Dunno man. That Deluge sequencer and sequencer functions/ui are pretty next level?
Just watched bit more of the videos. Start of Video 2 is pretty painful. All those pads that could have been used/labelled for synth parameter shortcuts 
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so was parameter locking when the MD came out… this one simple feature was at least the same as, if not more revolutionary - because it had pretty much never been done before, at all - whereas the deluge is just a logical refinement of existing concepts that have been done to death, numerous times already
then you have the sound engine on the MD, which is easily light years beyond the deluge even now, some 15 years later… dude… 15 years later
so, no - not even a comparison to begin with… if you want to call the deluge “next level” then the MD was “far beyond your wildest dreams” or “time traveled back from the distant future into your hands”… but thats way too hyperbolic for my tastes - so Id prefer not to compare them, and just put the deluge in its own, smaller kind of “revolutionary” position which is not in the same category of the first elektron boxes… go ahead, they are “legendary”… if not considered that way today, certainly soon
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Fair enough 
MD + MM both released before I was in to this stuff. I kind of take p-locks for granted… Were there no software sequencers etc that did p-locks before Elektron did it in hardware?
Still pretty impressed with Deluge. Can’t think of anything standalone in last few years as ambitious. But the sound engine (maybe early to judge…) and the screen seem to really let it down… Rookie errors I guess 
A pity…
Step modulation, which is what parameter locking does, was available prior to the MD. An example that springs to mind is the Yamaha AN1X. What Elektron did was to basically give us more of it.
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p-lock
Electribes had motion control
and basically every analog step sequencer is kind of p-locking, isn’t it?
There was plenty of it, tons of gear to list, hardware and software, it is the basis of analogue sequencers after all. What Elektron did, and did well, was to implement a very accessible type of it. There is innovation, and there is advancement, and both are quite important.
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Yeah that interface looks terrible to me unfortunately.
Why that dodgy digit display? Makes no sense to me. Even makes the Elektrons look good.
May as well stay ITB, as for me the only point buying expensive hardware these days is if it provides a really good interface
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Also just the pure craftsmanship and thoughtful features of the MD+MM was unheard of at the time. The groove boxes Roland and friends where spitting out where all made of plastic and aluminum, marketed to hobbyist. Elektron is pure pro, top notch and have proven this over and over again. I want the Deluge to be next level but I’m skeptical at the moment.
The display on Electron gear is more then sufficient when you consider all the other direct control you have over parameters. With the exception of the Octatrack you will never be menu diving.
I think the 2 digit display is part of the direction that also put a battery and speaker in it. It is a nobel attempt to max out the power of the grid by extracting it from a DAW. Something that would be compelling to watch somebody perform with in an intimate setting. A house party or, like, a DJ at legal pot coffee shop…
Seems like you’ll need some muscle memory to play it well, which is fine by me. I enjoy getting good at a UI which once I wrap my head around it, is minimal in appearance.
Not for me in the end. I did find the zooming and scrolling of the grid pretty cool, but I would only be interested if they trimmed it back, went MIDI out only and made it MIDI effect rich.
I’m not really a fan of my AK interface. Feels like programming/clicking sounds on a computer compared to any ‘knobby’ hardware… But yeah, screen at least gives decent amount of info.
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The basis of analog sequencers is to transmit a specific voltage for a specific length of time per step. Thats it. And recording CC or sysex data into a MIDI sequencer is not the same thing at all. Per step, multiple parameter automation via MIDI on a x0x-based UI was not implemented on anything before that. If you have proof it was, go ahead and provide a real example.
The only thing that comes close is tracker software - but they arent step sequencers, they are trackers. Pretty similar to each other, but also not really - like saying “its all music! gangster rap and italian opera is the same thing!” with the same kind of accuracy.
You have obviously never owned an MC909.
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Actually I have. 
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And yet you say that the MC909 was marketed to the hobbyist whereas the Elektron boxes are pure pro.
Was it the lack of a MIDI thru connector?
I think it was the d beam to be honest. Lmao.
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