MFB Tanzbär 2

You are more than welcome to my musical abode :slight_smile: should you want more direction, I guess this one says something as well:

This is from a longer live set I did a few months ago, where the Tanzmaus features more heavily, in so much that it’s present all the time for a fairly long amount of time.

I never mentioned, by the way, but I’ve always enjoyed your YouTube channel. Found it when you did your first Digitakt posts and have been lurking around ever since. It’s great to view stuff from people who play their instruments, and play them well, not just review them for the purpose of clicks and likes.

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Thanks a ton for confirming that it isn’t just me and my machine (and my potential madness :P)

I’ve noticed the click on all the tracks, not just the voice tracks with the filter, which makes me think its something with the dsp. But just a guess. I’ve been able to make some good melodic sounds with the filters and lfos, but I’m having to design heavily around the click and its really limiting.

The more folks who can confirm this, the more chance I think that MFB might care… I’ll continue to hope.

It is very definitely NOT possible to do this. I had hoped so as well but after calling MFB directly I was told that this is has never been implemented in any of their drum synths.
The only way to “save & recall” a sound on the TB2, is to set it as a trig in the internal sequencer.

After trying for a long time to sequence the TB2 externally I found that it’s possible to dial in specific sounds using CC values - HOWEVER - you have to set ALL CC values for all instruments, (which can add up to 100+ values) unless you want the TB2 to fall back its standard values. This produces a lot of Midi CC messages which might affect the timing of the TB2.

And IIRC when using sample-based instruments, you have to set the specific sample CC on EVERY single trig. In conclusion, I completely abandoned the idea of either sequencing the TB2 externally or using more than 64-beat-patterns (which is the maximum value on the TB2’s internal sequencer).

Yes, the analog instruments of the TB2 sound really nice but there are sooo many problems with this machine that it can become frustrating at times (sequences playing for the first time have the wrong sounds, the LFO’s not activating on the first bar, the permanently detuned bass synth voice, the buggy fader lights, the randomly jittering poti values, the sudden reset to sample #1 when entering step mode on a sample-based instrument, etc… Have a look at the TB2 thread on gearslutz for more details, if you’re interested.)

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Nice. Your beats are really interesting. Not the typical beats, that you expect coming from an analog drum machine. Very organic. I’m really thinking about tanzbär 1 or tanzmaus…

Thank you! That makes me very happy :slight_smile: I don’t get a lot of attention, which is ok, but it’s nice to hear that some people follow the channel. The videos are mostly demos for myself, checking out a new machine. I’m really bad at editing videos, lightning, gimmicks, talking and all that stuff, I just want to show some music.

Btw sorry for offtopic people, it’s about the tanzbär2 here… :see_no_evil:Too expensive for my purpose, but it’s nice that it lowered the prices for its predecessor :slight_smile:

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Thx for your nice comments on my music :pray: I do enjoy making drums, for sure.

And now, back on topic😎

Has anyone managed to get the Tanzbar 2 MIDI tracks to output CCs? I can see the notes fine over usb but as far as I can tell the CC parameters do nothing? I’ve tried modulating the knobs when entering notes, or when the track plays, to no effect.

Edit: Got it, it gets programmed per note and only works via 5-pin midi. Can’t say I’m surprised…

Hi Rob, I’m interested in buying one to0 from Juno, but I live in USA. I was wondering if you lived outside UK and if you had to pay for duty fees. I would really appreciate for your feed back. thanks

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Hi mate I’m in the uk and I sold Tanzbar 2 after a week, much preferred the first version but each to there own. I did like the bass synth on Tanzbar 2 though.

Maybe save the extra £200 and get Rytm MKII ?

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Thanks Rob, I’ve been trying to find the 1st Tanazbar too but no one is selling. Yah the MKII would be nice too. Im actually thinking of getting the Jomox AB, but I probably need to save a bit more to get one. Anyways thank you for your feed back.

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I had the Jomox 999 pretty cool stuff… Think if I was just after bass drums I’d buy an MBass11 and use samples for the rest, the Jomox bass drums rock

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One for sale in the UK

https://www.soundonsound.com/readersads/drum-machinespads

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Hi Rob, I was just wondering what made you sell the T2? I’ have read some of the bugs on gearslutz and I have read that the work flow is a bit confusing. What was the tipping point for you that made you it sell after 2 weeks? The reason why Im asking is I’m interested in getting either the Jomox Alpha or the T2 & since you both owned the gear that were the same manufacture(fully aware that your had the Jomox 999 & also that Jomox Alpha is twice the price) is the T2 not worth the cash or just save up for the Jomox. Please understand that Im just gathering info on both gears before I pull the trigger. Any info would greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Thnx Skypainter. I have a feeling that Tanzbar is gone since the link was clicked 8+times. :joy:
Man I wished I lived in UK, the shipping to US would probably cost me an arm & a leg. :joy:

Hi mate,

Well when I buy a synth or drum machine I normally master it pretty fast. This wasn’t the case with Tanzbar 2.
I found that 99.9% of the time I’d switch it off at night, come back the next day and forget what was what. Don’t get me wrong the sound of Tanzbar 2 is absolutely what I loved however the way it worked was so confusing I thought I’d never get used to it.
The cool thing is that you can load in samples with the software from the MFB website.
Iv’e had tons of drum machines but I think the MFB was the hardest to get along with.
Now I just sample drums from my other hardware and make programs etc in the Akai MPC X.

