the watmm GAS thread

  On 3/14/2019 at 2:54 PM, Drum Up said:

 

  On 3/13/2019 at 8:43 PM, user said:

Okay, let's shake on it.

 

I keep getting gas for a nice digital delay like the space, timeline or oto bim but every time after a while I think "fuck it, I've got soundtoys there's plenty of nice delays there" and then it starts all over again. There must be a special layer in hell where you just have circular gas.

don't sleep on Fabfilter's timeless 2. The modulation capabilities are superb: step-sequencer to modulate dry/wet, another step-sequencer to modulate where in the cycle that first step-sequencer begins. There doesn't seem to be a limit to how many of these step-sequencer lfos you can stack. quasi - generative results abound! Yowza!

 

I haven't been able to get into sequenced or multi tap delays so far, always end up just making a mess. Happens a lot using step seq in general come to think of it, really need to up my seq programming game.  

  On 3/21/2019 at 4:42 PM, sheathe said:

 

  On 3/21/2019 at 6:25 AM, bitchroast said:

the back of the mixer has aux out, and aux in. so aux out 1 goes into reverb in, reverb out goes into aux in 1. then there's sliders on the right to monitor the aux levels. so now you can send multiple channels into the reverb just using the send knobs.

 

apologies if this isn't what you're asking. i think this is what you're asking?

I mean, I know how send and return works, but if you look up the 1604vlz4, in the top right is the return section. There is a knob that lets you send the return back to the send.

 

Page 24 https://mackie.com/sites/default/files/PRODUCT%20RESOURCES/MANUALS/Owners_Manuals/1604VLZ4_OM.pdf

 

The wording is kind of weird there but I guess you would use it if you were using aux 1/2 for your monitor mix? So you could use aux 3 and 4 as your effects sends, return aux 3 to stereo return 1 and aux 4 to stereo return 2, use the "to L/R" controls to set the return level in the main mix and use the "to aux 1/2" controls to set the return level in two monitor mixes (aux 1 = monitor mix 1, aux 2 = monitor mix 2).

I'm pretty sure that's what they're trying to describe in the manual.

Or you could just use them for feedback, which is great because I always use regular stereo mixer channels as my returns specifically so I can add a bit of extra feedback if I want to.  It would be nice to be able to do that with the stereo returns instead of having to sacrifice a full mixer channel (or two) for it.  Plus you could patch whatever was on aux send 1 into stereo return 2 and vice versa, and then use the "to aux" knobs for cross-feedback between two different effects units, which can do all sorts of stuff (obviously you can do that and more with a pair of regular mixer channels too, but again it could be more convenient to have it all on dedicated controls and jacks).

Anyway, that's an interesting feature I've never seen before.

If I was going to upgrade to a slightly bigger mixer I'd be torn between an older Mixwizard (I did live sound for a trio on one last year and I really liked the layout and feature set, the venue's sound system wasn't nearly good enough for me to have an opinion of the sound) and an older Soundcraft Spirit M8 (never used one, but I like everything Soundcraft I've ever tried and even though the feature set is a bit smaller than the MixWizard, I like the actual ergonomics of the Folio better, based on what I can see in photos and having used similar mixers over the years), but for now I don't have the space or the budget for either so the EPM is getting me by (plus an early 90s Mackie Micromix 1202 I got from a friend last fall, which is great for a certain kind of sound but not very flexible at all). 

  On 3/21/2019 at 4:42 PM, sheathe said:

 

  On 3/21/2019 at 6:25 AM, bitchroast said:

the back of the mixer has aux out, and aux in. so aux out 1 goes into reverb in, reverb out goes into aux in 1. then there's sliders on the right to monitor the aux levels. so now you can send multiple channels into the reverb just using the send knobs.

 

apologies if this isn't what you're asking. i think this is what you're asking?

I mean, I know how send and return works, but if you look up the 1604vlz4, in the top right is the return section. There is a knob that lets you send the return back to the send.

