Sampling outputs is lower quality

Elektron Gear Machinedrum
#1

question for the experts…

I’ve been messing around with the MD’s sampling capabilities and I noticed a considerable drop in audio quality when playing them back

Specifically, with the MD MK2UW+ :

  • M2 set to R1,
  • M3 set to R3,
  • Mlev=0, Mbal=0,
  • ILev=-64, Ibal=-64 (to not sample anything).

M3 remains muted, hold Function pressed while i mute all other tracks and unmute M3 to play back the sampled outputs.

The sound has a muffled tone to it, almost as if there is a bit of reverb. Could it have something to do with Master effects? I tried both with samples and also machines to see if it made a difference but results remained the same.

The sampled outputs go through the dynamix compressor ITB and i suppose gets reprocessed as a signal upon playback but that still doesnt explain it fully.

Any thoughts always appreciated.

NK

#2

Hmm, not an expert but am an old-timer. It’s not a common thing that gets posted. I would check your filter settings.

Question - are you sampling from the audio inputs, and then playing it back?

Also, the Dynamix is a rather odd compressor that has caused a lot of confusion over the years. So I would definitely turn that off first.

Good luck and keep us posted.

#3

Veets thanks for the input. I have tried this unfort and it still doesnt work. I bypassed all the master effects but nada…
I am sampling the MDs outputs, not inputs.

#4

check your samplebank stats. what percentage of the memory are you already using?

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#5

Hey dub, I havent checked stats although half of my samplebank is currently being used with one shots from the packs provided via the Elektron website… still doesn’t justify the drop in audio quality of a mere 2 bar loop… or does it??

#6

The MD will lower the sample rate for RAM machines as the shared memory for ROM and RAM machines gets used up. It’s (only briefly) mentioned on page A-15 of the MD manual.

#7

Thx Peter, ill have a look when i get home and see if erasing the samples makes any difference.

I know that the MD lowers the sample rate if its running out of resources but given it’s only half full I dont think it justifies the drop in quality.

Wondering if anyone out there has had similar problems when sampling the external mains…

#8

once you get much above 50% you can start to hear a difference, especially after sampling a 2-bar loop, which by itself takes up roughly 20% of the UW memory iirc.

if this is indeed what you’re experiencing, try cutting your memory usage down to 40% or so, and then also playing back the sampled RAM-P loop on two separate tracks, using a bit of panning to separate them and some filter and eq. i find that usually gives it more presence.

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