MPC vs Digitakt 2 // Real world comparison
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- Giving my overall thoughts for someone trying to decide between an MPC or a Digitakt II, assuming they don't understand the differences between the two. This is real world experience between the two platforms instead of straight feature/specs comparison.
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#digitakt #mpc #musicproduction - Hudba
Wow you read my mind. About 3 hours ago I was trawling CZcams for anyone comparing the MPC and the DT2. And lo my new favourite music tech CZcamsr posts exactly that a couple of hours later. Great stuff. Thank you - this is exactly the video I needed for my decision making. ❤
I've owned my MPC since 2020, I used to laugh at Elektron's boxes until I convinced myself to buy one. OH BOY was I an idiot. The workflow on Elektron for sequencing with trig locks is far superior to the MPC.
Digitakt 2 is more like an instrument the MPC is a mobile daw in hardware form.
D2 + Digitone + Analog Heat mk2 = serious live jams that sound incredible. MPC is excellent too for doing other things. a
To be fair thats a huge financial commitment for all three. What, $2500? I have an MPC Live 2 and D1 so I’m not hating either platform, just acknowledging that a newbie may struggle to cough up that much when comparing features to price of one single box.
Sold my MPC for Digitakt 2 and can’t stop making music. The MPC was powerful but I found it so difficult to love. The Digitakt workflow helps me create music quickly and in a fun way. Then once created, affecting the sounds in a live performance way is sooo much easier.
Honestly to me, my MPC Live II is the best mpc ever. And from the heart, i could not live in a home with the clicks of the Digitakt. Sorry😢.
@@MapleSonicsI enjoy both as I still have the original DT1, but I can never finish anything to sound competent with it. 7 years of shit techno haha 😂
I did the same, and feel the same way, but I can’t help feeling some regret every time I see an MPC, especially with this video Iol love the DT2, though, no regrets there❤
I recently augmented my Elektron set up with an MPC One+. I've owned several MPCs in the past but this time I'm using it differently. I'm using the Digitakt 2 and Syntakt as the main devices and just adding some extra MPC synth spice. The MPC workflow is pretty cumbersome but treated as a set of external synths and effects unit it pretty cool. I hate that it's red though 😵💫
Just get both, plus a SP404MK2. I need all of them 😂
On paper the MPC looks like a clear winner. Digitakt does less, but that also means it’s more focused at what it does do.
As always, it’s great that we have all these choices.
Absolutely, we're in a golden age of music production choices.
biggest downside is the Digitakt is monophonic sample tracks..so chords are gonna be a bitch.
@@cresshead v2 is stereo
@@frankie5671 mono as in one-note-at-a-time vs polyphony. Even DT2 can't play samples back in chords.
@@frankie5671 1note per track.
Brilliant content. I really appreciate this! 🙏
You mentioned the differences in track count and the fact that the MPC has plugins (where many are free and included in the purchase), I think it's worth calling that out on its own: the Digitakt is *just* a monophonic stereo sampler - each of the 16 tracks can only play one note of one sample at a time - whereas the MPC is *both* a sampler and a synth. On the MPC, one track can play a virtual analog polyphonic synth with several notes of polyphony. This is to me the biggest difference because it means the MPC is so much more versatile.
This doesn't mean that the Digitakt is not versatile by any means, it can approach synth sounds through eg single cycle waveforms and even wavetable synthesis. And it obviously has a unique and very fun and rewarding workflow that is unmatched in many ways. But it does make the MPC more of a fullblown production device where the Digitakt 2 is and will always be "just" an incredible fun and versatile sampler. Same thing with the Syntakt: it's "just" an incredibly fun and versatile synth. Whereas the MPC is both a synth and a sampler.
Agreed! Making this video made me realize it's relatively tough to describe those differences to someone that hasn't used both devices. Because on the surface level, you'd think the cheaper more robust option would be best, but your creative workflow might not mesh with it at all. It's interesting to dissect!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙏
Great comparison!
I’m glad you mentioned the activation limits with Akai, that’s been a pain for me, plus having to periodically ’activate’ plugins, even though they were already activated. Reactivating plugins is annoying. The worst thing in my mind, I’ve sold Akai gear (the Force, MPC X and a Live 2) because of the 3 device limit… I know just have one Live 2 Retro and MPC Software on my Mac. Just a stupid business move by inmusic.
