWEVER...if you do that you essentially disconnect the sequencer (trigs, automation whatever) from that track. But as I said, you do get a passthrough of your keyboard or midi controller. And all that transport and clock stuff too. Maybe thats good, if you are employing the connected devices' sequencer. Not if you want to use, in this videos setup, the digitakt's sequencer. Another thing I do when using autotrack as laid out here (definitely the way to go most of the time) is set all the channels to off on the recieiving end otherwise I get conflicts. The autochannel still works regardless, and I can always turn a particular devices track on if for some reason that serves a purpose.

[@planetduh]

Such a clear explanation - thanks

[@perloner3869]

Thank you ! I could sync the Digitact to Model Sample

[@martinstubbs-race5078]

Just discovered you guys. Wow. Love the music with voices. Great tutorials. Just got the Digitakt and getting my head around the workflow.

[@Matthewsavant]

I also have 5 Elektron boxes (OT, MDUW, AR, A4 and DN) but my midi solution is way different. I have the OT as the brain for the same reason you’re using the DT as the brain but I actually hadn’t thought of using a midi splitter that could make things a little simpler than what I’ve got going on 🤔

[@videosarchive8058]

Thank you so much, great video! Much grattitude

[@Dj.mr.melodic]

Hi there I love this thankyou so much, it's taken me awhile to get used to how the work flow works in elektron boxes, I have the syntakt and the digitakt 2, plus I have the latest model theremin, which has CV out on pitch & Volume, just wondering how would I set that up so I can use the theremin on on or more of the channels on my syntakt, hope you don't mind the unsolicited question but I'm at the stage now where I need to ask someone who understands midi, thanks in advance 🙏🏻

[@unclemick-synths]

Great video 👍. I don't even own a Elektron but this was fun and gave me some insight. I'm trying to "come to an agreement" with my MPC One on jamming. As usual my thinking and approach has been in need of simplification! 😀

[@TeftyMeems]

Thank you! I’m always evolving and “adjusting” my setup so I’m all too familiar with the need to simplify my approach 🤣

[@BargenMusic]

If you do the exact same but you use Digitone, you have velocity, and both pitch and mod wheel.

[@MrKaizwei]

Awesome vid, man! THX

[@intersweat]

Hi. Noob question. You mentioned you were using a patch bay to route audio. I’ve got the auto channel working but want to know my options for the audio. Ideally I’d like to use this as a performance tool using ezbots template and I’m also wanting to record the live set. I assume all the audio needs to get through the oktatrak for this to work properly. Have you any vids on your setup? I seem to remember you showing a Mackie board and I’m keen to know more. I potentially want to include acoustic and electric guitar along with vocals. Trying to get my head around this is tough

[@micheldejesus3319]

Nice, really appreciate it 👍👍👍

[@mosesve1]

Thanks for the tipps! There are a few other quirks with syncing elektron machines with each other. They do not sync the recording mode of the main machine. So you have to use a pre-roll-bar on the main machine and while that is running you have to press record on the machine you want to record to. But, and I really hate that, the pre-roll-bar sends the play command over midi not at the end of the pre-roll, but at the beginning and the end, so all other machines are already running, while the main machine still counts in...

[@leftmono1016]

I’ve got a similar setup to the video, but without a Syntakt. Digitakt is the master, I can start the DT and it syncs the other devices. Program change works fine. When I want to record on any box I just press record and play whilst everything is running. Goes into quantized or unquantized record. Easy to build up tracks without having to stop/start the master. I’ve had issues with pre roll on an old MMT8 where you had to stop the sequence before going into record. So when the pre roll started everything else started. Had to get rid.

[@eliezerbrandao]

Amazing! Many thanks!

[@genoekenfloeken]

Sooohelpful, thanks a lot

[@fpsoundpacks]

Tahnks for that, will be very helpfull for me!

[@strangeblackclouds]

so, do you have all of the audio outs going to a mixer?

[@MrCoyoteculler]

Earned my sub!

[@Geekraver]

I'm a bit confused about what you do when you record. Do you just not use the remaining MIDI channels on the Digi (the ones that are not sendin on other device auto-channels), and instead record each part on a particular device on that device? So the Digi MIDI channels are not used for recording but just for MIDI controller passthrough?

[@simia85]

I have the trinity as well and am wondering if instead of using the midi y-splitter if i could use a quadra thru and still get the same results. I ordered the splitter cable but it won't be here for awhile. Thanks!

[@jefferysaddoris]

This may be a silly question, but how would you record all of this? Does the audio out of each module get routed through a mixer like the Model 12 or something?

[@OttoMilde]

Great tutorial! What is the benefit of a split midi-cable? I have almost the same setup but my midi goes just from Digitakt to Digitone (thru) and on to my A4 (thru) and then on to some other stuff.

[@vincentverraest2722]

Exactly, splitter cable is indeed redundant. What I also experienced was indeed the Program changes bug. Sometimes even the transport functionalisty was messed up. Than I sacrificed one other midi channel and dedicated it for the program changes and it worked ok. So I basically separated the time sync and TX from program changes. Sync and TX were on Auto Channel, program changes out of digitact on Channel 12 out and on CH12 in on the others.

[@BIGLARRY100]

Good videos in general & you have knack for explaining setups. I'm gonna pass on A. Buying all that Digi gear & B. The amount of setup to make a beat is pretty steep.

[@jean-francoisduguay7592]

hi there! Question for you. Did you find a way to make pattern change with all those elektron simultaneously?