 

Page 24 https://mackie.com/sites/default/files/PRODUCT%20RESOURCES/MANUALS/Owners_Manuals/1604VLZ4_OM.pdf

 

had a feeling i was explaining the obvious. apologies !!! :pray: :pray: 

My Monomachine will not power on at all anymore. I have a friend who's going to look at it and I suspect it should be a fairly easy fix for him (I fucking hope).

However, if the unthinkable happens and I would need to replace the Monomachine with something similar, what would be a similar or even better replacement? I use the MnM for everything: synthesis, drum machine, effect unit, and external sequencer. Most of my other gear would be hobbled if they were not sequenced and/or CCed via the MnM.

Things that come to mind are the Octatrack and the OP-1. Having both of them would probably give a wide pallet to play with. As far as I know (please correct me if I'm wrong), having only the OT would be great as a sampler/fx/external sequencer, but I'd be lacking in synthesis. Having only the OP-1 would be great for synthesis and sampling, but I don't think it can be used as an external sequencer? But maybe I wouldn't need to and I could get rid of some gear?

If my MnM is truly dead, buying one today would be twice the price compared when I bought it. So I might as well spend a little more for more capabilities.

My MnM has been with the local synth repair guy for a couple of months - not his fault, he's waiting for parts I ordered from Elektron. Elektron support are extremely slow and useless these days.

Anyway, I miss it and there is nothing else like it. The OT covers all the midi sequencing and more but I don't know where you'd go for the synthesis stuff. Get a Digitone as well? Eurorack? Already it's cheaper to get another MnM.

Hopefully you just have a loose power connector or something.

Months!? Good heavens, that's terrible.

Yeah, I'm hoping it something simple like that. It might be the PSU. My cat kept playing in the bag it was in but it doesn't look damaged at all.

I have a buddy whose MD had a busted MIDI out and Master Volume pot. He opened the thing and fixed it himself without any real EE knowledge, just did shit tons of research, and combed the forums. He told Elektron about it, and actually got them to mail him an SDK kit.

So there is hope for broken Elektrons.

  On 3/25/2019 at 8:32 PM, acid1 said:

I have a buddy whose MD had a busted MIDI out and Master Volume pot. He opened the thing and fixed it himself without any real EE knowledge, just did shit tons of research, and combed the forums. He told Elektron about it, and actually got them to mail him an SDK kit.

 

So there is hope for broken Elektrons.

I opened it up and reseated everything that was possible other than the battery. I don't think the battery is the issue since that is for memory iirc and the machine should still power on with or without it.

They have been really good in the past and they do keep an inventory of parts for older machines if you don't want to send it back to them for repair. The issue is apparently they have been overhauling their customer support ticketing system for the last several months. Tickets take a long time to be answered and sometimes go missing. 

The problem with my machine was that the previous owner hammered the shit out of the buttons. I replaced one mechanism myself, but discovered that a whole bunch of them are splitting apart. It was quite difficult to desolder that one button (lead-free is a motherfucker) so I left the rest to someone with the right tools.

  On 3/25/2019 at 2:08 PM, paranerd said:

My Monomachine will not power on at all anymore. I have a friend who's going to look at it and I suspect it should be a fairly easy fix for him (I fucking hope).

 

However, if the unthinkable happens and I would need to replace the Monomachine with something similar, what would be a similar or even better replacement? I use the MnM for everything: synthesis, drum machine, effect unit, and external sequencer. Most of my other gear would be hobbled if they were not sequenced and/or CCed via the MnM.

 

Things that come to mind are the Octatrack and the OP-1. Having both of them would probably give a wide pallet to play with. As far as I know (please correct me if I'm wrong), having only the OT would be great as a sampler/fx/external sequencer, but I'd be lacking in synthesis. Having only the OP-1 would be great for synthesis and sampling, but I don't think it can be used as an external sequencer? But maybe I wouldn't need to and I could get rid of some gear?

