Could Elektron make the Machinedrum again even if they wanted to?
Like are there parts to making it that simply aren’t available anymore? I know, among other reasons, that’s a big reason why certain pieces of gear simply can’t be made anymore even if the company wanted to.
This. Plus the other common complaints about the “digital sound” and “the bass drum in my digital drum machine that was built in 2001 doesn’t sound like the bass drum of that analog drum machine that was built in 1980”.
All of that goes by the wayside when you incorporate the Machinedrum into a rig with outboard effects and other sound generators. A good reverb, along with an analog filter, analog distortion pedal plus any number of other effects/multi-effects, digital and otherwise, opens up a whole world of pain* and pleasure.
Of course there are some wonderful songs/sets based solely on the Machinedrum but, as with other drum machines, it was made to add to your rig, not replace it. And it goes one step further by acting as the nerve center of a rig.
*I had the greatest time patching my Machinedrum into a Jomox M-Resonator. Until it spiked and totally destroyed the in-line preamps on my recorder.
The machinedrum is a complex drum synth, you could tweak each sound from the base parameters and take it so far to get glitchy/idm sounds. So be patient and take your time because it’s so deep.
I really like the reverb for it’s gating feature. Adds to the sound design.
Also I want to avoid focusing on what it’s lacking and rather discover what it can do.
I’m quite sure this is secret weapon
Congrats!
The Machinedrum mk1 was my gateway into the Elektron workflow, I’ll never part with mine plus it used to be Richard Devine’s and he signed the back of it. I come from a modular synth background and the Machinedrum is like a digital modular synth disguised as a drum machine. With the amount of modulation it has you can get really deep and design some generative sounds that make it feel like a living drum machine full of sonic surprises.
Machinedrum is a great tool, even without the latest software update, and even without the sampling. I choose buying luckily some years ago before prices went crazy, and went for a SPS1 MK2 just interested on its synths.
It is a paradise to program and sound shaping, really versatile, and pretty straight forward.
Every Machinedrum can sound as its owner wanted to make it sound, that’s what I like about it, and that’s even without processing its separate channels ^^.
I would recommend first using as it comes by default, and once familiar and use it for a bit, jump into further updates, or even sampling, as it can be rather owermelming from the beginning.
I was hoping to snag a MD when they started popping up because of syntakt release but never managed to find a good deal. Ended up getting syntakt instead. Still exploring it now and it definitely can sound amazing.
The modern features are definitely something nice to have like the chromatic /scales keyboard and multitracking with overbridge.
Congrats on the good MD deal! Personally I love the wide rectangular form factor more than the newer square ones.
Thanks Phaelam glad you dig it.
I think you’re right, probably it’s electronica. I like doing these jazzy/house chords that sometimes change the key signature which I guess is not that typical for IDM.