Elektron Syntakt

As an all-in-one groovebox without sampling, the Syntakt is ok. It doesn't have a compressor (even though you can use the amp section in the analog FX for a somewhat similar effect in some cases). It can't use samples, even though a gig of sample memory would have cost €0.50 extra, and the software is already finished (inside the Digitakt). What's also strange is that the analog sounds are fixed to slots 9-12, you can't assign slots according to function in your tracks. Makes playing live a bit harder, and unnecessarily so. Ok for people who do this as their main job, but for everyone else, this is a mess. I was looking for drum sounds, and I would have preferred more variation in the digital models here, because 40% of those are synth sounds I'm not interested in. And the variation of the analog models is still extremely limited, i can choose between 10 cymbal models, but only use one of them in my track. Same with the other analog tracks: 15 models, but only 3 simultaneously. What's more, when I want to use Midi tracks, I have to sacrifice a (digital or analog) track. The Digitakt or the Octratrack each have 8 Midi tracks, so why the limitation here, the analog tracks don't use more processing power than an MIdi track anyway. I also don't get why the macro controls are hidden so deep inside the menu structure, because Macros give you a lot of control over the machine, almost like a performance mode. A real performance mode would be even greater, but that is also missing. And of course kits, because every piece of music that uses more than one pattern would benefit from having kits, or else you end up copy-pasting each an every change in sound to the other patterns, and with 12 tracks that is 12 separate copy operations between patterns. So easy to mess this up.

So basically the thing gets in the way of what I want to do, due to all the strange limitations, which are entirely by design, and not by coincidence.

I really wanted to like this thing. Over the years, I have owned 7 different Electron boxes, of which I still have 3, and after 6 months, the Syntakt is still the one I find the least inspiring.

I own, and have owned, several different Elektron boxes such as Analog Four, Analog Rytm, Octatrack, and Model:Cycles. In essence, I really like them, but my feeling is that Elektron often artificially hampers them in order to not cannibalize on their own devices. If not, they're not doing a convincing job of explaining why certain features are confined to certain boxes.

For example, on the Syntakt, I really like the ctrl-all feature, a function which isn't, out of some unspecified reason, available on their more expensive boxes. On the other hand, on the Syntakt neither the kit function, nor the possibility to change patterns immediately exist. Also, I can't help but think that it would be fairly easy to implement a sample machine on the Syntakt, but my suspicion is that since this would render the Digitakt more or less useless, Elektron chooses not to do it.

There might be really good reasons for why the feature set is what it is on the Syntakt; my point is that for me as a consumer, because of the non-transparency, it _feels_ like Elektron makes the box less capable than what it could have been, not because of any technical or user experience reasons, but because of economical. So, while I really like the Syntakt in many aspects, I still have a hard time using it without feeling irritated.

With all that said, Syntakt is a quite capable and fun groovebox. Having twelve tracks (which even can be midi out tracks) along with both digital and analog sound engines, as well as the dedicated FX bus gives you a lot of options.