 

If my MnM is truly dead, buying one today would be twice the price compared when I bought it. So I might as well spend a little more for more capabilities.

im not really sure if there's anything as interesting as monomachine but you can get a monster synth for 1000-1500 euros imo, or even better if you could afford such (or good enought) synh + OT 

i have MnM and MDuw, bought new in 2016 and now ive bought the OT, few weeks ago. still havent read the manual, ive only watched a few videos on yt and ive started to make tracks (well, sketches for tracks) with OT and MnM, using random samples that came with OT and controling and sampling MnM with OT.

>>>>>>>>>this is the el. music heaven!<<<<<<<<<< 

im shocked how easy is to make a track with OT! especially when you add MnM but the major star is OT here. what ever you pair it with youll be fine! what ever imo

i was the biggest fan of the silver line since ever and i was veeeery sceptical about OT, couldnt see what was all about. i mean, it's a sampler, ok! it has the sequencer, ok! the slider, ok! time stretching, wow, ok! few fx...ok! so what?! know i know so what... endless possibilities! for sound design AND arranging a track. i still dont know half of it but im beggingn to understand why it matters so much to so many ppl and why it'd be the last piece of gear they'd sell

my advice would be:

1. repair the MnM and buy OT

or 

2. buy another MnM and OT

or

3. buy OT and another synth (deep mind 12 reck?)

0. what ever you do just buy OT

OT, eh? The RYTM with the MnM was more on my radar than the OT, but I'll consider it. 

I'm seeing my friend this evening to see what's up with the MnM. *fingers crossed*

Well, you cant go wrong with anything from elektron...

Just out of curiosity , why rhytm? Is it the pads? Or the sound? I mean it's a beautiful machine but you can buy several gb large sample libraries that you can import into OT, so large that you wouldnt be able to use/exploit for the rest of your life, firstly bc how big those libraries are, and secondly bc with OT you can change samples beyond recognition, you can practically make an album with a 1 min long random sample; at elektronauts you can find compilations of totally different sounding tracks made with OT with the same one short sample. Amazon!

You’re definitely going to want to go with the Elektron Model: Samples.

  On 3/26/2019 at 4:26 PM, xox said:

Well, you cant go wrong with anything from elektron...

Just out of curiosity , why rhytm? Is it the pads? Or the sound? I mean it's a beautiful machine but you can buy several gb large sample libraries that you can import into OT, so large that you wouldnt be able to use/exploit for the rest of your life, firstly bc how big those libraries are, and secondly bc with OT you can change samples beyond recognition, you can practically make an album with a 1 min long random sample; at elektronauts you can find compilations of totally different sounding tracks made with OT with the same one short sample. Amazon!

I'd like a good drum synth for patch building and RYTM seems the best bang for the buck. Finding the right drum samples isn't as interesting to me as building drum patches. The OT probably could do a lot of drum sound designing as well, like you said, I don't know. The prospect of 'you can do anything' isn't as appealing to me as learning the limitations of something that can be flexible if someone puts the time to learn it. Like the MnM for example. :)

Rytm is great para but if you need to control other synths (like you mentioned you do a lot with MnM) then obv it's not going to work....Digitakt or OT might be better? Not sure if you're parting out tasks to different machines but I don't think you mentioned trying to do that...

  On 3/26/2019 at 7:49 PM, paranerd said:

 

  On 3/26/2019 at 4:26 PM, xox said:

Well, you cant go wrong with anything from elektron...

Just out of curiosity , why rhytm? Is it the pads? Or the sound? I mean it's a beautiful machine but you can buy several gb large sample libraries that you can import into OT, so large that you wouldnt be able to use/exploit for the rest of your life, firstly bc how big those libraries are, and secondly bc with OT you can change samples beyond recognition, you can practically make an album with a 1 min long random sample; at elektronauts you can find compilations of totally different sounding tracks made with OT with the same one short sample. Amazon!

