Frequently asked questions

By default new patterns inherit the kit/sounds. To get a truly blank slate, clear the active pattern (Function + Clear) or start from an empty project, and use an empty/placeholder sample slot on tracks you don't want sounding. On Digitakt II the sound-pool/track model changed, so set the tracks' sample slots to "off"/empty rather than expecting silence by default.

Different tools. The Octatrack is the deep, quirky performance sampler/looper (pickup machines, scenes, crossfader, slices) with a steep learning curve and an enormous body of community knowledge. Tonverk is newer and more modern/streamlined. If you want the legendary live-resampling/mangling workflow and don't mind the learning curve, Octatrack; if you want something more immediate, Tonverk.

Use the LFO destination list — on most Elektron boxes the LFO can target FX parameters, but the exact reachable destinations depend on the model/OS. On the Digitakt the LFOs are per-track; route an LFO with the FX track active (or use the second LFO) and scroll the destination to the delay/reverb parameter. If the target isn't in the list, that destination isn't modulatable on that OS.

Elektron Transfer is Windows/macOS only. On Linux the community uses Elektroid (an open-source transfer tool that talks to Elektron devices over USB) to send/receive samples and manage the +Drive. It covers Model:Samples, Digitakt, Syntakt and more.

Generally yes — they're robust with few known failure points. On arrival, check every encoder/button for response, the screen, and that it updates OS and connects over USB. Confirm it's not stuck on an old OS with known bugs. Trickle-charge/USB issues are rare; the main thing is encoder wear on heavily gigged units.

The usual culprits: the device must be in the correct USB mode (Overbridge, not just MIDI), the Overbridge app + device OS must be on compatible versions, and on some hosts you need the VST/AU and the standalone engine running. Use a data USB cable straight to the computer (not through a hub), match versions, and reboot both.

A project holds everything (settings, +Drive references). A pattern is the sequence (trigs, p-locks, length). A kit (on devices that have them) is the set of sounds/parameters a pattern points at — multiple patterns can share a kit, and saving a kit vs saving a pattern are separate actions. Forgetting to save the kit is the #1 "I lost my sound" mistake.

Trig conditions (e.g. 1:2, FILL, PRE, NEI, %) make a trig fire only some of the time or based on the previous trig, which is how Elektron sequences feel alive. 1:2 fires every other loop; % fires by probability; FILL only during fill mode. Hold a trig and turn the rightmost encoder to set its condition.

Per-device limits differ (the original Digitakt has tighter project sample RAM than Digitakt II). Long samples eat the per-project sample budget fast — trim and mono your samples, and use the +Drive for storage vs the limited working RAM. "Sample memory full" almost always means too many long stereo samples loaded into one project. Note the Syntakt is primarily a synth/drum box, but OS 1.40 added limited sample playback (about 32 MB across 64 slots, ~5 seconds max per sample), so it has a small sample budget too.

Resampling on-device (especially Octatrack) is core to the workflow — capture a mangled loop, then re-sequence it. The Octatrack's recorder + flex machines are built for this. Use the DAW when you need precise edits or to free up device memory, but the immediacy of in-box resampling is why people buy these.

The 8 audio tracks aren't an 8-sample limit. Use sample-locks (p-lock a different sample slot on individual trigs) so a single track plays many different samples across its steps, plus the sound pool and conditional trigs to vary them. The MIDI tracks sequence other gear. Digitakt II also raised the available voices/slots. So one track + sample-locks gets you well beyond eight sounds per pattern.

LEN sets the trig's gate/note length, but a one-shot sample plays to its end regardless of gate unless the amp envelope responds to the gate — set the amp HOLD/REL (or use a sustaining/looped amp shape) so the note length actually cuts or sustains the sound. On synth voices LEN works as expected; on one-shot samples with a fast/full decay, LEN appears to "do nothing" until the amp envelope is gated.

Conditional-trig behaviour (1:2, FILL, %, PRE, NEI, etc.) interacts with pattern length and chaining, and Elektron has tweaked these interactions across OS versions. If a condition fires differently after an update, check that OS's release notes for the specific change, and confirm your pattern length/chain hasn't shifted what PRE/NEI reference. This is exactly the kind of thing to verify against the current OS rather than older guides.

Yes — make the Octatrack the master (it sends MIDI clock + transport) and set the other device to receive clock and transport (over DIN MIDI or USB). On the slave, enable "receive clock/transport" and disable its own send if you don't want a loop. Expect the usual Elektron sync caveats (tighten by minimizing the MIDI chain); a bar-offset usually means transport start isn't being received or the slave is also sending clock back.

