The UW comes in handy when you record sounds, on sounds on another sound and then another sound and triggers that with a sound etc. etc. Then when it sounds cool you would want to save that sound and manipulate it later the next week…
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Mine only dates to late 2014, but the jacks are all a nice bright copper color.
Long ago, I bought a Sherman filterbank from a friend who lived near the beach - the jacks were heavily corroded and the switches and pots were extra crackly. Arguably that was good for the Sherman, but I would worry about obvious corrosion on the MD.
There are chemicals and electro-chemical processes that can reverse corrosion, but I haven’t used them myself and I don’t know if they are safe for home / studio use. If you have local friends / colleagues with experience in this sort of restoration and the price is low enough, it might be a worthwhile gamble. But the insides could be worse than the outside, and Elektron doesn’t seem to sell MD PCBs anymore.
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Thanks for all the infos!
Finally found a list with the differences The different MachineDrums? - #8 by AdamJay
MD MK1 (2001). 32 steps, thicker case, noisier jacks, MK1-only PSU. Cannot sample.
MD MK1 UW (2005) 32 steps, thicker case, noisier jacks, MK1-only PSU. CAN SAMPLE.
MD MK2 (2007) 64 steps, thinner case, less noise. Cannot sample.
MD MK2 UW (2007) 64 steps, thinner case, less noise. CAN SAMPLE.
MD MK2 UW+ (2010) 64 steps, thinner case, less noise. CAN SAMPLE and store multiple “Slots” (projects) and store multiple sample banks.
I’m 99% sure I’ll never use samples and resampling and all that, so I guess an MD MK2 [without UW] but with +Drive upgrade is what I’m looking for …
(edited: UW not UK 
)
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Brexit made that happen
Edit: Machine drum brexit edition, “live on the british isles? You’re not getting one”
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I have never seen a non-UW with the +Drive for sale.
If you find one, that thing will be worth some money - definitely a rare and unique find.
Well, if an MK2 UW+ is less money than an MK2+, I’ll take /that/ one of course But for me it’s good to know that either would be satisfactory, depending on what comes up.
+Drive is key; those banks fill up pretty quickly. I occasionally do a bit of resampling but I agree with others that it’s not essential if you have other samplers (although I do love the 12bit crunch that you can get with the MDUW).
Also I’m with you on the P-I machines; they’re some of my favorites. Also, I’ve never heard snares that I like as much as the ones I can get out of the MD. I’ve made some tracks using just the sine machines on the MD - maybe I should do a snares only track next?
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I think you just need to keep digging in your Syntakt. I just found this guy in my feed today & this is the perfect excuse to share it.
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oh I don’t own a Syntakt lol, not yet anyways. I’m definitely going to get one in the future, but I’m content with the Models line for now and also don’t have an extra grand laying around.
also lowkey holding out for some form of sample playback but if not I can always repurpose the Samples.
I’ve also thought getting a Rytm but idk yet if I will or not, would be really fun to sample the Cycles and my Volca Drum into the Rytm then mash it up with drum breaks and vocal samples, plus I have analog synthesis options still available in the Rytm to boot
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How the helllll, this is incredible.
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Ah, I thought you had one. The Digitakt is pretty sweet too. I started with that. If they added samples to the Syntakt that would likely hurt the DT’s sales but it is cheaper. Well hope your enjoying the models.
Crazy good 
he’s got a bunch of autechre like stuff up with the machinedrum & Monomachine. But only 2 so far with the Syntakt, but yeah he flexes it hard.
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Apparently I’m already subscribed to his channel lol, I just missed that video.
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This is cool, this and user friendly sounds are the only two people I’ve seen manage to get something out of the syntakt that I didn’t feel was a bit toylike sounding, for lack of a better word; with sounds I’d actually want to use in a finished track. I’ll have to check the rest of their channel out sometime.
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I’ve had the models since early 2020 and I love them to death!
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Since the thread is hijacked anyways 
I get 90-100% out of the Syntakt for what I need in complete tracks, and if I’d include all the styles I do out of nostalgia or randomness and all the styles I don’t do, I guess it’s 5000%. The thing it can’t do are really crisp and bright metallic sounds of acoustic cymbals, rides. The Opsix can, even the Volca Drum can. The Digitone can’t (i mean, it can do “those” sounds, but they never have that crispness), the Syntakt can’t (yet?). That’s why I’m interested in the Machinedrum, because it is multitimbral and has a Sequencer I trust and is similar to what I have. That’s all
Edit: I really notice more and more how much I love the sharp/crisp/brightness of analog synths, and how much I dislike the lukewarmness of some digital synths/machines.
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I’ve spent hundreds of hours on the Machinedrum FM sounds, in fact I don’t think anyone has spent as much time on them as I have 
They sound splendid. But I’d say you can get at least 80% there with the Digitone, with careful programming. By «get there» I mesn avhieve a similar crispness and punch, not necessarily similar sounds.
I wish I had convincing demoes to show for it, but I’m afraid I don’t.
The Machinedrum always had a «cardboardy» sound to my ears, and I mean that in a good way. It sounds raw and simple, the opposite of complex.
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I’d LOVE to play with a Syntakt, but I’m on a NGNY23 diet 
:dizzy:
EDIT: replacing my BLABLA with this:
Every violin can produce exactely the same sounds, but different strings, woods etc. will sound different and i might like one but not the other. That is what I am talking about in regards to the Digitone.
(Edit: also, I was actually talking about the PI machines )
… two times Digitone from me, to be paired with Syntakt …
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Yeah, I can definitely understand that for your type of music (judging from the audio clips). The crispness is crucial.
The P-I machines do not sound any less crude or cardboardy imo. They sound cool, but they’re much more limited soundwise (simply put, their controls don’t go very far). They’re also a bit lofi. Maybe it’s a good idea to get someone with an MD to record some audio demos for you with the PI machines.
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