I feel very proud to finally join this forum and be an Election user.
Following 12 years as a key member of the electro-punk band Infadels, I needed a new way of working, and following much research, I decided that Electron was the only way to go.
So, I went and bought… deep breath… The Machinedrum SPSII UW, Analog Keys, Analog Rytm, Octatrack and the Monomachine!
COME-ON!!!
It’s time to make music. Well, its time to learn how to use all this stuff.
I did exactly the same thing. Got the MD-UW fell in love and then bought them all within a couple of months. AK, AR, MM, OT.
A couple more mind bending months later and I was through the woods. I can happily use all 5 machines together. (The MM is still a bit of a mystery because I haven’t given it enough alone time yet.)
A few nights a week I like to separate one of the Elektrons from the studio and sit on the couch with the headphones. I have learned a lot more about each one this way. Using them all together drastically slows the learning process for me.
I find the MD, AR and the Keys very quick and easy to learn.
The OT was mind bending but eventually very easy and the MM is still mysterious.
One of the biggest hurdles for me was the whole pattern / bank thing being represented by only 2 buttons instead of the A B C D and bank buttons on the other machines.
Once I wrapped my head around this everything started falling into place quite quickly.
Good Luck
(Love the Infadels stuff. You slipped through my radar but been checking out youtube.) Awesome.
you bought ALL that at the SAME time ? …you bought all that at INSANE time … dude!
cudos though !
just my 2ct, imVho … dont expect to be able to save and reuse anything you made, you will probably delete it accidently, or not know how to get it back, or reproduce, … so if you have a moment of sweet aweeeee, quickly record it into your DAW … just my 2ct …
enjoy a very steep learning curve for the next at least 2 years! ( I at least spread my purchases over 10 month, and rid myself of the AR )
[quote=“TrabanT”]just my 2ct, imVho … dont expect to be able to save and reuse anything you made, you will probably delete it accidently, or not know how to get it back, or reproduce, … so if you have a moment of sweet aweeeee, quickly record it into your DAW … just my 2ct …
[/quote]
a good tip, did happen few times when i first got my first Elektron and was like: nnnoooooooo!
[/quote]
Ha! Very good tip! I didnt create anything save worthy for a year or so! Well, not quite true, I didn’t have anything organised enough to have anything save worthy. Starting to change recently and I feel much more organised with things really happening now.
Now I have a few new tracks of nonsense I’ve put up onto a soundcloud account I set up for the sorta band I write with that has been unused for months as still writing our “album” (called Trunkcam if anyone is interested).
All 5 boxes at once is a serious challenge but once you get rocking on one box it is certainly easier to transfer those skills to another and on and on. I am very comfortable with my AR after strugglign with the OT and learning the A4.
I just have so much fun with the Elektrons. I don’t think I’ll ever take things live or write anything of any note but I’ve surprisingly become the most productive I have been in a long time.
I have uploaded a picky of the new cockpit! Feeling pretty pleased with it! Now, if only I could work it, I would also feel pretty pleased with myself. Ha ha ha.
I just checked out Trunkcam on SC.
My childhood just flashed before my eyes. LOL
Clarence Boddiker, best bad guy of the 80’s hands down. Great work
[/quote]
Glad you enjoyed it! All of it is hugely immature with the naughty words but helps keeping things fun to learn how to use everything. I was basically laughing maniacally throught the evening spent writing each.
And I was never one to try and record anything in the past - basically, playing/performing live is quite new to me. Im used to keeping things in a DAW so was quite happy with how those tracks turned out in the end. If any other 80s inspired ideas then fire them over. Im thinking Thundercats or something next… ha!
[quote=“TrabanT”]just my 2ct, imVho … dont expect to be able to save and reuse anything you made, you will probably delete it accidently, or not know how to get it back, or reproduce, … so if you have a moment of sweet aweeeee, quickly record it into your DAW … just my 2ct …
[/quote]
a good tip, did happen few times when i first got my first Elektron and was like: nnnoooooooo!
[/quote]
Any time I get a new Elektron, I basically figure that I will lose all my work within the first 6 months to a year due to some SNAFU.
I’ll second the recommendation of only focusing on one machine at a time. I think the learning experience is cumulative with these machines, so you’ll hit all sorts of roadblocks at first. It took me months to get a handle on the MDUW, but only about a month to get comfortable with the MM as a result, and the OT took me no more than a week to really navigate. Of course, I keep discovering new things with them all the time, but it’s easier once you learn the landscape.
You’re a better man than I am - even buying the AR and OT within a month of each other is a serious brain trauma risk.[/quote]
Ha ha! Yeah. Thanks a lot. I am really enjoying it. But, yes it is a major headache! Moments of absolute joy followed by head bashing frustration!