Concerning the midi-usb ‘problem’ as a non-Computer solution you could also check out the retrokits Rk-005, which can be used as a standalone hub. Again a bit on the more expensive side but nontheless a nifty, dawless and portable solution.
I use an olde BCF2000, one page for the first 8 ch and a second for 9-16. Just use it for motorized fader control of the volume faders. Just wish I knew how to make the MD spit out CC’s for the faders, so I could update the BCF everytime I change kit.
Faderfox stuff looks good… and I am interested in learning more about the MCL.
The Novation Remote Zero SL MKii might work. It only has eight sliders but plenty of knobs. You should be able to set buttons to mute tracks as well. The drumpads aren’t great but functional. Having the digital readout is nice.
I had the SL MKii 25 controlling an A4 and it worked well but eventually I found it unnecessary. I never tried it with the MD but the SL does midi cc as well as sysex. It is highly configurable, perhaps overly so.
As @tdmusic mentioned, the uc33 is good if you can find one cheap. Only 9 faders but tons of knobs. I’ve had mine for 15 years or so and it’s held up pretty well despite it feeling a little flimsy. One fader died but that’s not bad considering all I’ve put it through, probably fixable too.
I don’t have a MD (sadly) but I’ve used it with lots of gear and some software without issue. These days it’s usually controlling my Evolver.
I got the megacommand from Justin, oh boy, this drummachine just got to a whole new level!
The People who are using it, are you really using the steps sequencer instead of the internal one now?
I find doing parameter locks with it a little bit more cumbersome… what’s the advantage there?
I’d say the advantages are;
Microtiming
Poly meters
Saving of sounds
Extra lfo
Chromatic mode
Arp
How meaningful these advantages are to you all depends on the results you’re after and how you like to work I guess.
Imho it’s best to either trigger the MD externally entirely or only use the MD’s native sequencer. The two main reasons for me are timing differences/clock jitter (only a real issue when using parameter locks in my experience tho) and the MD quirk that externally triggered sounds have their phase inverted.