Would you buy one if you had a Machinedrum?
I keep looking at the Perkons HD-01 as a future purchase and hearing some similarities to the digital synthesis of the Machinedrum. I realise I really don’t like drum samplers much anymore.
Has anyone got both of these?
I keep thinking four voices is very limiting, all mono, but then I would send it to a mixer and stereo it up. The HD-01 looks like such an amazing amount of fun.
I don’t own one but I have had the fortune to play one. I do have a Machinedrum.
I wouldn’t buy. I can still to this day push the MD hard and do interesting things with it, therefore I can’t justify spending $$$ on the HD. It sounds great, maybe subjectively better, but still, I couldn’t justify getting one when I feel that I can squeeze more and more out of the MD, and also it’s not like the HD has a sound that I absolutely need to make music with or else I quit making music altogether…
Anyway, that’s my personal take.
I have both of them!
(And purchased the Perkons after owning the MD for two years).
In my opinion they are quite different in terms of sound - and Perkons is clearly a performance machine, where you create and perform beats on the fly without overthinking or engineering (at least for me that’s not the case for the MD, which is clearly one of my favorite Elektrons).
You don’t have any menu-diving on Perkons.
Initially, I was wondering if four tracks are enough - and for me the answer is yes.
I did an EP on Perkons only, where each track sound very differently on every machine.
(Mainly to challenge myself to work on a single device only).
That being said: It’s not a small device an eats up quite some desktop space -
and it’s freaking expensive - but also freaking funny to work on.
No
That’s exactly what I’m thinking right now, which is why I wrote the post. I’m only at the start of the Machinedrum voyage and I’m thoroughly enjoying the lunacy.
It’s the YouTube GAS again. It’s got some really interesting synthesis. BUT It’s hard to beat Machinedrum’s insane power 16 track power, sampling, 6 outputs and CTR-ALL madness
I also had a headphones session / reality check listening to demos today - all in mono. No one seems to want to demo it using a mixer and some stereo effects.
Thank you. I’m very objective about it and I’ll take a listen. From demos I listened to today, it seems to have these super snappy synthesised snare tones that sound completely mad. The poly rhythms stop you getting tired of formula beats and it all looks very straightforward to use.
I’m amazed at how well they have sold considering the price and the physical size.
Ah ok. Then I suggest you rein that GAS in. You have a hell of a machine. Be smart about it. Don’t make a plate of food when there is already one on the table waiting to be eaten.
I’ve had a MDUW since shortly before production ended and almost bought a Perkons earlier this year.
While I agree that you can almost certainly get much the same sound out of a MD (or an LXR), Erica proved to me with the Syntrx that they are extremely good at UX. Perkons looks extremely immediate. I don’t normally think of the MD as a menu-diving synth, but all Elektrons are. The depth is shallow and easy to navigate, but if you want to tweak envelops and filters at the same time, you are usually out of luck. Everything is on the front panel on the Perkons, and that seems interesting to explore.
I ended up buying a Voltage Lab 2 instead because I already have a nice collection of drum machines, and don’t have any not-buchlas yet, and I enjoy the west coast approach to synthesis.
Nope
Perkons is special as you have the entire sequence grid at once - which can be altered on the fly.
(I think Erica discussed introducing Perkons voices as a Eurorack module - which takes away most of the “turn-one-knob” features).
If you miss the modern sequencer features on MD, check out MCL!
(Also on my to do list: sequence MD via Digitone 2).
Nothing much to add. I own both.
They do share some similarities in the sound, but they have major differences.
First of all, 16 voices against 4. This makes the Perkons more “rough” and the MD more “crowded”.
Parameter locks : although they both have them, they behave differently. Perkons locks kind of suck in my opinion, as they are more automation than proper locks because they only last for the length of a step.
Bugs : Perkons have some. MD is rock solid.
No UW side in the Perkons.
MIDI implementation : no program change on Perkons…
But Perkons is really really fun.
I think I need to play with one really to decide if something like is for me (in the future that is). Interesting observations. The Perkons YT content seems to be gabba style, which is fun don’t get me wrong, but not sure whether in a year it would be gathering dust.
MD on the other hand is very deep. When I first saw one I got it completely wrong, thinking its synthesis was really dated. I’ve learned a lot about its power.
This.
I was a longtime MD-UW user, but sold mine last year. I never really used all 16 voices and all the deep synthesis capabilities.
I picked up a Perkons a couple of weeks ago – it’s very immediate and very fun. A real pleasure to use.
I own both
Harder to make perkons sound bad, feels like a synth just as much as a drum machine. md is better as a traditional drum machine and is better at emulating a classic TR style machines.
Both are awesome, I think the perkons is more fun to play and sounds super punchy and organic, but the MD is deeper and more versatile sounding but you have to be more mindful and study much more to really push beyond presets.
More “heady” experience on md
More “head banging” (like the good kind) on perkons
Probably, because all demos crank up distortion to the max 
But you “can” do a lot of subtile stuff too:
How do you get that drone/horn like sound that runs through the first quarter of the set?
I have a perkons too and I REALLY like this. Will listen to it properly once I leave the pub 
I sold my Md in 2021
After having it for 13 years
Cant say i actually tired of it. Just famcied something new
The perkons looks and sounds grest but the size bothered me. Its big. But then the sound is big . If space was no problem i would have one paired with a syntakt like Yesterday.
Having said that i much prefer the Spazedrum. Which is half the size and sounds better IMHO
I’ve never used the Spazedrum, but from the looks of it, the Perkons and the Spazedrum are polar opposites in terms of what drum machine UI should look like…
This is awesome. What external effects/sequencing is on here and how did you get that cool drone sound in the first half?
How about Digitone II instead of MD or Perkons? 