monomachine + machinedrum

i'm considering purchasing.

owners of one or both of these, what would you say is the point?

i have heard bubbly good reviews about both, but i have never used either myself. this is really the distinguishing thing with a piece of gear -- how i feel when i actually use it.

so: what's nice about these bits of widgetry? i'm not looking for some grand summary, just the parts of it you keep coming back for.

I really want a monomachine but I haven't got one...considered selling all my gear and just going with a monomachine before....never did it though.

I can recommend the Elektron Users forum for lots of info, if you haven't already been there.

there's nothing more immidiate and as powerful as the monomachine.manipulating everything on the fly (especially parameter locks/slides) is a doddle and great fun like Autechre in a box. the arpeggiator is also the mut's nuts

personally i didn't quite take to the machinedrum, you have to try hard to make it not sound like a machinedrum and the UWRAM machines are very powerful but i thought not very well implimented given the UI. My G2 is better for abstract percussion.

the only downside to Elektrons is they can be buggy which some say is down to a fussy PSU but I always seem to find little problems after long sessions

I'd get a mono first, mkI's are quite cheap 2nd hand

there's nothing more immidiate and as powerful as the monomachine.manipulating everything on the fly (especially parameter locks/slides) is a doddle and great fun like Autechre in a box. the arpeggiator is also the mut's nuts

personally i didn't quite take to the machinedrum, you have to try hard to make it not sound like a machinedrum and the UWRAM machines are very powerful but i thought not very well implimented given the UI. My G2 is better for abstract percussion.

the only downside to Elektrons is they can be buggy which some say is down to a fussy PSU but I always seem to find little problems after long sessions

the upside is that elektron have regular updates and often new features creep in even for older models

I'd get a mono first, mkI's are quite cheap 2nd hand

^^^ bladdy Opera mini

^^^ bladdy Opera mini

machinedrum uw mk2 user. the sequencer is brilliant and she's fun to play live. I never fell in love with the sound. it does a horrible Roland impersonation, and I think it sounds generally thin overall.

  On 10/5/2010 at 3:48 PM, acidphakist said:

machinedrum uw mk2 user. the sequencer is brilliant and she's fun to play live. I never fell in love with the sound. it does a horrible Roland impersonation, and I think it sounds generally thin overall.

not the kicks....

buy a sample CD of the kicks.... and save the rest of your money.

they're wellllllll expensive, even 2nd hand!!

I only have a Monomachine and as hinted at above they're not the cheapest. For me it was definitely worth it as it's quite a hands-on and inspiring piece of gear to use. It's got me out of a real rut in terms of how I was approaching making music and it's encouraged me to spend less time in front of the computer. I've only had it for about 3 or 4 months and I definitely feel near the bottom of a learning curve but it's no one I'm scared of. My Mrs is working overtime this weekend so I'm planning on spending some time getting to know the MIDI sequencing side of it so I cand start to combine stuff from my Micromodular with the Monomchn.

Who knows I might even post the results in the EKTWank thread...

I love the Machinedrum, the very last thing I'd describe it as would be 'thin'... although it's very easy to be underwhelmed by it the first time you get hands-on with one! Each drum component has it's own sweet spots that you have to spend time finding, and it gives you so much control over the parameters it's much easier to make crappy sounding beats with it at first. It's not instant gratification by any means.

  On 10/5/2010 at 11:15 PM, jeyemusik said:

I only have a Monomachine and as hinted at above they're not the cheapest. For me it was definitely worth it as it's quite a hands-on and inspiring piece of gear to use. It's got me out of a real rut in terms of how I was approaching making music and it's encouraged me to spend less time in front of the computer. I've only had it for about 3 or 4 months and I definitely feel near the bottom of a learning curve but it's no one I'm scared of. My Mrs is working overtime this weekend so I'm planning on spending some time getting to know the MIDI sequencing side of it so I cand start to combine stuff from my Micromodular with the Monomchn.

 

Who knows I might even post the results in the EKTWank thread...

try the four morph groups on the MicroM assigned to the four controllers on the Mono's MIDI sequencer tracks, very powerful combo

sequenced reverb on the on the Mono can be good for percussive sounds too

  On 10/6/2010 at 12:27 PM, rex sole said:

I love the Machinedrum, the very last thing I'd describe it as would be 'thin'... although it's very easy to be underwhelmed by it the first time you get hands-on with one! Each drum component has it's own sweet spots that you have to spend time finding, and it gives you so much control over the parameters it's much easier to make crappy sounding beats with it at first. It's not instant gratification by any means.

Please understand that I was using a tr-909 and tr-808 before getting mine. It is definitely "thin" in comparison.

the MD's sound is good for glitchy, blippy noises but not ideal for heavy stuff

based on what i am seeing in this thread, i pose the following question:

monomachine or nord G2?

  On 10/6/2010 at 5:42 PM, hahathhat said:

based on what i am seeing in this thread, i pose the following question:

 

monomachine or nord G2?

both

saying the machinedrum sounds 'thin' is like saying the polyevolver is 'only good at making high pitched robotic noises'

at first go around while tweaking presets this may seem like the machinedrum's main focus, but all one has to do is build your own kit to quickly see that this is not the case. if you're comparing it to an analog drum machine, that's also kind pointless, since its digital...

monomachine is awesome, machinedrum is awesome. I like the monomachine better as a controller than as a synthesizer

  On 10/6/2010 at 8:56 PM, Awepittance said:

saying the machinedrum sounds 'thin' is like saying the polyevolver is 'only good at making high pitched robotic noises'

 

at first go around while tweaking presets this may seem like the machinedrum's main focus, but all one has to do is build your own kit to quickly see that this is not the case. if you're comparing it to an analog drum machine, that's also kind pointless, since its digital...

