This information applies Analog Rytm, Analog Four, Analog Keys, Digitakt, Digitone, Digitone Keys. The screens look a little different depending on which unit you are using, but the steps are the same.

Access the global settings menu by pressing the cogwheel button (Digitakt, Digitone/Keys, Analog Four MKII, Analog Rytm MKII), Function + Track (Analog Rytm MKI), Function + Song (Analog Keys), Function + Keyboard C2 (Analog Four MKI).

In the global settings menu, select SYSTEM

In the SYSTEM submenu, select FORMAT +DRIVE

In the FORMAT +DRIVE submenu, select which items you want to format and then choose to ERASE SELECTED DATA

PROJECTS+SOUNDS is available on all machines and will remove sounds and projects created by the user, factory sounds, and the factory preset project.

SAMPLES is only available on Analog Rytm and Digitakt and will remove all user items, but the factory samples will remain (the factory samples do not occupy space on the +Drive and cannot be deleted). 

This information applies to Analog Four, Analog Keys, Analog Four MKII, Analog Heat, Analog Heat MKII, Analog Heat +FX, Analog Rytm, Analog Rytm MKII, Digitakt, Digitakt II, Digitone, Digitone Keys, Digitone II, Syntakt, Model:Cycles, and Model:Samples

To perform a Factory Reset, hold down the [FUNCTION] button ([ACTIVE]/[ON] button for Analog Heat) while powering on the device, then press the appropriate button when the startup menu appears. When the reset has been completed, the unit will reboot.

When you perform a factory reset on Analog Keys or Analog Four or Analog Four MKII, the following happens:

• Project slot 001 will be overwritten and re-initialized with the factory preset project.
• The currently loaded project will be cleared and the factory preset project will be loaded to memory.
• Soundbanks A and B will be overwritten with the factory preset sounds.

The remaining project slots and sound banks will not be overwritten.

If you wish to keep the active project, remember to save it to a project slot higher than 001 before you perform the factory reset. If you have saved your own sounds to soundbanks A or B, you need to move them to a different bank if you want to keep them.

When you perform a factory reset on Analog Heat MKI or MKII, the following happens:

Preset slots 001–016 will be overwritten with the factory presets. The remaining preset slots will be cleared.

When you perform a factory reset on Analog Heat +FX, the following happens:

Preset slots A001–A019 will be overwritten with the factory presets. The remaining preset slots will be cleared.

When you perform a factory reset on Analog Rytm or Analog Rytm MKII, the following happens:

• Project slot 001 will be overwritten and re-initialized with the factory preset project.
• The currently loaded project will be cleared and the factory preset project will be loaded to memory.
• Soundbank A will be overwritten with the factory preset sounds.

The remaining project slots and sound banks will not be overwritten.

If you wish to keep the active project, remember to save it to a project slot higher than 001 before you perform the factory reset. If you have saved your own sounds to soundbank A, you need to move them to a different bank if you want to keep them.

When you perform a factory reset on a Digitakt or Digitakt II, the following happens:

• Project slot 001 will be overwritten and re-initialized with the factory preset project.
• The currently loaded project will be cleared and the factory preset project will be loaded to memory.
• Sound/preset bank A will be overwritten with the factory presets.

The remaining project slots and sound/preset banks will not be overwritten. Any samples that you have transferred to the unit or recorded directly into the unit will remain on the +Drive after a factory reset.

If you wish to keep the active project, remember to save it to a project slot higher than 001 before you perform the factory reset. If you have saved your own sounds/presets to soundbank A, you need to move them to a different bank if you want to keep them.

When you perform a factory reset on Digitone or Digitone Keys or Digitone II, the following happens:

• Project slot 001 will be overwritten and re-initialized with the factory preset project.
• The currently loaded project will be cleared and the factory preset project will be loaded to memory.
• Soundbanks A and B will be overwritten with the factory preset sounds.

The remaining project slots and sound banks will not be overwritten.

If you wish to keep the active project, remember to save it to a project slot higher than 001 before you perform the factory reset. If you have saved your own sounds to soundbanks A or B, you need to move them to a different bank if you want to keep them.

When you perform a factory reset on Syntakt, the following happens:

• Project slot 001 will be overwritten and re-initialized with the factory preset project.
• The currently loaded project will be cleared and the factory preset project will be loaded to memory.
• Soundbanks A through E will be overwritten with the factory preset sounds.

The remaining project slots and sound banks will not be overwritten.

