Elektron Machinedrum

[krisstoff]

Hi There,

I'm a day away from buying the 0ld version of the machinedrum without the sampling option. I produce Techno/IDM/House. It's a shitload of readys for a drum machine, and I'm in danger of getting cold feet

what are your experiences of it? I'm looking for something with punch soundwise and programmability where i can delve into it for years to come and make my own unique sounds

Any thoughts

Cheers
Chris

[Nordenstam]

If I had to to do a hypothetical choice of a single box to use for the rest of the life, this is it.

[Cojo]

Originally Posted by krisstoff

I'm looking for something with punch soundwise and programmability where i can delve into it for years to come and make my own unique sounds

Then go for it! It has all of that you describe that you want!

[ignatius]

i have one and i love it. so much fun to jam with and you can get a lot out of it. btw- the one w/o the sampling option isn't 'old' they still make that one.. the sampling option is just more expensive but is otherwise the same machine.

i love the song sequencer in it. you can chop up patterns w/it and go in entirely different directions.

for more machinedrum thoughts you should check analog industries blog. he just got one and shares his thoughts on it.

blog | analogindustries.com

[xist]

well, I would say: if you want more opinions or tips from long time MD users, go here:

http://www.elektron-users.com/

there's also a yahoo group, but I didn't join it yet...

[ignatius]

there're 2 blogs on analog industries about the machinedrum.. here's the other one.

blog | analogindustries.com

[machineman3000]

One of the most inventive machines ever built. Very small change of regretting buying one...

[DISCERN]

Originally Posted by Lupo

If I had to to do a hypothetical choice of a single box to use for the rest of the life, this is it.

Ditto. It and the monomachine together could keep me occupied for the rest of my life.

[John_McEnroe]

I just bought a Machinedrum UW as well. I too wasnt sure at first which to get. I am definitely going to pick up a Monomachine in the future, but the Machinedrum is just too cool to pass up. What do people think of the MnM with keys VS the rack version? Are the keys that important? You pay a lot extra for a little 3 octave keyboard. Maybe if the keys were under the parameters like a Virus Polar, but with that long frame body I dont see myself carrying it around much.

[nofi]

Originally Posted by John_McEnroe

What do people think of the MnM with keys VS the rack version?

I was at a guy's place a few weeks ago, playing with his monomachine keyboard, and I reckon the keyboard is worth having....

but I may be biassed - personally, I've gone right off synth modules.... the longer I work with synths, the more I appreciate a synth having a keyboard and an interface all in front of me as one physical unit. Which is a complete about face from when I first started out and thought I should have just the one MIDI keyboard and everything else in a rack.

[sashbash]

hi Chris,

saw this thread and it made me finally officially join this site!!!

The MachineDrum is the best piece of gear I have bought in a long time, while it is not perfect, it is something you can happily get lost in for some time. A very creative tool!

It can be simple or complex, depending on how you feel to use it. I think the sampling option is neccessary (for me anyway)... as some of the original sounds are a bit dodgy (although can easily be tweaked).

I bought this whilst in the middle of a project, so I wasn't really ready to start the learning curve, however after getting fed up of staring into a computer screen I dived into the Machine Drum and learnt the basics with surprising ease.

Now you couldn't separate it from me if you tried.

[crufty]

Would someone mind comparing the machine drum to an MC808 or 909?

[ignatius]

Originally Posted by crufty

Would someone mind comparing the machine drum to an MC808 or 909?

what's an MC808? is it a roland groove box? if so it's a completely different animal than a machinedrum. i''ve never been a fan of the roland grooveboxes.. always thought they were shite actually. i guess in the right context they could be useful. the elektron stuff is just soooo much different and better sounding.

[krisstoff]

Cheers guy's - The deed has been done paid for and will be delivered in about 10days. I can't wait really looking forward to getting this.

[crufty]

Originally Posted by ignatius

the elektron stuff is just soooo much different and better sounding.

How is the machine drum different and better and useful? Honest question...

