Sound design · Digitone II guide

7.1BasicsManual §11 p.57, §11.1 p.57, §5.3.3 p.17, §6.2 p.18, §10.12.5 p.52, §13.7.3 p.79

Editing track parameters

Everything an audio track does — how its trigs play, which synth engine makes the sound, how it is filtered, shaped, roughened up and modulated — lives on six parameter page groups, one per PARAMETER key. Some groups have a single page, others several. Once you can move between them, check values at a glance and back out of an experiment, every other topic in this chapter gets quicker.

The six page groups

Key	Group	What it controls	Stored with
`TRIG PARAMETERS`	TRIG	Note, velocity, length, probability, LFO and filter trigs and trig conditions; retrigs and portamento on page 2 — The TRIG pages	The pattern
`SYN`	SYN	The synthesis engine, set by the track’s SYN machine — The SYN pages	The preset
`FLTR`	FLTR	The filter machine and its envelope, plus the base-width filter — The FLTR pages	The preset
`AMP`	AMP	Amp envelope, panning and volume — The AMP page	The preset
`FX`	FX	Bit reduction, overdrive, sample rate reduction and the effect send levels — The FX page	The preset
`MOD`	MOD	Three LFOs — The MOD pages (LFOs)	The preset

Find your way around

Select a track with TRK + TRIG 1–16.
Press a PARAMETER key to open that group for the active track.
Press UP or DOWN — or press the same PARAMETER key again — to move through the pages in the group.
Turn the DATA ENTRY knobs A–H to change values. Press a knob down while you turn it to move in bigger steps.
Press and hold the PARAMETER key to see the values of every parameter on the page at once.

Each parameter’s place on the screen matches its knob on the panel: the top row of the screen belongs to A–D and the bottom row to E–H. Some screens also print the knob letter next to a setting.

Key combinations

PARAMETER: Opens that parameter page group for the active track.
PARAMETER (press repeatedly): Cycles through the pages in that group.
UP/DOWN: Moves between the pages of the current group.On a PARAMETER page
Hold PARAMETER: Shows the values of all parameters on that page.
PARAMETER + YES: Randomises the parameters on that page, differently on every press.Audio tracks
PARAMETER + NO: Returns that page to its last saved state.
PARAMETER + PLAY: Resets every parameter on that page to its default value.
PARAMETER + RECORD: Copies that parameter page with all its settings.
PARAMETER + STOP: Pastes the copied page onto the same page of the active track.
TRK + TRIG 1–16 + NO: Reloads that track’s preset from its last saved state.
Hold TRIG + turn a DATA ENTRY knob: Locks that parameter to a new value on that step.GRID or STEP RECORDING mode

TRIG page settings belong to the pattern. The SYN, FLTR, AMP, FX and MOD pages — together with the track’s preset setup and arpeggiator settings — make up its preset. See Editing a preset and Saving a preset.

Any track parameter can also change from step to step: hold a TRIG key and turn a knob to set a parameter lock. In GRID RECORDING mode, holding a trig that already has locks lights up the PARAMETER keys whose pages hold the locked parameters.

7.2IntermediateManual §10.7 p.47, §3.1 p.12, §9.6.2 p.37, §16 p.86

Voice setup and unison

The Digitone II plays up to 16 voices at once, shared by all of its tracks. The VOICE SETUP menu decides how they are shared out: which voice gives way when you run out, whether a repeated note reuses its voice, how many voices a track keeps for itself — and whether a track stacks several voices on every note, which is unison.

Edit the voice settings

Press VOICE SETUP to open the VOICE SETUP menu.
Press TRK + TRIG 1–16 to choose the track to edit. Its number appears at the top of the screen.
Turn the DATA ENTRY knobs to change the settings. The middle of the screen shows which voices are playing right now.
Press NO to close the menu.

