Syntakt Unboxing and First Impressions

[@ndguardian]

Have to say, I had absolutely no interest in the Syntakt. It's still not something I would buy, but I can see some of the appeal at least. I swear you're able to make anything sound good. Nicely done dude. Also Zzounds folks, if you're reading this - send this guy more stuff.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, I'm interested to see if my opinion on it changes after using it extensively in person! Appreciate you saying that btw haha

[@noisetheorem]

The unit gets HOT. I was really surprised. I hope that doesn’t age it’s electronics too fast.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, I'm not crazy about that aspect of it haha.

[@Stadsjaap]

$1k? That seems... optimistic.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, I definitely think it needs to be down with the Digitakt and Digitone pricewise. Thanks for watching!

[@cavacino]

heya what happened to budget friendly gear>>>>..... interesting unit but i assume its quite expensive

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, it's $999 US. I try not to cover too many pieces of more expensive gear on the channel, but I do have the OP-1, Deluge, and MPC One, which are all similarly priced. I honestly have zero plans of getting a Syntakt for myself, but so many people have asked me to check it out that I figured I would thanks to zZounds. Thanks for watching!

[@frankgibson8960]

Love zzounds

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah they've always been great!

[@electronicfeelings5832]

This looks quite fun to play with, but man a thousand bucks for a device that has less functionality than a 90s groovebox? Sorry but that's a deal breaker for me. If this was like 500-600 sure I'd totally buy one

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah it definitely feels overpriced. I'm interested to see what my full review is going to look like when I make it. Thanks for watching!

[@volsteh]

do a livestream

[@FreeBeat]

That could be fun!

[@wiggesobk]

Oh yeah this is really cool. I think you can sample with it too?

[@FreeBeat]

Nope, no sampler or even sample engines :(

[@GeorgeL909]

I absolutely adore the Syntakt. It's the industrial Sega Genesis DFAM cronenberg monster I always dreamed about. You can dive into every single note, and mangle each step, you can make the strangest nearly unplayable shifting time signatures. It's weird, but it's definitely for me. If you want a versatile groovebox, I think the mc101/707 line takes the cake in my opinion as best overall groovebox, but if you want gritty nasty heavy metal synthesizer character, that's where the Syntakt excels. My only gripe is it's a bit pricy for what it is, but so is everything nowadays...

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for sharing! I agree about the price, I think if it was in line with the Digi series at $800 it'd be more appealing for sure.

[@GeorgeL909]

@@FreeBeat yeah I hundred percent agree with you there.

[@mountainmanmcbeachfront5296]

111th viewer. it shall be written in the history books

[@FreeBeat]

hahaha thanks for watching!

[@djcuda]

[@FreeBeat]

I actually asked for the Syntakt because so many people have told me to check it out haha. No OP-1 Field for me, unless TE wants to send me one lol. I will get my hands on a Digitone eventually, I'm actually really looking forward to that day :)

[@djcuda]

@@FreeBeat I would’ve took the syntakt too cause I own a model cycles so it makes sense, I told people if they jump into electron and had to choose a box between the 3 now that syntakt is out that’s the best one!

[@PFDarkside]

“Ooh… snack pack, nice.”

[@FreeBeat]

Nom nom nom

[@galactictapes]

Been GASing about the Syntakt for quite a while. Super nice video, really appreciated it. Nice to see the going blind video :). Gives a good idea of intuitive-ness of the machine.

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks as always!

[@DJSockmonkeyMusic]

Well, it's not for me, but it is a pretty cool unit. I just don't think I'd ever send that much money on a single device, but I'm a big software synth user. Just updated to the new version of Harrison Mixbus, which has added Ableton Live style clip launching and a bunch of other new things. Nice intro demo.

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@DJSockmonkeyMusic]

@@FreeBeat always man. I've been busy so not commenting much lately, but I'm still around lol. I caught some of the live shows, they were great. Cool to see you looking at DAW stuff now too. Ableton Live opens up a whole new world of stuff to fiddle with haha.

[@SimpleHold]

Theme park and unboxing the Syntakt all in one day. Mission accomplished! 😄 Thank you for sharing the experience with us.

[@FreeBeat]

The best part is I had no clue it was even coming that day. We got back *poof,* there it was!

