Elektron-Users

Well, can i ask, coming from someone who has never used a piece of elektron equipment before, and is intending to take out a loan to buy a machinedrum, is this still a good a time as ever to pick one up (namely the MKII)?

Business 101 - play to you existing market. A new product would have a huge existing market egar to buy. A shitty upgrade does nothing - you really think people were thinking of getting a MD or MnM but stopped and said... "if only the case were 1/4' slimmer"??? I doubt it, I'm not going to sell my MD or MnM to upgrade.

Papertiger is spot-on in her response to the above. And i'll reiterate, Elektron's motivation for updating the MD/UW and MnM line wasn't merely a "hey let's make the case 1/4'", their reasoning has been established clearly,

"There are other software upgrades below the surface. As well as thinner, new balanced i/o, lower heat producing power supplies, and additional software inhancements. These upgrades were essential for the continued life of the products - both from a hardware point of view (obsolete (!) parts), and from a marketing point of view. Elektron's supply had ran out and they found that some of the parts in the previous MD/MDUW and MnM were no longer manufactured. So they took the opportunity to 'refresh' the units and add a little more functionality. "

On the flip side though, A lot of engineering work goes into even minor changes like this. Elektron is a small company, so if they have been working on this than chances are they haven't been working on anything else.

Elektron is stated very clearly that they're working on new products in "parallel" as they've developed the MKII's and working out the OS:es.

Sam wrote:
Well, can i ask, coming from someone who has never used a piece of elektron equipment before, and is intending to take out a loan to buy a machinedrum, is this still a good a time as ever to pick one up (namely the MKII)?

Yes, if you want the machinedrum...there has never been a better time to get one.

nkirchner wrote:

jsrockit wrote:

Do you think they were really teasing you or that too many people read into every little thing they do?

"We are working on something new" - "we will not be making updated versions of our existing product" - both things were said on their front page...

Now, I may be the biggest Elektron fanboy out there, but I don't follow this. Statement #2 turned out to be false. With that in mind, its a real challenge to believe Statement #1?

i am not an emplyee or in any way affiliated to Elektron.

but i am an MDmk1 owner and a huge fan of this company.

and thats why my last post was meant to create a counterpoint to those expecting (and complaining about the lack of) a software upgrade model from a enthusiastic quirky niche commpany dedicated to hardware.

shift happens.

jsrockit wrote:

Allerian wrote:
Go for it Ingrid! Then you'll be in the market for my new MD/MnM MKII 340x176x12mm Spacer Pad, which allows you to use the MKII machines together with the Classic models. No more dealing with the hassle of having thier operating surfaces at different heights.

Sweet!

I don't understand why people are thinking that it'll be a pain to use a MKI with a MKII due to 12mm in height... people use different size boxes from other brands all the time. Don't get me wrong, I like that my two boxes look slick together, but it is not that big of a deal.

Humor my friend. It just jumped into my head as the typical kind of product someone will sell.

Sam wrote:
Well, can i ask, coming from someone who has never used a piece of elektron equipment before, and is intending to take out a loan to buy a machinedrum, is this still a good a time as ever to pick one up (namely the MKII)?

More than ever. I've had mine for 6 1/2 years, it's still the centerpiece of my studio, and I love it to death. Get a mk 1 or a mk 2 or UW mk 1 or a UW mk2, and forget all the whining in this thread - the MD is a fabulous musical tool no matter what edition, and will continue to be so for many years. That's the bottom line.
Check out the front page of this site, on the bottom you will find lots of music made only with Machinedrums. And yes, I'm done promoting myself for today :-D

Best
Nils

Well, can i ask, coming from someone who has never used a piece of elektron equipment before, and is intending to take out a loan to buy a machinedrum, is this still a good a time as ever to pick one up (namely the MKII)?


Yes. They've just released a new machine -- it would be like buying an Apple computer the day it comes. . . you're good for at least 3 months.

It's likely that we'll only see OS updates to (both -- at least I think) the old and new machines in the near term. The only choice you have to make is whether to go classic or MKII.

M

nkirchner wrote:

... "we will not be making updated versions of our existing product" - both things were said on their front page...


This was never posted on their front page. If you're gonna make things gospel then which apostle made this statement?

No but seriously, if we're gonna use statements and quote's as leverage, then site that shit proper!

/a

I don't really think it matters all that much which version of the Elektrons one owns/gets. (And I doubt we'll see the prices of the second hand units drop anytime soon. Which I feel is a good thing btw, since I have invested in one of the Classic units.) I have yet to use all the 32 sample slots on my UW, but if I had the extra 12 I might discover a very different way to work with my MD. Or maybe not. Either way, I feel like with the Elektrons, I gladly pay for the new mindset each new update inspire me to take on. Each new thing they add unlocks a whole new creative potential that I would never have discovered otherwise. Some people don't feel that way, but I guess they haven't been an Elektron user for long enough to appreciate the niceties of the small quirky stuff. The devils in the detail, you know. Tiny thinks count. I must say though, both the MD and UW are awesome machines; regardless of the mkII or Classic label. If you want a Machinedrum, go for it. There's never been a better time to buy.

I'd like to add this in closure; does anyone of you remember what you said when you discovered the SidStation? Or what was said when the original SPS-1 was released? Or the Monomachine? And the UW? Everytime Elektron releases a new product a whole bunch of people go "WTF!!! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING?!?!" We've been through this before, and if there's one thing I'm pretty sure of it's that we'll all go through this again the next time they release something. Daniel stated in an interview in some Swedish magazine I read ages back that they never considered what "the market" wanted when designing products. He stated that he didn't consider there to be a market for the MD until they released it, but by doing that they created that very market. People said they were crazy. Cause who in their right mind would buy a blown up digital 909/808 clone? At that price!? Sounds familiar? There's nothing new under the sun... I'm sure we'll all wise up in a bit.

Enjoy your Elektrons; both new and old ones.

-Ingrid