Monomachine Love Thread

Elektron Gear Monomachine
#528

Monomachine is kind of the same and also very different to everything else from Elektron.

The manual sets it all out but there are a couple of things worth pointing out so you don’t go too far along without realising…

The busses run top to bottom. The tracks trig top to bottom. You can’t run a lower (i.e., higher number) track into one above it. If you set one track to be an FX machine, any tracks underneath it can’t be routed into it.

You can route any track to any or all of the three stereo busses.

You can take an external input as the source directly into an FX track.

Use the level knob to change the length of the arp sequence (took me an embarrassing length of time to clock that).

You can set track trigging so that one track’s sequencer data can trig multiple tracks. This allows you to effectively layer multiple synthesis engines as though they were part of the same sound.

And so much more… still my favourite synth. Three LFOs per track. :heart:

7 Likes
#529

Thank you so much for these tips! I really appreciate that! :blush:
Needless to say I´m going to be glued to this machine for the foreseeable future.
It´s very nice to hear about these things from more experienced users as there are so many features and functions that are far from obvious at first.
I don´t think I´ve been quite this excited about any other piece of gear before.
Hopefully I will be able to contribute some valuable insights for new users in the future.
Also, the SID engine sounds unbelievably nice, especially the square wave with some pwm!

2 Likes
#530

Just sold my MnM. This thread hurts, but thank goodness for this instrument.

2 Likes
#531

Check the forum files section, there are some pdf files that collect quite a lot of topics and tips&tricks.
Can’t make links easily now as I’m on mobile. :wink:

1 Like
#532

Okay, I will. Thanks for the tip! :slight_smile:
Last night I was using the ensemble machine with some parameter locked chords that had slight variation and then applied the arp on top of that, holy shit.

2 Likes
#533

http://www.tarekith.com/assets/monomachine_tipsandtricks.htm

:thinking:
Actually, I need to dive into these again…

7 Likes
New to MnM - where to start?
New to MnM - where to start?
#534

Very helpful, Thank you so much! :pray:
Getting the MNM happened very suddenly so I haven´t been studying the inner workings of it deeply before this. It has been mostly the sound that´s made me lust after it.
The amount of help you guys have offered and all the unique possibilities this machine is capable of are making me so happy. :heart_eyes:

1 Like
#535

I really love my MNM but using it with the DT and DN is kind of brainmelting for me because the Menu structure is so completely different and kind of confusing. Especially the Pattern - Kits - Global Menu etc. thing keeps me up at night.

#536

Keeps you sharp :wink:

#537

Nice trick !!! How do u do that ??

#538

Kit menu > TRIG option > TRIG POS.

The track you select here will be trigged from the current track. You can chain this from track to track to get multiple tracks trigging from the same sequencer data (or midi note input).

4 Likes
#539

Also it’s tight to have a sequence on the main track and then have extra trigs play when you bring in another tracks sound. you can kind build some call and response and layers into patterns with that sort of thing. Using the Arp for ratchets too, I do that for high hats on one of the vids posted earlier in the thread

2 Likes
#540

Ahhh thank u :slight_smile:

Damn , after so manny years still so manny tricks to learn

1 Like
#541

I’ve been using my Monomachine a lot lately and just figured I’d mention this for anyone fairly new to it: use the 1-band EQ.

The MNM has a lot happening in the mid frequencies, so cutting some out with the eq can help give your sounds more space when mixed with other tracks. Boost the EQ first and sweep the frequency to an ugly spot, then cut. Make up for any gain loss with the Volume control on the amp page (and don’t forget to play with the Distortion value). Or go the other way and boost with the EQ to get some gnarlier sounds.

I underutilized the EQ for years but find it to be very useful, especially if you’re using the MNM for other sounds in a track since things can get pretty congested in the mid-range. It’s no substitute for a more complex eq but it can really help open things up.

17 Likes
#542

The arpeggiator is amazeballs on fx tracks, especially on reverb. Also using it on drums with some retrig action is superb. This machine is full of weirdness. So many unique ways of using the lfos and the arp. I´m just now slowly starting to understand why this is such a sought after and loved machine.
edit. by slowly I mean fast :slight_smile:

8 Likes
#543

Thanks Dubathonic…nice words.
yes i’ve give the Arp a ru for its money over the years. The Pyramid is a different beast though. I’ve had it a couple of years already and it didn’t turn out to be quite what i thought but it is very good at idea creation and building up longer phrases in a more complete way than is possible with an Elektron sequencer but it sure aint perfect…also not being able to parameter lock filters etc is a pain.

1 Like
#545

this thread resurgence led me to play exclusively with my MnM over the week, what a machine. The six track limitation forces fun creativity. so. many. sounds.

I don’t see enough mention or love for the multi trig seq transpose option.
total one key madness for transforming any pattern into a song structure, and introduce portamento… nuts box.

6 Likes
#546

This machine is full of weird tricks and cool workarounds that in many cases seem to bring about very interesting results, happy accidents as it were. For the past week that I´ve had this unit I have been reading all the MNM threads here, the manual and the Tarekith tips and tricks compilation non-stop, when not tweaking the device that is. Although I couldn´t be happier with the vast esoteric side of this instrument it´s obvious it will take some time for me to grasp certain concepts here, especially the bus routing stuff and the sequencer. Could you please elaborate on the multi trig seq transpose option a little bit?

1 Like
#547

page 40 in the manual is your friend.

you need an external midi keyboard or midi from a daw to capitalise.

3 Likes
#548

…back into memory lane… :smile_cat: :eyes:

11 Likes