New sub here. I really enjoy your IQ level, that is to say, your intelligent commentary on music gear and your explanations thereof, which help a lot. You should have way more subs! Thanks for creating/sharing your videos.
DAW box vs Sampling Groovebox!
Thank you. This video was perfect.
as soon as you said sequencer I bought the digitakt 2 straight away :)
Good video - shows that they're really very different beasts 👍
Regarding Saves, I am an obsessive saver so the buttons that will be first to break on my One will be Shift+Browse! 😂
Good stuff!
Really want the Explorer! Really incredible synth, that doesn't get enough credit. ..... And is reasonably priced, for how brilliant it is! Subbed, btw. ✌
I just brought a Digitakt 2. 3 days ago
It has velocity via machines menu.
Longtime subscriber. Love your videos. Thank you. This was good. Very interesting and informative. I’m curious have you tried the squarp Pyramid. I recently bought one and love it. Thought you might like it. My workflow very similar to yours. My mpc is still the heart of my system but considering putting the pyramid at heart and controlling the mpcs and hardware from that
Recently I've been playing around with my MPC and the fact that the track length defaults to the same as the sequence length, but doesn't HAVE to be the same, so you can get some really interesting, semi-generative things going on.
Yep, it can be the sequence length or something shorter. Can't be longer than the sequence though (like a 100 bar piano improv over a 8 bar loop).
@teftymusictech yep, and when the sequence loops around, all the tracks restart, as well.
Fair & balance review. Pointing out the good & the bad. Unlike Roger Linn.
Imo these boxes can be used in a number of ways, but for me Mpc is perfect for whole tracks w/ sample based workflow and Digitakt 1-2 are better performance boxes paired with other gear. It’s funny that both have quirks with their workflow… you have to adapt to these boxes… they won’t adapt to you…lol.
I’ve finished a few projects inside the MPC. Is it as fully featured as a DAW? Probably not, but I have no idea how to use a DAW.
Great comparison my friend !! What you think about the Polyend Tracker vs Digitakt ?
Thank you! I haven't tried the Tracker yet. I have a Polyend Play which has been fun, but I'm a bit burnt on the Play+ dropping almost immediately after I got the Play 😆
The Mini Tracker might be the perfect handheld device though ... I'm considering that one with that v2 update.
@@teftymusictech I can’t wait for maybe someday you get a Polyend tracker + and producer music and few videos here .
I have the tracker and I feel like a “ portable “ digitakt hahahha . I know they are different but have some much in common too .
Bro I been following you by years now . In your 2 channels , always very inspiring and helpful!!! Thanks . Keep doing it ;D
Cheers from Japan .
The polyend trackers got a huge 2.0 update with several kinds of (incredibly good sounding) sound synthesis. I get the mini and it's just missing the possibility to directly enter notes. Buy both the tracker+ and mini are powerhouses.
In my opinion, MPC (have Live2 and DT1 myself) and DT2 are two different things. MPC is a DAW-in-box (with plugins) and a stereo sampler. DT2 is a groovebox/sampler.
Both are fun to have and make music, but if you look at it from a budget point of view, the MPC already has everything you need to get started (at a reasonable price).
DT2, on the other hand, should preferably be supplemented with eg Digitone, Syntakt and possibly Analog Heat (if you want to go the whole electron chain). It's a completely different budget where Elektron surely has a thought behind it.
Personally, I would recommend MPC to then possibly build on with other interesting external devices. DT2 can be one of them.
I prefer the digitakt and elektron workflow over the mpc by a country mile. And am looking to sell my live 1. What with the MPC step sequencer being generally terrible, ONE REALLY GREAT THING u can do with it, is to, set sample start to velocity, and draw in ascending-descending velocity shapes on the step sequencer for some glitchy stuttery sample madness.
you can do that on MPC. but I should add for the readers - im sure you know this - that on the digitakt, it's almost instantaneous, so you can do it live, or just experiment constantly on the fly for almost unlimited happy accidents. the machinedrum takes that even further .... the things that can do to a simple loop, Jesus.
DT, you just hit live record and tweak the sample start knob a little while it plays to do the same thing in about 1 second longer than the time to play a single loop. then you could also do the same thing with a ton of other parameters on top of that, all 100% live. drop the probability and make the pattern sparser, play the bit crusher, mangle the filters ...
then after you mangled it to an insane degree, you could just hit a single key combo and be back at the start.
