So online there is a MKI for 55,000 yen (lets keep it simple and say $550)
there is also a MKII (blue) with no plus drive for $890 and a with plus drive for $1090 (both MKII’s being new form a shop).
Is the +drive worth the extra cash, or can I get similar single cycle wav stuff with the OT, is the MK1 worse than MK2?
monomachine mk 1 is a lot noisier than mk2 concerning the audio output.
also the mk2 has the advantage of having 4 bars to work with.
if i recall correctly the PSU which tended to “whine” is improved on the mk2 , yet interchangebale with the octa as far as i understand.
as for the +drive - i regret having not bought the mk2+.
edit: you dont need the +drive for the single cycle stuff, just fyi.
The drive + means that you dispose of 128 monomachine according to memory capacity. Its a real benefit. No doubt, if you can take it.
I must admit that I didn’t really see the benefit of the +Drive until I got a Machinedrum that has one installed - now I wish my Monomachine has one! Get either the MK2 or the MK2 +Drive if you can afford it! 
The +drive is worth the money, imo
Mk2 plus drive fo sure but they go used for around 600 GBP or sometimes less? 1090 USD for new is a very good price however, that’s about 700 GBP.
MKI has 4 bars, only MD MKI has only 2 bars.
Noise difference is barely audible, however it appears to be quite difficult to source a new PSU for the MKI. Personally, I don"t need the + drive on the Monomachine whereas it’s definitely a great addition on the MD. My advice is to go MKII seond hand without + drive.
Having the plus drive gives you more presets (not so much of an issue) and userwavs. What can you do with userwaves? I’m guessing its just simple single cycle stuff?
FWIW, it’s not just that you can load your own waves in the mkII, it’s that you can use them in doubledraw and ensemble machines, neither of which the mkI has … more ways to mix sounds and make chords.
I dont know for sure but I think non +drive is limited to one bank of userwaves.
The drive gives you 128 banks of waves which is very handy. Depends how you work, but if you think of one bank as say 64 organ waves or 64 strings, squares, pianos, 8-bit, etc etc then that gives you 64 waves to audition through a digi pro machine until you find the right sound within that ‘genre’. And the banks are hot-swappable.
Without the drive you have 1 bank of 64 waves that either holds just say “strings”, or you could have different types of waves at different positions in the bank:
So the drive is way more convenient as you can flick through several wave banks without having to sysex up into one bank whenever you need a change.
Another vote for + drive. Fooling around with sysex is a workflow stopper.
The userwaves give your Mono endless sound sources. Get a wave from a dog barking, a water dripping, etc…
Well, quite obviously, this is the Monomachine to get:
http://www.elektronauts.com/t/fs-us-nothing/1291/8555/page:1#8555
It’s my SFX-6 of course!
To answer the initial question:
If you can find the MKI (SFX-60) for a good price and you’re debating whether to go with a MKII, the main addition is the User Wave machine. It is a fun and useful synthesizer voice.
The noise of a MKI will not bother you, especially in the context of a full composition.
If you’re in the market for a SFX-6, go for it, especially for the performance aspects. Nothing is as fun as playing on the attached keyboard in poly mode, using the joystick to modulate four distinct parameters. The keyboard is great for playing arp patterns with notes more than an octave apart.
Yeah, and the Doubledraw and Ensemble machines are very very cool. The ‘Ensemble’ machine allows you make chords, which is super cool because otherwise the MnM is, well, mono. Doubledraw machine allows you to mix two different waves (user wave or factory waves), at different levels. Very cool machines.
Plus you get sooooo much space for storing patterns, songs, waves, and snapshots that you can let go of worrying about EVER running out space, and that’s great because you don’t have to treat each pattern so preciously. Copy, paste, tweak, and repeat …forever basically!
now, my option doesn’t seem to be very popular, but I began my elektron journey with a monomachine mki…and i loved it. it changed how i made music, and for the better. i purchased my mki in late 2007 and then the mkii was released thereafter. i didn’t upgrade to the mkii until this past year, and while i am very happy to have the new machines, smaller form factor, etc…it’s not a terribly huge upgrade. i don’t have the +drive, nor do i feel like i’m missing out by not having it. though, having the new machines has definitely given my kits a larger palette of sounds (a lot of warm/organic because of the userwaves), i don’t think it’s worth a huge amount of money.
i was able to upgrade from a mki to a mkii for only $100, so i feel like that was worth it. i wouldn’t say it’d be worth if you’d have to pay $300+ for it though. one of these i’d like to upgrade to the +drive, but really, the mki, mkii, and mki/ii with +drive have what the essentials and you won’t really be missing out, especially if you’ve never used a monomachine to begin with.
Ensemble machines were one of my favorite things about the MnM. Mono only? Ha!
BTW, the blue one is an anniversary edition, if that’s new… drool. I’ve love to get one to compliment my red MD. Though that would mean $800 in +Drive upgrades…
Yeah fiveg in Tokyo has the Blue one discounted. I thought it would be more expensive but it’s going cheaper than the standard model. Plus it’s only 2 days to get the +drive upgrade for it, so I’m guessing they do that at the shop.
I was hunting for van interesting digital synth and I discounted the MnM because it was mono and the same price as an a4 with the new price hike. But the one in fiveg ain’t too bad considering it’s new. Plus discovering it can do poly means it’s probably pretty much what I’m looking for… An interesting instant gratification machine to compliment my tetra.
True, the MnM has POLY mode, but that uses all of the tracks to function. It is nice to be able to have some chords in the mix (via the Ensemble machine) whilst still being able to layer on more synths.
I’m not trying to argue the point. Just helping Nedavine weigh the options. But I digress.
BTW Tarekith, I love your web site and blog, and have been digging through your fantastic archives. Great stuff.
Thanks!
Dude buy the blue mono - the ensemble machines give you four note chords and you can switch to full poly mode when you need to. If you don’t like it - sell it to me
I would go +Drive for sure…something i really miss on my MD.
Those prices are not really convenient by the way…i got my MM mkII +Drive second hand for €650.