I’m about to buy a Machinedrum! I recently finished my Midibox Seq V4 (for people who don’t know it: something like a DIY Cirklon / hardware midi sequencer on steroids).
I’m willing to control the Machinedrum fully from the Midibox. It is very capable of doing stuff like that, but my question is: is the Machinedrum capable of receiving stuff like that ?
Can make some nice sounding kits with the Machinedrum and totally control the sequencer externally but still being able to tweak out all the sounds? Change to different kits etc etc?
This question also relates to which machinedrum to buy, because when I control it externally it doesn’t matter if I choose the 32-steps or 64-steps one right? Since I can now make 64-steps anyways (the step max of the Midibox).
Probably very basic questions, but couldn’t find the answer anywhere
If you are thinking of buying a Machinedrum, it would be worthwhile to read its manual beforehand.
The MD’s sounds and patterns can be triggered using MIDI Note messages. The sounds can be adjusted using MIDI Control Change messages. The details are given in Appendix B of the manual, and in the GLOBAL > CONTROL menu.
You can change kits by changing patterns (which can be controlled using MIDI Program Change messages - see GLOBAL > CONTROL menu in the manual) or by loading kits (controlled by MIDI System Exclusive messages - see Appendix C of the manual).
You can also synchronize the MD’s internal sequencer with the MidiBox using MIDI System Realtime messages (see GLOBAL > SYNC menu in the manual).
Many people like the MD’s internal sequencer as well as the capability to trigger its sounds from an external sequencer.
There are a few differences between the Mk2 and Mk1 MDs (also listed in the manual), notably the more-specialized power supply used by the Mk 1.
You should also decide whether you want UserWave (UW) capability and whether you want a +Drive installed in your MD.
Thanks for your reply on my first post ever here. Cleared stuff up and I know where my further research is now. Thanks! Really love the sound of the MD and I think it will be the perfect match of my Tempest.
I own a seqv4 and send clock to the MD and use it’s internal sequencer and change patterns via the SEQV4 by mapping midi notes to the patterns…
C0 = Pat A01
C#0 = Pat A02
D0 = Pat A03
This can be found under the Global menu Mappings section also the MD clock to external and also there is an option for how the patterns start CUE and so forth…
I’ve got both MBSeq and MD as well.
Triggering the MD as a sound module from the Seq works fine, but you’ll loose a major advantage of the Elektron sequencer: the parameter locks.
Now the MBSeq can do this in a similar way with it’s CC layers, bit it’s not the same fun as dialing in stuff live on the MD.
Thanks for replying. Some stuff to consider. I love the workflow of the Midibox, but I remember also how nice it was to dail in the p-locks on the Analog Four. Hmmm… I might just have to go with the MK2 UW - just to make sure
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