Thanks for the update! I personally haven’t heard anything yet or received an email. Interested to hear from others if they’ve received contact from @dickmalibu
Awesome, fingers crossed that all our other orders are not far away either then. Still no news from DM for me but then again i’m in the process of changing over my email account as the old one is being spammed into oblivion…
So my faceplate arrived today!
It does look quite nice on the Machinedrum, I must admit… i’m pretty pleased with the results. The build quality doesn’t match up as well to the original Elektron, but it’s pretty close. Couple minor things, mind you I don’t feel any of them are a show stopper, but I think it’s worth mentioning after all of this wait time.
- There’s a hairline scratch on the right side of the window
- The window was quite dirty, and it shipped loosely in some thick foam, but nothing else covering it. It did arrive in a box, so I don’t believe scratching during shipping should be an issue for anyone. I cleaned it as best I could with some screen cleaner, and it’s better. While turned on, it’s really not noticeable.
- There’s plenty of extra glue on the backside to keep that window attached. I don’t think it’ll be a problem, probably just overcompensating. Could be a good thing in the long run… I’d rather not have the window pop off, but it definitely drew my attention while looking it over.
- The font is smaller than the original faceplate. It’s all visible still, and honestly the white on black is a bit easier to read most of the time… still, it feels kind of off when you look close to the text near the buttons, etc. Hard to explain.
- Installing it, the screws didn’t seem to line up quite perfectly, and setting it on, part of it felt bent a little bit. I gently screwed down each screw part way so I could line it up nicely, and it did go on ok eventually… was a bit worried there for a moment.
All in all, I prefer the black look… and it sits pretty great next to my RYTM. The machining was done very well. My M4 button used to squeak, but after taking off the original faceplate, the squeak is gone… I’m guessing it was just rubbing against the faceplate itself, which doesn’t happen with any of the keys on the new faceplate.
Just wanted to give a heads up to anyone else out there getting their order soon. I’m happy enough with the result. Honestly after all the waiting and multiple personal issues delaying the shipment, I’d be hard pressed to recommend anyone else order from this company… but they seem to be the only option if you want to buy a black faceplate. If i had to do it all over again, I probably would… but only after getting a confirmation from them that they have their products in stock and ready to ship. I think that’s completely reasonable of any company. To be fair, they did set the expectation that there would be a build time… I just didn’t expect a 6 week window to take 4 months, with a website that disappeared, and no response to phone or email for weeks at a time. If they can keep consistent with the build time to have products like this on hand, and can keep customer service going ok, I think they could do well enough for themselves.
I’ve attached a gallery of photos from the install, for anyone that wants to get a closer look. Was pretty low light, so sorry for the quality, but you can zoom in pretty far, and see the detail well enough.
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Why anybody gives this joker any of their money I have no idea… you are literally asking for trouble
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Well, on the plus side your Machinedrum does look really cool now!
I’ve been emailing them for months with no reply, and even left a voicemail. I don’t really have any choice but to give up at this point - I filed a dispute with Paypal since it seems like my only recourse at this point.
Hopefully I can just get a refund and move on.
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thanks for the detailed update and pics. your faceplate looks really good, if mine arrives and is of a similar standard then i’ll be happy!
Dissappointing to hear things aren’t all sweet smelling roses with Dick Malibu.
Thought I’d share my dealings with Fritz back in Aug/Sept when I ordered 2 black plates for the MD/MM.
They arrived in oz a month after initial order and I was lucky enough to receive a phone call to discuss some details prior to sending. Personal experience was a positive one and the final product a winner. Definitely a classier product than styleflip.
Do hope everyone waiting gets sorted, though I would be demanding more than explanations if I had been kept waiting for months without comms.
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That is just f’n sinister! 
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Just recieved my faceplate. Although it was definitely a longer wait than expected, the final product is exactly what I wanted.
If I were to do it all again, I’d definitely order it. Now if only I had an MM…
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Appreciate the feedback… and that does look really nice! I think my may need something like this hinged stand for my MD and RYTM sooner than later. It is very nice to have a decently consistent color scheme with the kit. Worth while venture I think… it’s gotta be hard to be such a small shop, and such a niche market. I know they (are going to?) make other products as well… but this is clearly a part time project… since the website has been down this whole time. I’m ok with that, honestly… and the phone calls help for sure. Communication is the biggest importance with a sale. Things happen, just look at how many kickstarters flop? Really, just keep everyone informed and I’d like to think most people will understand, especially for a cosmetic upgrade.
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When I finally received my product after like 5 months, it was a shame that it didn’t fit my MD (the keys got stuck and also they hadn’t listened to me saying that mine was a MK UW mkI UW, an upgraded one, not a MKII). I got my refund after all though, but it was cash I could have done something else with during that time I was waiting. And after a couple of months when I finally started sending e-mails there was often a response promising something, and then it all restarted again a few weeks later … And again, a shame, because it would have looked quite good if the product had only been as advertised 
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Just to report back quickly, my faceplate arrived today, no problems with the fit, looks dope. I think the black plate brings out more of the 808 vibe in the MD that they were originally paying homage to with the oversized sound selector dial, looks wicked to me anyway! 
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I can’t really understand why some of you would accept to pay that much money, and wait that much time, even knowing you may get very bad customer service… only to get a fine sticker to mod the color scheme of a machine ah ah!!
anyway to each its own decisions, at the end only music counts!!
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It’s an actual face plate mon ami, not just a sticker.
seems very fine faceplates indeed 
It makes the snare sound way more snappy.
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ah ah I knew it!! there’s some voodoo stuff with these plates, it explains why people take that much risk to get theirs 
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Looking great! May i ask where did you get that folding stand? Or was it custom made?
Thanks Octahedron. That was a home made custom job, though I have other frames available.
PM me for details, or can visit here for more info.
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Hello 
Could I ask where I can find a foldable stand like this for 2 older elektron products?
best,