Machinedrum Appreciation

Women only let you down dude. The MD is a far better bet.

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Thatā€™s parallel to my line of thinking. I was kinda ignorant of boths machines potentials the first time I had it. When I purchased the MD the first time I just thought- I like Elektron, and I need a proper drum machine. Sold it for the RYTM because I wanted something more sincere sounding(and I thought I heard that in the RYTM- which it is to a degree). Got the Rytm- itā€™s alright.

Revisited the tracks I made with the MDUW- damn, I miss that crispy percussion. Got another one, at some point traded the AR off. Explored the MDUW parameters for sound design. Holy moley! This thing is DEEP! I should have experimented with the AR more. Got another AR, experiemented with the sound design- it just doesnā€™t feel as broad as the MDUW. Great for low end bassy aggressive stuff, takes a fine touch to get it calmer. I donā€™t make IN YOUR FACE percussion. MDUW wins.

Yeahā€¦love is chaos and hell is other peopleā€¦

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Totally. Iā€™m making a bunch of sort Sandwell District/Chain Reaction-style techno at the moment and just find the RYTM synthesis really heard to sit in the mix, but the combination of MD+Heat really cuts through. ā€˜Crispā€™ is exactly the word - those EFM hats for example can really strike through the fog, something I find almost impossible with the RYTM.

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I miss mine lately. Not that itā€™s gone or anything. Iā€™ve just deliberately had to keep Machinedrum and Monomachine on the shelf (under their PL-2 covers) so I could focus on Octatrack and now Analog 4 for a bit. I canā€™t wait to get the whole family together, but I had to put :elmd: to the side because it was too easy to reach for it for drums and I needed to try and make some stuff on the OT.

Iā€™m listening to a live set I made earlier this year that was primarily Machinedrum and Monomachine based. I just love hearing all the personality changes I can do with the MD over the course of a live set without ever interrupting the signal. From very analog-style slow beats backing some late-80ā€™s inspired synth stuff to a heavily EFM based kit to some DNB/Breakcore kind of stuff (all synthesized) running at high speeds with a lot of interesting sounds and panning on the upper percussion to really heavily processed E12 based kits and resamplingā€¦ At times with the drums being really in the foreground, at times blending in perfectly with the Monomachine, at times sitting quietly underneath everything. I know thereā€™s no other machine I could get to make all of these sounds. Maybe when resampling comes to the Analog Rytm Mk2 it could get close to some of these Machinedrum tricksā€¦

These silver boxes still amaze and delight.

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A friend offered to sell me ā€œa like newā€ machinedrum UW for Ā„60,000 (roughly $600). Having a rytm, I donā€™t feel that I really need the MD now, but I donā€™t think Iā€™ll ever see a deal as good as this again. Anybody care to push me over the edge?

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Am switching forth and back between MD and AR meaning that whenever I spend some weeks with AR Iā€™m getting excited on MD and the other way around. The only reason for me to sell the AR is to get an AR MK2 at one point and the only reason to sell the MD would be if Elektron came up with something like an ā€œall-in-one Elektron oldschool box (SID, MD and MnM)ā€.

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@torabi i think jshell made the perfect illustration of how amazing the Machinedrum is.

the synthesis machines are incredible for designing energy movement, either in airwaves or vibes for a room.

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Iā€™d love to hear it!

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Just do it! You wonā€™t regret it :wink:

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Your posts on the MD really got me interested to check it out. I sourced one from Europe and it finally arrived today! I looking forward to learning how much it can do! :slight_smile:

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Did you get the UW+ version?

Also, Iā€™m happy you got it! Itā€™s so awesome. The GND machines are a fun starting point, youā€™re given so little to start with you can really explore the parameters imaginatively.

Found sound samples sound AMAZING in it! Iā€™ve got a kit I made for it you can have if you want.

Also, a while ago there was a cowbell challenge. Also a fun way to discover the power of the machine: only use the various cowbell engines in the MD to make a track.

Some other time much longer ago, there was a challenge to build a track only using 2 steps(using the various LFOs to randomize the output of voices)-- Iā€™m a little scared of taking a crack at that one.

Very powerful machine, very beautiful machine. Very satisfying to build a track on by itself(its challenging to dial in the melodies- but that makes it all the more rewarding when you do)

Canā€™t wait to hear what you make with that machine! Itā€™s definitely my favorite one!

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Bite his/her hand off. Even if you donā€™t like it* and sell it on, you will make a profit.

*extremely unlikely

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Yes I got the UW+. I thought I better go in all the way. Yes Iā€™d love the found sound pack if possible. Once I get my head around it I will take on those challenges, I like the idea of the cowbell one! Iā€™m gonna keep my eye on this forum as there is always some good advice and tips.

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There you go, my friend! Hope you have fun with it!

Hereā€™s a sound cloud file of the sounds in it!
[https://soundcloud.com/olaffergie/fieldpercussion] <- Wouldnā€™t embed.

Have fun!

Thanks for this, appreciate it. I canā€™t wait to try all this MD stuff out :slight_smile:

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All versions of the Machinedrum are great (a friend of mine is still playing his original Machinedrum mk1 from over 15 years ago and he still takes it out live!), but UW+ is definitely the best way to go. The most perfect realization, so far, of the worldā€™s greatest drum machine :slight_smile:

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I was playing around a bit over the past couple of weekends with the Machinedrum in a peculiar setup:

  • Used GND-IMP impulse and GND-SIN sine machines to send 3 triggers and one audio signal to the Folktek Matter eurorack drum synthesizer module.
  • Fed Folktek Matter output back into Machinedrum external-input machine and a couple of RAM samplers/players.
  • Used LFOs on all these tracks and a couple of extras to subtly add variety to the trigger/impulse levels and shapes, change the frequency of the SIN machine, and change the gate and reverb send level on the input machine.
  • Had some great generative blippy/bloopy stuff going with just a single 16 step pattern as a result! And all through the MD!

Then I added to this with a couple of variations:

  • Clock/transport out to a Future Retro Zillion sequencer playing a Korg Monologue. Also running the Monologue through Machinedrum input and using the Input-Filter machine this time. Added some nice shape to the sound.
  • From the same basic pattern, swapped out the Monologue for a Volca Bass and turned off the Folktek Matter synthesis and got some fun acid going on the Volca Bass. Biggest surprise - I forgot how good the Machinedrumā€™s filter can sound on the INP-Filter machine! Iā€™ve done strange acid-ish stuff with it before but itā€™s been a while. I had fun just playing with the filter knobs on both the Machinedrum and Volca Bass while the sequencing was generated.

Thatā€™s a lot of fun for a drum machine and one lone 16 step pattern. Especially when I hardly did any drums with it! Again, Iā€™m totally impressed by the depth of this box.

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made some of the best techno ever on that box that and the op1 I really miss :frowning:

Sold my Rytm for coins and a non uw mk2. Now I know whatā€™s been missing from my life. :stuck_out_tongue:

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My mduw has been shelved for a while so dragged it out and ran it through heat. Sounds really nice, banging.

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