Elektron-Users

I have an OT and MnM. Its time to complete the trinity. But I am dubious as to whether I need to get the UW version of the MD, when the OT is the ultimate Elektron sampler IMO, and I think a significant extension of the MDUW sampling engine.

What will I miss by NOT getting the UW version, and just going for the MD base model? We are talking a new retail purchase here of the MKII versions. Ok...the +drive.....but that as side....do you think its worth the extra $500 for the UW.....?

I know the easy answer here is YES...get the UW! But REALLY.....with the OT in my system....is it REALLY necessary?

Thanks for any feedback....

Well.. someday i will buy a machinedrum.. and when i do.. i will get one with UW in it
even though i can sample fine with my octatrack (or all other samplers i got).

because.. hmm i am sure that i want to load my own drums in it.

besides that.. the resampling stuff on the octa is fun.. so i expect the uw
to be fun 2 and as far as i gather, all the neat idm things i see on youtube use of the uw part.. not that i want to copy that sound.. but to copy the fun their having..

and probably an +drive in it.. cause, i think i will be missing that on my monomachine.

I don't even know why Elektron make the non-UW version any more to be honest.

i never would have bought the MD if not for the UW function, and i use it more as a sampling drum machine than a drum synth. the synth side of the MD is great, but the UW makes it so much more useful and fun.

seriously, if they made an updated MD-UW with sequencer improvements, USB, and 1gb+ sample storage i'd probably dump the OT. well, that might be pushing it, but it's not too far off.

These are the responses that I expected....but REALLY does this get to the heart of the matter?

There is no doubt that the UW version enhances the MD over the non-UW version. I also get that some might prefer the MDUW over the Octatrack, if choosing one machine over the other. But the question surrounds whether the non-UW version is sufficient *along with* the OT. It seems to me that all of the features and enhancements that the UW brings to the MD is available in spades on the OT, and then much more. Want to resample beats...OT with 8 stereo tracks, and near unlimited sampling time. Everything you would use a RAM machine for.....OT does it......right? With the two synced together and hooked up.....what does the UW bring to the table that the OT isn't already exploiting. As side from those occasions where using the MD by itself is useful (that won't happen for me...I will use them both together), how is the UW not *redundant*?

Perhaps I'm missing something.....but I am struggling to see it. Many have purchased the MD as their first Elektron box. I didn't. The OT was my first. So, from what I am seeing and thinking, I am glad Elektron still sells the non-UW version. It seems a perfect fit for an OT user.

Again....no doubt the UW version is a wonderful machine taken by itself. But that is NOT my question. OT plus MD......UW is redundant....right?

Well.. just to look at it from another point of view..

I do not use the cue-output on my octatrack.. havent exactly figured out
in which way to use it.. So , even though i want the uw version..
i doubt it that i use the octatrack to feed it.. but i am sure the machinedrum
will be fed into the octatrack..

so appart from the glitchy stuff i want to play with and the loading of my own samples..
most of the fun i want from the machinedrum is the non-uw stuff..

in reality, the larger part of my drumhits i gathered around the years prob stay in my
octatrack, or one of the other samplers and i have never uploaded single cycle wavs in my monomachine.. (do not even have midi interface for that

So, hmm you could wonder, isnt the octatrack more fun for transition-tricks (why some use UW)
and how many times will you upload your own samples and use them (as in my case with the single cycles on the monomachine).. and do you like glitchy stuff??

in my case, i like transition-tricks, and glitchy mayhem and yeah thats worth extra pennies for me.. but for you.. hmm its your music and your wallet

the dreammer wrote:

so appart from the glitchy stuff i want to play with and the loading of my own samples..
most of the fun i want from the machinedrum is the non-uw stuff..

and do you like glitchy stuff??

in my case, i like glitchy mayhem and yeah thats worth extra pennies for me.. but for you.. hmm its your music and your wallet

Now again....I totally hear what you are saying, and you are getting where I am coming from....but even with the "glitchy stuff".....how wouldn't the OT be capable of all of that and more? Re-sampling a beat or track or hit....is a *step* in the work flow. Whether its being resampled into a RAM machine on MD, or into an OT track.....its still a "step". Once its sampled.....the OT has all of those parameters and Plocks and more.......right? So you are using two different machines.....but the similarities are obvious, and if you *already* own the OT.....how does having the UW give you an advantage? Granted...I don't own a MD yet....so maybe I'm missing something..... But I've seen plenty of vids and demos of the MD doing IDM glitchy stuff....and I've read the MD manuals......and I believe I can do all that IDM glitch and more on the OT, being fed by the MD. But PLEASE correct me if I am wrong.

Can you do something similar with the OT? Sure. Is it exactly the same in terms of how it sounds or workflow? No.

If nothing else, there's a lot to be said for having 16 of your own drum samples at once without having to P-lock sample selection like on the OT.

If the OT was just a beefed up version of UW aspect of the MD, then I doubt Elektron would have made it. They are both capable of loading samples, but that's where it ends in terms of similarities. Totally different workflow, sound quality, and purposes.

I would NEVER recommend someone get the non-UW version of the MD personally. Because even though you might not see a need for it now, once you get the MD and spend some time with it, I'm guessing you'll want the UW aspect regardless of what other gear you have.

Just my $.02 though.

Sounds like, deep down, you want the md uw. Doo it. Thank us later

^ agreed with all the yays, and if you want some inspiration for MD UW, the Hector video where he samples a record and starts p-locking the hec(K) out of it, should provide some...if not some of the many youtubes from our local talents.

The UW just expands the MD into new dimensions not possible with the standard version, so yeah, much recommended.