VOICE SETUP parameters

VOICE STEALVoice Steal: Which voice is taken when a new note needs one and all 16 are busy; it applies to the whole pattern. CYCLE takes the oldest note first, TRACK lets lower-numbered tracks win (track 1 over 2–16, track 2 over 3–16 and so on), LO takes the lowest note and HI the highest.
REUSEReuse: ON plays a repeated note on the same voice, which suits staccato parts and drums. OFF moves on to another free voice, which suits piano-like sounds and pads.
VOICESLocked Voices: Reserves voices for the active track. Other tracks can’t use or steal locked voices, but the track can’t go beyond them either. The first number is the track’s locked voices, the number in brackets the unlocked voices still free. DYN (dynamic) lets the track use any voice that is available.Range 1–16, DYN
STATEUnison State: Turns unison on or off for the track. With unison on, several voices play each note together. FUNC + VOICE SETUP toggles it too.
V.AMNTUnison Voice Amount: How many voices play each note in unison.
SPREADUnison Spread: Spreads the unison voices apart with panning and detuning.

Voice settings are saved in the active pattern, so each pattern can share out its voices differently. To reuse a setup, copy it from one pattern to another.

Copy voice settings to another pattern

With the VOICE SETUP menu open, press FUNC + RECORD to copy its settings.
Change to the pattern you want them in — see Patterns and banks.
Open the VOICE SETUP menu again and press FUNC + STOP to paste.

Key combinations

VOICE SETUP: Opens the VOICE SETUP menu.
TRK + TRIG 1–16: Selects the track whose voice settings you edit.VOICE SETUP menu
NO: Closes the menu.VOICE SETUP menu
FUNC + VOICE SETUP: Turns unison on or off for the active track.
FUNC + RECORD: Copies the voice settings.VOICE SETUP menu
FUNC + STOP: Pastes copied voice settings into the active pattern.VOICE SETUP menu

From the community

If a very slow LFO seems erratic, it’s because each trig can land on a different voice with its own LFO position. Turn REUSE on, or set the track’s PLAY MODE to POLY M.LFO, and the LFO behaves as one. via Elektronauts: Digitone II Tips & Tricks

Digitone II Voice Setup
gino cortesi
A focused walkthrough of voice setup, made in answer to owners’ questions.

Digitone II - Exploring Unison and Layering Voices
SKLTN JCKT
Uses the 16 voices for unison and stacked layers to build big, complex sounds.

7.3BasicsManual §11.2 p.57, §11.3 p.58, §10.9 p.48, §10.12.3 p.51

The TRIG pages

The TRIG pages decide how a track’s trigs play rather than how they sound: the pitch, velocity and length of each note, the chance it plays at all, and whether it fires the LFOs and the filter envelope. Page 2 adds retrigs — rapid repeats for rolls and stutters — and portamento. These values are the defaults for every note trig on the track; hold a TRIG key and change one to give that step its own.

TRIG · TRIG page 1Press TRIG PARAMETERS.

NOTETrig Note

Pitch of the note trigs. Pressing while turning A moves in different steps from a plain turn — chromatic or in the scale set by SCALE in the KEYBOARD SETUP menu, depending on NOTE PARAM in The PERSONALIZE menu. In LIVE RECORDING mode, TRIG keys played in KEYBOARD mode override it.

DATA ENTRY knob A

LFO.T and FLT.T decide whether trigs fire the LFOs and the filter envelope. What an LFO does once it is trigged depends on its MODE on the MOD pages.

TRIG page 2 — the RETRIG PARAMETERS page — handles retrigs and portamento. A retrig repeats a note trig at the chosen RATE, while VFAD fades the velocity of the repeats in or out over LEN. Retrigs only work on audio tracks, and per-step retrig settings are saved in the active pattern.

Add a roll to one step

Press RECORD to enter GRID RECORDING mode, and place a note trig.
Press TRIG PARAMETERS twice to open the RETRIG PARAMETERS page.
Press and hold the step’s TRIG key — or several TRIG keys at once.
Still holding, turn A to switch RTRG on.
Set RATE for the speed of the repeats, then LEN and VFAD to shape their velocity.

TRIG · TRIG page 2 — retrigs and portamentoPress TRIG PARAMETERS twice (the RETRIG PARAMETERS page), or press it once and use UP/DOWN.

RTRGRetrig

Turns retrigs on or off. Hold a TRIG key while turning A to set it for that step only. Not available on MIDI tracks; see Retrigs.