I'd like a good drum synth for patch building and RYTM seems the best bang for the buck. Finding the right drum samples isn't as interesting to me as building drum patches. The OT probably could do a lot of drum sound designing as well, like you said, I don't know. The prospect of 'you can do anything' isn't as appealing to me as learning the limitations of something that can be flexible if someone puts the time to learn it. Like the MnM for example. :)

 

yes, i understand that, that's why i kept my MD, in addition to sentimental and historical reasons. but still, im mostly holding my MD as a financial support for a second hand MnM if my MnM ever dies. after all, im a 'melody guy', percussion side is much less important to me. 

  On 3/26/2019 at 8:01 PM, auxien said:

Rytm is great para but if you need to control other synths (like you mentioned you do a lot with MnM) then obv it's not going to work....Digitakt or OT might be better? Not sure if you're parting out tasks to different machines but I don't think you mentioned trying to do that...

Yes, I'm aware of that, my original post mentions the OT and OP-1 as possible sequencer replacements (if the OP-1 can even sequence externally?) if the MnM is toast.

In general, I've felt drum/perc design to be lacking in my setup and I'd like to someday have the RYTM as an addition to the MnM and to possibly replace my TR8. Unless I use the TR8 as a controller for the RYTM since I love playing with the faders and knobs live.

  On 3/26/2019 at 8:02 PM, xox said:

 

  On 3/26/2019 at 7:49 PM, paranerd said:

 

  On 3/26/2019 at 4:26 PM, xox said:

Well, you cant go wrong with anything from elektron...

Just out of curiosity , why rhytm? Is it the pads? Or the sound? I mean it's a beautiful machine but you can buy several gb large sample libraries that you can import into OT, so large that you wouldnt be able to use/exploit for the rest of your life, firstly bc how big those libraries are, and secondly bc with OT you can change samples beyond recognition, you can practically make an album with a 1 min long random sample; at elektronauts you can find compilations of totally different sounding tracks made with OT with the same one short sample. Amazon!

I'd like a good drum synth for patch building and RYTM seems the best bang for the buck. Finding the right drum samples isn't as interesting to me as building drum patches. The OT probably could do a lot of drum sound designing as well, like you said, I don't know. The prospect of 'you can do anything' isn't as appealing to me as learning the limitations of something that can be flexible if someone puts the time to learn it. Like the MnM for example. :)

 

 

 

yes, i understand that, that's why i kept my MD, in addition to sentimental and historical reasons. but still, im mostly holding my MD as a financial support for a second hand MnM if my MnM ever dies. after all, im a 'melody guy', percussion side is much less important to me. 

 

Everyone has their preferences, but if I had that MD I'd be digging into it hardcore! :) I have two friends who have MDs and they never use them. They just like collecting, it drives me nuts!

  On 3/26/2019 at 8:22 PM, paranerd said:

 

  On 3/26/2019 at 8:01 PM, auxien said:

Rytm is great para but if you need to control other synths (like you mentioned you do a lot with MnM) then obv it's not going to work....Digitakt or OT might be better? Not sure if you're parting out tasks to different machines but I don't think you mentioned trying to do that...

 

Yes, I'm aware of that, my original post mentions the OT and OP-1 as possible sequencer replacements (if the OP-1 can even sequence externally?) if the MnM is toast.

 

In general, I've felt drum/perc design to be lacking in my setup and I'd like to someday have the RYTM as an addition to the MnM and to possibly replace my TR8. Unless I use the TR8 as a controller for the RYTM since I love playing with the faders and knobs live.

 

OP-1 can only do single-track MIDI sequencing. Very much not designed for that purpose.

