hi guys, I am just about to leave for a week to go surfin’ … thought I start a thread to have something to catch up to when I return …
better than Elektron …
all the bitching , bickering, hate (which off course deserves its place in this forum too , I am realistic abou this) … next to that “elektron is shit” … what B E T T E R , alternatives are there =? (if at all)
consider:
price tag
portability
built quality
age of the company
competition
reliability
warranty
customer support (vs customer support speed)
inventiveness (plocks, sysex sends, internal routing, xfader OT, analog+digital options in AR, poly+ +drive update in A4, MD+MM almost 10 years on the market and still STILL top notch)
tl dr
can you actually bitch about elektron, because there aint none better on this planet ?
I’ve got my minor gripes or wish they’d done some things differently here and there, but I also can’t think of anyone doing it better. I do hope someone tries tho, since competition breeds creativity, and I’m always interested in seeing things pushed to new, better levels.
Personally, i’m happier than a dog with two dicks with elektron gear.
Eveyone has different needs for their work but i think elektron cover most issues.
When i first discovered the MD, i couldnt believe technology had progressed soooo far as to create an instrument like this.
Then the A4.
What can i say?
For my music, these machines are the shit.
You cant please everybody all the time. Impossible.
But, am i pleased??
Fuck yeah.
Fond of moog gear too but basic in comparison.
Have a good trip TrabanT.
Hope the surfs up, beer flowing, happy times.
I’m an OP-1 guy, but wouldn’t say it’s better per say. I just click with it. In terms of sound quality of course people want different timbres from different filters and kinds of synths etc, but the Elektron sound quality is the best thing IMO. The sequencers and performance features are really cool, but sometimes are so deep they get in the way. I’d prefer that over say, the Aira, which has the options/sound of well…as synth made 20 years ago pretty much. Just digital. But we all love that sound and those boxes are half the price. Also, computers…just gonna put that out there. If you can stand to look at a screen for hours with a midi keyboard and a mouse, you can probably make the most ill modern clean sounding ish. Very expensive to get all the best plug-ins and they loose their value almost instantly.
Anyways lots of people care about different things when purchasing gear these days. And there are tonnes of options at every price range. Analog/Digital/Hardware/Software. It’s a renaissance time for beats. I think this is because people don’t but music anymore, they buy gear instead and make their own music haha.
My only compaint about Elektron boxes is when a feature is missing, its missing no matter how simple or sensible or essential it might be. Otherwise there is no hardware made as well with clever features hidden ready for you to need them.
Moog Voyager is beautfully built, Virus TI is very solid even if the knobs are a bit wobbly (but then Elektron can’t feel superior about that), all the other gear I know of is a lower cost build for a price point and it shows.
I have no experience whatsoever of the Spectralis but surely that’s as close a direct competitor as anything. Kind of like a Machinedrum & a Monomachine in one box.
Has the split trigs like the Mono too!
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Also, computers…just gonna put that out there. If you can stand to look at a screen for hours with a midi keyboard and a mouse, you can probably make the most ill modern clean sounding ish. Very expensive to get all the best plug-ins and they loose their value almost instantly.
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I think this is important. I don’t own any of Elektron’s Analog machines, so my impressions are lacking in some sonic way, but I’ll be honest in that I know that when it comes to digital sound I could go much further with software. On paper, I could do way more with Ableton Suite and M4L. I wouldn’t have to figure out the workarounds, and I could probably just compose easier than I do.
But it is a trade off, because I know that I wouldn’t make the same kinds of music with the same intuition that I get from composing with Elektron instruments. I’d have to put way more thought into a simple knob twist. Imperfect as it may be, I can just jam with my Elektron gear. Despite any issues, I can jam for hours and then fine tune at will, while just recording I will tweak until dawn. Permanence makes me buckle down, and Elektron gear forces me to do this.
There is nothing better than the Elektron boxes at what they do, the only thing that comes close is an MPC in terms of functionality and its very clunky to use in comparison.
I think the monomachine has the best workflow in any groovebox I have come across, although it can be quite hard to get it to sound good when you use 1 kit per pattern and no presets. If you could have p-lockable presets and upload your own drumsamples this machine would be the bees knees already.
Where were you surfing btw?
The name trabant + profile pic always makes me think you are from Poland or thereabouts.
Elektron does (if you had to summarise what they do in one word) grooveboxes - integrating a sequencer with a sound generator, at a prosumer price point. Each instrument can be used on its own to make a (maybe minimal) piece of beat-oriented music, but they interface well enough with other gear to participate in larger setups.
And they are SO smart at hitting their target market: each instrument is the result of careful study of existing instruments in terms of features, user experience, and price point.
If you have a need for particular features, then an MPC or a Tempest or something else might be a better solution for you. For me, the Nord Modular G2 tickles me in a particular way. But the Elektron gear hits a pretty sweet spot for many people.
There will always be a better dedicated sequencer, synth, or sampler, beyond the groovebox market.
In terms of what’s better to do what the Elektrons do, I think that an Electribe of some kind bests the equivalent Elektron instrument in terms of value for money, or that a laptop + Ableton Live + suitable controller is more flexible and versatile.
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