If you wish to keep the active project, remember to save it to a project slot higher than 001 before you perform the factory reset. If you have saved your own sounds to soundbanks A through E, you need to move them to a different bank if you want to keep them.

When you perform a factory reset on Model:Cycles or Model:Samples, the following happens:

• Project slot 01 will be overwritten and re-initialized with the factory preset project.
• The currently loaded project will be cleared and the factory preset project will be loaded to memory.

The remaining project slots and sound banks will not be overwritten.

If you wish to keep the active project, remember to save it to a project slot higher than 01 before you perform the factory reset.

You can manually remove Overbridge device entries if they are corrupt, or cause other problems.

REMOVING DEVICE ENTRIES IN WINDOWS

1. Press Win+R, and then write "regedit" in the box, and then press OK to open the Registry Editor.
   

   

2. Navigate to this key (a key is like a folder):
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ELEKTRON_OVERBRIDGE_USB
   

   

3. Here you see subkeys that are in this format:
   Parameters_1935_xxxx_yyyy
   The xxxx is the product ID. See below for more information*
   The yyyy is the unique ID of your particular device.

4. Right-click the device you want to remove and select "Delete" Do this for all subkeys related to your device

REMOVING DEVICE ENTRIES IN MACOS

This will delete all known devices from the ControlPanel and the CoreAudio plugin.

1. Start a terminal session.

2. Unload coreaudio daemon (or else you will not be able to move the coreaudio plist files)
   sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.audio.coreaudiod.plist
   sudo killall coreaudiod
   The second line is just in case the first one doesn't work.

3. Move / delete the plist files to another location:
   mkdir ~/Desktop/PlistBackup/
   sudo mv /Library/Preferences/Audio/com.apple.audio.DeviceSettings.plist ~/Desktop/PlistBackup/
   sudo mv /Library/Preferences/Audio/com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist ~/Desktop/PlistBackup/
   sudo mv ~/Library/Preferences/se.elektron.OverbridgeControlPanel.plist ~/Desktop/PlistBackup/
   sudo mv ~/Library/Preferences/se.elektron.overbridge.hal.plist ~/Desktop/PlistBackup/

4. Restart macOS

5. Remove PlistBackup folder on your desktop.

*Product ID table

In order to update your device using the method described in this article, your device needs to run at least the OS version listed below. The OS version is visible in the bottom right corner of the device screen when it is being powered on.

If the device is running an older version than the one listed below, you need to update your device using sysex transfer. Refer to the following article for information on how to update using sysex transfer. Once your device is running at least the OS version listed above, you can use the method described in this article for future OS updates.

Connect your device to one of the USB ports of your computer and start Elektron Transfer, make sure the unit is selected as the MIDI in and MIDI out ports, and then click the Connect button.

Unzip the archive and drag and drop the .syx file containing the OS update onto the big area with the text "Drop files here".

When you drop the OS file, it will automatically be transferred to the device.

When OS has been transferred, Elektron Transfer will let you know that you need to press the YES button on your device to perfrom the upgrade. Press the YES button and follow the instructions on the device screen. DO NOT TURN THE DEVICE OFF UNTIL THE UPGRADE IS COMPLETED.

Kits and patterns are part of projects, while sounds in the +Drive sound library are not, so backing up the project(s) will include patterns, kits and the sound pool of the project. Sounds located on the +Drive needs to be backed up separately.

In the global menu, go to the SYSTEM / USB CONFIG menu and make sure the machine is in USB-midi mode and not in Overbridge mode, the Overbridge mode setting is machine global, the change is persistent and is not saved as part of projects. You can change it back to Overbridge mode once the backup / restore is complete.

In the global menu, go to MIDI CONFIG / PORT CONFIG and make sure that OUTPUT TO is set to MIDI + USB or just USB. The midi port config is project specific and will be saved with the current project. Saving it and loading another project will activate the midi port settings of that project, the default setting of a new project is MIDI only, so if you haven't changed this before it needs be changed in order to use the USB port for midi output.

How to back up an entire +Drive sound bank from AK / AF

1. Start C6 and select the appropriate in/out midi ports and click the receive button.
2. Open the sound manager on your Analog Keys
3. Click trig 16 to open bank P
4. Click the right arrow button to open the sidebar menu
5. Scroll down and and choose SELECT ALL, all sounds should now be selected
6. Scroll further down and choose SEND SYSEX
7. The sounds in bank P transfers to your computer.
8. Once complete, click Stop! (where it previously said receive) in C6
9. Click the received data syx file and click the save button to save the backup file to the hard drive (make sure you have clicked the file(s) to save before clicking save, otherwise it will simply save a list of the currently open files and not the files themselves).
10. Repeat the above process for every bank where you have stored your sounds.

