Elektron Model:Cycles and/or Model:Samples worth it?

[mjolnir]

Current date: June 2025

Questions: Is the elektron model series worth exploring? or was it just kind of a marketing blip?
Do you have any experience with either of these? Did you like it?

[Uncle E]

Good for sampling. Cheap, easy ways to get the Elektron sound. I personally found the sequencing to be useless.

[Danno]

I have the Cycles. I also have a few of the 'bigger' Elektron units.. I'm an Elektron "believer", if you want to put it that way.

I don't usually incorporate this unit into larger productions. Instead, I try to turn music making into a process oriented activity instead of a "results" oriented thing. This is how I value it anyway.

The Cycles kind of has an Aphex+DX vibe to me. It is limited compared to the others, but I really love the idea of working with a limited palette. And the kick just slams.

[elxsound]

Yes, but some important things to know.

1. M:S (Model Sample) does not sample. It will playback loaded samples.
2. Highly affordable on the used market, makes it a fun device to pick up to play with sequencing, micro timing, parameter locking and it sounds great.
3. The velocity sensitive drum pads are useable, but are probably the worst I've used as they require a heavy hand to trigger. Again, they are useable, but just something that's good to know.
4. Sample pool (useful for locking steps to different samples) is larger on the Model Samples compared to Digitakt.
5. Organizing your starting samples as 6 sounds per folder allows for quickly loading samples to each track.
6. Very easy navigation allows for use an instrument, not just a programmable drum machine. Menu diving is minimal, and there's only one level of shift functions for each of the knobs, making it super easy to use.

I have one that I put away when I started using Push 3 Standalone, but it's a great size to bring around and power from a back-up battery. I used to have the OG Digitakt, and still use Syntakt.

My vote would be if you can get one cheap and you like to mess with samples, go for it.

[cryophonik]

I had a Model:Cycles a few years ago and it sounded pretty good IMO. To me, the biggest disappointment was that it didn’t support Overbridge. But, as others have already noted, it’s got a lot of pros and you can find secondhand Models pretty cheap.

[Funky40]

M:C is cheap 2nd hand. the sound is good. VERY useful for some things.
Never liked the sequenzer.
Very nice for some specific sound experiments. For example as an addition to other boxes, and to sample from it.
I love the kicks and that high-freq sizzle stuff from the M:C......just not the whole operation. But when just used often enough, one would just adapt to it....one would think at least.

[Moe Shinola]

I have both and yes they are. The Cycles will do the quirky digital drums that no other box will(I hear the Volca Drum sounds similar but I've never used one) and the Samples will do every other kind of beats. You could do long hardware sets with just the Model: Samples and nothing else.

[ugo]

I’ve got Cycles and there are things I like and some I don’t. The positive aspects are that it sounds pretty unique, it is flexible and fun, and reasonably priced. The downsides for me are:

1) The sequencer in mine skips the first step when externally synced. Second pass is fine, but first pass drops the first step. I’ve tried all kinds of things to compensate/correct it but could not solve the issue. I gather this doesn’t happen to everyone though, so it is probably something I’ve done wrong somewhere. I ended up making a M4L controller for it and sequence with Push.

2) I really don’t dig the feel and responsiveness of the pads, but some folks like them.

3) The snare is the only drum in there that I don’t click with. I can understand the appeal, but it just isn’t for me. Thankfully you can set it up however you wish, so I load that spot with a duplicate of another drum type and use other sources for snares.

[pekbro]

I like Samples, tho not perfect of course. Not bad for the money imo
Certainly, it never inspired me to get Cycles however.

[foosnark]

I had fun with Cycles for a while. It was nice to just sit with a drum machine and make stuff that was unrelated to my usual music and process. I did find some ways to abuse it for drone/ambient, but eventually decided it was more of a toy to me than anything and resold it. If I made more percussion-oriented stuff I would undoubtedly have kept it, because I'm an FM junkie.

[DrGonzo]

Cycles, good sound, but I'm not too fond of the UI. It lacks the fluid workflow of adult Elektrons. But the sound is not letting you down though.

[foosnark]

I never used any other Elektron gear, but I found Cycles more intuitive and easier to work with than Teenage Engineering EP-133. Not without some weird abstractions if I remember right though.