I’ve recently become obsessed with potentially buying a Machinedrum. Like many, I used to own one but sold it in 2018, and have since come to deeply regret it after seeing the current used prices. I sold it at the time because I was no longer doing music production, for the record.
I could afford to buy one now, but there’s a practical voice in the back of my head telling me my nostalgia is overhyping it, and when I do get one I’ll be let down. I know the MD is amazing, but it is a niche instrument that can take some work to truly appreciate.
I’m sure other people have been in the same boat, and I’m curious, what’s been your experience?
Did you end up buying an MD, and if yes do you feel it was worth it?
Or did you find some other way to fill the void with a modern alternative? I’ve been looking at stuff like LXR-02, Syntakt and the new CyDrums, but it’s hard to predict if these will scratch the itch.
DN2 honestly. It killed the GAS I had for a Machinedrum pretty quickly, and all the drum machines I had (including the LXR02, the Syntakt or the Volca Drum) felt pretty pointless and limited compared to it.
what things would I miss having on MD, what would annoy me?
how important are these missing features to me nowadays and how much would the annoying parts annoy me?
This has worked well for me to kill GAS now that I‘ve played with a lot of machines and can quickly make pretty sure that I wouldn’t make much music with a machine. For example, I can imagine MD sequencer feeling pretty restrictive if you’ve gotten used to a more modern Elektron.
Maybe you could also listen back to the things you made with MD and re-assess if you still love the sounds and beats you made back then. Sometimes turns out it no longer sounds as great to you as it did back then.
If after all this you still badly want an MD, I guess it‘s down to whether you‘ll find a good unit and are willing to pay current prices.
Haha, well I should have mentioned I have a DN2. And I love it, but for me it’s a different beast /use-case. I’ve learned I really don’t enjoy designing drum sounds from scratch, so I use FM Drum more like a DFAM and modulate/mutate a specific sound, rather than building traditional drum kits.
Part of my craving for the MD is the “machine” workflow, which I think is my ideal middle ground between having to design sounds from scratch and using a sample.
Well, sounds like Rytm or Syntakt might be a better fit, and both are way cheaper and reliable than MD? You’re describing exactly what I love about AR and ST. On AR, you could even load a few samples of your favorite MD sounds that will be hard to replicate that you‘ll have on top of all the internal machines.
You might also want to consider the Dirtywave M8. It’s an absolute fantastic hardware tracker that is comparable with the Monomachine/Machinedrum paradigm, with a lot of “machines”, or instruments. The drum presets, especially with the fm instrument, are gorgeous if you don’t like to start from scratch.
Yea, the practical part of me is considering the AR/Syntakt route, though I think they both have a very different character so they might not quite scratch the itch.
Forgot to mention, I actually purchased a Machinedrum sample pack and loaded it in my Digitakt. I was hoping this would kill my GAS but unfortunately it reminded me how far you can push each MD machine and ironically increased my GAS
I just had a MD delivered about 2 days ago after never owning one. I am still getting used to it. Seems like much more of a dedicated drum machine that a grove box.
On a side note, I did order the Cydrum and think it will be an amazing addition to any elektron device you get.
I bought a non UW MK2 and sold it recently in favor of the trusty DT2. Each their own, but my GAS started wearing down the more I read up on the sample limitations (I was planning to switch up to UW+). The synth engines are pretty sweet, but not sweet enough for the apparent hassle. I’d buy a new one in a heart beat though if it had modern sample management features and individual outs
All this MnM/MD fetishizing is about 99% hype. They’re both decent bits of kit, but there’s a load of equally decent bits of kit for less money that aren’t relying on 20 year old parts.
Yes people have made mind blowing music with them, but that’s because of rare talent, not gear.
If they were still going for £700 (when they weren’t cool and none of you wanted one) it’d be a no brainer, but they’re not worth the best part of two grand.
Why not get the Machinedrum? I absolutely love mine and don’t think it is overhyped - the hype is deserved. No other machine comes close to it’s sound and possibilities (except modular) and with MK2 you can have a RAM record machine recording what you’re doing and play mangled bits that adds a different layer to your drums. It can sound so big and powerful but also really delicate. In my opinion it is utterly unique and I should have bought it many years ago. It does take work to truly appreciate but so does the alternatives.
I really hope Elektron will one day make a grand follow up to this glorious machine.
MCL fixes most of this and provides a bunch of other features too. Not trying to add to the hype or whatever, just thought I’d respond to this point specifically.
i own both, nobody really cared when they were getting marked down and collecting dust at the stores. The machines are the same as they were then, it’s definitely hype/nostalgia/scarcity that’s making prices climb so high. Without a doubt they’re unique and amazing sounding but i agree with @Fin25 they should be about 1/2 to 1/3 the price they’re listed at. people are treating them more as investments than tools, because i see less MNM and MD content than i did when they were cheaper.
overall all the Elektrons have raised quite a bit in MSRP so i think that has a bit to do with it as well. IE. I bought a4 mk1 and rytm mk1 for around 1k brand new, did not make sense back then to pay MORE for an older box. That being said a brand new MDUW was pretty expensive, i think it might have retailed higher than the rytm when it came out
