i owned a M:C a few times and always wished i had more of a reason to keep it. I really love the plasticky build and aesthetic of the thing, and the immediacy of the knob-per-function playability. but the overall sound palette gets tiresome quickly, the UI/little screen is horrible, and crucially i hate macros, which make sound design on the thing unpredictable and frustrating. and once youve used something with a much broader range of functionality and programmability (ie a digitone etc) its difficult to settle into really using and enjoying it as it always feels like theres a bunch of stuff missing. big fan of the design tho.
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All good points, though I think the use experience is pretty good. Might keep it around just to have some travel box or for friends to use with my DN.
One huge benefit was the sound: it uses less oversampling or lower rates and also gain/distortion works a bit differently, so the sound because of that was very nice. But the drawbacks were mentioned already: limited palette and quite clunky controls. I did not feel the immediacy and fun of an Elektron sequencer.
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I completely disagree. After two years with DN and A4, I really enjoyed the simplicity of ST machines. If youāre not a pro sound designer, these streamlined macros can encourage you to make own sounds instead of relying on presets. Especially when combined with DN that has the power to go very deep, itās nice to have something simpler and faster like ST or MC. But thatās a personal thing of course, you seem to crave having all the options.
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Thank you for comment. I also like the design of Elektron products, and I like the toy-like feel and colors of the Cycles.
great model cycles example, mario/ess
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Other M:C examples
I agree there is a sound that is hard to escape completely.
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thanks Ld
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Model:Cycles has its own unique sound, which is darker than the digis. Some people hate it. My favourite machine on the cycles is the cymbal machine by far, sounds freaking glorious where it just sounds meh on my Syntakt. Itās a quirky lil box that is more limited than the digis, and sometimes those limitations can make you end up working more for good results. I really love CTRL-AL on the cycles, as there are so many knobs to CTRL-AL with!
I bought a Syntakt thinking its like a super cycles. Turned out its too dissimar sounding from the cycles, and you cannot get patterns made on the cycles property translate over to a Syntakt one. Ended up keeping both, and in fact, if it ever comes time to sell, for me personally, Syntakt might end up being easier to let goā¦
For the OP, Iād say, stick with any single Elektron for at least a year before getting more or swapping. These boxes take a while to get to grips with, as they have a very deep sound design potential under the surface, if one is willing to work for itā¦
just my 2 cents (jm2c)
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Wel, I just bought cycles number 3. Canāt remember why i sold the first one but i sold nr. 2 because i thought the syntakt can replace it. After a year of syntakt ownership the short answer is: no
i felt never really comfortable with the syntakt. Its a great machine but this armada of machines was just too much for me and i did not fully explore all the potential. The hardware is amazing but not hands on enough for me. Lots of back and forth between the menus to change small things.
I was skeptical when i ordered another M:C though. But playing with it for 10 minutes and immediately felt in love again. It sounds like there is a glue comp on the master, punchy and much faster to find the sweetspots. The parameter ranges work really well here while on syntakt i find it harder to find the sweetspots. Yes, weak snare and no clap but i like the rest, especially kick and also reverb. The tone synth does sound more gnarly as well. I donāt care too much for the chord machines. Thanks to this forum i found already ways to create better snare and clap as well. The exposed interface and limitations already forced my creativity again. Working arround or (try to) break the limitations,
Conclusion: i gonna sell the syntakt and keep the cycles 
I donāt really need all the extras and i have other drummachines as well. Thats the main purpose.
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Iāve been feeling the same for a while.
Not sure that Iāll sell the Syntakt, but have been keeping an eye out for a good discount on another Cycles.
Iāve kind of been hoping that Elektron would update it - with USB-C support, if nothing else, but that seems very unlikely.
I sold my Syntakt too. I miss it, but will be waiting for the ST2. Most of all I miss the SY Tone engine tbh, so immediate and fun.
I got the M:C, then the Digitone. I like sound design better on the Digitone. I like playing the M:C better.