Elektron's budget grooveboxes deserve more attention

Elektron's budget-friendly electronic music instruments, the Model:Samples and Model:Cycles, are frequently recommended to newcomers looking to start making electronic music, yet they rarely receive much attention. They get overlooked in favor of brands like Teenage Engineering and Telepathic Instruments, as well as Elektron's own pricier and more complex offerings such as the Digitakt, Octatrack, and Tonverk.

Both devices are six-track grooveboxes with six velocity-sensitive pads and hands-on knob controls, and they look nearly identical to each other. The main difference lies in sound generation: the Model:Cycles uses FM synthesis, while the Model:Samples plays back preloaded sound samples that must be transferred via USB, since the device cannot record samples itself.

A simple yet powerful sequencer

Both instruments feature Elektron's signature step sequencer, built around what the company calls "trigs" and "locks." Trigs trigger notes, while locks let users assign step-specific settings, including changing which sample plays on a given step. This allows, for example, combining a kick and snare on a single track, freeing up space for other elements despite having only six tracks total.

More advanced possibilities come from trig conditions, which determine exactly when a step plays — for instance, only every third time through a loop. This creates significant variation within a single 64-step pattern, and multiple patterns can be chained into more complex arrangements.

Built for live performance

Unlike Elektron's other instruments, which require extensive menu navigation, the Model:Samples and Model:Cycles are designed to be immediately approachable for live performance. A "control-all" feature lets users affect every track simultaneously, such as adding reverb or distortion across the entire mix.

The devices do have drawbacks, including mediocre pads, the inability to record samples directly, and a lack of polyphony, since each sequencer track can only play one note at a time. Still, at $349 — or even less on the used market — they are considered among the best value options in music hardware.