How to back up a project from AK / AF

1. Go to the MIDI CONFIG / PORT CONFIG and make sure that OUTPUT TO is set to MIDI + USB or just USB in your project
2. Start C6 and select the appropriate in/out midi ports and click the receive button.
3. Go to SYSEX DUMP in the global menu
4. Open SYSEX SEND
5. Send WHOLE PROJECT
6. Once complete, click Stop! (where it previously said receive) in C6
7. Click the received data syx file and click the save button to save the backup file to the hard drive (make sure you have clicked the file(s) to save before clicking save, otherwise it will simply save a list of the currently open files and not the files themselves).
8. Repeat the above process for every project you want to back up.

How to restore a project to AK / AF

1. Open C6
2. Click to mark the project syx file that you want to send to your machine
3. On your machine, create a brand new project, then open the global menu, go to SYSEX DUMP / SYSEX RECEIVE / ANYTHING / RECEIVE ANY
4. Click Send button in C6
5. Once the project has been received, save it to a +Drive slot using the SAVE PROJECT menu option in the global menu

How to restore an entire sound bank to AK / AF

1. Open C6 on your computer, load the previously backed up sound bank file
2. On the machine, go to SYSEX DUMP in the global menu
3. Open SYSEX RECEIVE
4. Using the [ARROW] keys, highlight +DRIVE SOUNDS on the left hand menu and press [YES/SAVE]. The highlight bar will now appear on the right hand menu. This is where you select the Sound Bank that will receive the new sounds. Select Sound Bank position using the [ARROW] keys. Sound Bank A and B normally contains preset sounds, so in this example we will select Sound Bank C.
5. Highlight Bank C and press [YES/SAVE]. The words “WAITING DATA...” will be shown flashing on the chosen Sound Bank position, indicating that it is ready to receive the .syx file from the computer.
   Note that if the Sound Bank already contains sounds that aren’t locked (consult the User Manual on how to do this), they will be overwritten with the new sounds. Make sure you select an unpopulated Sound Bank, or a Sound Bank that contains sounds that you do not wish to keep.
6. In C6, click the file you want to restore so it gets highlighted. Press the SEND button. A progress bar will appear at the bottom of the c6 window. On the Analog Keys/Four LCD screen you will see “WRITING DATA...” for the duration of the transfer. Transferring the sounds will take a few seconds.

THE ANALOG FOUR MKI/MKII, AND ANALOG KEYS ENVELOPES

The amplitude envelopes and the assignable envelopes offer 12 different shapes, consisting of six basic shapes each with two different trigging behaviors. The envelope shape graphics indicates how the envelope will affect the modulation destination. The left portion of the graphics shows how the envelope behaves when it is rising, i.e. the attack phase, and to the right the falling behavior is shown, i.e. decay and release. The rise and fall can each be either linear or exponential, useful in different applications as described below. A dot to the left of the visual representation of the envelope indicates that the envelope will restart from level zero each time it is trigged. Envelope shapes without a dot mean the envelope will start from the level it had when being trigged.

0–1 Linear attack and decay/release. An envelope shape suitable for controlling the filters if linear attack/decay/release sweeps are desired. When used as an amplitude envelope the decay and release phase appears to drop quicker towards the end, making it most useful for sounds that should fade out without a tail.

2–3 This can be considered the standard envelope shape. Decay and release fall quicker in the beginning of their phase, behaving more snappy and – just like acoustic sounds tend to do – leaving a tail instead of ending abruptly. This envelope shape is useful for creating distinct sounds, for example, kick drums and basses, but also lengthier sounds like pads.

4–5 Exponential attack, linear decay/release. This shape makes the envelope rise quicker and quicker. This envelope is suitable when for example creating sounds appearing to be played in reverse or for sounds requiring a sudden attack.

6–7 Exponential attack, exponential decay/release. Since our hearing perceives loudness exponentially, this shape is primarily useful as an amplitude envelope for very long sounds that are supposed to fade in and fade out at a very constant rate. When used as a filter envelope, very clicky, whip lash-like sounds can also be obtained by using this shape.

