Happily, bought a used MD, but ownership questions

Elektron Gear Machinedrum
#1

Picked up a MDMk2UW+ on the net, very pleased with it’s sound and it’s in great condition, but the seller wasn’t the original owner and the serial number is registered with Electron, (which seems reasonable) but it prevents me from registering it.

I have a couple questions you all might be able to guide me on:

  1. Do I need to register the unit? Can I still get support?

  2. After 24 hours with this thing, I know I’m going to have it forever…so I’ll want to determine about how old it is. Is there a way to do that based on serial number? Will Electron help with that?

  3. TM-1 - Did it come with or was it an add on? My purchase did not explicitly include one…was it always an add on? The Electron site seems to imply it’s always included, but that might be a late addition and if this is an old unit, it might not be “included”. Do I have to have a TM-1 or was the “turbo mode” more of a requirement 5+ years ago and any modern midi interface will do now?

  4. Lastly, if it turns out to be and older/earlier instrument, what’s Elektron support like? Do I have local repair here in the U.S. or will I have to ship it back to Elektron.

( I should have figured all this our BEFORE I bought it, but it was a good deal, an opportunity and I jumped on it. Overall I’m very happy. These are just loose ends I need to clarify.)

Thanks folks!

#2

  1. You can get some support (advice) without registering, but it’s at Elektron’s discretion what they do with an unregistered unit in terms of repairs. I strongly recommmend that you ask the previous owner to un-register the MD so that you can register it.

  2. Not in front of my MD now. I can’t remember whether the serial number format is based on the year and month. I’m sure that Elektron can help you with that.

  3. I believe that the TM-1 was introduced in 2006 to accompany the UW version of the MD. I believe that UW units after that date were sold with a TM-1 included. Nowadays, the UW version is sold with the TM-1 included but the non-UW version is not. The Elektron-specific Turbo MIDI protocol is useful for quickly transferring samples to and from the MD; without it, even with a modern MIDI interface, sample transfer is slower.

  4. Elektron always used to have a reputation for good and fast support. Nowadays, I would characterise it as good but their first response can be very slow - they even apologised for support delays recently on the forum. They are recruiting another member of staff to help but we obviously don’t know yet how much that will speed up initial responses. When I had to send my Octatrack for repair under warranty nearly a year ago, it took a while for an initial response but once I got the instructions to send the OT (from Canada) to their US office (in California), the turnround was really quick.

Market price on Elektron TM1
#3

welcome to the wonderful MD experience!

i had a similar problem with a registered machine which the previous owner owned second hand (and so forth)

best case scenario: you get a written piece of paper with signature and buying contract and SN and email, and send this to elektron …

try to have the previous owner find out who he bought it from. … maybe it will eventually be “officially” yours.

in terms of support, you shouldnt have any problems (i think)

TM Modules are sometimes on ebay for 40 coins of gold …