 

monomachine is awesome, machinedrum is awesome. I like the monomachine better as a controller than as a synthesizer

This man doesn't know what he's talking about, so kindly disregard. You can build kits until you are blue in the face and they will lack UNF.

  On 10/6/2010 at 8:56 PM, Awepittance said:

I like the monomachine better as a controller than as a synthesizer

I'm still new enough to mine that I'm still wrestling trying to get comfortable with the synthesiser. That normally takes me a couple of years so I reckon I'm good for a while yet. But I can see why it's not for everyone.

One thing that does still nip my piss is the filter implementation. A simple LP Cut/LP Res/HP Cut/HP Res would've been much more intuitive for me.

  On 10/7/2010 at 2:08 AM, acidphakist said:

  On 10/6/2010 at 8:56 PM, Awepittance said:

saying the machinedrum sounds 'thin' is like saying the polyevolver is 'only good at making high pitched robotic noises'

 

at first go around while tweaking presets this may seem like the machinedrum's main focus, but all one has to do is build your own kit to quickly see that this is not the case. if you're comparing it to an analog drum machine, that's also kind pointless, since its digital...

 

monomachine is awesome, machinedrum is awesome. I like the monomachine better as a controller than as a synthesizer

 

 

This man doesn't know what he's talking about, so kindly disregard. You can build kits until you are blue in the face and they will lack UNF.

maybe you have a shit subwoofer? i don't know what your doing wrong man but listen to someone play live on one like Richard devine or Autechre and tell me they lack 'unf'.

you just admitted you were comparing it to an analog drum machine, have you compared it to other forms of digital drum synthesis?

the G2 is better for hard digital synth based drum sounds than the Manchinedrum but the MD is better as a performance tool

I never took to the sound of the MD's synth engines either (except the BD perhaps) , I have far more fun with the Mono's Bbox kit

i have been getting quite into reaktor, so when someone mentioned the G2... yeah.

i'm limiting myself to one thing, and as always the decision is somewhat organic. i need to think about it as i take my morning dump for a week or two. having various watmm trollflame debate about what "thick bass" is swirling around my hed is crucial to my decision

no seriously, it's helping. what's the deal with UWRAM? just a gutted little reaktor inside a sampler or something more?

also, i am not sure i want a machine that is "esoteric" or "deep". i just want one i enjoy fucking around with -- this is far more important that how it sounds. i'm a clever lad and i know quite a bit about sound n music n all that, i enjoy tinkering around and learning gear.... but i don't like impenetrable academic shit. i do software for a living, and so it's the last thing i want when i am in a music mode. this is much unlike teh autechres, who probably compile their tracks with gcc. hence, my concern that the MM/MD will not have a feel i like. i love modular widgety (they're like legos) so the G2 seems like a keen idea.... on the other claw, i already have reaktor + a small modular, and i could use another box with a pattern sequencer. perhaps, even if the "deep" features are annoying, the sequencer will tide me over until i get my head around them...

got to go poop + think, watmm. serious

i dont think you should buy a machinedrum without playing with one first. Within the first 5 minutes of tweaking one you will know if you've taken to it or not.

for me it's one of those types of gear boxes where for some people it might almost be 'too tweakable' thats the reason i compared it to the polyevolver above. Both machines are capable of a huge variety of sound but if you just twiddling knobs without knowing what you're aiming for it might just seem like a masterbatory knob twiddling box.

just dropping in to provide my obligatory G2 pitch.

my favorite synth ever.

I make all of my drums with my G2, and I love my drums. I took a fair amount of time to craft out my own approach to drum synthesis and programming, and that's probably the best part... that they are MY sounds, start to finish. if i find a limitation, I can change it!

also, reaktor vs nord: the nord is far more musical, intuitive, and fast to use/patch (as far as modular environments go). As a stand alone, the MM may be more powerful for its sequencing abilities, but the nord will offer more flexibility.

imo.

  On 10/7/2010 at 11:07 PM, hahathhat said:

i have been getting quite into reaktor, so when someone mentioned the G2... yeah.

 

i'm limiting myself to one thing, and as always the decision is somewhat organic. i need to think about it as i take my morning dump for a week or two. having various watmm trollflame debate about what "thick bass" is swirling around my hed is crucial to my decision

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

no seriously, it's helping. what's the deal with UWRAM? just a gutted little reaktor inside a sampler or something more?

 

also, i am not sure i want a machine that is "esoteric" or "deep". i just want one i enjoy fucking around with -- this is far more important that how it sounds. i'm a clever lad and i know quite a bit about sound n music n all that, i enjoy tinkering around and learning gear.... but i don't like impenetrable academic shit. i do software for a living, and so it's the last thing i want when i am in a music mode. this is much unlike teh autechres, who probably compile their tracks with gcc. hence, my concern that the MM/MD will not have a feel i like. i love modular widgety (they're like legos) so the G2 seems like a keen idea.... on the other claw, i already have reaktor + a small modular, and i could use another box with a pattern sequencer. perhaps, even if the "deep" features are annoying, the sequencer will tide me over until i get my head around them...

 

got to go poop + think, watmm. serious

Monomachine all the way dude, it will give you a the ease and immediacy you don't get from software (and most other hardware), the G2 falls half way between the two but only if you get a touch screen laptop

You can also use the Mono on other stuff too, I'd check the Elektron forum for sound snippets