Model:Cycles How to Start Jamming Tutorial!

Model:Cycles How to Start Jamming Tutorial!
Today's video is a tutorial for any new Elektron Model:Cycles owners who want to jump right into the thick of things and get their first jam going! After we load an initialized (blank) project, I'll show you how to sequence some drums and create a basic pattern. Then, I'll show you some of my favorite techniques for messing with the sounds, and creating something completely your own. Enjoy!
GEAR IN THIS VIDEO
Elektron Model:Cycles: amzn.to/2Ky56Vp
Zoom H5 (audio recorder): amzn.to/3mKH72C
Questions? Ask them below!
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[@paulversey6589]

As a complete newb I just wanted to say thanks. This was very helpful to get me started.

[@FreeBeat]

Glad I could help, let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for watching!

[@ClaudioBrandy]

Very clear and down to earth intro to the Cycles. As always, your videos are entertaining and informative. Thanks, FreeBeat!

[@FreeBeat]

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[@paulmullins8425]

You explain things better than most I’ve seen on this machine, 👍👍👍👍👍

[@FreeBeat]

Thank you so much!

[@zozobra]

Great video! Exactly what I needed. This thing is so much fun right out of the box.

[@FreeBeat]

It definitely is, and the fun never stops!

[@jammintoast]

Just got the cycles and having a blast with it so far! Thanks for the quick rundown.

[@FreeBeat]

Glad you're enjoying yours!

[@NicoleHam]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I've learned a lot about sequencers and mixing in the past year, but I just got one of these and was COMPLETLEY lost, so many of the tuts were way too technical at the jump. YOU SAVED ME! Thank you :)

[@FreeBeat]

Glad you enjoyed it! I wish there were a lot more simple tutorials for gear haha. Thanks for watching!

[@carldahlqvist1290]

Got my own cycles, sitting down to just have a quick look at it before I head to work and this video helped me do just that. Will be checking out more tutorials to learn the basics of this cool machine! Cheers!

[@matthewsimonson6285]

Great video, I got much further in 12 minutes than I did trying to read the manual.

[@FreeBeat]

Glad I could help!

[@TehRc3]

Nice video keeping it simple, I love what people have done with this I’m also at buying point!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much!

[@arendbehiels7600]

best tutorial on how to start using cycles, thanks!

[@jurgenvandeputte4027]

Thanks for making this video. Helpfull when you just bought the cycles and wanna start making music. Grtz from Belgium.

[@FreeBeat]

Glad the video helped you out, thanks!

[@MightyYo13]

Thank you dude!

[@UltimoEnemigo]

love your channel man! I have a model cycles with one track sending midi (sequence, tone) to Dreadbox Typhon, and its a killer combo!

[@FreeBeat]

That sounds awesome! Thanks for watching :)

[@mjrrrrr]

this was super helpful! thank you!! ✨

[@FreeBeat]

Glad you found the video helpful, thanks so much for watching!

[@filipzawadzki9424]

People still don't understand what innovative this unit is. It will be vintage and huge known like 909 I'm sure of it.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, it's awesome! Thanks for watching :)

[@OscarMeza_asiapac]

I loved this simple and straight forward short tutorial. I hope you did the same kind of video for the OP-Z and OP-1

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much for watching! I should have one of these out on the OP-1 soon enough. Not sure if I have this exact style video on the OP-Z, but I know others a lot on my channel lol

[@LiveReview]

Thank you for wonderful guide!

[@FreeBeat]

Glad you liked it!

[@croatoansounds]

Just got my cycles in the mail. Thanks for this vid! Great to have a guide to jumping in, without hours of tutorial… I will watch those, but wanted to at least start trying stuff and this is perfect!

[@FreeBeat]

Glad I could help! Once you wrap your head around the concepts in this video you'll be able to do quite a bit, and then dive in to some of the deeper elements of the cycles. Happy jamming!

[@croatoansounds]

@@FreeBeat yea! I have been spending alllll day long on it today, haha, and there is SO much cool stuff. It’s actually pretty straight forward once you figure out how to navigate all the basics.

[@rfphotoart]

Super helpful for a beginner. Thanks! 🥁

[@FreeBeat]

Glad to help, thanks for watching!

[@spaceelf888]

Thanks, I was almost in rage mode trying to get any type of recording to work beyond the first track, could get that working fine but trying to add any other instrument (anything apart from T1) was either playing random crap or not making a sound. The part about loading a blank project at around 1:30 solved that instantly though. I liked some of the chaos you got between 9 and 10 mins too, might have a go at that later!

[@FreeBeat]

Glad I could help, happy jamming!

[@timbalerx2224]

so GOOOOOOD FINALLY

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks!

[@matthewwilson3673]

great video covering this synth/groovebox

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much!

[@newflanged_]

I’m so glad you are making these videos! I learned so much about POs from your videos and now I just got a Model Cycles!! Thank you! I wish you could make a video about all the conditions and triggers, like NEI or FILL etc. that’d be awesome

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much! I definitely plan to make videos about all the conditional triggers, but first I need to learn way more about them hahaha. Thanks for watching!