8–9 Full attack, linear decay/release. The envelope will immediately rise to the full envelope level and stay there for the whole attack phase. The ATK parameter sets the duration of this attack phase. The envelope shape is useful as amplitude envelope for certain percussive sounds that need a punch at full volume followed by a quick decay, or for other sounds that should contain a full body before being entering the decay phase.

10–11 Full attack, exponential decay/release. The envelope behaves like shape 8-9 mentioned above, but decay and release will fall in a more snappy fashion, ending with a tail. This makes it even more useful for percussive sounds.

THE ANALOG FOUR MKI/MKII, AND ANALOG KEYS FILTERS

4-POLE LADDER FILTER

There is no way to turn the ladder filter completely off, but turning up the cutoff frequency will pass all frequencies through. It should be noted that zero resonance does not give the flattest frequency response – instead, it drops some decibels both in the treble and in the bass. The flattest response is reached when resonance is somewhere around 25, which is also the default value.

2-POLE MULTI MODE FILTER

There is no way to turn the multimode filter completely off, but if no filtering is desired there are a number of good ways to let all audio pass through unaffected by the filter:

• HP2 at min frequency, no resonance.

• BS at min frequency, no resonance.

• LP2 at max frequency, no resonance.

• PK at max frequency, no resonance.

• PK at min frequency, no resonance. Note: this gives an inverted signal.

LP2 This 12 dB/octave lowpass mode attenuates frequencies above the cutoff frequency with twelve decibels per octave, similarly to most other classic 2-pole VCFs. The amount of resonance determines how much the frequencies around the cutoff frequency will be boosted. The sound of this filter is cleaner than the ladder filter, and their different sonic characters are both worth trying out. If combined, they can add up to an extraordinarily steep 6-pole filter.

LP1 This unorthodox 6 dB/octave lowpass mode has a less steep attenuation slope above the cutoff frequency than the LP2 mode. More high-frequency content will thus be retained, making the filtering less aggressive. The slope is gentle like a 1-pole filter – which normally cannot have resonance – but works in essence like a 2-pole filter with a resonance peak. The amount of resonance determines how much the frequencies around the cutoff frequency will be boosted. The LP1 mode is useful for equalizer duties without resonance, or for adding a resonance with just a hint of lowpass softness.
BP The bandpass filter gradually attenuates frequencies above and below the cutoff frequency with a slope of 6 dB/octave. The resonance setting controls how much the frequencies around the cutoff frequency will be boosted. The bandpass filter is good for isolating a sound in the frequency spectrum, making it easier to blend with other sounds in a mix.

HP1 This unusual 6 dB/octave highpass filter attenuates frequencies below the cutoff frequency with a less steep slope than the HP2 mode. The amount of resonance determines how much the frequencies around the cutoff point will be boosted. Besides ordinary highpass filter effects, the HP1 mode without resonance is useful for removing some of the bass of a sound, which in turn is helpful when you want to avoid a muddy mix.

HP2 This is a classic 12 dB/octave highpass filter, attenuating frequencies below the cutoff frequency. The filter slope is steeper compared to the highpass 1 filter, thus filtering out more low-frequency content. The amount of resonance determines how much the frequencies around the cutoff point will be boosted. A highpass filter is suitable when creating lead sounds or hi-hats.

BS The band-stop filter, also known as a band-reject or notch filter, works as an inverted bandpass filter. Signals around the cutoff frequency will be attenuated the most, while frequencies above and below the cutoff frequency gradually will become less and less affected. The higher the resonance, the narrower the filter notch will be. This means that in contrast to the other filter modes, the effect of the resonance parameter is greatest at a low setting, giving a wider notch. This filter shape is useful for both basic equalizer duties and unique filter effects. For example: sweeping the cutoff frequency with an LFO gives a phaser-sounding filter effect. Controlling it with an envelope while at the same time using the ladder filter gives a more complex filter sound. Static filter settings can give a somewhat acoustic resonant quality to sounds, especially transient-heavy ones.

PK The peak filter passes all the sound, boosting frequencies around the cutoff frequency. The higher the resonance, the more they will be boosted. A peak filter comes in handy when you want to highlight a certain characteristic of a sound, by for example adding more low end or more mid end. It can be used either statically, as the peak of a parametric equalizer, or dynamically, controlled by for example an LFO or envelope.

