I’ve had my Monomachine for about three months and my Machinedrum for one month. I have finally wrapped my head around how Globals, Snapshots, Kits, and Songs work together (hopefully I wont lose any more work). But I still wonder what the most efficient and least confusing way to build projects is, and am generally interested in how people organize their work. There’s so much room to work in these machines, I want to start organizing correctly before I get too much programmed and work myself into a corner, so to speak.
I’ve started making a new Snapshot for each new project. As far as I can see this is the best way to keep things tidy. Any suggestions?
I’ve thought about keeping a dry erase board by my setup where I have the songs I’m working on, along with which patterns on each Elektron piece that song corresponds to.
I can’t use snapshots to organize personally since the the A4 and my MD don’t have +Drives.
My recommendation would be to see each BANK as a COMPOSITION or SONG. Lets say you are on BANK D. D1 would be intro for the song for both of the machines. You would play this pattern looping few times, editing some of the parameters accordingly… When the time is right, you switch to D2 on both machines, to continue the song, twist parameters etc… and then switch to D3 and so on until you come to the end of the song.
This is the way I like to use the machines so that the composition can progress and be taken further while I mess around with parameters, muting tracks etc.
Thanks Dataline! Is this the same way you would approach the monomachine? for me, the MNM can get easily “overloaded” if I stay with one pattern, trying to get a groove. Any specific advice on how to approach the monomachine?
Thanks in advance - by the way:I do like the new sound and song (playing in the forum/sound of this thread).
This is one of many ways you can approach elektron machines. Using set of patterns from for example F1 to F16 and playing them back in an order is a very easy to keep your compositions tidy.
Yes, if you keep on playing the same pattern and editing it can just ruin the good idea you had in the first place. Just remember to spread your ideas. For example you come up with a cool FM synth line. Keep that pattern as intro on F1. Copy and paste into F2 and write additional tracks to it.
Its like you are creating a journey of sound through the patterns
I did finally figure out to do exactly as Dataline suggested - matching the pattern numbers on all machines so that they progress through the song parts with pattern numbers in sync. That does help a lot as it takes much less thinking to navigate around patterns when you’re trying to be spontaneous.
I started making a new Snapshot for each song/project, and the name for the Snapshot also gets used for all Kit names within that Snapshot. I also add the BPM number to the end of the Kit names. I mimic the name to other Elektron machine so that I can load the same Snapshot name on each machine and know everything is as should be. Having the BPM in the kit names is a huge help too.
These little organizational tips make a world of difference on these machines!
[quote=“” FreeFall""]
I did finally figure out to do exactly as Dataline suggested - matching the pattern numbers on all machines so that they progress through the song parts with pattern numbers in sync. That does help a lot as it takes much less thinking to navigate around patterns when you’re trying to be spontaneous.
I started making a new Snapshot for each song/project, and the name for the Snapshot also gets used for all Kit names within that Snapshot. I also add the BPM number to the end of the Kit names. I mimic the name to other Elektron machine so that I can load the same Snapshot name on each machine and know everything is as should be. Having the BPM in the kit names is a huge help too.
These little organizational tips make a world of difference on these machines!
[/quote]
Ive just started to organise things like this myself FreeFall, it really does help, i’m getting to grips with my 2 machines finally after about 20 empty resets.
I had the same idea about the banks but i was thinking 2 tracks per bank, would you typically use a full bank for one tune Dataline? I just have to remember to change patterns or i get stuck in a tweak loop and don’t get out for hours
I looked intently at this subject over at EU when I first started with these machines. I found that approaches varied quite dramatically.
I too tend to keep things organised by having patterns on all 4 machines in sync, (even if a machine isn’t used in a song!)
That said iPassenger for eg doesn’t , (or didn’t when we spoke)!
Some folk seam to have a set formula for all songs whilst others operate in a more chaotic way.
I guess if you’re working on one track at a time, recording it, then moving on, it doesn’t really matter.
If, like me, you’re attracted to a more performance based style, ala Dataline/Das Wesen/ TrondC etc. then it definitely helps to have a rough template.
Im trying to bridge the gap between the chaotic and structured atm.
