What Happened

I keep coming criminally slept-on Model:Samples and Model:Cycles.

Terrence O'BrienAug 15, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC | Photo: Terrence O’Brien / The VergeTerrence O'’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 a synths.When I’m making electronic music, I often recommend Elektron’s budget-minded Model:Samples and Model:Cycles grooveboxes. They don’t grab headlines the way Teenage Engineering’s Telepathic Instruments Orchid do, and even compared to the company’s higher- musical offerings like the Digitakt, Octatrack, or Tonverk, they’re often overlooked. collection include fancier expensive instruments, I still find myself coming series.

Those looking groovebox familiar Roland. people on Reddit recommend the Novation Circuit Tracks (which I personally find confusing and mediocre-sounding). This is probably also partially reputation Elektron obtuse. If you’re an established ’t deterred by a complicated workflow, you’re probably a more powerful Elektron box, like the Digitone or Syntakt. That leaves the Models lineup in a ’s land, and that’s a shame.

The primary difference between the two Models instruments :Cycles uses FM synthesis :Samples, appropriately enough, plays samples. ( technically a sampler, however, ’t record samples, and instead loaded over USB.)

Why It Matters

The Model:Cycles is built around a streamlined version of the engine Digitone, favorite-sounding synths . This is a modern associate with iconic instruments like the DX7 (the iconic ’80s). modern glassy keys and aggressive turn-of-the-millennium EDM bass.

, though. They’-track grooveboxes with six velocity-sensitive pads and plenty -on controls, almost identical. But most importantly, they feature Elektron’s legendary step sequencer without being nearly as intimidating as the company’s more expensive and notoriously complicated offerings.

The sequencer is built around what the company calls “trigs” and “locks.” Trigs are basically just events, typically triggering a note, -specific settings. a simple enough concept, instruments far more capable .

Six tracks isn’t a . Once you’ve loaded up a kick, snare, and hi-hat, then you’ tracks for bass, any melodic elements, and additional percussion. change samples or presets on a per-step basis. That means, simultaneously, , - percussion on a second track, tracks for everything else. obvious example expand the possibilities rather limited on paper.

What Comes Next

The sequencer can be treated like a simple step sequencer a four-on-the- a backbeat. skills improve, create more complex tracks. Trig conditions, for example, govern when certain steps are triggered, through the loop, button, a previous trig condition is met. create a huge amount of variety in a single 64-step pattern. several of those patterns together to create complex and evolving arrangements ’t possible .

The Models incredibly fun. Where Elektron’s other gear demands a diving, the Model:Samples and Model:Cycles are immediately approachable performance. It’s easy to trigger a a button, tweak a filter on a bass, or briefly bathe a lead melody in delay.

Control- feature, which, guessed, allows you to control all the tracks simultaneously. Bury your entire track in reverb cranking up the distortion and lowering samples to create a mangled, chaotic breakdown. And then immediately pressing the function and pattern buttons. The Model:Samples and Model:Cycles encourage jamming in a way that frankly a lot of electronic ’t.

Now, they’re not without their flaws. pretty mediocre. Having to load samples via USB rather than recording them directly kinda sucks. polyphony (each sequencer a time) is a bit of a bummer. But at $349, it’s hard to complain. snagged little as $200 on Reverb or Craigslist. Frankly, they’ bargains in music hardware and a journey into producing electronic music.

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