[@trippinggenerator]

I follow the same principle but I don't use a midi splitter. i instead connect the digitak midi out to the next elektron box (say digitone) and all the other elektron boxes in cascade mode using the midi thru => midi in reserving their midi out for external synths. is there a specific reason to prefer a midi splitter after the digitakt???

[@briansin]

Very informative video. You seem to be an Elektron expert, so hoping you can help with a config. I have a Rytm as part of a large MIDI setup. All devices are connected on different channels, and I have like 12 different devices. Here’s my problem - I want to the Rytm to listen to the Auto Channel, and ONLY the auto channel, as different devices in my setup are on different channels (rytm is not the hub). This is fine, however, I want to be able to trigger all 12 tracks on the Rytm from the auto channel, using C0 - B0 as in the manual. However, for this to work, I have to configure the midi channels for Tracks 1-12 to be channels 1-12. That leads those tracks to listen to those midi channels, which are getting midi for OTHER devices! So my question, how can I trigger C0-B0 on the auto channel WITHOUT having those tracks listen to any other midi? Thanks!

[@quintenoorschot3500]

How would you set it up with a Digitakt, Roland S1 and Minilogue Xd since the XD and S1 does not have a Midi Thru

[@Tim.Traveler]

Where did you get those red and blue MIDI cables? Cant find them anywhere... ?

[@boombap08]

Please help me so i can achieve this with my digitakt/tone and then erebus? I basically have a keystep to digitakt then to the tone then trying to connect my erebus but dont know why thru wont work?

[@albiedamned]

What is the low profile MIDI cable that you're using between the Keystep and the Digitakt? I could use one of those!

[@formerself4372]

Unfortunately, I can confirm issues with Program Changes still exist, at least with the Analog Rytm. To this day, AFAICT it's not possible to get the Analog Rytm to change patterns in sync with other non-Elektron devices. It severely limits what is supposed to be Elektron's flagship drum machine.

[@mdeerocks6792]

Do you have any midi latency issues when using the splitter? I had a smilar setup and had sync/latency issues between main machine (Octa) and Digitone/Syntakt. resovled by using a MIDI patchbay (not a cheap solution)

[@Kleinebombair]

Can i send syntakt Audio to Digitakt, Recording and transform it. Can i hear the Sound on my Monitors When digitakt Audio goes to my Interface? Thanks for helping me and sorry for my Bad englisch

[@SURCOlive]

Good stuff!

[@pompeysie]

Where was the USB of the Keystep connected to and how was that then connected to the Digitakt?

[@adamcarter6013]

Thanks for the video! I have a very similar setup. The Arturia Keystep has no readout for its tempo. Is it possible with this setup to send tempo from the Digitakt back to the Keystep so we can use the random arp from the Keystep and record midi to a selected Elektron box in time?

[@rectangulo2306]

is there a way to save the midi settings ? because when changing pattern, I have to go into the digitakt midi settings everytime

[@el_dani]

Very thorough explanation. This kind of videos are great ressources for beginners, I just hope they don‘t start with a 6000$ Elektron setup 😅

[@hiparik1]

Nice explanation! But I think I need your help 😬 where can I chat with you?

[@EphemeralThought]

Can you use the Digitakt to record everything that happens?

[@tendingtropic7778]

thanks! does a digitakt/syntakt also receive midi over usb? (without having a usb host/hub in between)?

[@TeftyMeems]

Yup, it does standard USB/Midi.

[@tendingtropic7778]

@@TeftyMeems thats nice, and could you also connect a keyboard via usb to one elektron box, and then use the midi din thru to connect one elektron box to another? essentially converting the usb midi signal to midi din that way?

[@AlexFainDj]

Useful 😎

[@chareslamb87]

Great video. My wife has stopped trying to understand my ever “evolving” home setup haha. If you had to chose between the Digitakt (with overbridge) or the MPC one which would it be? Both for composition and then live performance. I ask because I know you have used both boxes a ton for composing.

[@TeftyMeems]

Thanks! To answer your question, I think it depends on the complexity of the music. If you have lots of changes per song and the measures don’t fit into Elektron’s 4 bar pattern setup, then the MPC is the way. But I think the Digitakt is more fun to perform live!

[@blindianajones]

This was really helpful. Do you happen to know if I could use a midi footswitch to change patterns and do fills on the syntakt? Im a guitarist and want to be able to control patters / parts of a song by foot, hitting a switch to change a pattern from one to another and add a fill whenever I want.

[@dandas1000]

You look way younger!

[@dethsyndrome]

All I heard in this video was ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO USE! Youre camera game makes me jelly, I love your channel.

[@TeftyMeems]

❤️🙏❤️

[@nepntzerZer]

What is a DAWless? Which one is a DAWless? Are you a DAWless?

[@maschinelab8598]

don't this devices have usb midi? I don't own none of elektron.

[@raytbrown2]

TY! But as others pointed out, why on Earth didn't you just change them all to 13-14-15-16 and make OUR lives easier? Maybe you can think 13=12 and 16=14 and 15=15 but we can't (shouldn't) be required to do so!!!!! But, thank you!

[@TeftyMeems]

Mainly to show that the channel number didn’t really matter. I think real world setups have last minute changes in gear and the channels can get swapped. This setup shows it’s possible to still be flexible 👍

[@raytbrown2]

@@TeftyMeems Fair enough & makes sense. Either way, I learned a few things; and maybe because the channel thing was making me pay more attention -- and I almost thought that this might have been your reasoning. 🙂

[@teemunnee]

Amazing video, thank you. To fix the program change problem - all the devices need to be on the same auto channel. This can clearly run into some issues, and I've only found this to work well with my two boxes, no clue how you would do this with the setup in the video.

[@tazsidney6910]

Super helpful, thanks so much