Elektron-Users

Is it worth buying a Jomox 09 if you already have the MD?

if the price is right sure. I paid $375 for mine, so I jumped on it and I am glad I did. But any more money and I would have passed on it. I mean, it gets used - but the first thing I reach for is my MD every single time. The 09 just does 909 808 remember, so after a while it gets old. The kick and snare do rule though - sometimes its nice to use the MD hats and percussion, with the jomox handling the kick and snare duties.

I had the XBase09 for a bit and personally, I'd have to say that overall...it just flat out sucks. in this day and age, the sequencing is just a joke. sure, you can lock parameters on any step just like in the MD. but you have no visible reference as to what value is locked where on any given step. and as soon as you try to edit them, all the values jump to completely different positions than the ones you had locked. plus when you are in the mode that allows locking, the only control you have over the machine is volume for each voice. you can't control the locked parameters nor even the unlocked parameters (you can do both in the MD) in these voices. then the hi hat samples are not so hot and you can only change their pitch and decay (and reverse them). you can do MILES more in the MD.

that said, I'll have to say two things about it:
1) it's fun. drum machines in general are fun and this is certainly no exception. however, the MD still kills it in fun factor.
2) it sounds great, at least the kick and snare do. so if you really want those sounds, I'd say go for the MBase (kick only) or AirBase and just sequence it from your MD/MnM (preferably) or computer. that way, you've got more sounds, you can lock parameters and if you have a MIDI controller you can change those parameters during the sequence too.

admittedly, if I'd never touched the MD (and specifically, it's sequencer and interface), I'd love the Jomox. but since I have, there's kind of no going back now I'd recommend that Jomox take a good hard look at the MD before putting the final touches on their new 999 box.

just set a 1024x768 pic of the machinedrum as your wallpaper & read the manual before you go to sleep every night. thats what i did and 2 years later i had a machinedrum! im so in love with the interface i'm saving for a monomachine as we speak. and if elektron ever makes a sampler with this same interface.. i'm saving up for that as well. i wish i could say its the sequencer that makes the machinedrum so great but in a way thats downing it. the machinedrum in itself is just a great drum machine and its extremely fun to use. it has made me take a second look at hardware that is not sequenced.. and even makes programs like ableton live seem like a chore.

for the record though, ableton is incredibly 'ergonomic' on a laptop in fullscreen mode. not quite the same flair as hardware.. but at least it has a big lcd however the *second* i get an electron sampler, i dont care if its mono or psuedopoly like the monomachine, i'm ditching my computer as far as music making goes. if they did make that, i would also hope that they make a plush recliner chair that holds approx 2 beers & has drop in boxes for your MD/MnM/MS. god i love this box

Guess I will leave the Jomox alone for now...especially for $600 or more.