This is an attempt to extend the discussion from tarekith’s post on this same topic to get some more insight into how others use their MnMs in a live environment.
I have begun building an all inclusive setup with all my synths/effects inside a flight/pedalboard case that’s easy to setup and play. I’ve never played the MnM live, but used to play a monome live with MnM sounds. So far, I’ve found that song mode paired with mute mode gives a lot of flexibility, but I’m still trying to incorporate a template in which I have certain tracks stay constant (e.g. Track 1 is always lead, Track 6 always bass etc) as to keep the confusion to a minimum, but I seem to always go down a different path in how I construct a song that it’s hard to maintain any type of structure like that.
Anyhoo, any thoughts in both how to utilize the MnM live and how to follow a system so that everything stays fairly the same for each track (track template etc)?
One thing I’ll say is that Merlin’s lengthy post in the thread you mentioned is full of great ideas. As a fairly new MnM owner I’m still exploring what he describes, but the journey is built into all Elektron gear That said, here’s the workflow I’ve been using and the template that stemmed from it:
I’m currently exploring MD+MnM as a live setup, so I run MD through the MnM inputs with some FX machine processing INAB assigned to MnM T6. I then start building other synth parts downward from T1, dedicating that one to the main bassline. As I explore, I usually find myself wanting at least one other FX machine to apply to the synths, so I put that on T5 (frequently using a bus) and add more on previous tracks as necessary.
So basically: Synths from top down, FX from bottom up. This way I’ve only got to keep track of 3 wildcard tracks (T2-4) instead of 6.
For live performance, I’ve had the most luck so far using mute mode and switching among tracks while keeping to the effects page, as tweaking the delay parameters is fun (and a lot more forgiving live than the filter). But I’m already feeling limited by this so if I stick with this setup for long, I’m likely going to either incorporate a dedicated MIDI controller or set up some MIDI machines on my MD aimed at the MnM, and control the various MnM parameters from a CTR-8P page … That would eat up several MD tracks but would still make life way easier.
Speaking of controller, i’m looking at getting a bcf2000 to use as a mixer for all my elements as I think it’ll be a lot easier to mix everything instead of digging into each track to adjust levels. It’d also make for immediate control of pans and mutes. I’ve always been on the fence about getting a mixer and I think this would be a good compromise.
I’ve never played live, and I make music mostly for fun and for myself, but. since getting into hardware it has made my music making approach more and more organic and spontaneous. So I’m very interested in how other people use their kit too.
I recently got a mixer for the very reasons you stated zfigz. Being able to mute, pan, eq, and adjust volumes separately, rather than menu diving (for things that you really want to be top level hands on) has been a very nice upgrade. After much research I got a MACKIE PROFX8 mixer, and I love it. Small, but very high quality and affordable.
I have an MPD26 that I’ve been thinking about setting up to control FX and certain params from both machines (MD and MnM). I think it would be cool if I could set it up so the MPD26 acts like the Scene fader on the OT; washing the sound in several FX and param tweaks all at once with the move one control, and muting multiple tracks with the touch of one pad . But right now I don’t even know if any of that can be done without being more complicated than needed. .
I was split between getting a mixer and just relying on the controls on each particular piece of gear, but I suddenly had a realization that I’d didn’t necessarily need a mixer, I just needed something to control my levels/mutes/pans easily. I feel like the bcf2000 will fit the bill nicely.
As for the mpd setup you’re thinking about, I always think simplicity offers more in just having less options to deal with. This is why I’ve consolidated all my gear into a single case making it a sorta acoustic guitar that I treat as a single instrument instead a bunch of disparate things. So far it’s been great and I’m able to “create” and “perform” without really thinking about it.
http://www.elektronauts.com/t/what-posture-do-you-work-in/2044/16100/page:1#16100
Last post…a lil old, but I’ve incorporated a tiny basic mixer (no eq, just combines 3 stereo signals into one with level+pan control) and consolidated some of the cords, so it looks cleaner. I’m a lil bummed that the bcf2000 won’t fit into the case, but it’s not necessary for me to get down/dirty to make music, it’ll just make mixing a easier.
That said, here’s the workflow I’ve been using and the template that stemmed from it:
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