DATA ENTRY knob A

VFAD values

VFAD	Velocity over the set LEN
-64	Fades out completely
-32	Fades out to half velocity
0	Stays flat — no fade
32	Fades in to half velocity
64	Fades in completely, up to full velocity

Key combinations

TRIG PARAMETERS: Opens TRIG page 1 for the active track.
TRIG PARAMETERS (press twice): Opens TRIG page 2, the RETRIG PARAMETERS page.
TRIG PARAMETERS, then press and turn A: Steps NOTE through the scale only — or chromatically, if NOTE PARAM is set to SCALE.TRIG page 1
Hold TRIG + turn H: Sets a conditional lock (COND) on that trig.TRIG page 1, GRID or STEP RECORDING mode
Hold TRIG + turn A: Switches retrig on or off for that step.RETRIG PARAMETERS page, GRID RECORDING mode

7.4BasicsManual §11.4 p.59, §A.1 p.89, §A.2 p.89, §5.3.3 p.17

The SYN pages

The SYN pages are where you shape the raw sound of a track. What you find there depends on the track’s SYN machine — the synthesis engine it runs. Each machine brings its own parameters and its own number of pages (FM Tone, for instance, has four), so when you change machine, the pages change with it.

SYN machines

Machine	What it is
FM Tone	A four-operator FM engine, used more as a complex tone source feeding a subtractive-style signal path
FM Drum	An FM engine built for drums and percussion that also handles melodic sounds
Wavetone	Two oscillators with flexible wave shaping — phase distortion, wavetables, ring modulation and hard sync — plus noise
Swarmer	One main oscillator with a swarm of six detuned oscillators around it, for a rich sound
MIDI	Turns the track into a MIDI track that drives external gear instead of making sound

Any SYN machine can go on any track. A machine can only be swapped for another of the same kind — one synthesis engine for another — and a track running anything but the MIDI machine counts as an audio track. For the bigger picture, see Machines overview and Audio tracks, MIDI tracks and machines.

Change the SYN machine

Select the track with TRK + TRIG 1–16.
Press FUNC + SYN to open the MACHINE menu.
Use LEFT/RIGHT to reach the SYN machine category.
Use UP/DOWN to highlight a machine, then press YES to assign it to the active track.

Key combinations

SYN: Opens the SYN pages for the active track.
SYN (press repeatedly): Steps through the machine’s SYN pages.
FUNC + SYN: Opens the MACHINE menu.
LEFT/RIGHT: Moves between machine categories.MACHINE menu
UP/DOWN: Highlights a machine in the current category.MACHINE menu
YES: Assigns the highlighted machine to the active track.MACHINE menu

7.5IntermediateManual §11.5 p.59, §11.6 p.59, §A.3 p.101, §A.1 p.89

The FLTR pages

The FLTR pages carve the tone of a track. Page 1 belongs to the track’s FLTR machine — one of several filters or an EQ — and also carries the filter envelope; its parameters change with the machine. Page 2 holds a simple base-width filter, plus envelope and keytracking settings that act on the page 1 filter.

FLTR machines

Machine	Character
Multi-mode	Morphs from low-pass through band-pass to high-pass
Lowpass 4	A 4-pole low-pass with a 24 dB/octave slope
Legacy LP/HP	A switchable low-pass or high-pass filter, inspired by the Digitone I filter
Comb-	Pitch-tuned, metallic resonances with negative feedback, for a hollow, tube-like tone
Comb+	Pitch-tuned, metallic resonances with positive feedback, for a more string-like tone
Equalizer	A parametric EQ

Change the FLTR machine

Select the track with TRK + TRIG 1–16.
Press FUNC + SYN to open the MACHINE menu.
Use LEFT/RIGHT to reach the FLTR machine category.
Use UP/DOWN to highlight a filter, then press YES to assign it to the active track.

With the Multi-mode machine, for example, page 1 has the envelope — ATK, DEC, SUS and REL — along the top row, and FREQ, RESO, TYPE and ENV below. Every machine’s set is covered in Filter machines.

FLTR · FLTR page 2 — base-width filter and envelopePress FLTR twice, or press it once and use UP/DOWN.

DELEnvelope Delay

Time before the filter envelope’s attack starts. Acts on the FLTR machine on page 1; hold FUNC and turn A on FLTR page 1 to reach it from there.

The base-width filter is a high-pass and a low-pass filter in series. BASE sets where the band of frequencies that gets through begins, and WDTH how far it reaches above that point.