[@MrGeoffashley]

I’ve got about 1/4 of my gear from zZounds with their 6 and 12 month payment plans…they’re awesome

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah they're great, I've ordered quite a few times from them in the past!

[@joshuamorganmusic]

Ooooooo! Ya got yr hands on a big boy synth! If anyone can get me to get a syntakt it’ll be you fam🤘the polyphony did bug me too but….

[@FreeBeat]

Haha we'll see! I'm pretty indifferent on it right now, but I'm gonna keep using it until I can release a full review :)

[@jantuitman]

I really really love the Syntakt, I use mine always for drums lately, and as an FX box for either my Deluge or my Wavestate. It has so many different sounds and nearly everything sounds good! I (contrary to many people) am not the biggest fan of the sequencer, the biggest flaws of it are that it has no arranger and a pattern can contain max 64 steps. Still need to practice a lot more before I can make really good live performances with the box, but it is pretty nice for that.

[@FreeBeat]

I just wish you could save pattern chains haha. Thanks for watching!

[@TrickmanTerry]

Whoah that IS small. I thought for sure it matched up size-wise with the Model: Cycles. It sure does sound like one off the bat from the short time you've had with it. I'll look forward to seeing a little deeper dive of a demo to find out what I'm missing (or not). Thanks for the unboxing vid!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks haha, me too!

[@infriad]

Great video! Really looking forward to follow your journey with this device. I think Syntakt is a very interesting machine and I bought it on day one. It still sits here in the studio, turned on and looks soo good. It screams to be used. But every time I use the syntakt it feels like a struggle. Especially Soundwise. I think it’s very hard to get it to sound good. It always sounds harsh and metallic like the cycles which I never liked. Kind of like the opposite to Analog four and Digitone which sounded good almost immediately. Right now I’m tempted to just sell it and focus on my other gear instead of wasting more valuable time with this. I hope you get more out of it than I did!

[@FreeBeat]

I get what you mean, for sure. I find myself preferring the Cycles over right now for some strange reason. It's a very interesting device, I need to spend some more time with it. Thanks for watching!

[@alex-r-t]

Woot! Happy to be here @Free Beat 😁 Thanks for the first look and congrats on what I hope is the beginning of a new chapter for your channel! Also: snack pack, lol

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much! Gotta love the snack packs :)

[@jacobthewinner]

I can totally see you owning this device in the future, especially considering how much you gel with the model cycles. Sometimes the digital machines dont always sound great, but when you dirty up those sounds heavily with the overdrive, BOTH LFOs, and then start incorporating the FX track? Thats what sets this device apart. Excited to see what you can do with this. Also, think about getting a stand for it so it can have some better ventiliation. Makes a huge difference.

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@ildafons]

It is definitely warm as analog circuitry gets warm and the housing don't have vents.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah the lack of vents is a pretty big flaw IMO. Thanks for watching!

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

I tried one and returned super fast. It was overly complicated and it sounds bland.

[@FreeBeat]

Sorry to hear you didn't like it, I'm pretty indifferent to it right now honestly. We'll see if that changes.

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

@@FreeBeat I mean for the right kind of music it’s probably a beast. It’s just not for me and I’m accepting of that.

[@croatoansounds]

Can also just double tap Syn to get to the menu for machine selection. Makes it a bit quicker

[@FreeBeat]

Oh that's a great tip, thank you!

[@Sadiquecat]

Looking forward to what you do with it :D I'm really hyped on this one !

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much, me too!

[@LonzaMac]

Gotta love it when a great product also comes with great cables. Built in value 😁

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah Elektron cables are always great haha.

[@FuZZbaLLbee]

I guess it will be a great addition for users that actually have a Digitakt and Digitone. A sampler, a polyphonic synth and an analog bass.

[@FreeBeat]

That is one spendy setup haha, $2600 US!

[@FuZZbaLLbee]

@@FreeBeat true, it’s not cheap. But if that is all you buy and don’t get GAS for new synths, that would be acceptable I guess.

[@LonzaMac]

Been a long time.. excited about this synth!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@croatoansounds]

Heyyy nice! Welcome to the club hehe

[@FreeBeat]

At least temporarily haha, thank you!

[@thepeopleschoice431]

The Syntakt is amazing

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!