THE ANALOG FOUR MKI/MKII, AND ANALOG KEYS OSCILLATORS

There are several waveforms available to the two oscillators of each synth track. By adjusting the PW parameter, the waveshape can be changed on all types of waveforms, changing their timbre. Furthermore, each oscillator has a dedicated PWM LFO, giving animation to the sound using pulse-width modulation.

SAW
This waveform has a biting, buzzy and distinct sound. It contains all harmonics, both odd and even, of the fundamental frequency. Classic synth basses, strings, and brass sounds are often created using sawtooth waveforms. The PW parameter brings in a second sawtooth, out of phase with the first one. Changing the PW value or engaging PWM varies the phase difference between the two, similar to having two slightly detuned oscillators running. This is useful to get a thicker sawtooth sound with more movement as different harmonics interfere with each other. To get a regular single sawtooth, set PW to mid-position or either extreme value.

TRANSISTOR PULSE
Transistor pulse is special sort of pulse waveform, suitable when you want to achieve acid-like sounds. It sounds a bit more shrill compared to the regular pulse waveform available to the oscillators. PW sets the width of the upper and lower parts of the wave, just like on the regular pulse waveform described below. The major difference is that one part of the transistor pulse waveform is not flat, but rather sloping a bit, thus displaying a slightly similar form as a sawtooth waveform. This introduces more even harmonics, making the sound less hollow. Extreme PW settings, positive or negative, will mute the waveform as the upper or lower part disappears completely. A change in pitch also changes the waveform and pulse-width a bit, giving slightly different sound at different pitches.

PULSE
When the PW parameter is set to its middle value of 0, a square wave will be produced. A square wave contains only odd-numbered harmonics of the fundamental frequency and has a hollow sound, not quite as full as a sawtooth waveform. Changing the PW makes the pulse waveform asymmetric, introducing even harmonics and making the sound thinner and more nasal. Using PWM is the most classic way of adding animation to a synthesizer waveform. When you want to recreate the sounds of old video games, square waves are very handy. Extreme PW settings, positive or negative, will mute the waveform, as the upper or lower part disappears completely.

TRIANGLE
A triangle waveform has a mellow and dampened sound, reminiscent of a mix between a pure sine wave and a square wave. A triangle wave contains only odd-numbered harmonics, but at lower levels than a square wave. A low-pass filtered triangle wave will sound very much like a sine wave. The PW parameter introduces an edge in the waveform, gradually changing it from a pure triangle at mid position to a reversed sawtooth waveform at extreme PW settings.

SUB OSCILLATORS

Each oscillator features a sub oscillator, running at a fixed interval below the oscillator. By activating a sub oscillator, more depth and body will be added to the sound. The sub oscillators work as an extension of the regular oscillator pitch, but will however not be affected by neither waveshaping nor pulse width modulation. Four sub oscillator waveforms exist.
1OCT This option will add a square waveform one octave below the root note. The sub oscillator frequency is 1/2 of the oscillator frequency.

2OCT This option will add a square waveform two octaves below the root note. The sub oscillator frequency is 1/4 of the oscillator frequency.

2PUL This option will add a 25% pulse waveform two octaves below the root note. This selection sounds a bit similar to mixing the 1OCT and 2OCT types.

5TH This option adds a 33% pulse waveform one perfect fifth, which is equivalent to seven semitones, below the oscillator. The sub oscillator thus operates at 2/3 of the oscillator frequency. If for instance, the oscillator plays a G, then the sub oscillator will play the C below it. Together with the other oscillator, this makes it possible to play a simple chord using just one track of the Analog Four MKII.

To get a C minor chord (C, Eb, G), set the oscillator TUN parameter to +7 semitones (for the G), set the sub oscillator to 5TH (for the C), and set the other oscillator to +3 semitones (for the minor third, Eb). To get a C major chord, set the other oscillator to +4 instead (for the major third, E). Suspended chords are created by setting TUN of the other oscillator to +5 (the perfect fourth, F) for a Csus4 chord, or to +2 (the major second, D) for a Csus2 chord. Moreover, four-note chords like the major 7th chord (maj7) and minor 7th chord (m7) are possible by using both oscillators’ sub oscillators in 5TH modes, as these chords consist of two perfect fifths. With oscillator coarse tune settings of +7 and +11 semitones (G and B, respectively) the sub oscillators will be placed at C and E notes, forming a C major 7th (Cmaj7) chord. Tuning the oscillators to +7 and +10 semitones instead (G and Bb) the sub oscillators end up at C and Eb, forming a C minor 7th (Cm7) chord. The desired chord can be heard when the keyboard or the sequencer plays a C note. When playing other notes, the chord will transpose accordingly, enabling simple chord progressions. Transitions between the minor and major variants can be done on step basis in the sequencer by parameter locking the TUN parameter of the other oscillator to +3 or +4 where desired.

