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Elektron Machinedrum
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| CynepMeH |
Just got elektron Machinedrum. I got 3 words:
WOOO-ING-OOOW :D
I'm wondering if anyone here has it - looking for some tips/tricks/etc. This thing is just massive... can muck around on it all day long just creating ill beats. that thing is sweet. Ok, enough bragging and I am off to test the limits of my monitors with bass rumbling the out of neighbor's windows. :D
w00t! :D |
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| Tranc3 |
| Wow that good huh? Mind posting a more indepth review later on? I'm considering getting one myself. |
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| CynepMeH |
What sort of things you want to hear about? There are too many things to mention. Out of the box - the patterns are pretty good, you can create your own. Very easy to work with - very much like the Roland x0x style pattern sequencing or you can use "extended" mode - allowing you to mix scales in the same pattern. The pads are not touch sensitive, but you can accent any specific step. (I hear that if you control it from MIDI, then it can accept the velocity values - will try it later).
Creating your own patterns is very easy. I havent' explored all the sounds and patterns yet, however, so far - it's good. I wish it had more trance/ambient oriented patterns but I guess the beauty is you can make your own. Patterns range from very good to "bleh". Some of the sampled sounds are a very grainy and dirty - good or bad, you be the judge. I personally thought that the grainy sounds sucked... They could work for some old-skool/experimental type sounds.
Some complaints - all of the knobs are off-axis. Meaning: as you rotate them the knob itself does not stay perfectly centered. Furthermore, knobs do not have any notches on them and if you're in a hot club and got sweaty fingers, manipulating those knobs will be a bitch. I guess you can try to find some replacement knobs and put them on. Also, the knobs are positioned too closely - if you're tweaking in the live situation you can accidentally move nearby knob. The display is color red and does tire your eyes after staring at it for an hour or so. The display is not always easy to read and values that contain "6" or "8" tend to appear the same. Toms and snares are not deep enough as I expected them to be but I haven't messed around with any of the FX or modulation parameters and I am not done investigating all the kits/machines - so that could be just a lack of my experience on this machine. Take it with a grain of salt.
Manual is VERY good, teaches you step by step. After the first few lessons you can pretty much figure the thing out. Overall impression -very neat - I'm happy. I have a pretty long wishlist but I am spoiled. Overall, it's a pretty decent machine - if you got the moolah get it - it's the best drumbox you can buy for $1250. Sure, 909 can probably be found for about $900 but it's not as capable and doesn't have a full midi implementation. I'm thinking of shelling out for an MPC 1000 and Korg KP2 and hooking them together into one surreal sonofabitch. :D
So, my overall rating for Machinedrum would be:
Quality: 7/10
Sounds: 8/10
Ease of use: 10/10
Value for the money: 8/10
Coolness factor: 10/10
Reliability: 9/10 (looks and feels solid, works flawlessly so far)
If I could only find it cheaper... BTW, if you're interested, I think there's one on e-bay now with SID station going for $1650 - nothing to write home about but saves you about $100 off the list.
more 2 follow l8r.
:D |
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| Tranc3 |
*drool*
*realizes he doesn't have an extra 1200*
*sob* |
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| CandyRaver666 |
| You get excited too easily Meh ... |
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| Massive84 |
| mind posting some samples? if you got time that is. |
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| ABSYNTH |
| quote: | Originally posted by Massive84
mind posting some samples? if you got time that is. |
Would be cool, i would like to here this bit of kit in action:D |
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| Vert |
| quote: | Originally posted by CandyRaver666
You get excited too easily Meh ... |
I'm starting to agree with you.
es |
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| CynepMeH |
| quote: | Originally posted by CandyRaver666
You get excited too easily Meh ... |
naaaah... it's all well-measured :D ... at first.
Now, I'm experiencing varrying shades of dissapointment. I must say that quality of this product does not correspond to price. I'll have to double-check my wiring and settings but I noticed a substantial panning problem. With Pan set at perfect "0" I was getting -32dB on L and -26dB on R (my volume was down ;) ). Other synths are perfectly ballanced when patched into the same jack. I will need to check the wiring again but if that's the case, this toy is going back. I'm just noticing too many quirks and down-right annoyances.
What do you think I should do? |
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| CandyRaver666 |
That sucks the big one Meh. Was it a store demo model or sitting around in the store for a while ? I got mine shipped from the Elektron web site and doesn't have those problems that you're describing. For $1200, I wouldn't be settling for that.
I purchased it because it suited my needs. I will confess that $1200 is probably a bit steep, but to my mind, the premium was worth it because it allowed me to *never* have to rely on samples, have full control of how my kit sounded and have full MIDI implementation.
If you're into sampling, then you could probably get all the sounds you need via good quality sample CDs and the web.
But I can't be ****ed messing around with that. When I want a sound I want it now.
I suppose the only thing I'd really like on it is a digital out - noise is such a nuisance ... (refering to noise in general - not implying the SPS makes noise). |
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