Last Updated on April 19, 2023 by IDS Team
Earlier this month news broke about Elektron’s Digitakt Loopcloud integration in the OS 1.50 update. This essentially allows you to drag and drop loops from the platform directly to your Digitakt. Yet, this is just the start of what this new update promises to have in store. We break down below the features that make this integration so exciting.
Elecktron Digitakt Loopcloud review – why integration of the two can change your production game
The Elektron Digitakt is one of the industry’s leading drum machines. We’ve covered just why this is before when it made our top 5 options for music production hardware 2023.
Yet, now the Digitakt OS 1.50 update lets you connect directly to Loopcloud, the world’s largest sample library. Whichever position you’re starting from, this upgrade is exciting as it can introduce users of Digitakt to Loopcloud and vice versa.
If you’re starting from Loopcloud, the upgrade means that if you’ve been considering getting a Digitakt, there’s all the more reason. And if you’re starting with a Digitakt but have been on the fence about the world’s largest sample library, Loopcloud gives you access to tools like Loopcloud Drum and Loopcloud Play that you can integrate with hardware.
Pairing Digitakt with Loopcloud vs Splice – why Elektron’s decision works so well
If you’ve also been wondering about the various benefits of Loopcloud vs Splice or other sample libraries, there’s a good reason Elektron opted for Loopcloud. It’s simply got more flexibility and creativity in terms of altering samples. So, if you’ve been wondering which of the two is better and are currently in possession of a Digitakt, the update unlocks Loopcloud in a whole new way that regular users can’t access.
Loopcloud is the perfect match for the Digitakt, partly due to its focus on the little things that make or break a piece of music. That means you can search for sounds via incredibly specific parameters, such as level of swing, or bassiness. By focusing on less obvious things, Loopcloud helps producers sift through a realm of samples, easily, to find options that work with the kinds of creative and slick sounds you can make with the Digitakt.
To put it simply: both the Digitakt and Loopcloud are varied enough that you’ll never get bored of either. Loopcloud loops are royalty-free, and Loopcloud can actually connect to FL studio via a VST plugin, so this added interconnectivity can boost your production too. Either way, for an uninterrupted workflow, the two are a match made in heaven, simplifying massive amounts of sonic potential.
How does the update make your workflow easier?
- The first thing is that Loopcloud has its own 8-track editor and pattern creator. You may have everything you need with the Digitakt. However, integration means you can create parts of tracks, beats, or samples on Loopcloud first – and then transfer them for further modification. Plus, Loopcloud helps you keep the tools needed all in one place.
- Loopcloud offers a whole new selection of routes to work with your Digitakt. In fact, you can control your Digitakt through Loopcloud from your computer. This feature is particularly great for naming files, streamlining, and organizing, without you having to spend tons of time on this.
- The integration has been created with the musician in mind. Why? The connection between Loopcloud and your Digitakt allows you to store Loopcloud loops for live performance. This is great if you can’t access your computer – or want the portability of the Digitakt with the variety available on Loopcloud.
- Intelligent technology picks up Digitakt tempo and time-stretches it. This means that Loopcloud will provide options that are ALREADY tempo-matched to the project you are working on. In short, yet another way the integration allows your Digitakt to seamlessly communicate with the world’s largest loop and sample library.
- Create whole new patterns by using Loopcloud as a shortcut. Loopcloud allows you to multiply and divide sample tempo, change pitch, and export the results to your Digitakt. Want easy ways to sculpt and modify sound and then use these new creations as samples themselves? Simply do a mixdown on Loopcloud and send results to your Digitakt!
Song mode – how the Digitakt Loopcloud integration could revolutionize this feature
Digitakt’s song mode is a feature that allows you to combine multiple beats, loops, and sequences as a single track. It’s perfect, for example, if you need a backing track to improvise over or even for creating soundtracks. Here, the massive range of sounds from Loopcloud lets you make whole, fully functional sonic layouts with the Digitakt. Plus, dragging and dropping mixed and mastered samples to your Digitakt on Loopcloud too. In this way, you can prep the individual parts of a track on your computer before piecing them all together on your drum machine.
Loopcloud’s online sound and sample editor
Ok, so we’ve gone over the good points about Loopcloud, especially in terms of Loopcloud vs Splice, Arcade, and its other competitors. But let’s look a bit more at how the two work together. Digitakt Loopcloud integration ultimately lets you work however suits you best. For example, if you prefer to work mainly with a DAW or with Loopcloud’s time-stretching capacities, you can. However, if you’d rather not lay a finger on your computer, samples, sequences, and more can be edited directly in Digitakt.
Plus, the integration between Digitakt and Loopcloud means there are multiple stages of creative sound warping to play with. It’s not one of the other – for example, you can start off getting a beat sounding great in Loopcloud. Or, you could time stretch it, transfer it to Digitakt, and add some lush reverb or gritty distortion for an additional layer of sonic manipulation.
Is Loopcloud worth it? More reasons Digitakt integration will upgrade your production either way
With this many choices, it’s possible to take sounds far away from their original forms. In this way, the only creative constraints are down to your imagination. The Digitakt Loopcloud combo is also great for those with a minimal studio setup without many other options. There are SO many possibilities here, in such a compact form, this combo could serve as all you need for creative music making on the go. If you’re still on the fence, the upgrade and integration comes with the following:
- Comes with two months of free access to Loopcloud if you own an Elektron Digitakt.
- From then on loopcloud is affordable at only 6.99 EUR/month (5.99 GBP or 7.99 USD). However, the full range of Loopcloud subscription options includes a free option (though with minimal credits for sounds)
- ability to drag-and-drop samples makes your workflow significantly more efficient
Final Thoughts
Loopcloud is already great by itself, as is the Digitakt. However, this integration is just another way that Elektron has thought through every inch of the process of work for both musicians in the studio and on the go. It’s this that made the Digitakt such an industry leader in the first place – and why the Loopcloud integration will just add an extra level of creative potential, and we’re very excited to see what this update leads to in future…
If you love the latest music production and sound design news, we have a whole section here. Plus, for gear reviews and breakdowns, we look at some more of the most exciting products here.
