Playing the Machinedrum as a 16 voice poly synth

Elektronauts Our Music
#1

The modular nature of the Machinedrum makes it insanely flexible in the way you can use it. Here I’m using 16 sine wave generators, each pitched to a different note, and playing it via external midi with the Elektron Analog Keys. The result is a 16 voice poly synth, each voice with its own filter, amp, lfo and full parameter control over the sine generators. Throughout the video I’m using the control all feature to change the parameters of all the machines at once, mostly LFO depth, which is directed at volume to create long attack swells. Yes, the Machinedrum does pads. I also tweak the amplitude modulation generator and filter. Towards the end I chuck a control delay and control all machine on there and let the MD go nuts.

The sine waves on this machine are beautiful and I thought I’d give them a chance to be appreciated. Especially since there aren’t many ambient explorations of the Machinedrum on YouTube, and there aren’t any videos showcasing its polyphonic capabilities as far as I’m aware.

The sine generators on the Machinedrum don’t track pitch very well, so some notes are in tune while others are not, the result is a sort of microtuned sound, which is very cool. I plan to make a follow up video utilising the Machinedrum’s FM machines polyphonically as there’s a deep abyss of sound design possibilities hiding in those. The FM machines track pitch much better too, so there’s that. Stay tuned!

PS ignore the wobbly stand, a midi cable was caught underneath it and I was too absorbed in sine waves to really notice whilst playing.

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What’s your favourite way to create melodies on the MD?
I want to change my MD. Good idea?
#3

Looking forward to more of this!

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#4

Awesome! I’m already working on the next video, it’s going to feature the EFM cowbell and is already shaping up to be a much more interesting polyphonic exploration of the Machinedrum. Should be live this time next week :slight_smile:

I will aim to do one video for each of the FM machines and then maybe the PI (physical modelling) machines.

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#5

Love it!

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#6

Really cool! I love the sine machines on the MD - a little bit of amplitude modulation and I’m in heaven. I made a kit the other day with just the sine and noise machines; it’s amazing what you can do with just those two machines.

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#7

Oh my, it’s like a scifi score from outer space. Wicked :space_invader:

#8

Thanks! I love your videos as well :smile:

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#9

They really are something special. You’d think sine waves would all sound the same since they’re such a basic waveform, but there’s a lot of subtle nuance to each one. The MD has a really nice, warm and lo-fi sounding sine wave and it crunches up beautifully with a little bit of AM like you said!

There’s a lot that can be done with just the sine and noise generators! Check out @defenestration’s video (if you haven’t already) for an excellent demonstration of what you can do with them

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#10

Thanks, that’s a really great compliment :slightly_smiling_face:

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#11

Awesome! Have to try this out myself!

#12

Here’s the second part of my polyphonic Machinedrum explorations, this time using the FM machines. Who needs a Digitone, right? Well, I for one would love a Digitone, because even though you can play a Machinedrum polyphonically (and it has a very nice sounding FM engine) it’s a bit of a mission to set it up in regards to tuning.

There’s a tuning chart floating around these forums for various MD machines, but sadly the EFM cowbell is missing, which is my favourite machine for melodic stuff. So for this performance I had to tune each note manually with a tuner, and sadly the tuning isn’t perfect, which is just the nature of the Machinedrum. For this piece I’ve tuned each of the 16 machines to notes in the F minor scale, and played them via midi on my Analog Keys. That brings me to the second drawback of playing the MD polyphonically. Once you’ve tuned it, you’re stuck with that particular scale, unless you create multiple kits, but even then you only have two octaves to work with.

Fortunately I’ve recently acquired a MegaCommand, which has built in polyphonic integration for the Machinedrum, so I’ll be using it for all future polyphonic MD videos. I plan to make one for each machine that’s capable of pitched sounds as they all have their own unique character. I was playing around with the EFM-BD the other day and made a pretty convincing gamelan patch, which I never thought was within the scope of a kick drum, but the Machinedrum is full of surprises like that.