I look at roland MC808 I see sampling and synth capability. I look at MD I see sampling and synth capability. I see midi sequencing etc. This is pretty simple and high level view of course. Does anyone know off hand what MD offers that the MC* cannot?

[Meriphew]

Originally Posted by ignatius

i''ve never been a fan of the roland grooveboxes.. always thought they were shite actually. i guess in the right context they could be useful.

I own alot of drum machines, including a Machinedrum, and a Roland MC-303. The MC-303 actually has some very good 909/808/78 sounds in it - that's mainly what I use it for. Its midi capabilities are highly suspect though.

[benelli]

it is the deepest stand alone drum machine ever. i love it. it does so much more than just drums, especially in extended/parameter lock mode. you can really get shit to fly around with it.

[ignatius]

Originally Posted by crufty

How is the machine drum different and better and useful? Honest question...

I look at roland MC808 I see sampling and synth capability. I look at MD I see sampling and synth capability. I see midi sequencing etc. This is pretty simple and high level view of course. Does anyone know off hand what MD offers that the MC* cannot?

not saying the roland things are useless. MIA.. peaches etc have done plenty with them... just that they don't appeal to me and i find the MD to be quite deep and full of creative potential that isn't in a lot of sequencer/synth combos out there. a quick glance at the manual will reveal some of its features not common to other machines. it's inspiring to use. of course everything has its own sound.

[ghostdog]

I got to play with a machinedrum the other day and liked it....the monomachine I thought was OK but didnt feel the sonic power of a Voyager,PEK or A6.

ALso found the voice and C64 a bit gimicey

[ignatius]

Originally Posted by ghostdog

I got to play with a machinedrum the other day and liked it....the monomachine I thought was OK but didnt feel the sonic power of a Voyager,PEK or A6.

ALso found the voice and C64 a bit gimicey

i wouldn't compare the monomachine to anything truly analog. quite a different thing really. not that it can't sound sort of analog but that's not what it does best.

the default voices are pretty lame. you really need to make your own patches to hear it shine. the SID voice is actually pretty dope and capable of sounding huge and weird.

[DISCERN]

Originally Posted by ghostdog

I got to play with a machinedrum the other day and liked it....the monomachine I thought was OK but didnt feel the sonic power of a Voyager,PEK or A6.

ALso found the voice and C64 a bit gimicey

Thats like apples and oranges. If you buy the Monomachine expecting something like a voyager, pek or A6 you are destined for utter disappointment. Its like buying a motorcycle to pick your 3 kids up at school with. The monomachine is digital, its 12bit, it can be aliased, grundgy and brittle... its a glitch music's wet dream. I get awfully tired of the comparisons toward analog gear and analog sound. Digital has a timbre all to itself, and its just as valid as any other timbre or aesthetic in music. Digital mediums have become so prominent, and so relied on in everyday life that its only natural that they be reflected in art.

Elektron products are very very deep machines. I find something like the monomachine much much more sonically powerful than the voyager. It combines 5 different types of digital synthesis with a 6 track internal, and 6 track external 64step midi sequencer that share 18 LFO's which can be programmed to control any parameter. Combine it with the Machinedrum and you have made my day.

[edIT]

The Machinedrum is the most advanced hardware drum machine on that exists in the world today. Capable of emulating vintage units and creating alien sounds of it's own kind. The real payoff is that it makes the most monstrous 808's imaginable. I own all 3 Elektron units. I rest my case.

[crufty]

I looked at the manuals as suggested.

I guess, really, the difference between mc style and md is the synthesis parameter presentation and ease of modififying the sound. i get it!

It's not that the mc808/909 CAN'T do the MD sound, its just easier to get there (perhaps) with the MD?

EDIT: I'd say the MD fits the OP bill...

[ignatius]

Originally Posted by crufty

It's not that the mc808/909 CAN'T do the MD sound, its just easier to get there (perhaps) with the MD?

there's FM drum synthesis in the MD. not something many (any?) other drummachines have. i think that would be quite hard to emulate in a MC808/909 especially when you factor in parameter locks.

