Manual quick start

Digitone II is a sixteen-track FM synthesizer with a sequencer built in. Each track runs a machine: FM TONE and FM DRUM for FM synthesis, WAVETONE for oscillator-and-noise sounds, SWARMER for detuned stacks, or a MIDI machine that plays external gear. After the machine, every track has its own filter — multimode, comb, and EQ types are all available — plus three LFOs and sends to delay, reverb, and chorus. A compressor sits across the master output. It follows the original Digitone. The FM engine went deeper and the other machines widened what the box covers, so melodic parts and drums come out of the same sixteen tracks.

“It’s the latest creature in Elektron’s history of digital products with an FM synthesis heart.”— Elektron, official manual §2

The supplied DC adapter goes into the 12 V DC In on the back. Place the unit on a stable surface with room for cables, and switch everything off before you connect it. OUTPUT L/R feeds a mixer or amplifier, and the HEADPHONES jack works for quiet sessions. External audio arrives at INPUT L/R or over USB, and Digitone II can process it through its own effects. For MIDI, the sender's MIDI OUT goes into MIDI IN. MIDI THRU passes that same data along to a third device. One USB cable to a computer covers control from a DAW. The POWER switch is on the rear panel; turn the rest of the setup on first.

Press [PRESET/KIT] and choose LOAD (PRESET). The list opens, and [UP]/[DOWN] or LEVEL/DATA moves the highlight. Before committing, audition it: press [KEYBOARD], then play the [TRIG] keys to hear the highlighted preset. Nothing has been loaded yet, so you can walk the whole list this way. [YES] loads the preset onto the active track, replacing what was there. Pick the track first with [TRK] + [TRIG 1–16].

Press [PTN], move to bank A with [LEFT]/[RIGHT], and press [TRIG 1] for pattern A01. [PLAY] starts it, [STOP] stops it. Pattern changes queue up rather than cutting in. Press [PTN] and [TRIG 2] while A01 plays, and A02 begins when A01 reaches its end. Chain a few in a row and you have a rough arrangement without recording anything. The factory banks are the fastest survey of what the machines sound like in context.

Select the track you want to play with [TRK] + [TRIG 1–16], then press [KEYBOARD]. The [TRIG] keys light up in the shape of a piano octave, and only the lit keys sound. [+]/[-] transposes the virtual keyboard an octave at a time, so a bass part and a lead can come from the same preset. [FUNC] + [KEYBOARD] opens KEYBOARD SETUP, where the scale and root note live. Set those and every lit key belongs to the key you are working in.

With a pattern playing, press [FUNC] + [TRK] to enter MUTE mode. Each [TRIG] key mutes and unmutes its track. Lit keys are sounding, unlit keys are silent. Every track is reachable at once here, whichever one was active before. Mutes are how a single pattern turns into an arrangement: take the drums out, bring the bass back, and one pattern carries a whole section.

[TEMPO] opens the tempo menu. DATA ENTRY knob A or LEVEL/DATA sets the BPM; press the knob while turning to move four at a time; knob B or [UP]/[DOWN] handles the decimal. Digitone II can hold one tempo for the whole project or a separate tempo per pattern. Hold [FUNC] and turn knob E in the tempo menu to switch between the two. In PROJECT mode, holding [FUNC] while turning knob A prepares a tempo without applying it — PREP. flashes at the bottom left — and it takes effect when you release [FUNC]. Tap tempo is [FUNC] plus taps on [TEMPO], averaged from the fourth tap. Holding [LEFT] or [RIGHT] on the main screen nudges the tempo 10% for as long as you hold. Knob D sets SWING, up to 80%, with 50% being straight. The metronome is on the same menu: METRO on or off, SIG. for the time signature, PREROLL for count-in bars before LIVE RECORDING, VOL for click volume. [TEMPO] + [YES] toggles the click from anywhere.

A track's sound spreads across six page groups, one per [PARAMETER] key: TRIG, SYN, FLTR, AMP, FX, MOD. Each group holds several pages, and the DATA ENTRY knobs edit what is on screen. With a pattern playing, select a track using [TRK] + [TRIG 1–16], press [FLTR], and turn knob E. That is FREQ, the filter cutoff, and the quickest way to hear the machine react. Nothing here is one-way. Hold a [PARAMETER] key and press [YES] to randomize that whole page; press and hold a single knob and press [NO] to return that one parameter to its default. In GRID RECORDING, holding a step's [TRIG] key while turning a knob stores the value on that step alone — a parameter lock.