I think stoping tor 2min every once and a wile to evaluate where the track is headed would help me a lot, i can get swept away with a pattern when it just clicks and forget to stop and save.
Ive also found having notes on what i want to get out of a session definitely helps me keep focused.
I switch workflows every now and then to keep things challanging and force myself to grow as an artist…
I also stay in the ‘general discussion’ to avoid complaint threads, feature requests and the thousands of questions that could be answered by reading the manuals. I still love some of these topics and they helped me get used to working with elektron gear. There is however too much talk and not enough walk going on in my studio over the past two years, so my sole advice is use this forum to meet amazing and unique people, be inspired and you’ll find a flow to work from!
Yeah, blue, this is why I haven’t ever bothered. I only use my OT live and I have that organized exactly the way Dataline describes, and it works perfectly. I usually write stuff in the studio using the quardinity but then I sample all the loops on the OT and take that for sequenced backing tracks behind my band that I manipulate live.
Dataline’s idea has me thinking though that if I was going to make a clean start on all 4 of the machines that would be a great way to organize… especially if I had a MD with the +Drive.
I own a MDUW/OT/A4 and use them all toghether in live performance… I’ve been through the process Dataline recommends… it’s great to keep things very flexible and improvise live while still having some landmarks (I took me quite some time though to rearrange the assignements as I’ve always been shy at erasing too much of old stuff, I like to refine over and over patterns even though new stuff gets faster and faster to do…). A small limitation appears when you add the OT as the bank/patterns naming convention differs from the other machines, but i’m sure there are several workarounds, in my case my memory does the job (+ I have a silver pen to write bank names on the side of my OT, helps a lot
The best thing with this setup was for me to consider each machine independant to make a full track, ie A4 does drums/lead/sub/fx (in general), same with MD and OT… I used to DJ, so basically my live is like mixing three decks, and I love that… taking one machine alone with me in a trip on week end for ex allows to explore it in depth and clash it with the others when I’m back. I think that’s why Elektron promotes their machines as ‘autonomous’, which is part of the elektron fun for me.
This set up also allows me to use sometimes the MD almost like a super monosynth > it’s the only machine having exact same parameters for all sounds, which allows this uniquewonderfull function "FUNCTION + parameter’, where all sounds selected parameters are affected… with the bit of experience on your presets you can find very dramatic effects to create breaks or transition (simple ex : raise filter frequency on all MD tracks to make the kick disappear, and send another machine kick in ! this can be heard around 12mns15sec of my last liveset uploaded on this forum)
I’m still experimenting and structuring my work, and still ages from advanced users like Cenk, but it’s getting there and the learning curve is definitely super rewarding, now after many years I can freestyle on any machine, which has no price
"FUNCTION + parameter’, where all sounds selected parameters are affected… "
I didn’t know about that feature! I swear I’ve read the manual about ten times by now too (is that tip even in the manual?). In any case, great tip. Thanks Ghostwood!
I’m using a Sequentix Cirklon to use the Elektrons together, but it still gets quite messy from time to time. I think trying to keep some sort of order, where patterns on each machine goes together is a very good way of doing it. Trouble is, I spend most of the time fumbling about creating new sounds, so most of the patterns are occupied by stuff I won’t ever use in tracks.
Maybe leave bank E and F for experimentation or something, hehe. I don’t have a count of every empty reset I’ve done, and every time I’m starting a fresh one I say to myself “only work on full tracks no, don’t much around too much”, and then I end up screwing around 80% of the time anyway, hehe. Getting out of loop-mode takes raw discipline - it’s tough.
In studio, with my “4nity” (MD, OT, MnM, A4) my method is to create a Snapshot per project/song. I know that’s a lot of patterns on each machine for just one project/song, but it helps me to see things clearer and it allows to copy/paste some ideas in dummy patterns.
Snapshots are named with the name of the project/song and - really good idea - I’ll add now the bpm info
And that is why it is absolutely necessary to have snapshots on the A4!
Function + Extended is great fun, I also like to use it in combination with Function + Left or Right Arrow keys [wile in rec mode]
Mangle pattern with control all machine and just after ya revert back with Function>Extended, nudge the bass line 2 steps with Function>Left so the pattern drops to a new groove.
