Start here · Digitakt II guide

1.1BasicsManual §1 p.10, §2 p.11

What the Digitakt II is

The Digitakt II is Elektron’s compact drum machine and sampler — a box for building beats from samples, recording your own sounds and driving other gear over MIDI. It is the successor to the original Digitakt, with more processing power and memory and a more modular way of working.

What’s inside

16 tracks, and each one can be either an audio track or a MIDI track — see Audio tracks, MIDI tracks and machines.
A flexible sound engine with several sample playback machines on the audio tracks, plus swappable filters — see Filter machines.
Stereo sampling from the audio inputs or from the Digitakt II itself — see Recording a sample.
A live-friendly sequencer of up to 128 steps, plus an additional sequencer mode — see Patterns and banks.
Kits, plus trig modes that change what the TRIG keys do — see Projects, songs, patterns, kits, presets and samples and TRIG mode.
Extensive control of external MIDI gear from the MIDI tracks — see The MIDI machine: sequencing external gear.

Where to go next

New to the machine? Hook it up with Setting up and powering on, then work through the quick starts beginning with Play the factory patterns.
Want to know what every key does? Start with the Front panel tour.
Want the big picture of how sounds are made and stored? Read Sound architecture and Projects, songs, patterns, kits, presets and samples.

From the community

Introducing Digitakt II
Elektron
The official launch film — the quickest way to hear what the machine is about.

Digitakt II — At A Glance
Elektron
A short official tour of sampling, machines, effects and the sequencer.

Getting to Know Elektron Digitakt II Sampler w/ SON WU
Perfect Circuit
Son Wu shares tips and shows how the Digitakt II might fit into your own workflow.

Digitakt II vs Syntakt vs Digitone II
Yan Cook
A side-by-side of Elektron’s three current grooveboxes, if you are still choosing between them.

Exploring My Favorite New Features // Sample & Jam With Digitakt II
YouTube
A sample-and-jam session built around favourite new Digitakt II features.

1.2BasicsManual §1.1 p.10

How to read this guide

The guide uses a small, consistent notation so you can tell at a glance whether you need to press a key, turn a knob or look for a name on the screen. It follows the same ideas as the manual’s own conventions, so you can move between the two easily.

Notation

Looks like	What it means	How the manual writes it
`FUNC`, `PLAY`, `TRK`	A key on the panel, named as printed on it.	Bold capitals in square brackets
`FUNC` + `PLAY`	Hold the first key, then press the second. Every secondary function works this way with `FUNC`.	The same, joined with +
`TRIG 1–16`, `TRIG`	The sixteen trig keys. `TRIG` on its own means any one of them.	The same
`PARAMETER`	Any of the six page keys: `TRIG PARAMETERS`, `SRC`, `FLTR`, `AMP`, `FX` and `MOD`.	The same
`ARROW`	Any of the four arrow keys: `UP`, `DOWN`, `LEFT` and `RIGHT`.	The same
LEVEL/DATA, MAIN VOLUME	A knob, named as printed on the panel.	Bold italic capitals
A–H	The eight DATA ENTRY knobs. Pressing a knob while you turn it changes the value in bigger jumps.	“DATA ENTRY knob A” and so on
`VOL`	A parameter name, exactly as it appears on screen.	Bold capitals
`OFF`	A setting you can choose for a parameter.	Plain capitals
`SETTINGS`, `SETTINGS > MIDI CONFIG > CHANNELS`	A menu or screen; > leads you through nested menus.	Plain capitals
`QUANTIZE LIVE REC`	A message that appears on the screen.	Capitals in quotation marks
PATTERN PAGE LEDs	A row of indicator lights, named in plain words.	Name in angle brackets, like <PAGE>
Front panel tour	A link to another section of this guide.	“see section … on page …”

Callout boxes

Note — limits, caveats and behaviour worth knowing. This covers what the manual flags with its “important information” symbol.
Warning — anything that could lose your work.
Tip — a practical shortcut or habit, like the manual’s tip symbol. (The manual has a third, whimsical symbol it calls the Stereo-sausage butterfly; it has no counterpart here.)

