Just Intonation and Elektron Samplers

Is there a cheat sheet or any advice you might have for tuning notes to Just Intonation scales? Or is it simply not possible to get close to the microtones needed because of the low resolution of the Tune parameter in Elektron samplers? Any help much appreciated. I’m trying to do this on Digitakt.

DT has the finest tuning out of all of them I think

Simple stuff is probably achievable with plocking fine tune on specific notes, for complex stuff I’m sure sample chains would be less of a headache

4 Likes

Thanks for the advice. I looked up the relative cents differences for JI relative to C and DT can’t quite get close enough on its own to be perfect. Great idea about sample chains, though! I’ll try that :slight_smile:

There’s always the DC style square lfo trick, is possible you could fine tune even finer with that?

I’d love to see more tuning options in modern instruments

2 Likes

Yeah, the Monomachine had JI options for its Ensemble machine, so Elektron once featured it and know how to make it accessible. It would be awesome if there were intervals displayed as ratios (like on the Ensemble machine) when changing Tune to show where JI pitches lie. I thought Polyend Tracker might be able to do it (and it does have microtuning FX) but it’s not included in the scales section so it’s a PITA to move each note manually. In the end, I think I’m going to get the Moog SubH as my main synth, then sample that into Digitakt to get my microtuning fix :slight_smile:

1 Like

Any pointers to what you’re looking at?
Gotta admit I’m a little at a loss when skimming the first few google results :zonked: Never really got much into playing with these intonation things, that Digitakt’s detune always did the job… close enough for my use cases.

Sure. So here’s the JI relative to whatever root note, compared to the round numbers of ET:

So, let’s say I want to tune a note to a JI minor third above my root. On DT, I can get close with Tune of either 3.15 or 3.16, but the resolution isn’t good enough to account for the .64. Close but no cigar.

3 Likes

Slap a +/- 0.01 depth vibrato on it and light that cigar I reckon, unless you have to be super scientifically accurate to match another recording.

it’ll probably be close enough, considering how much effort everyone makes to “vintage” digital oscillators etc

2 Likes

Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m intrigued to get it exact for my own curiosity. I heard JI described as notes melting away into each other as there’s no beating. So, I want to experience melty smooth :smiley:

It was freaky to actually witness it in person.

This guy I knew programmed his Korg MS-2000 - I think - to play a JI chord - all sine waves. Then he played something on his lap steel guitar. The note on the lap steel started to “disappear” as the pitch got closer to being in tune with the sustained chord.

So, for this trick, a sine wave oscillators work well. Vibrato, not so much

2 Likes

This sounds like phase cancellation is causing the sine waves to cancel out or disappear. This might also explain why it doesn’t work with vibrato as the the two sound sources would have be oscillating at the same vibrato rate too.

Sure, can’t rule out phase cancellation.

But the notes of the chords have to be perfectly in tune - because that’s what just intonation is.

Try reproducing the disappearing note effect with your synth in normal (not JI) tuning and sine wave oscillators. Chord should be major or minor triad just to keep things simple.