[Tibbon]

Mine's been ever so slightly unreliable (even after a motherboard replacement and a new power supply, and the UW upgrade), but i still love it.

The only other drum machine that has even peaked my interests at ALL is the idea of the Dave Smith/Roger Linn one, which isn't out and no one has heard to my knowledge.

Had a Sidstation, and sold it to get a drumkit. I'd like to buy one again, but i just wasn't using it enough. The Machinedrum however it my goto unit, asides from my Voyager (totally different things obviously... although the Voyager can do a NASTY kick sound).

It's a machine that you'll be learning for years, in the same way you could a modular. Seriously. I understand pretty much most synths almost immediately, but the MD is deep. Sequencing, tricks, sounds, workflow, etc...

I got the UW upgrade, and didn't use it that much however. I use it to make noise on occasion, and sometimes to sample some high hats, but... just don't find it as useful as I thought it would be. Maybe in a year i'll come around to it.

Some will say that the MD isn't as fat as other drum machines (analogue ones mainly), but seriously... it's about making NEW sounds... not 909 sounds IMHO.

[crufty]

I am holding out for the dave smith kit too, depending on how it shapes up. I literally only have room for one tabletop drum kit...

[Tibbon]

Originally Posted by crufty

I am holding out for the dave smith kit too, depending on how it shapes up. I literally only have room for one tabletop drum kit...

Believe me, i'm soon to be in a physically tight spot as well (Boston studio apartment in South End), but at the same time I wouldn't let the tabletop aspect of it deter you. You can always rackmount it (albiet somewhat odd) or put two/three tabletop units lashed to a shelf on a tier of a 3-tier keyboard stand and fit a ton on there, and save a lot of space. I think there's also an adaptor to attach it to a mic stand, although that seems odd and unstable to me.

I am sure that the DSI/Linn and the MD will each have their own feel and sounds (hopefully... i mean if DSI/Linn make a freaking 909/MPC mashup with the same 25 year old sounds I'm going to shoot someone).

[Astley]

I think its great but I found that those analog kicks were missing and I couldnt really get that heavy analog sound out of it by tweaking and layering. So I got a jomox airbase and hooked it up to my MD. And those kick tweaking days are gone (and hihats/rides) )

..and the effects on the md are crazy especially if you route external sounds through the MD... connect the lfo to the filterfreq or whatever parameter

you should definately mess around with the LFO menu. function button + lfo

Also I find that triggering other synths from the MD is a really cool function, you can trigger 3 chords at a time to get interesting harmonies.

Yep, I love my Machinedrum.

[6dyslexicelephnt]

I'm considering making the shift from MPC2000xl with 8 outs and zip drive to the MD.

Things I like about the MPC: it has that ghetto sound. I'm from oakland and make electro indie pop with big beats. Tactile pads are fun and satisfying. I'm just learning how to use it well. I like how samples somehow become tighter than the thing you sampled (compression or noise gate or something built in?)

Things I think I would like about the machinedrum: big roland sounds - I love the 606, 707, 808 and 909 just like everybody else. I don't need copies but I want the feel. I like the 16 step pads because I'm not that good with drumming with my fingers and I don't like stopping the beat and changing the quantize settings (and ruining the groove). I started with a HR-16, then 707, then Electribe ES-1 and now the MPC. I think the 16 step setup was more comfortable for me.

Can anyone help me? I'm getting pretty good with the MPC, but I'd be willing to switch if it helped my beats.

Thanks for your help

[ignatius]

MD will not replace and MPC. different way of working and the MD's buttons are NOTHING like the MPCs pads.

i wouldn't say the MD has "big roland sounds". it has it's own sound and excels at that. it's not a typical drum machine.. it's a drum synth. you need to make all your own sounds to really get something out of the MD.

i guess if you get the UW version you can put some roland samples in it but it won't replace a 606 or 909 when playing live.. it will certainly do its own thing and do it really well but i don't know if you'll get that exact roland x0x box feel.

i love my MD though and wouldn't trade it for anything.