Useful BASE and WDTH settings

Setting	Result
BASE 0	Acts as a low-pass filter; WDTH sets the range
WDTH 127	Acts as a high-pass filter; BASE sets the range
WDTH 0	Acts as a band-pass filter; BASE sets the frequency
BASE 0 and WDTH 127	Leaves the sound untouched

BW.RT places the base-width filter before or after the machine’s filter. The other three settings on the page — DEL, KEY.T and RSET — act on the FLTR machine on page 1 and its envelope, not on the base-width filter.

Key combinations

FLTR: Opens FLTR page 1 for the active track.
FLTR (press again): Switches to FLTR page 2.
Hold FUNC + turn A: Adjusts the filter envelope delay (DEL).FLTR page 1

From the community

Digitone 2 Overdrive Routing is Awesome (and accidental formant voice :O ) | Hanging With Hexwave
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Shows what the pre/post-filter overdrive routing and base-width filter routing do to a sound.

DN2 : PRE/POST FLTR - a handy infographicElektronauts — One diagram of all eight ways the overdrive, sample rate reduction and base-width filter can sit before or after the filter machine.

7.6BasicsManual §11.7 p.60

The AMP page

The AMP page sets how each note’s loudness moves over time — the amp envelope — along with where the track sits in the stereo field and how loud it plays. MODE switches the envelope between AHD (attack, hold, decay) and ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release).

AMP · AMP pagePress AMP.

ATKAttack Time

Length of the amp envelope’s attack phase.

AHD or ADSR?

Setting	Stages	How it behaves
AHD, HOLD 0–126	Attack → Hold → Decay	The hold lasts the set time whatever the note does: note-offs from the trig length, a released `TRIG` key or an external keyboard are ignored.
AHD, HOLD set to NOTE	Attack → Hold → Decay	The hold runs from note on to note off, then the decay begins.
ADSR	Attack → Decay → Sustain → Release	SUS sets the sustain level and REL the length of the release phase.

Think of HOLD set to NOTE as a gate: the sound holds for exactly as long as the note lasts — the trig length in the sequencer, or how long you hold a TRIG key or a key on an external keyboard — and then decays. A fixed HOLD gives the same shape every time, however long the note.

Key combinations

AMP: Opens the AMP page for the active track.

From the community

Learn Digitone II Filters, Amp, FX & LFO in 25 Minutes | Full Breakdown
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A compact tour of every filter machine, then the amp, FX, send FX and LFO pages.

7.7BasicsManual §11.8 p.62, §12.1 p.65

The FX page

The FX page gives each audio track its own grit — bit reduction, overdrive and sample rate reduction — and sets how much of the track feeds the shared delay, reverb and chorus.

FX · FX pagePress FX.

BRBit Reduction

Reduces the bit depth, from 16 bits down to 1 bit.

Range 16–1 bits

Routing options

Parameter	PRE	POST
SR.RT (sample rate reduction)	Before the filter machine	After the filter machine
OD.RT (overdrive)	Before the filter machine	After the filter machine

DEL, REV and CHR are send levels: they decide how much of this track reaches each effect. The effects themselves are shared by every track in the pattern and set on the SEND FX pages, opened with FUNC + FX — see Editing send FX and mixer pages, Delay, Reverb and Chorus.

Key combinations

FX: Opens the FX page for the active track.

From the community

DN2 : PRE/POST FLTR - a handy infographicElektronauts — One diagram of all eight ways the overdrive, sample rate reduction and base-width filter can sit before or after the filter machine.

7.8IntermediateManual §11.9 p.63, §11.10 p.63, §11.11 p.64, §9.6.2 p.37

The MOD pages (LFOs)

Each audio track has three LFOs (low-frequency oscillators) for adding movement. MOD page 1 controls LFO 1, page 2 LFO 2 and page 3 LFO 3. All three pages have the same eight parameters, so once you know one you know them all. An LFO can modulate parameters on the SYN, FLTR, AMP and FX pages, and LFOs 2 and 3 can also modulate the LFOs before them. MIDI tracks have two LFOs.

Set up an LFO

Press MOD to open MOD page 1 (LFO 1). Press MOD again, or use UP/DOWN, for LFO 2 and LFO 3.
Turn DEST to browse the destinations. The highlighted one is previewed, so you hear the effect before you commit; hold FUNC while turning to snap between destination categories.
Press YES to confirm the destination, or NO to cancel and keep the previous one.
Turn DEP away from 0.00 to set how strongly the LFO moves the destination; negative values invert the movement.
Choose a WAVE, then set the rate with SPD and MULT.
Pick a trig MODE, and refine with FADE and SPH.