@@ukbloke28 I know m8, it truly is night and day. The ability to completely transform a sound on the fly is unreal. It's a cliche, but it plays like an instrument. The MPC is straight forward, bread and butter, and good if that's what you want. But anyone that really wants to wildly experiment with samples, the digitakt is a clear winner. I have to say as well, that I can get better sounds out single cycle wavs-wavetables on the digitakt, than the mpc plug-ins, which sound like they were made in 2005, not suprising as the mpc only has 2gb of ram to run everything .Sadly i've zero chance of getting a machinedrum, so I can only imagine how good it is!
@@allgonewrongful I mean you can do some of what ive been experimenting with on MD on the DT, but the thing it can do that really bugs me out is to be able to sequence recording of samples. to be able to pick multiple recording points on a bar on the fly and have it resample itself as it loops and then also sequence playing back those segments, and THEN ctrl-all parameters, just leads to the most bonkers results.
so far ive only done it with 1 record and 1 playback but there are 4 of each available.there's also an INP machine that lets you chop up an outside signal and apply envelopes and filters - also with with the own env - per step. the power is immense.
I wish they'd add a p-lock for 'record on' on the DT2, it doesnt seem like it would be difficult. Just add another machine to the list of track types where you can set the destination sample slot instead of having a second track for the playback machine.
The MD has a very specific sound, not least down to the 12 bit sampling. I love it but I'd like to see how this stuff sounds with higher fidelity too.
I think you can do the above on the octa too so perhaps that argument yet again about not taking sales away from it?
@@ukbloke28 You're right you can do that on the Octa, (im still learning the quite tricky process) and it is completely mental, sadly no ctrl-all on there tho. I think you could be right about the digi cannibalising octa's sales if they added the ability to sequence record trigs on the digitakt.
Any demoes of the MD i've seen, i've always loved the character of the sound, but knowing you can do that on it as well, kinda highlights why it's so sought after. U lucky f++ker :)
As it is mentioned the biggest difference is on the workflow. Forget about having a bunch of synths and effects and options. If your brain does not adapt to the workflow you will be stucked. With elektron you click a page suppose filter page and tweak easily the knobs. On MPC of course you can do filters but it a pain to go to the menus... On elektron you have a super powerful sequencer where you can modify per step everything and has more options for randomization, having that gives you the possibility to find by luck some cool sounds. On MPC it is more difficult to get those happy accidents and requires having on your mind a clear idea on what you want to do. At the end on paper MPC is more powerful but my brain never adapted to that workflow and adapted better to elektron workflow that as mentioned on the video is sort of a tracker (in vertical instead of the classic columns). MPC is cool for chords and also for layering sounds.
Interesting
Excellent video and a comprehensive comparison.
DAW in a hardware
vs The Elektron sequencer.
The work flow on the D2 is easier
But I think once one masters the MPC the results can be very rewarding.
Akai VFM 8/10
D2 VFM 7.6/10
Instant gratification
D2. 8/10
MPC. 5.5/10
Finger drummer MPC ✅
D2. 😞
Choice between both
D2.
But I prefer both 🤪 also if funds permit
Great video. 👌👌👌👌❤️❤️❤️❤️
D2 has zero instant gratification if you prefer to live play and record, rather than step sequence your beats. The lack of velocity sensitivity amazes me in the worst way possible!
But if you don't want to do that the MPC has possibly the very worst step sequencer I've ever used. Just having the steps resize correctly as you change TC setting would take it from completely unusable to a bit clunky but worth trying with....
@@kazakore its trivial to plug in cheap keyboard or pads to record into DT. then it's easy to tweak after the fact or add further p locking. I run Akai pads and nord drum pads into mine. ive got mpc one too but I couldnt stand the workflow and interface design, way too clunky and illogical.
MPC ONE is relatively large, a lot of functions like DAW, DIGITAKT2 is in a limited space to give the appropriate function, the effect device is not enough, there is no way to carry out a relatively deep mixing work in the machine.
i like using my digitakt 1. i like resampling and using it as a synth. if i wanted a daw i would just use a daw. mpc is so big. touch sensitive pads is nice though
Your pronunciation is correct because the name Digitakt is in swedish, and I like how they use words that are similar to english when naming their instruments
What does it mean?
@@neonpop80 diggy, to dig.
Say didgy-tact people, unless you are Swedish. its obviously a truncation of digital.
