i use the Machinedrum for the Userwave sample section… not all samples take to the 12 bit environment, but the ones that do really sound amazing.
for the internal synthesis machines, the hihats have amazing potential, the bass drums are great for layering with a sample… similarly so for the snare drums. the tom drums are pretty way-cool in their own right i would say.
putting the internal synthesis bass drums through a Universal Audio Solo 610 tube preamp on the line level input is next-level warm rich soundmaking activity.
but yeah i love the MD mainly for playing samples and the natural swing to the master tempo rhythm feel, almost as though it adds infinitesimal danceable swing to a 4/4 techno beat. borrowing just a bit from the beat ahead and giving it back a couple of beats later. on a very subtle level.
also the percussion machines and LFO’s are great for rainforest techno funk.
individual volume levels need to be attenuated for each sound or synth loads at vol 127, when midday is actually the volume neutral setting where no digital gain is being applied to the Vol. makes a difference to move this setting to midday for sure, helps with sound design and achieving warmer sounds.
i’m starting to use a tube-preamp “amplifier in a guitar pedal” kind of thing with the Machinedrum and it’s great, changing the tube/eq bias is fun, and the audio is very usable especially if the initial gain/drive stage is kept to a sensible/moderate level.