MOD · MOD page 1 — LFO 1Press MOD.

SPDSpeed

LFO speed. The knob is bipolar: negative values play the cycle backwards. Try 8, 16 or 32 to sync the LFO to straight beats.

WAVE — waveforms

WAVE	Shape	Polarity
TRI	Triangle	Bipolar
SINE	Sine	Bipolar
SQR	Square	Bipolar
SAW	Sawtooth	Bipolar
EXPO	Exponential	Unipolar
RAMP	Ramp	Unipolar
RAND	Random — SPH becomes SLEW	Bipolar

MODE — how the LFO reacts to trigs

MODE	When a note is trigged
FREE	Nothing changes: the LFO runs continuously and never restarts or stops. The default.
TRIG	The LFO restarts.
HOLD	The LFO keeps running in the background, but its output is frozen at the current level until the next trig.
ONE	The LFO starts, runs to the end of the waveform and stops — much like an envelope.
HALF	The LFO starts, runs to the middle of the waveform and stops.

LFO speed in steps. With MULT set to a BPM value, the table below shows how many sequencer steps one full LFO cycle lasts for each pairing of SPD and MULT. A value of 8 means one cycle every eight steps; 1/2 means two cycles per step.

Steps per LFO cycle

MULT	SPD 1	SPD 2	SPD 4	SPD 8	SPD 16	SPD 32	SPD 64
1	2048	1024	512	256	128	64	32
2	1024	512	256	128	64	32	16
4	512	256	128	64	32	16	8
8	256	128	64	32	16	8	4
16	128	64	32	16	8	4	2
32	64	32	16	8	4	2	1
64	32	16	8	4	2	1	1/2
128	16	8	4	2	1	1/2	1/4
256	8	4	2	1	1/2	1/4	1/8
512	4	2	1	1/2	1/4	1/8	1/16
1K	2	1	1/2	1/4	1/8	1/16	1/32
2K	1	1/2	1/4	1/8	1/16	1/32	1/64

Key combinations

MOD: Opens MOD page 1 (LFO 1) for the active track.
MOD (press repeatedly): Steps through MOD pages 1–3 (LFO 1–3).
YES: Confirms the highlighted LFO destination.DEST parameter
NO: Cancels and returns to the previous LFO destination.DEST parameter
Hold FUNC + turn the DEST knob: Snaps between modulation destination categories.MOD pages

From the community

Elektron Digitone II - Lessons For Complete Beginners - Video 18 - The MOD key, understanding LFOs
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What an LFO does and how to set up all three per track, with practical examples.

7.9IntermediateManual §D p.118

Modulation destinations

An LFO’s DEST parameter picks what it modulates. On audio tracks the list covers the SYN, filter, AMP and FX parameters, plus the LFOs that come before it; on MIDI tracks it covers MIDI controllers and CC values. Destinations are grouped into categories, and holding FUNC while turning DEST jumps from one category to the next.

Audio tracks

Category	Destinations	Notes
META	None	—
LFO1	Speed, Multiplier, Fade In/Out, Waveform, Start Phase, Trig Mode, Depth	Only for LFO 2 and LFO 3
LFO2	Speed, Multiplier, Fade In/Out, Waveform, Start Phase, Trig Mode, Depth	Only for LFO 3
SYN	Data entry knobs A–H on pages 1–4	What each one modulates depends on the SYN machine
FILTER	Attack Time, Decay Time, Sustain Level, Release Time, Frequency, Data entry knob F, Data entry knob G, Envelope Depth, Env. Delay, Key Tracking, Base, Width, Env. Reset	Knobs F and G depend on the FLTR machine
AMP	Attack Time, Hold Time, Decay Time, Sustain Level, Release Time, Pan, Volume	—
FX	Delay Send, Reverb Send, Chorus Send, Bit Reduction, SRR, SRR Routing, Overdrive	—

MIDI tracks

Category	Destinations	Notes
META	None	—
LFO1	Speed, Multiplier, Fade In/Out, Waveform, Start Phase, Trig Mode, Depth	Only for LFO 2
SYN	Pitch Bend, Aftertouch, Mod Wheel, Breath Controller	—
CC	CC1–16 Values	—

From the community