Imagine the analog mechanical switches on the Elektron devices. Velocity will be just a first step than :)
Good information.
The Digitakt is a sold unit but like all the step sequencer devices I own, I don’t have a need for that particular functionality. It’s something I play with on those devices but I don’t really use to piece together a song. No chord support, no thanks.
you can do chords on it. I think not as versatile but its possible. I think the DT2 will improve on it further
Thanks Tefty, exactly the video I was looking for. Brillantly done, as always.
P.S. Thanks for showing me that these 2 great boxes are not for me.
"The MPC does WAY more in terms of functionality and crafting of samples and even song production. All that for less. So... Get the Digitakt 2."
You have any tutorials for the digitakt 2
With the MPC you can have up to 128 single shot samples with 4 independent effects per pad, each can be sent to an individual bus and have different choke groups. You can layer up to 4 samples per pad using velocity, round robin or random to keep the samples dynamic if needed. Just let that sink in for a moment
Meh, MPC workflow is still atrocious
sure, but is a violin with 60 strings and 12 bows easier to play? Which produces the best music for the artist?
@@ukbloke28 true, just pointing out the layering possibilities , interesting round robin samples
Playback, lots of interest in the soundscape with the ability to put any sound in to any space and add colour to it too. The stuff that allows a good soloist to play over the top with a decent track underneath them
@@Kung_Fu_Jesus sure, I get you. it really comes down to what a person wants to achieve. im not into super complicated stuff and enjoy spontaneity and on the fly experimentation. I really wanted something that let me play with sounds and morph them, the DT makes that so easy and fast.
it's easy to be surprised with the elektron boxes, they have an organic quality about them, you can find them playing you as much as you play them ... especially the machinedrum. the sequenced resampling is insane.
What are you doing with round robins, just making drums less repetitive or something less typical?
I love em both.
I combine the synthersizer on the mpc with the drum engine on the digitakt
You're going to have to make a new video to compare ti to the MPC3 😅
mpc has huge bugs (midi), no updates but new and new payable plugins.
are either of these polyphonic?
No mention of the MPC host USB ports ability to host audio interfaces. The MPC can be used with up to 24 channels of audio this way, not only limited to the number on analogue outputs on the back. This is a massive feature IMO!
Are they compatible to use together ?
What do you mean with compatibility? You have MIDI/USB connections.
Great video. I find that one thing that no one talks about is sound quality. I would love to get an octatrack for example but the electron boxes seem to have lower sound quality. I don’t know why but I can hear it 🤷♂️
I heard that Octa has lower quality than DT, and that DT2 is even better? Not sure. But def Octa is lower quality
some people think there are some baked-in adjustments in DT, some dont like the automatic normalisation of samples. But I think the DT has excellent sound quality. fundamentally it's just playing samples, so maybe you didnt like the samples you heard?
@@ukbloke28 i have mostly checked the OT but from what I hear on the DT it seems to me to have the same sound engine. I don’t know what it is 🤷♂️ I assume that it is mainly related to the processing. Another factor is that these machines use 16bit quality for playback. It is tricky to tell why but that led that is what I hear. I do return and try to listen again from time to time but I always hear the same electron specific lower quality sound.
These are 2 very different machines
I prefer DT. For me, MPC feels like working on a computer, and when working with DAW, I choose a laptop and Ableton Live.
summary: buy both😹😹😹
For techno Id go Digitakt. For hip hop I'd go Mpc.
Actually this tho
other than lack of adjusting slice points on digitakt, are there any other reasons MPC is better for hiphop other than just brand associations?
@@ukbloke28 I know a lot of guys like the pads on the mpc for finger drumming
Sold Digi 1 and bought MPC one+ 😁
This way works much better for me
One thing not mentioned is durability/life. MPC One is most likely not going to last as many years as the Digitakt, the knobs, encoders, pads on MPC One + will likely need to be replaced much sooner than the ones on the Digitakt ii. My estimated lifespan would be MPC One+ 3-10 years, Digitakt 8-20+ years.
Agreed. Mpc’s now are a little cheap with their materials
I have Casiotones from the 80's in mint condition, so that statement is very subjective on how is it gonna be used and by whom.
@@vladi8868 im sure they are and agree you have to take care of things regardless but im talking about the initial build quality of both companies. In my opinion elektron does this better.
elektron have excellent customer service too. they still repair bloody discontinued machinedrums and monomachines from decades ago!
