Effects & mixing

Beyond the six per-track pages, the Digitakt II has pattern-wide pages for its three send effects — delay, reverb and chorus — and for the mixer, which includes the master compressor. Every preset in a pattern shares one set of effect settings; each track only decides how much it sends, using DEL, REV and CHR on its FX page.

The compressor and master overdrive are master effects — see Sound architecture. Which tracks, inputs and effects pass through the compressor is set in the SETUP menu, and which reach the outputs in Audio routing. Since OS 1.02, the mixer pages show the page’s name rather than a track number.

The delay repeats whatever you send it and blends the echoes back in with the original. Its TIME is counted in 128th notes relative to the current BPM, so the repeats follow the tempo. Feed it from the DEL send on each track’s FX page, from the inputs on the External mixer, or from the Chorus.

In the table, T marks triplet values and a trailing dot marks dotted values.

The reverb gives sounds a sense of space, from small rooms to huge halls. DEC sets the size of the space, FREQ and GAIN decide how bright or muffled the tail is, and HPF and LPF trim the audio before it enters the reverb.

The reverb is fed by the REV send on each track’s FX page, by the REV sends on the Delay and Chorus pages, and by the inputs on the External mixer.

Use the chorus to widen sounds, strengthen the stereo image or add gentle movement. DPTH and SPD set the depth and speed of the chorus’s own LFO modulation, and WDTH sets the stereo width.

HPF filters the signal on its way into the chorus. DEL and REV pass the wet chorus signal on to the Delay and Reverb, so you can chain the effects. The chorus is fed by the CHR send on each track’s FX page and by the inputs on the External mixer.

The compressor is a master effect that narrows the dynamic range by turning loud sounds down relative to quiet ones. Beyond taming peaks, its sidechain lets one sound — a kick, say — pull the rest of the mix down every time it plays, and DRY/WET MIX blends in parallel compression. A bar on the left of the screen shows how much compression is happening.

The page has eight compressor parameters on the DATA ENTRY knobs, plus VOL (pattern volume) on LEVEL/DATA.

The two internal mixer pages are where you balance the tracks against each other. Page 1 (MIXER page 2) holds the TRACK LEVEL of tracks 1–8 and page 2 (MIXER page 3) that of tracks 9–16 — for audio tracks only, since MIDI tracks make no sound. VOL on both pages sets the pattern’s overall level.

Use VOL (pattern volume) to even out levels between patterns. It is saved with the kit and set with LEVEL/DATA.

The FX mixer sets how loud each send effect returns into the mix, and how much master overdrive is applied across the kit’s audio tracks. It is the fourth MIXER page.

CHR, DEL and REV here are the effects’ master volumes. They are separate from the VOL parameter on each effect’s own SEND FX page — see Delay, Reverb and Chorus.

The external mixer lets you process audio arriving at the IN L/R inputs with the Digitakt II’s mixer and effects. Set the input level and stereo placement, then send it to the chorus, delay and reverb.

DUAL also changes the source options of the sample recorder — see The SAMPLING menu — and which input options the Compressor offers as a sidechain source.