Which machine would you like to see next? I’m thinking a PI (physical modelling) machine, but I’m open to any suggestions. I should have a video ready this time next week and I’ll post it here, so be sure to sub to the thread if you want to follow me down this rabbit hole :rabbit2:

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#13

Finally had the chance to try this (with the sine wave generators). I just tuned the tracks by ear and didn’t bother with the midi - just played with the MD in live record mode, recorded some loops through a couple pedals into OT. Couldn’t resist putting some MnM on top…

As blasphemous as it may sound, lately I’ve not been very motivated with playing the MD as a drum machine. And although I’ve often used it to make melodies, I hadn’t tried a kit with only (rather used parameter locks on a single machine to make the melody lines) sine wave generators.

I’d like your posts a hundred times more if I could, @caramellokoala

Here’s my minimalistic and humble result. MnM comes in around the 1 minute mark.

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#14

That sounds great, thanks for sharing @korpinen!

I find that giving the Machinedrum a break from drum machine duties is one of the best ways to fully discover how versatile its sound engines are. it feels weird at first not using it for drums, but the Machinedrum is whatever you want it to be! I like to think of it as an Elektron modular system.

#15

Here’s my third instalment in the polyphonic Machinedrum series, where I attempt to make ambient polyphonic patches with all of the tuneable machines on the Machinedrum. I’m going to focus most of my attention on the FM machines, as they have the greatest pitch range and the most interesting sound possibilities.

For this video I’m using the MegaCommand, which is an open source midi controller for the Machinedrum that unlocks full polyphony integration, as well as other modern sequencer updates, such as conditional trigs and micro timing. With this controller it’s no longer necessary to manually map each machine’s pitch as it’s all done automatically and you have full access to the entire note range available to every synth engine.

The MegaCommand also replicates the ‘ctrl all’ trick automatically without having to manually hold the function button while turning knobs, which means you can tweak a parameter while playing at the same time, something that would only be possible natively if you had three arms. This opens up a lot of live playing possibilities and really helps make the Machinedrum feel more like an actual poly synth.

And believe me, it is a poly synth. It’s a 16 voice poly synth in fact, with a uniquely gritty and lo-fi sound engine. In this video I’m showcasing the FM Bass Drum engine, which is arguably one of the best bass drums on the whole machine, and rivals even the Analog Rytm for raw power and low end. You’d think a bass drum engine would be quite limited sonically, and you’d be wrong. On the Machinedrum it’s capable of melancholic pads, eery soundscapes, aggressive basses, soft mallets, gamelans and sounds that I don’t even know how to describe.

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#16

Wow, some of the FM BD sounds are almost Lyra-like! Are you using any external FX in this video?

#17

top this thread tip.

play all the videos at the same time.

(at the moment) 48 dank dissonant oscillations

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#18

I know right, I was very surprised by this engine. I’m using Soundtoys Little Plate and Echoboy for reverb/delay, I use this combination in most of my videos. I’m also stacking it with the MD’s internal reverb/delay.

#19

Fourth video is now up, in this one I’m showcasing the FM Cymbal engine, which is excellent for FM tines and e piano type sounds. It also has a noise generator making it useful for sound effects. The nature of the FM Cymbal lends this machine more towards cold and cutting digital sounds, even the pads have this sort of shattered glass sound to them. It’s really nice.

I’m using the MegaCommand for this one (it’s the little box on top of the AK) and will continue using it for all future videos as it just makes playing the MD polyphonically so much easier. Next week I’ll be showing off the FM Clap engine, which is just amazing for SFX. It’s quickly become one of my favourite machines. Stay tuned!

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#20

Gets more and more interesting towards the end, in my opinion. Well done once again!

#21

Here’s another solo MD as polysynth track from me, this time I used the EFM Cowbell as the voice. This is a live take of a single, lingering 64-step pattern going through Hall of Fame reverb and into Logic. I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.

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