The DT2 has serious hardware restrictions - the +Drive is so tiny, the samples actually transfer from your computer over midi (come on it’s 2024!)… why didn’t they use the USB protocol and make it USB3…? It’s beyond me….users report crashes, often reformatting it is the only answer. Transfer takes hours to load a sample folder and then it often corrupts. Then there is no basic chopping just a weird locked grid, no zero crossing. MPCs have such a legacy because they just keep it simple. The 1000 / 2500 are solid affordable machines because they didn’t start out crippled. I can’t imagine the design process was actually built on this stupid drive / transfer protocol, that’s even slower than the DT1. Makes now sense. I sent mine back.
I enjoy mine a lot.
I'd never call the 1000/2500 series solid! These are from when Akai Pro were beautifully Numark and the quality of components were at the lowest they've every been! The PCBs in those models are so flimsy and prone to breaking from just the slightest pressure on the knobs and faders.
Plus the software was so clunky and creatures were properly keep out to try and make you buy the bigger models. Enter JJOS which definitely improved things, but still with an Undo working in a way which just made the units unable to me.
The current models are an improvement in every single way!
Sorry for typos, can't edit from my phone to correct it, might try and tidy my post later from a computer....
@@nakiradams many people still enjoy cars without cruise control or electric windows…. And I’m sure they love the lack of central locking too 😛
@@8bitBarry1 Sure, mainly those who don't have money to buy with. Luckily I don't have that problem and Ableton is my Daw. I don't need what MPC offers me but I do need what DIGITAKT offers me
Here is my review: MPC = lame DAW, Digitakt = instrument. Done bye
So you’ve owned both then?
@@Dgarret-ez7 I just know the MPC is g hey swiping on a screen and the Digitakt is cool programming an instrument. Capiche?
@@wariusgaius so you got no experience with either then….. Iv got both and your wrong, Capiche?
@@Dgarret-ez7 I have experience with your mom tho
Facts
1010music Blackbox. 😄 ...I prefer tools in sampling, with more minimal systems.
I like it. I havent got it out since I picked up a DT but I feel they would complement each other. record longer clips from the DT and use the BB to arrange them?
god is the interface ugly on BB though, I wish they'd get a decent graphic designer at 1010.
@@ukbloke28 I'm ok with the UI, because it's minimalistic, really. I got BB to record and arrange my hardware ideas into songs. It's sampling tools, although minimal, are really powerful. In general, it's really powerful, while seeming very basic and simple on the surface. I just adore it. You can carry it anywhere, and make music from samples, just connecting a stereo field reccrder to it's audio in. I do that, as well as connect my analog mixer out to it's in. It loves feeding off both. I also feed it 3 + decades of my meanderings. 😀
@@DetroitMicroSound sounds good mate, that's pretty much how I was thinking to use it. I dont feel inclined to store longer samples on the DT due to the limited storage whereas BB is completely relaxed for space ... I enjoy a ton of jamming but now I want to put together proper arrangements. `
Im getting bonkers stuff out of my machinedrum, id like to record a load of variations from it, chop it and arrange. you think BB would do that well?
I think it would also be good to sequence it BB from the DT although im not clear how much CC control would be possible, I need to look at the charts ...
what are you feeding it from your field recorder, like foley recordings and stuff?
@@ukbloke28 BB will absolutely cover that. It's very strong with recording huge amounts of audio, and arranging it into cohesive "finished tracks". Detailed slicing and re-arranging, and multisample sequencing, + granular tools included. Streaming from MSD, is hugely powerful, when it comes to sampling as your main vehicle in production, bringing all your ideas together, without Ableton Live, etc. (Like with an MPC, but not from RAM) I did however use Ableton Live, from 2001-2014. Before that, pre-Sony Acid Pro/Soundforge, and Reason + Reaktor. My mom bought me my first sampler ever, when she bought me the Yamaha VSS-30, for my birthday, in the mid 1980's sometime. 😁
@@ukbloke28 I use the X/Y stereo mics on my Tascam PCM field recorder, as BB's stereo mic, as well as redundant recorder, if I feel I want a second simultaneous recording of something. I record a lot of sounds around me, and turn those sounds into beats, and melodies, along with all my synth, drum machine, effects, ideas. I'm also nuts about processing audio with an Empress Effects Zoia. I design a lot of patches for it. Like BB, it's also a really powerful Swiss Army Knife, strong in many areas.