The original Digitone is one of my favorite synths ever. To some that might come off as a bit of a backhanded compliment because, well, the Digitone isn’t just a synth. It’s a powerful multitimbral groovebox with one of the most versatile sequencers on the market. To me, its four tracks and eight voices of polyphony could feel a bit limiting. Plus it’s not exactly the best at drums. This led me to sticking the Digitone on a stand where I just treat it like a desktop synth controlled by a MIDI keyboard.

The Digitone II, at least on paper, seems to solve some of these problems. It now has 16 voices on 16 tracks, plus there are three completely new synth engines that expand its sound palette, including one completely dedicated to percussion. This is all in addition to the same sorts of sequencing, modulation, and filter improvements we already saw on the Digitakt II (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but just like its sample-based sibling, the Digitone II has received a significant price hike to $999. With the original now going for as little as $350 on the used market, the choice between the two isn’t necessarily that cut and dry.

This Is the New Sound

Before anyone panics, the four-operator FM engine from the original Digitone is still here. While I’ve seen some people suggest that it doesn’t sound exactly the same and that the original has slightly more grit and character, I think those people are hallucinating. I’ve loaded several presets designed for the original Digitone on the Digitone II, and I can not tell the difference between them. It is worth mentioning that, sadly, you can not load Digitone II presets on the original Digitone, even if they’re using the original FM sound engine. There are apparently some technical differences between them under the hood but, at least to my ears, they don’t seem to affect the sound.

The other three synth engines are where the Digitone II really separates itself from the original. In addition to the original FM engine (called FM Tone in the new model), there is FM Drum, which tweaks the original sound engine to better suit percussion. Wavetone is a little less glassy and gets sounds similar to what you’d find on phase distortion and wavetable synths. It’s still decidedly digital, but not as harsh as FM. Then there’s Swarmer, which gives you super-thick sounds that are great for leads and organs by stacking six detuned oscillators on top of the main one. Many of my favorite new presets make excellent use of the Wavetone machine, which is able to convincingly replicate classic electro and Krautrock sounds.

Sonically, these new machines greatly expand the palette of the Digitone. The FM engine inside the original was already stunningly flexible. While it could do those harsh and bell-like sounds of ’80s synths like the Yamaha DX7, it also borrowed a lot of sound design elements from more traditional subtractive synths. That allowed you to get sounds similar to what you could coax out of Casio’s phase distortion synths like the CZ-101 or a virtual analog instrument like a MicroKorg.

The Digitone II offers four new filters, including a comb filter, an equalizer, and a four-pole low-pass filter. The latter seems to be modeled on the kind of filter you’d find on a Moog. But more interesting to me is the comb filter, which basically lets you turn the Digitone into a makeshift physical modeling synth.

Still Number One

Like the Digitakt II, the Digitone II has received some welcome upgrades to its sequencer. The total length has been expanded from 64 to 128 steps, and there’s a new Euclidean sequencer that allows you to create patterns using math. (The latter is a lot more fun than it sounds.) You can also use any of the 16 tracks to control external instruments via MIDI instead of sequencing the internal synths, which allows the Digitone to serve as a central hub for your home studio.

Otherwise, what makes the Elektron sequencer special—the trigger conditions and parameter locks—are largely unchanged. The former uses rules to determine when and if a particular step is triggered, for instance only every third out of five times through the sequence, or only if the previous trigger doesn’t play (because of its own rules or probability). Parameter locks change parameters on a per-step basis. This can be as simple as gradually opening the filter on a bass line over the course of a pattern, or it can be extreme, maxing out the delay on single notes so that they echo out over the rest of your melody line. You can even change the presets on a per-step basis (a necessity on the OG for navigating the four-track limitation), which can either be used to cram rhythmic elements into a single track for efficiency purposes, or to create wild melody lines where each note is played by a different synth patch (one of my favorite tricks).

The Digitone II has a new note edit menu when in grid recording mode. Here you can tweak individual notes on a step, even if they’re part of a chord, changing velocity, duration and portamento timing. And just like on the Digitakt II there is Perform Kit Mode (Kits are Elektron’s term for the 16 presets associated with a pattern), where you can change the sounds to your heart’s delight without worrying about overwriting your masterpiece. Plus, it stops kits from reloading as you change patterns, so if you’ve tuned the kick to be extra thumpy, it won’t revert back when you switch from the verse to the chorus. This is in addition to control-all, where you are able to quickly mangle an entire pattern without ruining your previous work. The Elektron sequencer and performance tools remain some of the best you can find on any groovebox.

Do the Evolution

Where the Digitakt II felt like a modest upgrade on paper, the Digitone II is obviously more than an incremental evolution. It has all the same performance and sequencing improvements of the Digitakt II, but it also has three new synth engines and four new filters, which dramatically broadens the sound palette. That's not to mention double the polyphony, double the amount of sequencing tracks (four times as many if you’re talking about just the internal sequencer), and an intuitive new way to edit notes polyphonically. It's an obvious and exciting upgrade over what is already a modern classic of an instrument.

There are, of course, some caveats. The Elektron workflow won’t be for everyone. The learning curve is steep, and if I’m being honest, the manual is only so helpful. It’s long and dense, and mostly serves as a reference guide rather than a tutorial. I have owned the original Digitone for several years and feel like I am barely tapping its sequencing potential. That being said, it’s not some impenetrable fortress. Once you figure out Elektron’s terminology and quirks, things start to fall into place.

Oh, and Elektron is still sticking with a USB-B port, because … reasons.

The big question here though is, are the changes worth the price bump? I feel a lot more comfortable saying yes here than I did with the Digitakt II. The Digitone II feels like a new and exciting instrument. It obviously shares a lot in common with the original, but it doesn’t feel like Elektron phoning in an update as an excuse to charge more money.

That being said, if you already own a Digitone you shouldn’t feel it necessary to rush out and buy a Digitone II. The original is still a very capable device. If you’ve been eyeing one for a while, this might be a great time to jump, as you can regularly find them used for under $400. But if you do decide to splurge on a Digitone II, I’m comfortable saying you’re getting your money’s worth. It's an excellent synth, sequencer, and more.