Getting Started

Welcome to Digitakt II. The Digitakt experience, but multiplied. A whole new dimension, in fact. Resetting the boundaries that its predecessor pushed. Idea after idea, OS after OS, the original Digitakt went from strength to strength, until finally reaching its brim. This next chapter is about what’s beyond the brim. Digitakt II emerged as its own beast, pushing what’s possible beyond the horizon. This is a box that offers an immeasurable collage of possibilities: 16 tracks that can be either audio or MIDI tracks, stereo sampling, a 128 step sequencer, and oodles extra power and memory letting you do more than ever. And then there’s a more modular workflow, swappable filters, additional sequencer mode, and kits and trig modes, all giving you a more customizable creative experience. So, now, for you with all of the above at your fingertips, it is time to take your place in this beginning. The start line beckons. Flick the switch and set off on your own sonic adventures. Who knows what the destination will be? We can only guarantee that the journey is going to be a fun-filled blast. Sincerely, The Elektron Team Digitakt II User Manual. This manual is copyright © 2025 Elektron Music Machines MAV AB. All reproduction, digital or printed, without written authorization is strictly prohibited. The information in this manual may change without notice. Elektron’s product names, logotypes, titles, words or phrases may be registered and protected by Swedish and international law. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. This manual for Digitakt II OS version 1.15A was last updated July 8, 2025.

Make sure you place the Digitakt II on a stable support, such as a sturdy table, with sufficient space for the cables. Make sure to switch off all devices before you connect the Digitakt II to other devices. 1. Plug the supplied DC adapter to a power outlet and connect the small plug to the 12 V DC In on the Digitakt II. 2. Connect OUT L/R from the Digitakt II to your mixer or amplifier. 3. To control the Digitakt II from a computer, connect a USB cable between the computer and the USB connector of the Digitakt II. 4. If you want to use MIDI to control the Digitakt II, connect the MIDI OUT port of the device you wish to send data from to the MIDI IN port of the Digitakt II. The MIDI THRU port duplicates the data arriving at the MIDI IN port, so it can be used for chaining MIDI units together. Connect the MIDI OUT port of the Digitakt II to the MIDI IN port of the of the device you want to control if you want to use Digitakt II to control other devices using MIDI. 5. If you want to sample or process audio from external sources, connect the audio source to IN L/R or via USB (sampling only). 6. Switch on all units. Switch on the Digitakt II by pressing the Power switch located at the back of the unit.

You can find a number of preset patterns, presets, and samples in the Digitakt II. Follow the instructions below to get started exploring your new instrument. 1. Press [PTN] and then use the [LEFT]/[RIGHT] keys to select bank A. Then press [TRIG 1] to select pattern A1. 2. Press [PLAY] to listen to pattern A01. 3. Press [PTN], and then press [TRIG 2] to cue pattern A02. It will start once pattern A01 has reached its end. Select pattern A03 by pressing [PTN], and then press [TRIG 3], and so on. 4. Press [STOP] to stop playback. 7.1.1 USING KEYBOARD MODE You can use the [TRIG] keys to play any track chromatically. 1. Select the track to play chromatically by pressing [TRK] + one of the [TRIG 1–16] keys. 2. Press [KEYBOARD] to enter KEYBOARD mode. The [TRIG] keys will light up in a pattern that resembles an octave of a piano keyboard. Only lit keys are playable. 3. Play the [TRIG] keys. The preset will be pitched differently for each of the playable keys. Press [KEYBOARD] + [UP]/[DOWN] to transpose the virtual keyboard up or down one octave. For more information, please see “8.5.1 KEYBOARD MODE” on page 25. KEYBOARD mode is an effective way to add musical variety to your beats. The timbre, tonality and impact of playing a preset chromatically depend on the character of the source preset.

You can mute any of the sequencer tracks in this mode. Unlike the KEYBOARD mode, it makes no difference which track is active when this mode is activated. You can access all tracks simultaneously. 1. Make sure a pattern is playing. 2. Press the [FUNC] + [TRK] key to enter MUTE mode. 3. Press any of the [TRIG] keys to mute the corresponding track. Press again to unmute. The light of the [TRIG] keys indicates the mute status. Unlit keys are muted tracks. Lit keys are active tracks. For more information, please see “8.5.3 MUTE MODE” on page 26.

