Elektron Model:Cycles

As a guitar player I needed a drum machine to add some beats to my ambient/minimalist pieces. At first I considered something different but a friend of mine who is quite a synth nerd recommended me this by saying it's more versatile than many others. When checking some Youtube demos I arrived at the same conclusion and ordered it.
To put it shortly, it fully met my expectations. Although some people have said it is quite limited, mainly when it comes to sound synthesis, in my opinion, if used as a drum machine with quite a lot of extra features, it is still quite a versatile instrument! But I'm a guitarist, so what do I know, haha.
The main magic lies in the sequencer, which has quite an extensive array of features. Parameter locking, conditional locking to name just a few. So you can build quite complex arrangements with it.
The unit is made of plastic, but it is quite sturdy. The only things I am a bit worried about are the pads and rubbery buttons, but we'll see.
To end my review I'd like to give my two cents from the blindness perspective. I know we are a tiny minority, but I'm not the only blind person who buys from Thomann, so maybe this part will be useful for some people.
As most of the things are done with knobs and buttons, it can be used quite easily if you remember what each of them does. A nifty trick for that is to make a recording of some sighted person giving you the overview of the layout, so you can reference it later.
The manual is well written and easy to understand.
There is some menu diving, that can get quite confusing for the blind, but unless you go very deep it can be done very easily by referencing the manual.
SO, to conclude this review in one sentence, I'm really happy with my first full fledged drum machine!

Elektron's Model Cycles is not a sum of its parts; with 6 'machines' (sound generators), 6 tracks with 6 accordingly pressure sensitive buttons, 3 fx (2 of them send fx), LFO, repeat function, sound locks (set multiple different simultaneous sounds per track), macro function e.t.c. features a virtually limitless sonic arsenal.

Combined with the top notch Elektron' s sequencing capabilities, it would be an understatement to be considered just another drum machine, groove machine, synthesizer or even worse, Digitone's cut down version, which has a totally different 'produced', clean 'hi-fi-ish' sound.

Cycles is so more than that. An instrument with a unique character of its own. A chameleon of moods, mods and genres, where every tiny parameter change or combination of settings, makes a real difference.

A special 'expansion' tip:
Connect Cycles via usb (using an Apple camera connection kit) to any iOS device (simultaneous midi and audio live connection) and control it within AUM iOS app, randomize its sounds or generate genre specific styles with Tension iOS app and get crazy and ever evolving, controlling Cycles' parametres via CC, with the additonal 16 LFOs (!!) of the mLFO ios app.

Can you stand the madness?

For an around 300 - 340$ street price it's a steal. A no brainer for an amateur, an enthusiast, a sound designer or a professional producer. I'm thinking of getting a second one, to expand my 'digital orchestra' to 12 tracks!

P.S. I've put 4 stars in 'features score', not because it lacks in the field, but not to get Elektron too comfortable and push them to keep developing Cycles' features.

It took me a couple of hours to be confortable with the basics of the workflow, but it should be noted that my experience with any of this digital world was nonexistent until I got the Cycles. Started out just trying to make simple 16-step sequences, and went from there. At the end of my first session I found myself making a couple of Nine Inch Nails covers and having a blast!

It's got it's own sound, and I feel like you either like it or not. It's certainly not as aggresive-sounding as some of my favourite electronic pieces, like Aphex Twin and Autechre, but when playing that kind of stuff, it fills it with it's own vibe, and I definitely love it. Coupled with some pedals makes it pop out even more, and I can honestly say that maybe Elektron is charging too little for this box.

Build quality is great, and all that, but... Come on. The sounds matter most, especially in this price range. And there isn't really anything that I wish was different. It has a powerful sequencer, great FM sounds, easy controls, and a fluid workflow.

Basically, if you're on the fence, just get it!

I really love a lot of things about this groove box. The FM sounds it creates are insanely good, the kicks sound incredible. It really excells at creating ambient stuff as well as hard hitting techno.
I am releasing my first single in a few weeks and all of the music was created on the cycles, I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.
The functionality is great, it is so intuiutve and inspires creativity in so many ways. Just playing around with different delay times can create cool grooves and the chance parameters can make almost generative sequences effortlessly.
A few limitations, as to be expected with something so well priced. Only one LFO can be applied to each track, which has left me wanting more from time to time. Also, you can't send the tracks to record separately through the USB, it records all tracks as one signal. I went around this by recording one track at a time which was time consuming but at least allowed for a good mix.
Over all, I think this an excellent machine and so much fun to get stuck into.