At the end of the day if you like the sounds (which I love) then maybe give Tanzbar 2 a try. If you can grasp the workflow then great.

PS

Careful with the speakers/headphones - The kick drum really kicks.

5 stars for sound and looks
1 star for learning curve

Rob

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PS

I might add that Tanzbar 2 and Alpha Base are king of the Techno drum machines IMO

I’d like to chime in here and say that during the brief time I had the Tanzbär 2, I learned it in an evening without reading the manual. That’s not to say I’m particularly clever or to diminish anyone else’s experience, but it was my second MFB drum machine (I’d had the Tanzbar 1 for over a year then and sold it a few months ago) and once you get into the MFB way, it makes sense. Like with Elektron stuff. It’s a head scratcher until it’s not. Same with my Tanzmaus. Doesn’t take long to learn it, once you know how MFB operates.

MFB stuff is to large extent geared towards live use, and some of their odd choices are made to avoid accidents on stage and be very precise about which mode you’re in and why, to make sure that even if you f**k up, you usually can’t go all that wrong.

There’s no Digitakt Restore Pattern-function placed deceptively close to a spot where you don’t want it, on MFB stuff.

I wouldn’t shy away from MFB gear because of their rep of having convoluted interfaces. Just prepare to put in the time and as @rob_lee said, if you like the sound, there’s nothing that compares with it. There are equivalents that do more and sound different, but if you like the MFB voice, you won’t find it elsewhere.

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How are tanzbar mk1 and mk2 compared soundwise?

Very different, as far as MFB territory goes. The T2 is tougher, rougher and more harsh, is def more techo and dark club style. There’s growl and punch in what it does.

The Tanzbar I, in my eyes, while it kicks like a mule and swings like nothing else, is more subtle and delicate. It’s just very focused on what it does and it does it extremely well. Works silly well in a mix.

The reason I didn’t keep the Tanzbar 2 for long, was that it was a bit of an undecisive product, as far as MFB goes. It has a bass synth, it has three sample voices, it has a mix of analog and digital voices, and it has enough depth to call it a groove box for complete tracks.

But MFB aren’t known for making instruments that can do complete and comprehensive tracks, but rather support a track with their friggin’ awesome drums or synths. But not carry them entirely on their own.

So the more you look at the Tanzbar2 as a one stop (or almost at least) groove machine, the less you’ll like it, I think, no matter how great it sounds. This is where the Rytm, for example, is superior. It’s clearly made to be equally great as supportive instrument or complete on its own and excels at both, if you just commit to what you think it should be for you.

If you are looking for a killer MFB drum package and you’re prepared to shell out good money, as in Tanzbar 2 money, I’d go for a Tanzbar Lite & Tanzmaus combo. You’ll get all the good stuff from the Tanzbar I, some samples to boost through the Tanzmaus, a more solid hardware and a pretty neat package. And the Maus and Lite have a few tricks up their sleeve, the Tanzbar I don’t. LFO’s and stuff.

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I’m also still interested in a mfb drum machine. Comparing the Tanzbär1 with the lite version a lot.
I’m after more subtle 808/606 drums and I’m not sure which one I’d prefer. Could get the Tanzbär lite pretty cheap. The hardware seems superior to the old Tanzbär right?

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For sure. I was lucky, never had issue with my Tanzbär and I used it a lot, but it did feel like something that could fall apart at any minute.

The Lite covers the sound of the Tanzbar, but it does miss some of the flexibility of the original. The three toms on the Tanzbar 1, that could also be congas if you prefered, cut through in such a nice and melodic way (they could be tuned). And the extra sounds, shakers and stuff, weren’t all that interesting on their own, but all together they just added this very distinct and clear flavour to the overall sound, which is where I feel a proper analogue simply beats the crap out of a digital drum machine. You can’t get that cut and foreground sound without processing. A proper analog just positions itself right where it should, and as far as drummers go, no one does it better than MFB.

Mind you, I haven’t tried a TR-8S or an Alpha Base, both of which I hear kick some serious ass, as far as sound goes.

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