Also on every section

The manual section and page it draws on, so you can check the original wording.
A level — basic, intermediate or advanced — to help you pick what to read first.
An OS version badge when a feature arrived in a later update.
All the key combinations it mentions, which are also gathered into one Quick Keys sheet.

1.3BasicsManual §3.2 p.14, §14.4.2 p.77

Rear panel and connections

All of the Digitakt II’s connections sit on the rear panel: power, USB, three MIDI ports and the audio inputs and outputs. Knowing what each one does helps you plan your setup before you start plugging things in.

Rear connectors, left to right

Connector	What it does	Cable
1. POWER	Turns the unit on and off.	—
2. DC In	Power input (12 V).	The supplied PSU-3c power adapter, plugged into a mains outlet
3. USB	Connects to a computer for MIDI control. It can also carry audio from a computer for sampling — see Class-compliant USB audio and MIDI and Overbridge.	The supplied USB 2.0 A-to-B cable, to a computer host
4. MIDI THRU/SYNC B	Passes on whatever arrives at MIDI IN, so you can chain MIDI devices. Can instead send DIN sync to older instruments.	Standard MIDI cable to the next device in the chain
5. MIDI OUT/SYNC A	Sends MIDI data from the Digitakt II. Can instead send DIN sync to older instruments.	Standard MIDI cable to the MIDI In of an external device
6. MIDI IN	Receives MIDI data.	Standard MIDI cable from the MIDI Out of an external device
7. IN L/R	Audio inputs for external sources, for sampling or for processing audio through the Digitakt II.	¼-inch TRS jack (balanced) or ¼-inch mono jack (unbalanced)
8. OUT L/R	Main audio outputs.	¼-inch TRS jack (balanced) or ¼-inch mono jack (unbalanced)
9. HEADPHONES	Stereo headphone output.	¼-inch TRS jack

Ready to plug in? Follow Setting up and powering on. For complete rigs with other gear, see Setup examples.

1.4BasicsManual §3.3 p.14

Setting up and powering on

Setting up takes only a few minutes. The essentials are power and the main outputs; USB, MIDI and the audio inputs are optional extras you can add now or later.

Basic setup

Put the Digitakt II on a sturdy, stable surface with enough room around it for the cables.
Switch off every device you’re about to connect.
Plug the supplied power adapter into a mains outlet.
Connect the adapter’s small plug to the 12 V DC In socket on the Digitakt II.
Connect OUT L/R to your mixer or amplifier.
Add any of the optional connections below.
Switch everything on, using the POWER switch on the Digitakt II’s rear panel.

Optional connections

Computer: connect a USB cable between the computer and the Digitakt II’s USB port to control it from the computer.
Play the Digitakt II from another MIDI device: connect that device’s MIDI OUT to the Digitakt II’s MIDI IN.
Chain more MIDI gear: MIDI THRU repeats everything that arrives at MIDI IN, so you can pass it on to the next device.
Control other gear from the Digitakt II: connect the Digitakt II’s MIDI OUT to the other device’s MIDI IN.
Sample or process external audio: connect the source to IN L/R. You can also sample (but not process) audio arriving over USB.

Once it’s on, go straight to Play the factory patterns to hear the factory patterns.

From the community

Elektron Digitakt II Quickstart GuideSweetwater — A short first-day guide to the icon keys, the DATA ENTRY knobs and loading samples.

1.5BasicsManual §7.1 p.22, §10.1.1 p.40

Play the factory patterns

Your Digitakt II comes loaded with factory patterns, presets and samples. Playing through the patterns is a quick way to hear what it can do — and it teaches you how to pick and switch patterns, something you’ll do constantly.

