To buy or not to buy

Elektron Gear Machinedrum
#1

Hi,

I’ve seen a shop deal for a new Machinedrum SPS-1 MK II, for 620 quid, full warranty blah blah. It has no UW funtionality or +drive. The UW+drive is too expensive for me at present. Do you think I should get the 620 quid new SPS-1 MKII, a second hand SPS-1 MKII UW+, or work harder and save for a new UW+ version?

Any advice would be appreciated :slight_smile:

#2

I recommend a new, the. used UW+ then the II…

you will get great life usage out of it. I buy for long term ownership so my bias is towards new ownership. If you think you will sell it and upgrade in the future. you can flip my model.

#3

Thanks dude, although I’m not exactly sure what your advice is lol. I think you said you would get the new Sps-1 MKII, then a used UW+, then a new UW+ MKII. Or something like that :stuck_out_tongue:

#4

think dimi3 means the opposite. FWIW, i have a SPS-1 MKII with no extras and now i’m jonesing for at least the +drive and possibly the UW too. might eventually pass on UW though. i have an OT, but i’m starting to sour on transferring and managing samples and i find the onboard editing and slicing cumbersome.

#5

Thanks Xyzr :slight_smile:

#6

I got an octatrack, and a machinedrum UW+ …

The UW-thing as an idea… is great… and I get excellent results by putting litlte samples in it… But the resampling (sample the machinedrum self…) is a bit weird/cumbersum compared to an octatrack…
then there is a lot of smal details around the sample-banks.
as in samplebanks can only contain 48samples, the total combi cant be bigger then 2.5mb … not every sample-slot is the same (the last few work slightly difrent with the start-end propperties)

So is it worth all that extra cash??? … to me… yes… I like to experiment, and do really weird stuff with my gear… but it does suck ass to put samples on it… they to big quick. (which is less of a problem when you make 1 song at a time…)

I have the feeling, if you want to play with drums + samples … an AR is more fun.
but i cant garantee it… as i dont have an AR … I do know that for samples, an octatrack… or an oldskool sampler connected to your machinedrum… is more fun/versatile.

#7

for me personally the MD is the most fun elektron by far. I do have and UW +drive… i wouldn’t want to miss out on the -UW part but the +drive I hardly ever use.
surely the resampling part isn’t as elaborate as it is on the OT but way more fun IMO and contributing to the playability and “style” of my sounds quite a bit. I had my hands on a MK1 and it felt rather shoddy compared to my mk2 (weird knobs and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on)

MD -UW is as close to world domination as I ever got

#8

I have a mkII non UW and absolutely love it.
Cant comment on the UW but just using the onboard synthesis is more than enough for me. Or use my Octatrack.

#9

I have a MD MKII UW+

The MKII UW+ (newest/fully loaded MD) has:

  • an improved physical construction (slimmer, and the metal edges are smooth).

  • a switched-mode power supply which allows the unit to be played anywhere in the world without the need for a voltage converter.

  • less noisy outputs

  • more ROM slots (more sample slots) and more sample memory

  • 64 step patterns (MKI only has 32 step patterns) …this is a big deal to me.

  • not sure if there are differences in the OS, but the MKII is also great at handling MIDI and controlling other gear.

The MKII UW+ gives you so much more space to work with, you never have to worry about deleting anything. Experiment and play, and don’t worry about filling up space.

When I first got my MD, i didn’t think I’d use the sample feature much, but have since really come to love it. I have sampled pads, stabs, sounds effects, etc into my MD, so I can basically put an entire track together using just the MD. The MD is wicked powerful, and especially when you start to view it as a workstation. The UW+ aspect takes it to another level.

If you like to have a machine that can be an amazing ‘all in one’ box, then the MKII UW+ is the way to go. But you just want it for simple drum duties, and don’t care about having such depth in a drum machine, then save some cash and skip the the Plus Drive, though I’d still probably get a MKII, just for the design improvements.

#10

Thanks for the input people. :slight_smile:

How effective would an SPS-1 MII (no UW or + drive) coupled with an Octatrack be? Would that setup mean Im not losing out much on not having the UW+? Would the Octatrack essentially be able to do what the UW on the machinedrum can do?

#11

I found an interesting discussion at this link which answers the question in my previous post.

http://www.elektron-users.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=2&func=view&id=131538&catid=9&limit=10&limitstart=20

Coupled with the comments by everyone on this thread, I think Ill wait, and save mony to get the full UW + version.

Thanks people! :slight_smile: