MonoMachine + Machinedrum...too easy?

[urbanscallywag]

I own Numerology.

I don't really plan to buy Akai libraries, just put in a HD and have all the drum samples I could need on hand, along with the Akai filters.

[Guest Anonymous]

Originally posted by scenicsquare what what? Yours was shocking you whenever you approached it at the time . . . i have NEEDS niall.

 

 

i fixed it with this:

 

http://www.zzounds.com/item--EBTHUMX

 

 

it kills 60 cycle hum dead. no foolies.

[urbanscallywag]

To easy. Hm. No need to run a vanilla drum sample into an SSM filter, Nord Modular, then Filterbank for a processed sound.

[urbanscallywag]

Maybe I will sell off Logic Pro 7 and give MD a try for a little while.

[donaldcrunk]

Originally posted by niall i fixed it with this: http://www.zzounds.com/item--EBTHUMX it kills 60 cycle hum dead. no foolies.

 

 

I think i might pick up a few of these for some guitar amps? That's some rather inexpensive power treatment you've latched onto right their!

[donaldcrunk]

Wow. Look what i just found at the "future producers" forum.

RE the Machinedrum (obviously)

"This machinedrum module is only useful for those who love having sound modules on their laps while they tweak in realtime. It has no place at all in a professional studio! If you absolutely have to waste money, instead lite up your fireplace with the money and they

[urbanscallywag]

I can't believe Array moved over there.

[donaldcrunk]

yeah, no kidding.

I like to think of him as a "synth missionary" of sorts, educating ignorant triton/motif/fantom savages about the joys of discrete analog electronics and wavetable synthesis.

it's a full time job i'm sure.

[urbanscallywag]

aeon: if you could please address your method of realistic drums, considering the MachineDrum doesn't fill that role.

Or if you could advise me on how I'd best be served. External sampler? Can you parameter lock external CCs?

In addition does the sequencer do real time (but not quantized to 16ths like say an Electribe)?

[urbanscallywag]

Originally posted by scenicsquare yeah, no kidding. I like to think of him as a "synth missionary" of sorts, educating ignorant triton/motif/fantom savages about the joys of discrete analog electronics and wavetable synthesis. it's a full time job i'm sure.

You're on a roll tonight man.

[aeon]

Thanks, but I will pass. I don't visit FP anymore, and haven't for years. It was just too painful.

I have seen Array on the Vintage Synth forums...what with the Q and XTk being so "vintage" and all.


heh,
Ian

[Guest Anonymous]

Originally posted by urbanscallywag aeon: if you could please address your method of realistic drums, considering the MachineDrum doesn't fill that role. Or if you could advise me on how I'd best be served. External sampler? Can you parameter lock external CCs? In addition does the sequencer do real time (but not quantized to 16ths like say an Electribe)?

 

 

i know that you asked aeon, but i'll field some of these:

 

the machinedrum's "physically informed" machine makes a pretty satisfying "real" drum, but it's obviously no replacement for a real drummer. there's no substitution for one, save for quality drum loops and samples, taken from old vinyl or {eg} keith leblanc libraries. alternatively, you could roll your own samples, like photek did back in the day, when he was great. when i want realistic drums, i'm pretty happy using battery and the sample libraries i've built over the years.

 

you can parameter lock external CCs, but if you're looking for an extremely flexible hardware sequencer with good {i guess some might say great} drum sounds, then your best choice is the e-mu px-7, hands down. i own one. i bought the px-7, in fact, because i was so dissatisfied with the machinedrum's sequencer and the way it integrated with my workflow, but i eventually gave in to elektron's way of working, and i haven't had much need for command station since.

 

i recently sold a lot of choice gear - i kept the px-7, because i know that i'll use the hell out of it, someday.

 

the machinedrum is always quantised to 16th notes, or 32nd notes at double-time - this is hells of weak, and no delay, retrigger or swing will make it any better. if i need more complex beats, i sequence them in DP, but i've benefited from not spending hours perfecting my 192nd note buzzes.

[urbanscallywag]

Thanks for that input.

[Guest Anonymous]

Originally posted by scenicsquare I think i might pick up a few of these for some guitar amps? That's some rather inexpensive power treatment you've latched onto right their!