OFF This turns off the sub oscillator completely. Note that it is otherwise on, regardless of the regular oscillator waveform setting. The oscillator’s LEV setting then determines the level of the oscillator and sub oscillator combined.

OTHER OSCILLATOR WAVEFORM SELECTIONS

IN L Uses the audio coming from the left external input as the audio source instead of the oscillator waveforms. The incoming audio can then be affected by the AM, the filters, the overdrive and the amplitude envelope of the track.

IN R Equivalent to IN L, but using the right external input.

FDB This setting is only available to OSCILLATOR 1. Instead of using the oscillator waveform as the audio source, the audio coming from the ladder filter output will be used. Just as with the oscillator, the LEV parameter sets the level of this signal path. Turning it up high can introduce a self-oscillating feedback useful for drums or uncontrolled screams. The filter cutoff and resonance settings also affect the feedback behavior. On more moderate levels, it will give a more overloaded sound character to whatever enters the filter from OSC2, similar to the external feedback patch known from certain 1970s synths.

NEI This setting is only available in the OSCILLATOR 2 menu. It will route the audio of the multimode filter output of the track preceding the track being edited. This audio can then be affected by the AM, the filters, the overdrive and the amplitude envelope of the track. In this way track 1 can be sent to track 2, track 2 to track 3, track 3 to track 4. For a completely serial routing, turn down the LVL setting of the routed track completely. This setting does nothing on track 1.

OFF This will turn off the oscillator entirely. The sub oscillator is not affected though.

If you have problems getting your Elektron device connected to Overbridge Engine, there are several ways to solve this depending on what kind of connection problem you have.

MY ELEKTRON DEVICE IS NOT VISIBLE IN OVERBRIDGE ENGINE

Your Elektron device is not visible/not detected in the Overbridge Engine application.

1. Download and install the latest version of Overbridge and device OS. For more information, please see this article about how to install Overbridge.

2. Set your Elektron device to Overbridge mode. For more information, please see the User Manual for your Elektron device.

3. Make sure the USB cable is connected correctly.

If you are using a Mac, please read this article before continuing any further troubleshooting.

MY ELEKTRON DEVICE IS VISIBLE IN OVERBRIDGE ENGINE BUT IS NOT CONNECTING

Overbridge uses local ports to communicate between different applications within the Overbridge suite, and between Overbridge and the computer. But other applications installed on your system may already use the same ports that Overbridge needs for communication. For Overbridge to work, you must close the other applications that use these ports.

Port 46000 needs to be free for Overbridge Engine to be able to communicate with your computer. Also, each Elektron device that you use in Overbridge must be able to use port 460n0, 460n1, and 460n2, where n is the device that you have added.

Example:
If you have two Elektron devices connected, you need to make sure that the following ports are free:

46000 (for Overbridge Engine - Computer communication)
46010, 46011, 46012 (for Elektron device 1 - Overbridge Engine communication)
46020, 46021, 46022 (for Elektron device 2 - Overbridge Engine communication)

Please see this article for information about how to find what ports are in use by the computer's processes and applications, and how to free them up.

MY ELEKTRON DEVICE IS VISIBLE IN OVERBRIDGE ENGINE BUT SHOWS AN ERROR

Your Elektron device is shown as “Measuring” or “Fault” in Overbridge Engine when you try to connect them to Overbridge and it never gets out of this state.

1. Make sure you update to the latest OS for your Elektron device. Available for download here.

2. Configure the devices’ audio channels to send to and from the device in the Overbridge Control Panel. (Only applicable for Analog Rytm MK I, Analog Four MK I, Analog Heat MK I, and Analog Keys.)

3. Another cause of this problem might be because of USB2/USB3 and chipset issues. Please see this article concerning USB2/USB3 and chipset issues and how to solve them.

Here you can find detailed specifications of the power supplies (PSU’s) for the different Elektron devices.

MODEL:SAMPLES, MODEL:CYCLES

Current Elektron power supply: PSU-4b. These devices were originally shipped with PSU-4 and still work with PSU-4. The PSU-4b power supply includes adapters for the following regions: North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Australia, and China. The PSU-4b power supply handles voltages of 100-240 VAC, 50/60Hz.

