It is obvious that the mki and mkii are different beasts, but also pretty different on prices too, and being able to buy one nowadays under 800€ (second hand mki), I was wondering if that machine is still valuable, can hit hard, and can also work wonders on 2022 
Anyone?
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Why should not?
If you don’t use overbridge (on mk1 number of audio streams is limited), and don’t mind about the performance knob and updated pads, on top of the “on the fly” sampling feature, then it is still one of the best drum machines out there for the used cost.
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Yep, I love mine it’s my fave Elektron & have no desire to upgrade. The main feature you will be missing is sample record, you will have to use transfer to transfer samples. I think sound wise they are the same. It’s a great machine & always sounds good. I prefer the size of the MK 1s
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subjectively at least.
the new one feels kind of premium and also has sample functionality which is really great when you use it. the display is also much better. with the older devices, you’re really worried about how long they’ll last. I often had to unscrew one to dim it. Also, I think cv stories have been improved on the mk2, but I don’t use them (yet).
otherwise nothing was changed. so i would say for half the money this is a great deal. the older machines also have something aesthetic about them. however, if you have the a4 mk2 and rytm mk2 together, then it also looks great and you are not missing anything.
and besides, if you don’t like it, you could sell the box again immediately and probably not make a loss.
oh that’s right, the performance controller should not be underestimated. you can also automate it.
anyway it’s a good deal.
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I am waiting to receive my mk1 in the post in a few days.
No reason why it shouldn’t be valid.
Actually I am wondering why so many people are buying Digitakts, just to use them as a drum machine with pre made samples. When there are AR mk1s for the same price out there sometimes.
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I bought a used MK I for 700 euros and couldn’t be happier. It’s the best drum machine made and honestly the additions for MK II don’t justify the price difference for me.
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I had both versions and sold them quite quickly.
I personally did not like the sound of the engines at all and as a sampler this thing is simply too expensive. But there are many ppl lovin it. Especially for 4 to the floor kind of music, it can be pretty good I think.
The whole workflow and functionality is pretty good if your familiar with other elektron boxes. If you know the a4 or the digitakt, you will feel at home.
I use the a4 now as a drumcomputer which gives me way more tools to tweak the sound.
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I don’t necessarily love the drum synth sounds, but specifically the sample side thats seamlessly integrated with the synth side is what makes this a remarkable machine. A4 was really good, but only 4 tracks made it less usable as a standalone drum machine IMO.
I have like 10 different sample kits on it and usually use both a sample and a synth engine for everything. It just works so well.
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I bought one 4 Month ago. Really beat up one from a swap meet for 500€. Some of the pads were not properly working anymore, so I ended up sending it to Elektron und repaired the machine for me and since then it’s absolutely fabulous. I guess it depends on the condition of the machine. I’d recommend buying one from somebody who used it frequently (sounds weird right?). But actually these machines kind of don’t like sitting in a shelf for year, no being touched. Really. love this machine. Also with the box-format, that fits well next to my Octatrack MK2
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just bought an AR mk1 a little while ago and i’m very happy with the sound, for samples at least, which is why i wanted it to begin with. coming from the DT the screen really bothered me at first, but i’ve gotten over that. not being able to sample/resample, however, is something that’s still a pretty big annoyance for me. with my sp404 mk2 and DT i was constantly bouncing samples back and forth and really liking that workflow. it is pretty easy/quick to pull samples off of the 404 and move them over to the AR, but it kind of gets me out of my flow and it’s led me to spend more time on just the 404, which has got me thinking that if i were to see a trade for an octatrack mk1 i’d be pretty tempted
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I wrote a lot of songs on a RYTM MKI and DN combo, but the audience found out about the MKII and stopped liking them 
Had to record the drums to the OT, which was proven on the forum to still be relevant in 2022.
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I would say mki through any of your pedals may bring the “old” model in fashion once again, and beat any possible OT drums sampling 
On the other hand, I found really difficult to justify any machine more expensive than 750€, so basically mkii are out of reach, and actually finding mki still superb machines for its current second hand price… a bargain really in some cases.
Pretty good point, actually.
Im not really interested in 4to the floor, lucky me
I have a mk1 and also don’t love the drums. Would a second hand a4 mk1 swap be a fair trade as in price wise?
I guess it depends of the country. In Spain usually AR are about 100€ more expensives usually second hand than the A4, but I guess for me they probably could have the same value.