Elektron have been busy! Three machines just got meaningfully better with free firmware updates: Tonverk, Analog Four/Analog Keys, and Syntakt. Here's what's changed on each, and what it actually means for how you'll use them.

Tonverk OS 1.4.0: multistreaming and smarter modulation

Tonverk's latest update leans hard into two things: getting audio out of the box more flexibly, and giving you more expressive ways to shape sound without touching a knob mid-performance.

The headline feature is Overbridge multi-channel streaming. Previously you were working with what came out the physical outs. Now you can stream Tonverk's channels — tracks, buses, sends — individually into your DAW at once. If you've been using Tonverk as a live sampler/sequencer and bouncing down afterwards, this changes your whole workflow: track, mix, and process each element separately instead of printing a stereo mix and hoping you nailed it.

Velocity and key tracking are now modulation sources, each able to hit up to four parameters at once. That's a genuinely useful addition for anyone building expressive instruments on Tonverk — you can now have filter cutoff open with harder hits, or have higher notes brighten automatically, all without spending an LFO or an envelope on the job.

A few more that are easy to miss but handy day-to-day:

  • Pattern transpose ([PTN] + [+]/[−]) — shift a whole pattern up or down in semitones on the fly, great for quick key changes mid-set.
  • FX order swap — you can now flip the order of FX1 and FX2 on Audio and Bus tracks, so a distortion-into-reverb chain can become reverb-into-distortion with one menu trip.
  • Copy/paste/clear patterns without leaving the pattern view — small, but it removes a genuine workflow snag for anyone building patterns fast.
  • Presets menu now has filter and search — worth it alone if your preset list has gotten out of hand.
  • Freely assignable MIDI channels per track, useful if Tonverk is the hub of a bigger MIDI setup.

What this opens up: think multitrack live recording sessions where every Tonverk element lands on its own channel in Ableton or Logic, expressive sample-based instruments that respond to how you play rather than just what you play, and faster pattern-based performance thanks to transpose and quicker FX reordering.

Analog Four / Analog Keys OS 1.55: sequencing gets a serious upgrade

The Analog Four MKII and Analog Keys have picked up some sequencer tools that long-time users have been asking for.

Euclidean sequencer mode is the big one. Instead of hand-placing every trig, you can now generate rhythmically interesting, evenly-distributed patterns algorithmically — brilliant for polyrhythmic techno, generative patches, or just breaking out of 4/4 muscle memory.

Control All lets you hold [TRACK 1–4] while tweaking a parameter to apply that change across all four audio tracks simultaneously. If you've ever wanted to sweep a filter, nudge decay, or ride resonance across the whole patch in one live move, this is exactly that — no more juggling four tracks separately mid-performance.

Other additions worth knowing about:

  • Save a Sound straight from a specific trig, complete with its sound and parameter locks intact — handy for capturing a happy accident before you lose it.
  • See which parameter pages contain p-locks at a glance — hold a trig in grid recording and the relevant [PARAMETER] keys light up.
  • Loop selected pattern pages, so you can vamp on a section without restructuring the whole pattern.
  • Rotate an arp sequence with [FUNC] + [LEFT]/[RIGHT] for instant variation.
  • Slew added to the LFO's random waveform, giving you smoother, less jagged random modulation.
  • Bulk micro-timing adjustment across all trigs on a track at once.
  • Random name generation, easier mod list navigation, and an LED intensity setting on the MKII round things out.

What this opens up: faster, more generative pattern-building thanks to Euclidean mode; genuinely hands-on live performance with Control All doing the work of four simultaneous tweaks; and a sequencer workflow that finally keeps pace with how fast ideas actually happen in the studio.

Syntakt OS 1.40: Twinshot brings sample playback to the party

Syntakt was never designed with samples in mind — its whole appeal was the analog/digital machine hybrid approach. OS 1.40 bends that rule anyway, and it's one of the more requested additions in the machine's lifetime.

SP Twinshot is a new dual sample player machine, selectable on any of Syntakt's eight digital tracks. You get two sample slots: Slot 1 is built for transients, with tuning, reverse, filtering and a decay envelope; Slot 2 is a simpler layer for body or texture, with its own tune control. Blend the two and you've got a genuinely flexible way to layer a sampled snap, vocal chop, or found-sound texture into an otherwise fully synthesized kit — 64 global sample slots to pull from, shared across projects.

Track Relations is the other big one. Accessed via the Pattern menu, it lets you layer tracks so they always trigger together, or set up choke groups so one track cuts another off — think hi-hat choking done properly, or building a single composite sound out of two or three machines firing at once.

Beyond those two headline features:

  • Key tracking joins the modulation sources, letting pitch drive up to four parameters - useful for making filters or levels respond naturally across a keyboard range.
  • Filter Pan on the FX track's multi-mode filter lets you open one side of the stereo field while closing the other - subtle width, or full-blown stereo sweeps.
  • New trig conditions (LST, Not LST, Not A:B) give you more conditional-logic options for evolving patterns.
  • Prepare mutes for muting/unmuting in sync rather than instantly.
  • A reorganised Personalize menu, more control over how parameter locks and live recording behave, and a noticeably smoother pattern selection and chaining screen.

What this opens up: hybrid kits that genuinely couldn't exist on Syntakt before - analog kicks next to sampled foley, digital snares layered with vocal chops; tighter choke-group programming for hats and percussion; and more expressive, pitch-responsive patches thanks to key tracking.

Updating

All three updates are free. Grab them from the relevant page on elektron.se/support-downloads, and use Elektron Transfer (or the in-device USB disk method for Tonverk) to get the new OS onto your machine. As always: don't power off mid-update, and it's worth backing up your projects first.

Three machines, three genuinely different flavours of upgrade: more expressive modulation for Tonverk, sharper sequencing for the Analog Four/Keys, and an entirely new sonic dimension for Syntakt. Worth the ten minutes it takes to install.