Two paths depending on what you mean. To repeat a musical section, copy a range of trigs (copy/paste within the pattern) or use pattern length + chaining. To loop part of a sample, set the flex/static machine's trim start/length and loop points so only that slice repeats, and trigger it with a hold/scene. The Octatrack's slice grid + loop mode is the cleanest way to lock onto a sub-section of a four-bar loop.

Use a Thru machine: assign a track a Thru machine and set its input pair (AB or CD) to the input your source is plugged into. That track now passes the live external audio through the Octatrack's FX and into the mix, and you can resample it with a Flex/Recorder. For monitoring/levels, set the inputs in the project's audio/mixer setup; don't expect external audio on a track until a Thru (or Pickup/Flex recording) machine is assigned.

Per-track MIDI is configured in the track's MIDI/SETUP — set its output channel there (and enable the MIDI track to send), then your external gear set to the same channel responds. Auto-channel handles live keyboard input; the per-track channel is what the sequencer transmits. If an external synth isn't responding, check the track's MIDI channel matches and that MIDI send (not just trig) is enabled.

Use trig conditions tied to fill. Put the trigs you want only-in-fill on the FILL condition and the trigs you want everywhere-but-fill on NOT FILL (FILL inverted). Hold FILL (or latch it) and only the FILL-conditioned trigs fire while the NOT FILL ones drop out — that's how you "mute" the normal pattern and reveal a fill across tracks without manual mutes.

There's no one-click merge. Copy content between them instead: save the sounds you want to the +Drive sound library (or pool) from project A, open project B and load them, then copy/paste patterns or banks. Samples must exist in both projects' sample slots. The cleanest path is to standardise your sample slots/sound library so patterns copied between projects point at the same slots.

Use Elektron Transfer (macOS/Windows) or the open-source Elektroid (Linux/macOS) to pull samples and sound/project data off over USB, and keep a copy of your +Drive content. Projects and the sound library live on the +Drive; export the sounds you care about to the library and back that up before an OS update. There's no single "export everything" button, so treat Transfer/Elektroid + your saved sounds as the backup.

Stack the grit sources: sample-rate reduction (SRR) and bit reduction, the overdrive/distortion in the amp or filter page, and analog drive on the Rytm/Syntakt. Then resample the result at a lower rate to commit and compound it. Pushing the filter, a touch of the FX, and re-sampling a mangled loop back in is how the dirty, crunchy Elektron character is built — print it rather than relying on one knob.

Pick one box as the clock master and run MIDI clock to the rest. On the master enable Clock Send + Transport Send (Settings ▸ MIDI ▸ Sync); on each slave enable Clock Receive + Transport Receive, connect MIDI DIN (or USB MIDI), and start the master — the slaves follow tempo and start/stop. The Octatrack is a popular master thanks to its arranger/song mode, but any of them can drive the others. Keep a single chain (or use a MIDI thru/splitter) and exactly one master, or you'll get double-clocking.

The factory content lives in your Elektron account, not on the device. Register the Tonverk with its serial number at elektron.se, then open your Registered Products page — a "Factory Content" download appears under "Latest Firmware". If the device shows up as registered but the link isn't there, re-registering with the same serial number has made it appear for several owners; otherwise contact Elektron support. Then load the downloaded content back onto the device/SD card.

Lock memory is separate from sample RAM — the RAM meter tracks sample memory and has no bearing on it. Each pattern has a fixed budget for parameter locks and trigless/trig data, so you can hit "Lock Mem Full" with plenty of sample RAM left, most often after a lot of live-recorded parameter tweaks (which generate many locks). Some users also report hitting it with very little p-locking, which looks like a hard-to-reproduce firmware bug. To recover headroom, clear unused p-locks/automation, simplify heavily automated patterns, or split a large live set across more patterns.

It's not a must-upgrade. The DT2 adds stereo sampling, more tracks, kits, perform mode, extra LFOs and FX (chorus/comb filters) — all genuinely nice, but the original's eight mono tracks, resampling, p-locks and a bit of creativity still go a long way. If the DT1 workflow already suits you, the money may be better spent pairing it with a Digitone (to add synthesis) than replacing it, and an Overbridge/Outbox-style setup can expand the DT1 further. Upgrade if stereo sampling and the higher track/FX count specifically unblock what you're doing.