  On 3/26/2019 at 8:34 PM, Taupe Beats said:

 

  On 3/26/2019 at 8:22 PM, paranerd said:

 

  On 3/26/2019 at 8:01 PM, auxien said:

Rytm is great para but if you need to control other synths (like you mentioned you do a lot with MnM) then obv it's not going to work....Digitakt or OT might be better? Not sure if you're parting out tasks to different machines but I don't think you mentioned trying to do that...

 

Yes, I'm aware of that, my original post mentions the OT and OP-1 as possible sequencer replacements (if the OP-1 can even sequence externally?) if the MnM is toast.

 

In general, I've felt drum/perc design to be lacking in my setup and I'd like to someday have the RYTM as an addition to the MnM and to possibly replace my TR8. Unless I use the TR8 as a controller for the RYTM since I love playing with the faders and knobs live.

 

 

OP-1 can only do single-track MIDI sequencing. Very much not designed for that purpose.

 

Good to know, thank you! It looks to be a great synth, but the MIDI capabilities seem limited? Quick search doesn't show a MIDI implementation chart for it.

Yeah it's MIDI is rather limited. Single, same channel input/output, only over USB. There are several arpeggiators, one of which is a step-sequencer so it's technically possible to sequence either internal or external synths. But again, just one track if you're trying to send out MIDI. You could feasibly record 4-tracks of sequenced or arpeggiated audio into its recorder, but that's just audio. No way to record MIDI data produced from or sent in.

As far as CC's go, this gets even worse...you have several "LFO's", but can only use 1 per-track. One of those "LFO's" is being able to control 4 parameters via-CC's 1-4. Can't change the CC #'s (so yep, default Mod Wheel is one of the CC's you're forced into). And if I remember right (been a while since I used this particular feature), the CC's are forced into either controlling the synth on the track, or the effects. You can't mix and match.

The OP-1 *is* a cool device, but not because of its MIDI...

I see. It looks to work best on its own or MIDI clocked in a setup I gather. That isn't too bad as working with the device itself seems pretty flexible.

Yeah as a self-contained unit, it's one of the cooler pieces I've ever used. In the rest of my rig it's also nice but gets ignored more than it should. I am a DIN-MIDI devotee so I run the OP-1 into a hub, which goes into an iPad running MIDIflow to get it to talk to everything else.

To open up potential further discussion on the OP-1, what do people think of the drum synth? Personally, I think it may be the weakest part of the device (other than the noisy USB crap). I just cannot click with it period. 

On the other hand, *love* the Phase Distortion synth. And obviously the FM radio implementation :D

the whole day today i was playing with my OT and controlling MnM with it and MnM froze 4 times after i'd stop the music, let it blink and went to eat or something. repeated reboot didnt help, it'd get stuck showing the logo and OS number so i had to test-reboot it every time. diagnostics would show normal functioning, then i'd reboot it normally again and it'd work without problems. after it happened for the first time i almost died of horror but soon i found the solution, after 4th time im telling you this isnt funny anymore! now i'm afraid it could be a sign of a sirius problem... paranerd, now i feel your pain even more

  On 3/26/2019 at 9:15 PM, xox said:

the whole day today i was playing with my OT and controlling MnM with it and MnM froze 4 times after i'd stop the music, let it blink and went to eat or something. repeated reboot didnt help, it'd get stuck showing the logo and OS number so i had to test-reboot it every time. diagnostics would show normal functioning, then i'd reboot it normally again and it'd work without problems. after it happened for the first time i almost died of horror but soon i found the solution, after 4th time im telling you this isnt funny anymore! now i'm afraid it could be a sign of a sirius problem... paranerd, now i feel your pain even more

Ah man!

Well, in my case this time it was just the PSU-2. It had a break in the cable, so my friend just cut it off and soldered it back together. So my MnM is not dead.

In your case, you probably just need to open it up and reseat all the ribbon cables. I had that problem happen to me before and reseating everything fixed it. This thread helped:

https://www.elektronauts.com/t/how-i-repaired-my-monomachine-mk1-pics-of-internals-included/10880/7