 

 

my apartment's a rat's nest of ground loops and crappy wiring that i can't really do much about, so these have been a godsend. i own three. i recently let my friend, jonathan, whom you can see here:

 

http://sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=2293

 

use one for a demo, and he bought one of his own on the spot from audiomidi.

[aeon]

sorry I missed your post, urb.

1. If I want real drums, I would hire a drummer. OK, synthetically real? E-mu Protean Drums ROM, or various CD-based libraries loaded into the sampler of your choice. That said, if you use a hardware sampler for that task, there are only 2 I would recommend, because of their base sonic nature...Akai and Yamaha S-series...they both have the sound character to do drums right, IMHO.

2. You can send CCs from a MD, but again, the MD is not the best tool for that kind of thing, and I never use that functionality anyway. Like niall said, if I want to do hardware sequencing of another device, I use the E-mu Command Station. In your case, I would use Numerology for sure.

3. as niall said, the Elektron MD is all grid, all the time. that's part of the aesthetic, and it either works for you, or it doesn't. No triplets either. I consider this one of the MD's biggest "weaknesses."


cheers,
Ian

[urbanscallywag]

I'm overcome with uncertainty.

I don't think I would mix with the MD too well. Its too bad.

What Akai libraries for unprocessed drums would you recommend?

I don't want "real" drums as in emulating a rock drummer, more of a hiphop "real" drum context.

[donaldcrunk]

Heyyy, it's kontakt dude that you and array got to see that i didn't make it up for. Cool.

[urbanscallywag]

Originally posted by scenicsquare Heyyy, it's kontakt dude that you and array got to see that i didn't make it up for. Cool.

Who what?

[Guest Anonymous]

the MD's good for hip hop and anything else; you're not just locked into electro {clash or otherwise} or idm.

here's something i started messing around with this evening - it's a monomachine and a machinedrum {from whence come all of the percussive sounds}:

http://syncretism.net/snd/elektron_jam.mp3


pretty chill stuff, and i reckon it sounds pretty okay.

[elcastigo]

Originally posted by Symbiotic You do realize that you're agreeing with someone who has never used either of these machines, right? I hate to break it to you, but I imagine that most of us with either a Machinedrum or MonoMachine don't really feel the need to 'defend our turf'. I'm more than happy to hold on to my little beast and keep its sonic secrets far away from preset-heads and doubters alike.

 

 

+++++++++++

[urbanscallywag]

Again, way to be productive guys.

Unfed explained that he DID in fact make some positive comments about the machines. Two very experienced users came in and explained to me. I proceeded to mention that some people are taking the defending turf comment way too seriously.

So instead of attacking why don't you contribute.

[elcastigo]

Originally posted by urbanscallywag Again, way to be productive guys. Unfed explained that he DID in fact make some positive comments about the machines. Two very experienced users came in and explained to me. I proceeded to mention that some people are taking the defending turf comment way too seriously. So instead of attacking why don't you contribute.

 

 

It's not as political as you make it out to be.

 

There are plenty of examples of the MD on various web sites as well as all kinds of commentary on the UI. There is the Yahoo Elektron site as well as the aforementioned elektron-users site.

 

That said, the only thing that I'm not loving about my MD is the fact that it isn't the thing for real time sequencing. As Aeon and Niall said, it's all grid - and 32 steps only. Of course, in song mode you can chain all kinds of things together in all kinds of ways, so 32 steps is plenty. If you're in love with the sounds, you can slave it to another sequencer that does real time, although that defeats the purpose of having such an intuitive UI.

 

The new UserWave feature makes the sound even more versatile and is easy to use, flexible, and has an interesting "character". It's certainly worth it to me.

 

It's fairly easy to make songs from just the MD.

 

But maybe it isn't your bag.

 

And that's fine.

[Meatball Fulton]

Originally posted by urbanscallywag Do the Elektron instruments still allow for creativity? Will I be able to differentiate myself from the rest of the "crew"?

You're kidding, right?

I'd say 90% of all electronic musicians (myself included) use about 10% of the total capability of their equipment.

Considering how much mileage people have gotten out of the TB303 sorta proves the argument

Creativity in music is not just about coming up with a new sound, it's about coming up with some new music.

[louvega]

Paying for the monomachine + machinedrum wasnt easy at all, but was totally worth it.