The power supply you want to use must meet the following specifications:

• Voltage: 5 VDC

• Minimum Current Rating: 1.2 A

• Barrel Connector Size: 3.5 mm outer diameter, 1.35 mm inner diameter

• Polarity: Positive center

ANALOG RYTM MKI/MKII, ANALOG FOUR MKI/MKII, OCTATRACK MKII, ANALOG DRIVE, ANALOG HEAT MKI/MKII, DIGITAKT, DIGITONE, DIGITONE KEYS, SYNTAKT

Current Elektron power supply: PSU-3c. These devices were originally shipped with PSU-3, PSU-3b, or PSU-3c. All these devices work with PSU-3 and PSU-3b (With the exception of Analog Drive which doesn’t work with PSU-3). The PSU-3c power supply handles voltages of 100-240 VAC, 50/60Hz.

The power supply you want to use must meet the following specifications:

• Voltage: 12 VDC

• Minimum Current Rating: 2 A

• Barrel Connector Size: 5.5 mm outer diameter, 2.5 mm inner diameter

• Polarity: Positive center

MONOMACHINE MKII, MACHINEDRUM MKII, OCTATRACK MKI

Current Elektron power supply: PSU-2b. These devices were originally shipped with PSU-2. The PSU-2b power supply handles voltages of 100-240 VAC, 50/60Hz.

The power supply you want to use must meet the following specifications:

• Voltage: 6 VDC

• Minimum Current Rating: 3 A

• Barrel Connector Size: 5.5 mm outer diameter, 2.5 mm inner diameter, 6 mm length

• Polarity: Positive center

MONOMACHINE MKI, MACHINEDRUM MKI

Original (and now obsolete) Elektron power supply: PSU-1 (two versions depending on voltage standard)

Please note that the power supply output must be AC!

The power supply you want to use must meet the following specifications:

• Voltage: 6 VAC, 50/60Hz

• Minimum Current Rating: 2.5 A

• Barrel Connector Size: 5.5 mm outer diameter, 2.5 mm inner diameter, 6 mm length

SIDSTATION

The power supply you use must meet the following specifications:

• Voltage: 6 VDC

• Minimum Current Rating: 400 mA

• Barrel Connector Size: 5.5 mm outer diameter, 2.1 mm inner diameter

• Polarity: Positive center

OVERHUB

In most cases, you don't need to use a power supply together with the Overhub. However, if you want to use it together with a non-self powered device (for example, an external hard drive), you must connect a power supply to the Overhub.

Please note that the Overhub is not shipped with a power supply.

The power supply you use must meet the following specifications:

• Voltage: 5 V DC

• Minimum Current: 4 A (3 A on earlier devices.) This number is written on the Overhub itself so you can see there which version you have.)

• Barrel Connector Size: 3.5 mm outer diameter, 1.35 mm inner diameter, 6 mm length

• Polarity: Positive center

This article explains some of the reasons for crackles, dropouts (gaps in playback) or glitches during playback. Hereafter these will be referred to as simply ‘dropouts’. It also tries to explain why a modern computer can have performance problems although it is powerful enough for the task. It explains the problem domain and tries to give some tips on how you can solve the problems.

USB BANDWIDTH

In some cases, your USB bandwidth might be limited, and this could introduce various problems. There are a couple of reasons why those problems may arise.

Sharing USB Host controller (USB 2.0 Full Speed)

Overbridge for Analog Four MKI, Analog Keys, and Analog Rytm MKI uses USB 2.0 Full Speed. This USB specification limits the data transfer rate to max 12 Mbps. Later Elektron products use USB 2.0 High Speed and have a max rate of 480 Mbps. Many laptops use a single USB host controller that controls all ports. It means that if you have multiple devices connected that run with USB 2.0 Full Speed they might be sharing the 12 Mbps maximum bandwidth. It is, however, possible that your computer has multiple USB host controllers. You can try to connect a device to a different port that might also use a different host controller internally. This might increase the possible bandwidth for each device.

USB 2.0 Full Speed also limits the number of audio channels that can stream simultaneously. If you open the Overbridge Control Panel and configure your USB Full Speed device to use fewer channels and/or a lower bit depth, this might improve the Overbridge performance on your system.

USB Hubs

When connecting a USB 2.0 Full Speed device (12 Mbps) to an STT hub (typical for an internal laptop hub), all devices on that hub are limited by 12 Mbps, even devices that are otherwise High Speed or Super Speed. We recommend that you use an MTT hub (such as the Elektron Overhub) whenever you connect a Full Speed device to your system so as not to constraint your other USB devices.

