I’ve been playing my MD since I got it. The sound design is excellent, as many people know(which I sadly didn’t explore enough the first time I owned it)(but I digress), but variation is key. But I toyed around with the nifty sampling feature of the KP3, mainly it’s interesting step elimination aspect. Sampled a beat into it, removed some steps. Switch the input to microphone(nothing plugged in) and played the altered loop. And then turn off the loop simultaneously to switching the input back.
Very basic tip, I’m sure. But adds a very essential functionality to the MD(or any gear, I reckon)
My KP3 lives at the end of my Machinedrum and has for some time. I highly recommend using a channel to sequence the KP3 from the MD. My default is to send random LFO’d CCs to X/Y, and turn pad touch on/off with p-locked steps at various points-particularly useful with the looper effects on the KP3 to create fills. It’s even better with the Monomachine because you can send LFO to Program Change for really wild things, like a hardware Stutter Edit, DBlue Glitch etc.
i’ve had many edifying jams with a mduw+kp3 setup and the slice-removal technique makes transitions far more interesting. the kp3 has many limitations but this is one of its strengths, basic perhaps but powerful, and together with 4-5 other features and effects make it worth long-term inclusion in my live setup, even as other gear rotates in and out.
try sampling different parts of your beat into multiple samplepads at varying lengths (4, 8, 16 beats), then removing some slices from each loop so each slice runs an odd number of steps. voila, instant beat variations a la the dark elektrons’ variable track length feature.
plug your headphones into the md (not the kp3) and you can practice fading in another beat behind the looping pad samples. you may have to nudge the md bpm a bit with the arrow keys occasionally but it’s quick work and a good technique for your live arsenal anyway.
with enough decent md material you can jam for hours this way.
i still haven’t tried @Accent’s midi approach and i bet that would make this setup even more effective, if you can do everything we’re both describing simultaneously.
Yeah, I’m planning doing some kp3 beatjuggling next. I’ve so far just been playing around with adding and removing steps for a nice sporadic sound that I’ve never been able to mimic before.
I REALLY need to learn that ableton jazz and capture the recording of this miscellaneous rhythmic jamming transfer it to midi, and REALLY let my percussion game fly.
