That one I heard. Its bathing in Valhalla which makes anything sound great.
It doesn’t show what the MM2 is capable of on its own.
MM2 + Valhalla = Valhalla is awesome
The same video with Rev2 and Valhalla = Rev2 is awesome
But you’re right, MM2 is capable of way more than this.
It even has its own huge reverb on board if you like bathing sounds in reverb 
Did I mention delay? Did I say cho… oups… I almost did
10 Likes
That’s why I wanna hear this little beast standalone without any external FX. 
I wondered about the blank space on page 22 of the manual…
Chorizo?
4 Likes
FYI - there’s a mm2 for sale on gumtree uk at the moment. Nothing to do with me.
Choruso 
2 Likes
Owning a P12 keyboard and having owned an MM1 I can say they’re nowhere near remotely close other than both having a subtractive architecture. My comments here are thus based on all the demos of the MM2 overlaid with my experience of the MM1, and with my experience with a P12 module’s interface and my ownership of the P12 keyboard for sound design:
The MM2’s UI is ghastly by comparison to the P12, which has a wicked fast layout and almost luxurious screen. Editing is much faster on the P12, and the sonic character of the P12 is much more ‘acoustic’ in nature - there’s a physical sense to it, and the amount and types of dirt and dust in the sound are very controllable. The MM2 still sounds MM1ish to my ears in all the demos, which isn’t a bad thing - I’d say it’s got an Access Virus-y sort of sound to it. And that’s not to mention the massive amounts of envelopes, LFOs, modulation, delay, distortion options, etc. the P12 has per voice. Even on paper they’re far from equal, with the P12 having an extra oscillator, serious improvements to FM/AM/sync capabilities (all 4 oscillators can modulate each other), dual series filters with a resonant HPF, etc. It’s no contest, you can go far deeper with the P12.
IMO the P12 sounds better, can go much deeper (and in different way), and has a MUCH better UI for actually putting its power to use in a fluid workflow that keeps you in the zone. Plus the genius of tuned feedback and the delays is really something.
I spent a lot of time trying to make the MM1 sound good to my ears, and while it would occasionally surprise me, overall my experience after two years of extensive use was that it was too much work to make good use of its features - too much clicking and context switching and pages on a tiny menu - and the end result was “good but not amazing”. In contrast, the P12’s menu is large, clear, crisp, and direct, and there are far more direct UI controls, plus the modulation matrix shortcuts are absolute gold. Easy to turn “good” into “amazing” because there’s much less friction to tweaking the sound that last 5%.
For a simple, flexibly poly the MM2 (if you can stand the UI - that’s the main reason I sold my MM1 on and why I don’t have a Blofeld for instance) is probably a great choice, and its compact size and price are absolutely great for people who value those aspects - so I’m not knocking the MM2 by any means. It’s a lovely little VA synth along the lines of a Blofeld. But I prefer the VA sounds of my Nords if I want a VA and I personally don’t gel with the MM style interface at all, so it’s not the synth for me.
TL;DR : The P12 is a totally different beast with a very different sound and workflow.
Get the MM2 if size and price are more important than workflow and if the sound pleases you.
Get the P12 if workflow matters and you want a more organic, “acoustic”-like sound, the dual analogue filters and much finer control over nonlinearities and other essential differentiators – and if you’re the type of person who likes putting analogue gear after VA synths to knock off some of the digital edge - the P12 does that for you right out of the box.
7 Likes
Maybe the closest, but I prefer MM2 filters.
1 Like
very helpful! thanks for the detailed comparison.
Do not extrapolate too much saying MM2 = MM1. They are different synths with different workflow.
Hopefully at 5x the price, P12 can do some stuff MM2 cannot (and it has DSI written on it).
But this is also true for MM2 at 1/5 of P12’s price
12 Likes
Other than the quick knobs, I don’t see much difference in the workflow from the walkthrough videos posted - can you go into detail on what you mean by this?
While I can’t bear the UX / workflow on the Blofeld (which is why I sold it despite the insane capacities for the price), I feel like on the Micromonsta the trade between compactness and workflow is pretty decent. You don’t have THAT MUCH menu diving, even if there is some. Once you’ve practiced a bit, you can find your parameters rather quickly!
3 Likes
Finding the parameters quickly wasn’t the problem. The fact that I have to find them is. The P12 module has more direct access buttons and more direct access knobs that don’t require mapping, and the mod matrix is a simple instant-combo press away. These differences, for me, are absolutely night and day by themselves. (Of course, even the P12 module is too much for me so that’s why I bought the keyboard, so do understand I have a very particular opinion about UIs that doesn’t match most people’s.)
Agreed. I don’t think, personally, that there is really a comparison to be had between them, other than that they are both subtractive synths that can do FM. There are far more differences than similarities beyond that. And the MM2 definitely has its strong points as a standalone polysynth.
Edit: Honestly, I think the most relevant comparisons would be against the Peak and the Blofeld. Coming from me, that’s quite a compliment.
I know, I have a few “big synths” such as the OB-6 or the Peak with 1 knob ↔ 1 function, and you can for instance change an envelope while tweaking an FX parameter.
But I won’t bring such synths with me on stage ^^
On the MM2 @elektrosamplist managed to find a good balance IMO between compactness and accessibility.
You memorize where the parameters are pretty quickly, so it becomes muscle memory like on the Elektron gear.
Anyway, MM2 is a very powerful beast that deserves its success, the sound and the accessibility are surprising for the look and the price.
4 Likes
yeah, my comparison was along those lines: polyphony, va type synthesis, relatively small size (no large keyboard). they’re both very interesting for many reasons but very different, as well.
Mm2 might be, for my money, the best value in synthesis. Perfect balance of
price<->sound<->features
5 Likes
Not to mention being very compact.
3 Likes