Press PTN.
Use LEFT/RIGHT to choose bank A.
Press TRIG 1 to select pattern A01.
Press PLAY to hear A01.
Press PTN, then TRIG 2. Pattern A02 is now queued and takes over when A01 reaches its end.
Keep going the same way — PTN, then TRIG 3 for A03, and so on.
Press STOP when you’re done.

Key combinations

PLAY: Starts playback; press it again to pause.
STOP: Stops playback.
PTN, then LEFT/RIGHT: Chooses a bank.
PTN, then TRIG 1–16: Selects a pattern in the chosen bank, or queues it if a pattern is already playing.
PTN + TRIG 1–16: Selects a pattern in the current bank.
PTN or NO: Leaves bank and pattern selection.Bank/pattern selection

There’s much more to switching patterns — chaining several in a row, copying them and more. See Patterns and banks and Pattern chains.

From the community

Digitakt 2 - Beginner’s MEGA TUTORIAL
True Cuckoo
A chaptered, unhurried beginner walkthrough of the whole machine — the best first long watch.

Elektron Digitakt II Quickstart GuideSweetwater — A short first-day guide to the icon keys, the DATA ENTRY knobs and loading samples.

1.6BasicsManual §7.1.1 p.22, §8.5.1 p.25

Play a sound chromatically

KEYBOARD mode turns the TRIG keys into a small piano keyboard for the active track, so one sound can play a bassline or melody instead of a single hit. It’s a quick way to add musical variety to a beat.

Hold TRK and press one of TRIG 1–16 to choose the track you want to play.
Press KEYBOARD. The TRIG keys light up in the shape of one piano octave.
Play the lit TRIG keys — each one plays the sound at a different pitch.
Press KEYBOARD + UP or KEYBOARD + DOWN to shift the keyboard up or down an octave.
Press KEYBOARD again to leave KEYBOARD mode.

Key combinations

TRK + TRIG 1–16: Selects the track to play.
KEYBOARD: Turns KEYBOARD mode on or off.
TRIG: Plays the active track’s sound at that key’s pitch.KEYBOARD mode, lit keys only
KEYBOARD + UP/DOWN: Transposes the keyboard up or down one octave.KEYBOARD mode

1.7BasicsManual §7.2 p.22, §8.5.3 p.26

Mute and unmute tracks

Muting tracks while a pattern plays is one of the simplest ways to perform with the Digitakt II: pull the kick out for a breakdown, bring the hats back in for the drop. In MUTE mode every TRIG key controls one track, and all 16 are available at once — it doesn’t matter which track is active.

Start a pattern playing.
Press FUNC + TRK to enter MUTE mode.
Press a TRIG key to mute that track.
Press the same key again to unmute it.
Press FUNC + TRK again to leave MUTE mode.

Key combinations

FUNC + TRK: Enters or leaves MUTE mode.
TRIG: Mutes or unmutes the matching track.MUTE mode

1.8BasicsManual §7.3 p.22, §7.3.1 p.22, §7.3.2 p.23

Tempo, swing and metronome

The TEMPO menu is where you set how fast the sequencer runs, how much swing it has and how the metronome behaves. You can also nudge or tap the tempo on the fly — handy when you’re matching another source by ear.

Set the tempo

Press TEMPO to open the TEMPO menu.
Turn A or LEVEL/DATA to change the BPM. Press the knob while turning to move 4 BPM at a time.
Turn B to fine-tune the tempo in decimal steps.
Turn D to set the pattern’s swing.

TEMPO menu controls

Control	What it does
A or LEVEL/DATA	Changes the tempo (BPM). Press and turn to change it 4 BPM at a time.
B	Changes the tempo in decimal steps.
D	Sets the pattern’s swing. The default, 50%, spaces the steps evenly; settings of 51–80% give a propulsive, swung groove.

