Machinedrum +Drive Clarification

I bought my MD (MKII with +Drive) second hand without a manual. When I went online to download a manual and get things going, I accidentally downloaded the one for models without a +Drive so I never read about its features. Long story short – I ended up deleting six months of work when I discovered snapshots on my own and decided to load a new locked snapshot in “CHANGE” mode. Classic move I guess.

I’ve read through similar topics on this forum before but I’m writing this anyway for some additional clarification after reading the correct manual a few times over!

  1. A single snapshot can hold SO MUCH information, including 128 patterns, 64 kits, 32 songs, and 8 globals. It is then really not necessary to change snapshots that often. It is up to the user to decide how many different projects they want to organize into one, and when it makes sense to move on and start working within a new one.

  2. Sample banks can be switched within a snapshot. But whatever sample bank is loaded within the snapshot when the snapshot is SAVED is the sample bank that is properly LINKED to that snapshot. Yes?

  3. If you have QUICK MODE set to CHANGE and keep all of your snapshots unlocked (remembering to always save your work after making any edits) there should be no worries of overwriting your work. Correct?

  4. When is LOAD mode useful? Why has the MD been programmed so that CHANGE mode is disregarded when a snapshot is locked? I guess I don’t really need the answers to these questions… I just find it perplexing that a lock feature designed to protect your work does not always end up protecting your work. It is possible I am missing something.

  5. Last thing: When in the sample bank quick menu the current sample bank being used is highlighted. This is a helpful feature! But when in the snapshot quick menu the current snapshot being used is not highlighted. I have been working so chaotically on my MD since I got it (and I am trying to work less chaotically now!) but I honestly don’t even remember what snapshot I’m using. How can I find out?

Let me know about your experiences! I’m welcoming any information, thoughts or ideas to gain some more perspective.

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Im not an expert on this but IMO:

  • Snapshot lock: Use if you never ever want to change that Snapshot, e.g. your most precious finished opus, a template Snapshot, commercial Snapshot. Also good for live performance, when you want to make sure you don’t accidentally overwrite anything and always have the same state when loading a Snapshot.
  • QUICK MODE / CHANGE: Use while working within several Snapshots and you are confident you always want to automatically store your changes and never want to restore a previous state by just realoading a Snapshot
  • QUICK MODE / LOAD: Use when you want to have full control whether you want to save your changes or not. Also good for live performance to not accidentally change your Snapshot when loading another.
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