Elektron Model:Cycles $299

Elektron’s Model series made its debut with last year’s Model:Samples – a sample-powered groovebox based around the engine from the brand’s Digitakt sampler. Housed in a white, lightweight chassis – distinct from the company’s usual dark and weighty aesthetic – the Model:Samples set itself apart with an affordable, sub-£500 price point and a workflow considerably more approachable than the deep and complex designs Elektron gear is notorious for. In a move that will surprise nobody, Elektron is now expanding the range with a second instrument, this time based around the sound engine of the Digitakt’s sibling Digitone.

As with Digitone, Model:Cycles is based around a polyphonic FM (frequency modulation) synth engine paired with a 64-step sequencer. Unlike Model:Samples, which could be described as essentially the same as Digitakt with a few features removed, Model:Cycles isn’t simply a trimmed-down version of the Digitone. Despite using the same underlying four-operator engine, the