Key combinations

TEMPO: Opens the TEMPO menu.
TEMPO + YES: Toggles the metronome on or off (added in OS 1.10).
Hold FUNC + tap TEMPO: Sets the tempo from your taps — the average is calculated after four taps and keeps updating as you carry on.
Hold LEFT or RIGHT: Nudges the tempo by 10% for as long as you hold it; it returns to the set tempo when you release.Main screen — no need to open the TEMPO menu
Hold FUNC + turn E: Switches between one tempo for the whole project and a separate tempo for each pattern.TEMPO menu
Hold FUNC + turn A: Prepares a new tempo that only takes effect when you release FUNC; PREP. flashes in the bottom-left corner meanwhile.TEMPO menu, PROJECT tempo mode

Metronome settings

METROMetronome: Turns the metronome click on or off. The TEMPO + YES shortcut does the same.
SIG.Time signature: Sets the note value and number of beats in the metronome’s time signature.
PREROLLPre-roll: How many bars the click counts in before the sequencer starts. Only matters in LIVE RECORDING mode — see LIVE RECORDING mode.
VOLVolume: Sets how loud the click is.

1.9BasicsManual §7.4 p.23, §3.1 p.12, §11.5 p.55, §11.7 p.56, §11.8 p.57

Tweak a sound

Every track’s sound is shaped by six parameter pages, each opened by one of the PARAMETER keys. Turning knobs on these pages while a pattern plays is how you make the factory sounds your own — and a filter sweep is the classic first move.

Start a pattern playing.
Hold TRK and press one of TRIG 1–16 to choose a track.
Press FLTR to open the FILTER page.
Turn E — the FREQ parameter, the filter’s cutoff — and listen to the sound open up or close down.
Try the other knobs on the page, then press the other PARAMETER keys to explore their pages.

Key combinations

TRK + TRIG 1–16: Selects the track to edit.
PARAMETER: Opens that parameter page for the active track.

The six parameter pages

Key	What you’ll find	Learn more
`TRIG PARAMETERS`	`NOTE`, `VELOCITY` and other settings for the notes the track plays.	The TRIG page
`SRC`	Audio tracks: the settings of the track’s source machine. MIDI tracks: `CHANNEL`, `PROGRAM`, `AFTERTOUCH` and more.	The SRC page
`FLTR`	Audio tracks: the settings of the track’s filter machine. MIDI tracks: CC value and CC select settings 1–8.	The FLTR pages
`AMP`	Audio tracks: the amplitude envelope, panning and volume. MIDI tracks: CC value and CC select settings 9–16.	The AMP page
`FX`	Bit reduction, overdrive, sample rate reduction, and the send levels for delay, reverb and chorus.	The FX page
`MOD`	The track’s LFO settings.	The MOD pages (LFOs)

1.10BasicsManual §7.5 p.23, §13.1 p.68, §13.2 p.69

Sample something in a minute

Sampling lets you build tracks from your own sounds rather than only the factory ones. The Digitakt II can record from external sources through its inputs, and it can also sample its own sound internally. This walkthrough records a sound from IN L/R, trims it and assigns it to a track.

Record

Connect your audio source to IN L/R.
Press SAMPLING to open the SAMPLING menu.
Turn A to set SRC to IN L R.
Play the source while watching the input level meter, and set the source’s volume as high as it will go without clipping or distorting.
Optionally, set MON to POST MIX to hear the input through the Digitakt II’s mixer and effects.
Stop the source and turn D to set THRES just above the background noise shown on the meter.
Set R.LEN to how long you want to record.
Set R.STRT to THRES, so recording waits for the signal to cross the threshold.
Set ARM to ON, then play the source — recording starts as soon as it crosses the threshold.
Press YES to stop recording, or let it stop by itself — it does when an R.LEN of 1–128 steps runs out, or at the 66-second maximum. The Digitakt II then normalises the new sample automatically.

Trim, save and assign

Turn E to set TRIM START and H to set TRIM END.
Make sure an audio track is active, then press FUNC + YES to preview the trimmed sample.
Press YES to save it.
Name the sample, then press YES again to confirm.
Press the TRIG key of the track (1–16) that should get the sample — or NO to skip assigning it.

