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I'm seriously thinking about buying one at this point, I was just wondering if anyone here that's had one has any insight.

I basically want a rhythmic noise machine that can be used to substitute drums in i guess experimental guitar/piano-based music, that needs to have really deep sequencing and sound mangling functionality but still have a good tactile interface for composing, improvising and performing.
I find software quite unintuitive for this kind of stuff personally so i don't mind dropping a lot more money on something that feels like a really thorough instrument. (but i absolutely am not going down the modular rabbit-hole at this point )

I was just wanting to check whether there are any major downfalls about it that i've missed, and if anyone has any examples of it being used in weird contexts (e.g. not techno/house/dub/EDM etc) with way out there sounds (ie not trying to approximate an actual drum kit or 808 etc). Also whether there's much difference between the mkI and II? i would be going for the UW version either way but it's a lot cheaper to buy a used mkI UW, although since the +drive upgrade is so expensive it might be worth just buying an outright UW+.

Thaaanks

the main difference between MKI and MKII are the power supply and MKII has max 64 step sequencer per pattern, while MKI only has 32 step.

it is definately a wayyy out there drum machine. it sounds right up your alley tbh, u can make some really gnarly sounds w/ it. its not an 808. its a digital beast. i always found the elektron interfaces very intuitive for creating songs and tweaking live. but sometimes takes a little learning up front, as its pretty deep box.

u can make synth sounds w/ it too. so not just drum sounds. and u can use the sequencer to sequence midi stuff if you'd like as well.

Yes, I have all the Elektron boxes aside from RYTM which I'm sure I will get shortly. The machinedrum is quite good. I would highly recommend getting the +drive version with the UW. That allows you more sample space.

I do the "edm" thing so I can't exactly comment on how it is for 'weird' stuff, but I do a lot of IDM and it works great for that, especially mangling samples.

most musical, fun and inspiring little synth box around. I have had some issues with drift when trying to track it. I think I could fix it by having my computer be the midi clock. Regardless, I love it.

thanks dudes!

i didn't know about the pattern length thing and 32 steps would be a bit limiting for me so i think i'll save up the extra dosh and get a UW+ mkII

re. drift- that's good to know to expect issues with that but not a dealbreaker for me, i prefer working in free time and just manually arranging everything. i would probably be trying to make it sound as non-metric as possible so as long as the sounds can all be mixed and panned on board to a stereo output i would be cool for tracking patterns when necessary, way less primitive than what i've been doing thus far regardless.

Hyphen Nation wrote:most musical, fun and inspiring little synth box around. I have had some issues with drift when trying to track it. I think I could fix it by having my computer be the midi clock. Regardless, I love it.

your computer is most likely causing the drift, i would bet. computers are notorious for introducing jitter.

elektron midi is like the most rock solid thing i've ever used.

Well Autechre used them live for awhile or still so that's that... I've got the OG MK1 since new and I'm still finding things to do with it... I'd like the option for samples but at this point it'd be better to just get their newish sampler thing... Elektron makes some quality gear so you can rest assured you can keep it for the rest of your life and it'll still be makin dope noise in 2073...

Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. wrote:

Hyphen Nation wrote:most musical, fun and inspiring little synth box around. I have had some issues with drift when trying to track it. I think I could fix it by having my computer be the midi clock. Regardless, I love it.

your computer is most likely causing the drift, i would bet. computers are notorious for introducing jitter.

elektron midi is like the most rock solid thing i've ever used.

Nah, had a live drummer too, we were trying to do some work with both the Machinedrum and live performers.

I could have the master clock be the computer, and shit would be on lockdown, or I could get one of those innerclock boxes. Elektrons are actually pretty notorious for teh driftz. I didn't take it seriously till I was trying to properly track with it, and it got all messy. Regardless, not a deal breaker by any stretch. I'm probably one of their biggest fans [including originally getting all up a flame war with the innerclock guy over on Elektron Users Group a few years ago http://www.elektron-users.com/index.php ... mitstart=0.

Depending on what you need to do with it, you just may need a little extra clock help. The machinedrum and the monomachine are go to tools in my studio, regardless.
Old ass pic:
relatively recent ass pic:

that setup is amazing, jesus. awesome man.

i would love to hear the kind of things you guys do with the elektron boxes even if it's totally different to what i was describing.

full GAS ahead, time to sell some more shit.

sexy. SEM?

no worries dude, i just have had pretty much the complete opposite experience. my computer is always the problem w/ drift, jitter. i've synced the elektron stuff extensively and never really had any issues, except w/ the turbo midi.

i remember when i first started messing w/ it, for some reason w/ turbo enabled it would cause the timing to drift. with turbo off it was rock solid.

in general, sometimes i notice that when the computer is slaved, the timing will drift, but if its the master, it doesn't. (i can usually see the tempo in Live jump around when slaved).

midi issues can be weird. w/ multiple box setups, one thing placed in the chain can cause weird stuff, while moving it around w/ alleviate it.
some devices are better at being master, some better at being slaved. some want to be first in the chain, some don't care. sometimes midi is the dankest, sometimes its the worst.

backwardsvoyager wrote:that setup is amazing, jesus. awesome man.

i would love to hear the kind of things you guys do with the elektron boxes even if it's totally different to what i was describing.

full GAS ahead, time to sell some more shit.

You know, they are instruments, I just use them how ever a creative challenge requires it. It's why they are so awesome. They may be trapped in the limitations of a sequencer, but they are surprisingly creative and expressive.

The only things I've done with them that are up on sound cloud was some soundtrack work for a friend's game, so kind of loopy/ambient. This isn't all I do with them, just what I did with them for this project.





More pics of the studio here: https://www.facebook.com/NanoSonikStudios I got distracted by fuzz and guitars this past year. Need to put the finish on this thing, and stop using a 80% done studio, with random insulation loitering in corners, and unfinished trim work...

^ nice stuff!

does anyone think the +drive upgrade is worthwhile? a used UW mkII without it came up locally for a fair price so unless a +drive model shows up used (unlikely) it's either snag this now or pay about $800 more for a new one with the +drive..

i think the main appeal of the +drive is all the extra sample slots/memory you get. so if u planning on using the sampling a ton.

the other stuff doesn't seem as great as there is already a hefty amount of pattern storage w/o the drive. but YMMV

Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. wrote:i think the main appeal of the +drive is all the extra sample slots/memory you get. so if u planning on using the sampling a ton.

the other stuff doesn't seem as great as there is already a hefty amount of pattern storage w/o the drive. but YMMV

yeah true. i have an sp404sx too so sampling isn't a huuuge deal i just wanted a UW so i could screw around with new sounds if i wasn't 100% content with the kits on it.
buying a UW mkII without the +drive now cos it came up for a fair price locally, so friggin psyched.

Congrats, and say good bye to sleeping the next few days!