It is especially important to use an MTT hub if you want to use more than one Full Speed device at the time. Connecting two Analog Four MK1 to an STT hub, for example, causes them both to share only 12 Mbps bandwidth. If they instead connect via an MTT hub, they get 12 Mbps each.

SAMPLE BUFFER SIZE & AUDIO LATENCY

The audible latency in your DAW can be described as the delay time from when the source of an audio stream is played until you hear it. The sample buffer size is the number of audio samples that are processed in each audio packet. A larger buffer size introduces a higher audible latency but might solve problems related to real-time performance as the computer gets a longer time slot to process data. A system with less processing power or more other software/hardware needs a larger buffer size. If you experience dropouts you might have to adjust this to your needs.

• Make sure your DAW is configured with an appropriate sample buffer size for your hardware.

• Please also make sure that Overbridge is configured with an appropriate Plugin Buffer Size in the Overbridge Control Panel.

• If you are on a Mac, adjusting the Buffer Safety Margin in the Overbridge Control Panel can also improve the performance of streaming audio.

• If you are using Windows, adjust the performance mode in the Control Panel to match your hardware.

OTHER CPU INTENSIVE APPLICATIONS RUNNING

Do not run other CPU intensive applications at the same time as Overbridge. These might put a high strain on your computer and limit its real-time capabilities.

Examples of these kinds of applications are:

• Web browsers with multiple open tabs.

• Image or video/3D editor programs.

• Games

AUDIO LATENCY AND REAL-TIME REQUIREMENTS 

Real-time applications, such as a DAW, have very different requirements than other software on your computer. The big difference between a DAW and for example, a video editing program is that in a video editing program the editing is mainly done while the video isn’t playing. After the editing is done the result is played. The processing is allowed to take some time and can be interrupted without you knowing that it was. This is not a real-time process.

Another example is a web browser that is allowed to have a response time from click to result of a few hundred or even thousands of milliseconds before it is deemed unusable. The typical case in a DAW, however, is to run a set of plugins and/or recording sessions while also listening to the output of these. The processing of these sources is always time-limited because if something takes a too long time, it is audible, and the harmonic content becomes distorted and unacceptable. This is a real-time process. 

The sound card converts digital samples to analog from the sample buffer at a fixed frequency, decided by the sample rate in your DAW. It always expects there to be a sample in the buffer to convert. If there is no sample available, it tries to convert empty data, resulting in a dropout. 

It is the CPU of your computer that carries out the actual audio sample processing. The CPU is, at the same time, constantly interrupted by other processes or devices in your system. Therefore, it can’t guarantee to deliver at a specific frequency but is instead given a time slot to deliver. This time is decided by the buffer size and sample rate in your DAW. Audio latency is when the CPU fails to deliver a sample to the buffer in time before the sound card needs to read it. 

The CPU itself is capable of delivering in time on all modern high performing computers. However, as mentioned before, the CPU is always interrupted by other processes or devices on the system. This is not a problem per se, but some devices are more prone to lock up the CPU and not giving it enough time to perform the real-time task of audio processing. Other performance heavy software might also cause the same problem. Therefore, make sure you are not running any heavy processing outside of your DAW.

Listed below are some devices that can easily lock up the CPU.

High probability of lock-up

• Video Cards

• Audio Interfaces

Medium probability of lock-up

• Network Interfaces

• USB Controllers 

• Disk Controllers 

Before troubleshooting the devices, make sure you have all of these devices’ latest drivers.

On a Windows PC you can debug your system by disabling devices in the device manager to figure out which device is causing the CPU to lock up. You can use tools such as DPC Latency Checker or LatencyMon to measure the devices’ latency independently from your DAW setup. If you do find problems when you run these tools, we recommend replacing the device or devices that are causing the problems. If you find no problems with either of these tools, there is a possibility that the problem is with your DAW or a plugin used in your project.

COMPUTER HARDWARE RELATED ISSUES

There are som known incompatibility problems with certain hardware:

• Intel Core2Duo processors, or Xeon CPUs from that same generation, are not supported.

• There could be USB 2.0/3.0 compatibility issues. For more information, please see this article.

• Some USB host controller chipsets have worse performance than others. If you use a USB hub, it adds another chipset in the signal chain and could potentially worsen the performance.