SAMPLING menu settings used here

SRCSource: Where to record from. IN L R is the external inputs; the other choices sample the main mix, USB audio or a single track — see The SAMPLING menu.Knob A
MONMonitor: POST MIX lets you hear the input through the Digitakt II’s mixer and effects; PRE MIX doesn’t. Only available when SRC is IN L R.
THRESThreshold: The input level that starts an armed recording. High enough to ignore background noise, low enough to catch the whole sound.Knob D
R.LENRecord length: With 1–128, recording stops after the sequencer would have played that many steps at the current BPM. With MAX, it runs until you press YES or hit the 66-second limit.Range 1–128 steps, MAX
R.STRTRecord start: Whether recording starts when you press PLAY or when the input crosses THRES with ARM on.
ARMArm: When ON, the recorder waits and starts as soon as the input crosses THRES.

Trim screen controls

Control	What it does
E	Sets `TRIM START`.
H	Sets `TRIM END`.
F	Zooms in and out on the waveform.
`FUNC` + F	Zooms vertically.
G	Moves the zoomed-in view along the waveform.
`FUNC` + G	Moves the whole trim selection left or right.
`LEFT` / `RIGHT`	When zoomed in, jumps to the start or end trim point.
D	Chooses how the preview plays: one-shot or looping, each either only while you hold `FUNC` + `YES` or carrying on after you let go.
`FUNC` + `YES`	Previews the sample.

Key combinations

SAMPLING: Opens the SAMPLING menu.
SAMPLING + YES: Arms the recorder.
SAMPLING + NO: Cancels the armed recording.
YES: Stops recording.While sampling
FUNC + F: Zooms the waveform vertically.Trim screen
FUNC + G: Moves the trim selection left or right.Trim screen
LEFT: Jumps to the start trim point.Trim screen, zoomed in
RIGHT: Jumps to the end trim point.Trim screen, zoomed in
FUNC + YES: Previews the sample.Trim screen
YES: Trims and saves the sample.Trim screen
FUNC + NO: Discards the recording.Trim screen
TRIG 1–16: Assigns the saved sample to that track.After naming a new sample
NO: Skips assigning the new sample to a track.After naming a new sample

1.11BasicsManual §18 p.91

Technical specifications

The figures you need when planning a studio or live rig: how hot the outputs run, what the inputs and headphone jack expect, which power supply to use, and how big and heavy the box is.

Electrical

Spec	Value
Audio outputs	Impedance balanced
Main output level	+18 dBu peak
Main output impedance	440 Ω unbalanced
Headphones output level	+18 dBu peak
Headphones output impedance	36 Ω
Audio input level	+18 dBu peak
Audio input impedance	21 kΩ
Power consumption	7 W typical
Recommended power supply	PSU-3c, 12 V DC, 2 A

Hardware

Spec	Value
Screen	128 × 64 pixel OLED
MIDI	In, Out and Thru, with DIN sync out
Audio outputs	2 × 1/4” jacks, impedance balanced
Audio inputs	2 × 1/4” jacks, balanced
Headphones	1 × 1/4” stereo jack
Converters	48 kHz, 24-bit D/A and A/D
USB	Hi-speed USB 2.0 port
Power inlet	Centre-positive 5.5 × 2.5 mm barrel jack, 12 V DC, 1 A

Physical

Spec	Value
Casing	Sturdy steel
Dimensions (W × D × H)	215 × 176 × 63 mm (8.5” × 6.9” × 2.5”), including knobs and feet
Weight	Approximately 1.48 kg (3.25 lbs)
Mounting	100 × 100 mm VESA holes, for M4 screws no longer than 7 mm
Maximum recommended ambient operating temperature	+40 °C (+104 °F)

For what each socket does, see Rear panel and connections. For storage — the 20 GB +Drive and each project’s sample RAM — see The +Drive library and the pool.

From the community

Digitakt IIElektron — Elektron’s product page, with the official feature list, specs and audio demos.