Would you do it?

Clubkaiser · 2013-10-24T12:30:30.000Z

Hey folks,

long story short:
A friend offered me to trade his DSI Tempest for my MD UW+ MKII.

As he lives a few hundred miles away I do not have the chance to play the Tempest and as it would take me a two hour trip to get to the next music store I have to rely on youtube videos.

So far I am quite impressed from what I saw but I dont know what would be a better companion for my Octatrack?

Music stlye: tech house, minimal

Help me pls

Cheerio,

RyanElektric · 2013-10-24T12:41:19.000Z

Depends on what you need- I turned down a similar trade (before eventually trading my MD as part of another massive trade):

Do you lack analog drum sounds?

Do you need a drum machine that is also a 6 voice analog polysynth? Nice to have.

Would you miss the sound and character of the MD? I do, but I won’t replace it with the current gen. MD. Waiting for the next.

Do you like building drum and synth sounds of your own? Or would you prefer a large bank of preloaded samples/patches.

What kind of music do you make? Tempest can sound far more traditional than the MD, but the MD can sound much more alien and evil.

Do you just want a drum machine that you can program real quick and move on to other things, making small tweaks, mutes, etc. along the way? The MD is that, the Tempest is not. It’s much more time consuming.

Honestly, the trade works out such that you could try the Tempest and then sell it and buy an MD back if you want.

You really have nothing to lose.

nedavine · 2013-10-24T13:04:50.000Z

I would do it as the tempest is pretty damn popular now so trading back would be damn easy.

Diapause · 2013-10-24T13:22:55.000Z

“Honestly, the trade works out such that you could try the Tempest and then sell it and buy an MD back if you want.”

^ This.

That being said, the Tempest sounds a lot different than the MD, so if you like the MD’s tone, stay put.
As an OT companion and with the style of music you make I’d say the MD is a better fit.

Monetarily though, you really can’t lose if you do decide to trade.

Clubkaiser · 2013-10-24T13:37:02.000Z

Hi Buddy,

thanks for your fast reply!

Do you lack analog drum sounds?

I don’t think so. I purchased most of the available Goldbaby and Waves Alchemy Samplepacks so from my point of view I am pretty well covered with drumsound of any kind.

Do you need a drum machine that is also a 6 voice analog polysynth? Nice to have.

This is a very good point. To be honest, I never felt like "how nice would it be now to have a 6 voice analog polysynth, but from what I have seen so far, this would be a great extension to my mostly sample based compositions. I do own synths like a Blofeld or Little Phatty but for jam sessions I always end up using just MD and the Octatrack.

Do you like building drum and synth sounds of your own? Or would you prefer a large bank of preloaded samples?

Yes and no. Sometimes I love to sit down and design my own stuff but sometimes I just want to fire up my gear and start making music. So yes and no for both questions.

What kind of music do you make?

Tech House, Minimal, sometimes remixing/resampling Disco and French House

Do you just want a drum machine that you can program real quick and move on to other things, making small tweaks, mutes, etc. along the way?

Depends on what I am in the mood for. I do like to design my own sounds as I do like to create music.
It is a really tough decision as I adore my MD, especially its own sound character but sometimes I do feel like I need more flexibilty in terms of sound sources.
However, thanks again for your input!
Cheers,

Clubkaiser · 2013-10-24T13:44:14.000Z

""nedavine"":

I would do it as the tempest is pretty damn popular now so trading back would be damn easy.

I see, just checked ebay and craigslist and it looks like there is nothing much to lose, you are absolutely right!

Clubkaiser · 2013-10-24T13:49:32.000Z

""Diapause"":

“Honestly, the trade works out such that you could try the Tempest and then sell it and buy an MD back if you want.”

^ This.

That being said, the Tempest sounds a lot different than the MD, so if you like the MD’s tone, stay put.
As an OT companion and with the style of music you make I’d say the MD is a better fit.

Monetarily though, you really can’t lose if you do decide to trade.

So you think in terms of solid kicks the Tempest is a step backward? That is what I am afraid of, especially with the ubernice Goldbaby/Waves Alchemy stuff my machinedrum is basically instant gratification.
If only Tempest would support sample upload this would be a no-brainer…

RyanElektric · 2013-10-24T14:30:13.000Z

Tempest kicks will be an atomic bomb compared to your MD…

Diapause · 2013-10-24T14:34:42.000Z

For me, I’m not a fan of the DSI sound so it has little value for my music.
Is it a rad concept and execution? Yes.
Do I admire and respect the two brilliant minds responsible for the product? Absolutely.

It just doesn’t have the sound I’m looking for which, from what I’ve heard during my demo’ing, is sort of dumpy.

The thing I like about the MD is it sounds great out of the box and has a lot of character.
The character it lacks can be supplemented with the UW side of things.

On the other hand, if you want to give the Tempest a try there’s nothing holding you back; especially monetarily.
Hell, you could do the trade, use the Tempest for samples, and then–when you’re done–sell it and get a brand spanking new MD and have loads of new food for it.

RyanElektric · 2013-10-24T14:51:45.000Z

A demo of the Tempest doesn’t do it Justice. It’s a special synth. But it’s a labor to program in kits that don’t just sound like TRx Clones with a few Evolvers tacked on.

The polysynth sounds awesome, too! 6 voice analog polysynths are expensive vintage and there are literally NONE on the present-day market aside from the Tempest. For the price, it’s a steal- just wish it was a bit better designed.

Listen to this polysynth that also happens to be a drum machine!

It’s an EvolverProphet 6!

Clubkaiser · 2013-10-24T17:51:45.000Z

""RyanElektric"":

A demo of the Tempest doesn’t do it Justice. It’s a special synth. But it’s a labor to program in kits that don’t just sound like TRx Clones with a few Evolvers tacked on.

The polysynth sounds awesome, too! 6 voice analog polysynths are expensive vintage and there are literally NONE on the present-day market aside from the Tempest. For the price, it’s a steal- just wish it was a bit better designed.

Listen to this polysynth that also happens to be a drum machine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT55pBZt4jc

It’s an EvolverProphet 6!

Man, thats some nasty stuff. Great!
Instead of replacing the MD that would be a nice addition I guess

Aday · 2013-10-24T18:02:30.000Z

I have never had a MD, I’m sure its a fine Piece of equipment, but I would have been there and back with it by now

FreeFall · 2013-10-24T18:23:09.000Z

I know the Tempest is analog, and it does sound great, but it’s only six voice and doesn’t accept samples. Six voices for drums is very limiting in my world!

You can get amazing sound from the MD, plus you can load samples if there’s something you can’t achieve through programming and layering (I often wonder if most people could even tell the difference between analog vs well crafted digital drums in a blind “taste test”). It is also 16 voice. Plus, you have the RAM and ROM machines which mean you can sample and process an external sound source. The MD also has the kick-ass Elektron sequencer, and does MIDI very will.

The MD can be used as a poly synth as well if you tweak sounds the right way, or just load some basic waveforms in as as samples.

I know there’s so much hype over being all analog these days, and that’s great if that’s your goal. But for me, when it comes to making beats, versatility wins.

Aday · 2013-10-24T19:01:35.000Z

I think he meant the MD is 6 voice, 2 main-4 Individual out and 16 part synthesis. so the tempest would be on par with it in that respect.