[@newflanged_]

@@FreeBeat fair enough!! :)

[@trevormalcolm4328]

Just got my Model:Cycles! I’m gonna spend the weekend locked in my bedroom playing with my new toy and watching your KZbin videos!

[@FreeBeat]

Have a blast, and don't forget to have the manual handy! There are so many little features on the cycles that it's nearly impossible to memorize them all without the manual lol.

[@trevormalcolm4328]

@@FreeBeat All ready and good to go! I’ve printed the manual (it’s gonna be full of notes and pretty dog- eared by the time I’ve finished) and a list of videos to follow along to, might be a few Freebeat ones included! 👍🏽✌🏽🇬🇧

[@FreeBeat]

Awesome, have fun!

[@joej5081]

this video has made be consider this device, looks so cool

[@FreeBeat]

It's a lot of fun! Thanks for watching :)

[@timothy_synth]

Great Video, but at 8:15 it wasn’t necessary to prove your point for 2 whole minutes haha. Made me laugh so hard! But now I‘m super excited for my Model:Cycles, hope it arrives soon!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching, enjoy your Cycles!

[@iosmusicman]

You must have known a year ago that I’d appreciate this video in the future. I hate the look of the machine but I’ve located a pre-owned one at a great price. Cheers for the back catalogue. Lee

[@RaskolnikovR]

very useful thanks a lot

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@ndguardian]

Seeing this one with just the drum parts, I'm interested to see what you do with the melodic machines. Looking forward to that video!

[@FreeBeat]

I definitely need some more experience before that video happens haha. Working with melodic stuff is a whole different beast on the cycles. Unless I just use my key step, which I might lol. Appreciate you watching, as always!

[@SonicVibe]

Just ordered one ya convinced me lol price was right, I think your right in why ya picked this over the samples all that sample edit takes away from creativity, I just wish they came in different colors like elective 2 blue or something even pink lol also People say it’s hard to get away from the sound but I also think that’s what gives it character as far as FM diving I think this is the right beginner amount for me

[@FreeBeat]

A few different color options would be awesome!

[@xx_jeff_xx5555]

You’re legit a beast for doing this and being so to the point, helped me out heaps and I’m making nice shit, appreciate it

[@FreeBeat]

Thank you so much, glad I could help!

[@Lightitudian]

thank you

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@spellerlittlewing]

I really like this one wish they made software this easy to operate am sold just ordered mines

[@FreeBeat]

Nice! Let me know if you have any questions, I hope you love it!

[@kjstar1star]

Great video. Was wondering if it is possible to chain different saved projects together. Sometimes I will resave a variation of an existing song as new project number. Thanks!

[@FreeBeat]

Unfortunately it's not :(

[@spellerlittlewing]

Wow I. Like this wish they had software this easy

[@FreeBeat]

I think it's hard with software, because you're limited to an artificial input method. Being able to reach out and actually push buttons and turn knobs makes things a lot faster haha

[@Fonkemman]

Hey man please make a playlist for all your elektron videos 🙂

[@24hardkor]

Hi there, been watching your videos on the model cycles for ages now. I’ve just got mine today and I’m having this weird issue with switching patters? I’m preparing for a performance on Thursday and when I switch patters on the model cycles it switches at the end of the bar that it’s on rather than waiting till the end of the 4/4 bar, sometimes it doesn’t switch at all. It’s causing issues with the songs I’m composing as well as syncing with the pattern transitions on my digitone. Thanks for reading!

[@FreeBeat]

Interesting, I haven't heard of that happening before. Would it be possible for you to try a factory reset and see if the problem persists?

[@noodlingaround2023]

I'm getting more and more tempted to purchase this. Which cable have you used to connect to your interface. I thought you'd need two cables, not one. Thanks

[@FreeBeat]

It's a great device! I was lazy for this video and recorded in mono lol. So I'm just running a standard 1/4" cable haha. Thanks for watching!

[@goham8484]

How do you get the track to go into 2:4 3:4 4:4??

[@FreeBeat]

Just change the length of a track in the track menu to the appropriate amount of steps! 2/4 = 8/16, 3/4 = 12/16, and so on.

[@itsjustaprankfam6921]

Are u able tk connect it to fl studios?

[@FreeBeat]

Yes, the Cycles can transmit midi over USB.

[@teatime2595]

What's the audio jack like ? Does it run by itself or do you need a PC?

[@dmalex321]

You got stereo headphone out with 6,3 mm and dedicated left/right line out channels in 6,3 mm. You don't need any other hardware except the power supply :)

[@FreeBeat]

^ that right there!

[@tonymagno552]

@@dmalex321 Elektron now offers a handle for the cycles which is actually a battery pack. So no power cord needed. I haven't heard great reviews on it though. For about half the price you can apparently power it up with a battery power pack, like you would use to charge your phone or laptop.

[@GadiantonsRobber]

Just starting. Cycles or P.O. tonic?

[@FreeBeat]

They are two very different instruments, but the Cycles has a lot more to offer by itself. The tonic can do a lot, but you also need to purchase the microtonic software if you want to unlock its true potential.

[@linghan3260]

I was really considering buying this but the fact that it has no sampler is a bit of a deal breaker :(

[@FreeBeat]

Check out the Model:Samples :)