i tested this finally and it turned out to be a bug in the MM song mode.
setting song row bpm above 300 or below 30 simply clamps to 300 or 30 respectively.
sorry for the mis hype
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Hey MnM lovers,
I own a DN2 for two months now, and I am a bit disappointed by its capabilities to surprise me. It sounds good, the sound design capabilities are massive, but I was not once surprised or had a happy accident with it. I am very much into experimental, abstract music and I love when gear is a bit unpredictable. Would you say the MnM goes in this direction - like a āhappy accidentā box? Or does it behave similar to the DN2? (I was offered a MnM for a reasonable price)
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Not in my experience. Itās been a while since I used a Monomachine, but like most other Elektrons (imo) itās more of a programmerās instrument. I found it to require quite a bit of work, but definitely capable of magic if you put in the time.
If anything I think their newer synths with parameter randomization are more open for happy acccidents. Others may disagree though. I think my only Elektron candidate for a happy accident instrument must be the Octatrack.
I guess randomization might be possible with external tools, maybe that is something to look into?
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it can be, but not w/o some work as per @Nilsā comment:
ps random thought; considering the very small amount of power the mm requires, i would absolutely love to see a tracker mini sized mm, it would fit perfectly within that size/paradigm. hereās to wishing. 
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You can just get a Dirtywave M8, for the FM part at least. Itās awesome.
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Thanks for the insights. With happy accidents I not necessarily mean randomization, Iām fine sequencing and parameter locking āby handā. I was more thinking about the fx and routing options the MnM has (or at least it seems to have) and twiddling knobs until getting surprising results.
Iām just a bit hesitant buying it and ending up with the same as DN2 but without the powerful sequencing options of the newer boxes.
At the sane time Iām wondering as so many people hold the MnM so high, there has to be some magic to it, that the DN2 does not have.
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@acidk may I ask for your thoughts on this? You wrote earlier in the thread, that you prefer the MnM over the DN2, right?
What i liked about Mnm is that you can push it into extremes and thereās where happy accidents happen; you can quickly find yourself on the outer edge of the planetary system. But, if you do the same with a DN2 you even quicker find yourself in another galaxy!
At least in my experience.
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iāve had mine since 2007 albeit upgraded from the mki to mkii and finally to mkii w/ +drive. thereās something really special about it / frustrating they go for ridiculous amounts of monies nowadays, but so it goes.
itās very much a sweet spot kinda machine, whereby you really need to understand its idiosyncrasies before you can unlock its potential (e.g., disabling key tracking, leaning into its song mode which the OT mirrors etc).
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Hmm, I get surprised when I design sounds, because there are often branches to go somewhere else. And thereās always something to explore. However, parameter randomizing is a thing, maybe worth a shot? 
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Thereās a lot of hyperbole flying about when it comes to the monomachine and itās worth taking all of that with a pinch of salt. Is there anything that you personally have heard from the monomachine that has caught your attention? IMO the DN2 is crazy powerful as it is
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My awe for these boxes comes mainly from Autechreās MnM/Machinedrum phase 2005-2008. I just love the raw digital sound in their live sets and on their album āuntiltedā. I was hoping that the DN2 can go in similar directions, but there is something lacking. In terms of limitations of the DN2: I donāt understand why there is only one main FX track and that its parameters cant be locked. Also the restriction of the retrigger to fixed ratios is puzzling me. As far as I know the MD can do this seamlessly, right? The MnM/MD also have parameter slides, right?
All these functionalities are essential for the kind of music I am aiming for.
But maybe I just have the wrong expectations towards elektron boxes. In the end it is, like @Nils wrote: itās a programmerās instrument. Maybe I just have to get into Max/Msp for the weirdness Iām looking for 
Many people on this forum claim that actually it does have some magic
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Honestly just do this.
With regards to autechre, yep I love that period too. But do you really want to retread something that someone else already did 20 years ago? Also, itās not a sweet-spot machine. Ć might make it seem effortless but itās pretty hard to dial in the sort of sounds that youāre probably thinking of. Give the dn2 some more time, would be my advice. Or look at max. Unless youāve been offered an exceptionally good deal on the mnm/you can afford it, Iād give it a swerve. Itās mostly just nostalgia at this point.
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If, by reasonable price you mean a few hundred currency units below the current market price, and you can comfortably afford to stuff that money into gear, then Iād suggest just going for it.
I broadly agree with everyone who says that the MD and MNM are programmersā machines. They really require that you put some effort into reading the manual, time into actually learning the machine and a bit of forethought before you do anything. If thatās how you like to approach things then you probably will get a lot of happy accidents out of the MnM. Even if you prefer to throw caution to the wind and press buttons and turn knobs you may have a lot of fun.
Since it is difficult for other people to guess what you will enjoy and MnM prices are usually on the crazy side a good deal is an opportunity to find out for yourself. But you also have to be realistic. You probably wonāt get top dollar when you try to sell it. You need to first determine what MnMs actually sell for (not just asking price on eBay or Reverb). That will tell you if the āreasonableā price is low enough that you can safely sell it on later at a minimal loss or slight profit (donāt forget the cost of shipping, transaction fees, taxes, etc.)
The only way to know is to give it a try.
I would not recommend going into debt or financial hardship to get a MnM or MD. They are good machines, but $1000 spent on Volcas and Aria Compacts will probably give you more sonic fuckery than a MnM, though in a less integrated package.
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by sweet-spot, i meant it takes effort to arrive at those elusive āsweet-spotsā using the mm.
agreed!
iād buy 3+ interesting items than 1 mm, i wouldnāt say they arenāt worth the money, but if youāre asking us if you should buy one in 2025, iād opt for the plethora of tools that exist now that didnāt exist in the aughts.
ĀÆā \ā _ā (ā ćā )ā _ā /ā ĀÆ
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DN2 is an awesome box - with much better sequencer capabilities.
I tend to use the MnM more often, because my āheroesā are using the MD/MnM combo, I love this digital early 2000 sounds and I need the individual outs of MD / MnM. Moreover I love the SID sounds.
Happy accidents - hm - you could throw in random sequences, p-lock and LFO the sh*t out of it (I did this on my last MnM works on FM-tracks quite regularly).
But you can do this on the DN2 as well.
If the price for the Mono is ok, you like the sound and can afford the machine -
why not?
I recognized, I have spent far too less time with the MnM - the more time you invest, the more it starts to shine (as for all the other Elektrons as well).
I am trying zo catch up here 
Cheers
flo
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Ok - go for it!
(You will probably not sound like AE - but I also donāt sound like Jimi Hendrix although playing a Stratocaster). 
I really like MM so Iām not unbiased but I think you are the kind of person that could like MM. I owned like every Elektron device apart from OT and I think the great difference between MD and MM and the new devices is that the new elektrons are basically very functional, very fast, very easy, very precise. In my opinion they are vst with a better workflow. This is good but at the same time if you can use the Operator from Live very well you donāt need Digitone I, for example. Right now I only have MM and MD because they have āspecialā functions and sounds. I cannot replicate with Live and/or Max/Msp their sounds easily.
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For me itās exactly this combo being complementary.
I have a hard time to go for the DN2 as a drum machine beyond presets.
MD-MnM sounds like nothing else.
(If limited sequencer capabilities are not a bummer for you).
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