Thinking of buying a used MD, but am uncertain about the value (both in usefulness and money) of the features in the different models. How much more would you say an MK2-UW with +Drive should cost than an MK1-UW without +Drive, and how useful are the additional features?
1440 euro MK II +drive brand new … with the AR around now, prices for used machines have dropped… would like to sell mine, (berlin germany)
i just did a gear swap for a Machinedrum MKII non-UW where we both valued our item at $800. you can probably get a non-UW for less, but the MD was less than six months old so it was basically like new.
i hear the UW opens up a whole new world to the MD, and i may swap my way to a UW eventually, but i already have an Octatrack for sampling. just the internal / factory sounds on the MD are great for glitch and idm, you can get a real nice tweakfest going pretty quickly.
There’s a section in the manual that lists the differences. Biggest downside of the MkI is only 32 steps per pattern vs. 64 on the MkII.
Well, i sold my MD mkii and recently get a MD uw +.
I think that uw is very usefull if you play mainly with MD. It’s a powerfull advantagage if you don’t have OT, or other sampler. In fact, it allow you to have other kits than the synthesis ones and give you a real important possibility to improove and drasticaly change your patterns.
I the same way, the drive gives you a vast assortiments of kits, very usefull in the context of MD/Mono combo. You can have a whole live in your MD.
i bought my MD second hand for 900 euros, but it was new. I year only and the seller was precotionous, so it was exactly brand new. It was 500 € left in my wallet.
The differences between the models are listed in Elektron’s Machinedrum FAQ, my question is about the value of the features. For example 32 vs. 64 steps per pattern as mentioned above: I understand that 64 is better than 32, but what is the impact on the use of the machine? Is 32 a serious drawback, or doesn’t it matter that much? Same with the other features, like +Drive, number of sample slots, memory, etc. And how much money would you pay extra for MK2 UW+ instead of MK1 UW?
64 steps allows you to write patterns of 4 bars x 16 steps, or 2 bars x 32 steps etc, so you can make less-repetitious or more-intricate patterns. The usefulness of that to you depends on what you want the Machinedrum to do for you (which you haven’t told us).
You should also consider that the Mk1 uses a different power supply to the Mk2; the power supplies for Mk1 MDs are very difficult to find if you ever need a replacement. For that reason, I would not recommend that anyone buy a Mk1 if they could afford a Mk2. But for you it would depend on what budget you would have available (which you haven’t told us).
The UW option allows you to live sample any sound source or to use pre-made samples in your MD compositions. The maximum sampling time and number of samples is quite limited compared to stand-alone samplers. Perhaps the UW option might not be very useful for you if you already have a hardware or software sampler (which you haven’t told us).
The +drive option allows you to store multiple copies of the Machinedrum memory on the machine itself, rather than having to load copies from a computer. This is clearly most useful if you wanted to use more patterns/kits/samples than the MD memory can hold at one time before loading from a computer - perhaps in an extensive hardware-only live set. Again, you need to think about how you expect to use the MD (which you haven’t told us).
You can look on the forum here or on sales sites like eBay to see the going rates for the various models.
If you’re new to Elektron and a little cautious about your first purchase, why not buy a basic Mk2 secondhand? Its value will not depreciate and you can easily sell it if you don’t like it or trade up if you want another model in the future.
But if you tell us a little more about your musical style, setup, and plans for equipment then we might be able to advise you more specifically.
Good point, I hadn’t thought of that at all!
The only thing I can think of is the sound packs available for download from Elektron, but I don’t know how they compare to drum kits for dedicated samplers. Reading about them I note warnings about not being fully compatible with MK1.
The reason I’ve been asking about MK1-UW vs. MK2-UW+ is that they’re the ones available secondhand locally, no plain MK2 unfortunately. I can afford either, but am cautious about automatically spending money on the latest if the cheaper alternative is just as useful.
The reason I haven’t written in detail about plans for use, etc. is that I don’t have enough experience to really know, and wanted to hear personal opinions from users that are actually familiar with the units.
Summary of my understanding so far: UW is a poor excuse for a sampler, but it’s there in both models anyway. It seems that MK1 has limited support for sound packs, but I don’t know if they’re worth considering. +Drive makes it less dependent on a computer, especially for samples.
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32 vs 64 was a deal killer for me. having 64 steps lets me program enough variation in each pattern that i can think of each pattern as a separate track, and use mutes and tweaks to jam for a substantial amount of time, as in the video i made and attached below.
i could get equivalent results by chaining 2 32-step patterns together, but then the MD is jumping back and forth between patterns and it’s just another logistical thing taking some of my focus away from creativity.
hey xyzr_kx —
i was wondering how you would achieve a proper glitch style with the factory sounds… if you could make a tutorial, or put me into the right direction where to look, i would be very grate full … i know about the retrig, but usually i find them factory sounds too long and not snappy and tight enough to be a true glitch sound… thanks!
Get the uw.
Get the + drive.
Easy decision.
hey xyzr_kx —
i was wondering how you would achieve a proper glitch style with the factory sounds… if you could make a tutorial, or put me into the right direction where to look, i would be very grate full … i know about the retrig, but usually i find them factory sounds too long and not snappy and tight enough to be a true glitch sound… thanks!
[/quote]
i would totally do this, but i’m an MD noob 
only had it a couple weeks…also, we may have different ideas of “glitch” - i just think of it as any sort of digitally destroyed sound, not necessarily tight.
hey xyzr_kx —
i was wondering how you would achieve a proper glitch style with the factory sounds… if you could make a tutorial, or put me into the right direction where to look, i would be very grate full … i know about the retrig, but usually i find them factory sounds too long and not snappy and tight enough to be a true glitch sound… thanks!
[/quote]
i would totally do this, but i’m an MD noob only had it a couple weeks…also, we may have different ideas of “glitch” - i just think of it as any sort of digitally destroyed sound, not necessarily tight.[/quote]
digitally destroyed …oooh yeah!!! 
^^The MD is done for glitch. The best, if your a MD noob, is to try to discover all the synthesis, and to tweak, tweak and tweak.
Then you’ll find the utility of LFO and Control option.
Then you’ll be the Glitch&IDM champion
this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtxX0VEpMSI showed me (before owning one) how the MD can go glitchy…with just its synthesis
I think that this vid became a reference for glitch MD producers (at least on the Elektron forum)
I must say that it’s a very nice method to find fun and original kits and patterns. It’s the granfather of scenes in OT.
I use it like that, copying from pattern to pattern, to obtain differents variations of the same pattern.
Then i take my and use the maping in MD that permit me to launch the patterns of the MD with notes played on the MPC.
It’s a scene like method on MD, and fully usable in gig.
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I would have to disagree. The UW might lack the abundancy of samples that can be loaded in comparison to a dedicated sampler, although the innovative nature and sheer power of this machine regarding sound manipulation can blow your creative and live performance expectations through the roof. Not to mention, having a limited amount of samples can enhance you to be more sound selective (if that makes sense 
)
You Right !
The only thing I can think of is the sound packs available for download from Elektron, but I don’t know how they compare to drum kits for dedicated samplers. Reading about them I note warnings about not being fully compatible with MK1.
I felt nothing in the soundpack. I mean you will probably find few things here and there… but honestly it’s not surprising at all.
I really like the 2 bars of 32 steps it’s really nice. Also, i think 4 bars is a perfect block in an arrangement rather than 2. I mean if you put some things in the Fourth and last one, it’s less boring than a loop of 2 bars. but it’s purely my taste.
If you’re talking about used units, the price differential will be about $300. Slightly more for new units.