Press the [TEMPO] key to open the TEMPO menu. 7.3.1 TEMPO To change the BPM setting, open the TEMPO menu by pressing the [TEMPO] key. Use DATA ENTRY knob A or LEVEL/DATA to change tempo. Pressing the knob while turning it changes the tempo four BPM at a time. Use DATA ENTRY knob B to change the tempo in decimal steps. You can chose between a tempo for the whole project or use a separate tempo every pattern. Press and hold [FUNC], and then use DATA ENTRY knob E to switch between these modes. On the main interface screen, you can also press and hold the [ARROW] keys [LEFT] or [RIGHT] to nudge the tempo 10% up or down temporarily. Release the key to revert to the original tempo. To tap a tempo setting, hold the [FUNC] key and tap the [TEMPO] key in a steady rhythm. After four consecutive taps the average tempo of the taps will be calculated. By continuing tapping, the average tempo will keep on updating. You can also use an extrnal MIDI controller to tap the tempo by sending note C0 on the selected FX CONTROL MIDI channel. When in the TEMPO menu (and with PROJECT tempo mode selected), holding [FUNC] while turning DATA ENTRY knob A will not change the tempo to the selected value until the [FUNC] key is released. While doing this, “PREP.” flash in the bottom left corner of the screen. Nudging the tempo is very handy when manually syncing Digitakt II to a turntable or an external sound source. Note that you do not need to be in the TEMPO menu to nudge the tempo. DATA ENTRY knob D to adjust the swing setting of the pattern, to employ a propulsive, rhythmic groove. The swing ratio can be set to 51-80%. The default setting is equal spacing, 50%. 7.3.2 METRONOME The metronome settings controls the internal metronome of the Digitakt II. Use the DATA ENTRY knobs to change the settings. METRO activates/deactivates the metronome. You can also press [TEMPO] + [YES] to toggle the metronome on/off. SIG. controls the note and beat measure of the metronome time signature. PREROLL controls for how many bars the metronome will sound before the sequencer starts playing. This setting is only relevant when you are in LIVE RECORDING mode. VOL controls the volume of the click.

Each track has six PARAMETER pages. Press [PARAMETER] keys TRIG, SRC, FLTR, AMP, FX, and MOD to access the different PARAMETER pages. These parameters affect the sound and signal in various ways. 1. Make sure a pattern is playing. 2. Press [TRK] + [TRIG] keys 1–16 to select a track. 3. To change, for example, the cutoff of the filter, press the [FLTR] key to open the FILTER page. The parameter labeled FREQ changes the cutoff of the filter. Turn DATA ENTRY knob E to change the parameter value, and hear how the sound is affected. Try out the rest of the PARAMETER page parameters to explore a variety of sound shaping possibilities.

Digitakt II can also sample audio. It can sample audio from external sources, via the external inputs, and it can also sample audio internally from the Digitakt II itself. 1. Connect your audio source to the IN L/R inputs of the Digitakt II. 2. Press [SAMPLING] to access the SAMPLING menu and then use DATA ENTRY knob A to set SOURCE to IN L R. 3. Keep an eye on the input level meter and play the audio source and make sure that the volume of the audio source is as strong as possible, but without clipping or distorting. Set MON to POST MIX to monitor the incoming audio through the Digitakt II’s mixer and effects. 4. Again, with an eye on the input level meter, use DATA ENTRY knob D to set THRESHOLD just above the indicated background noise of the audio source (when it is not playing). 5. Use R.LEN to set the length of the sampling. 6. Switch ARM to ON to arm the sampler and then play the sound source. When the input audio exceeds the set THRESHOLD level, sampling will start. 7. Press [YES] when you want to stop sampling, or with an R.LEN setting of 1–128, the sampling stops automatically. The sampling also stops if it reaches the max sampling time (66 seconds). The Digitakt II then automatically normalizes the sample. 8. Use the DATA ENTRY knobs E and H to set the parameters TRIM START and TRIM END to trim the sample to the desired length. You can use the DATA ENTRY knob F to zoom in and out to make it easier to see where to trim the sample. Use [FUNC] + F to zoom vertically. Use knob G to position the zoom focus area. [FUNC] + G moves the trim selection left or right. When zoomed, pressing [LEFT] will jump to the START trim point, and [RIGHT] will jump to the END trim point. Press [FUNC] + [YES] to preview the sample. DATA ENTRY knobs D selects the way the sample will be previewed. One shot, Looping, One shot (without having to hold the shortcut all the way), Looping (without having to hold the shortcut all the way). The preview is played back by the voice of the active track. Make sure to select an audio track as active track. 9. Press [YES] to save the sample. 10. Name the sample and press [YES] again to confirm the save. 11. Press [TRACK 1–16] to select the track to where you want to assign the sample. For more information, please see “13. SAMPLING” on page 68.