Elektron-Users

Hi folks -- first post from a potential owner. I’m thinking about buying a UW Mark II and have a few questions I’d like to run past the group.

I’ve read lots of superlatives on the Web and watched several demo vids on YouTube, so I know plenty of users love their MD. I'm also trying to glean as much as I can from these forums, which I just discovered, as this would be a pretty big cash outlay for me. If any of what I ask below has been discussed elsewhere, send me that way -- any and all help appreciated.

-How's the MD's general reliability? Is it roadworthy, or more of a stay-at-home studio item? (At first glance through the forum, I see plenty of threads beginning with cries for help concerning something not working as it should.)

-How’s the on-board reverb? How noisy is it? Can it, for example, compensate for a second-rate or nonexistent reverb in a club soundsystem or recording device?

-Can the MD process outside sound sources? In particular, what sort of effects can be applied directly to sounds received by the audio inputs? (Or are these inputs designed just for sample import?)

-I assume that the MD's phrase sampling capabilities would make it possible to beatmatch one internally produced groove with another and transition between them DJ-style....do I have this right?

-On live sampling of phrases the MD creates: Once you sample a phrase, can you change the BPM without altering the pitch of the notes? Do the drums, for example, decrease in pitch if you slow the BPM down?

-Can phrase sampling be controlled via MIDI? i.e., can I command the MD remotely to begin taking a 2-bar sample of what it’s playing, then fade in another track while the sample is looping? (FYI, I’ve got a Behringer FCB-1010 pedalboard I’d like to use to send MIDI commands…I sometimes perform live instrumental tracks atop my drum grooves and I'd prefer not to futz with knobs any more than necessary while I do.)

-I understand the MD is primarily a drum synth, but is it at all capable of producing atmospherics like keyboard pads? Is the synth engine able to create, say, a Cm7 chord hit on its own, or would I need to sample a few keyboard hits from an external source?

-Are the onboard sounds sufficiently tweakable to keep you happy, or do you find yourself wanting to load percussion samples into the ROM?

-On that note, how difficult is it to load new sounds? Can you just sample something directly from the audio in’s, or must they be imported as a file from a computer? If you have to import files, would I need to invest in any additional software?

I'll stop there. Muchas gracias...

One clarification: When I ask if the MD can process outside sound sources, I mean in a live setting. Can you send a keyboard through the audio inputs and, say, apply the MD's reverb to it?

Thanks again!

Reliability seems good to me, I'd certainly use it live.

The reverb IMHO is excellent and full of character, it excels at gated verb but can do lots of other types too. I have often though of using it on a aux of my mixer and will try it sometime.

The MD makes an excellent processor for external sources, with its filtering, track fx, delay etc.

No auto beatmatching as such. And no timestreching either.

You can trigger the record machine with a midi note.

You can make chords and atmospheric sounds easily, making a specific chord though may require a few slots if you want individual control over the notes.

The onboard machines are capable of most types of drum sound you could reasonably expect, and plenty more besides, it is really a percussion synth with a sequencer rather than a drum machine, the whole thing is very integrated and comprehensive.

Loading new sounds is a breeze, you can sample sounds in then store them in the rom slots, but don't think the MDUW is anything like an MPC because that is the wrong way to view it. You can use C6 which is a free download to send to MDUW.

In summary I would say the MDUW can be the centrepiece of a set-up but like any other machine out there it is not the be-all and end-all, it is a specialist machine that does what it does very well, there is a learning curve to it but the rewards of mastery will reveal all the heavenly glory

My advice is try one out if you can, if not try and buy at a store which offers a return policy.

-How's the MD's general reliability? Is it roadworthy, or more of a stay-at-home studio item? (At first glance through the forum, I see plenty of threads beginning with cries for help concerning something not working as it should.)


>>> I think the biggest thing you need to watch out for is the power supply feeding the MD. The MD is more succeptable to poor power conditions in clubs and what not, and that seems to give people the most issues. OTherwise, I've never had an issue live with mine for years and years live. It's very metalic and low fi sounding, definitely an effect and not a replacement for a standard reverb. Works good for shorter plate type settings, you're not going to get realistic rooms from it though. Yes, the MD has input machines for passing external singals through it's synth and effects section. The sampler in the MD is NOT a phrase sampler per se, it's main intention is drum hits. That said, you can record up to 2 bar phrases as long as you have enough memory free (remember the MD only has 2.5MB of memory), but everything you sample is 12bit. Sounds cool, but it's not a phrase sampler with any of the features you mention above. Don't let that put you off though, the UW aspect of the MD is awesome. Yes, you should be able to do this. But again, if you want a phrase sampler, there's a lot better options out there than the MD. Not sure you'd be able to record more than 1 sample at 2 bars long before running out of memory. The MD can do this, if you look at my tips and tricks doc in the file section here you can get some ideas on how to do it. That said, you'll have to work to get these kind of sounds, as you say it IS a drum synth. Yes and yes Yes to both your firs questions. To trnasfer samples and back up it's kits/patterns to the MD, Elektron have their free C6 software for this. The MKII MD comes with the Turbomidi interface too I think, and this GREATLY speeds up sample trsnfers via midi.

Sorry for the formatting, I don;'t know why this forum does that.

dubathonic wrote:
-Are the onboard sounds sufficiently tweakable to keep you happy, or do you find yourself wanting to load percussion samples into the ROM?


This is probably going to depend more on user technique/preference for sounds. If you just gotta have a sample of the XYZ drum in there, I imagine you'll just put it in the ROM. But if you are not a tweaker already, you probably will be once you get the MD. It seduces you into tweaking. Sometimes I will challenge myself by trying to get something nice out of a sound that I dislike. Sometimes this is very pleasantly surprising. A great example of this is Nils recent use of the e12 kit, which absolutely floored me. Have a search around - there is an audio file of this.

I wouldn't recommend MD (non-UW) to anyone for synth-sounds, ambient pads or chord-work. Sure you can bend MD to do all sort of grazy things and it's fun also, but in it's essence MD is a drum machine. Monomachine is a synth - and that's how Elektron calls them too (believe them).

With MD-UW you can extend to synth/pad side easier through samples you load into ROM-machines. UW is very cool and can do things you wouldn't imagine, but in essence you are using single-shot waves.

Real strength of both of these machines is that with superb UI and synth/sequencer-engine they take you somewhere where you haven't gone before. In a sense they might break your usual approach to music - some of the questions you are asking now will become irrelevant (phrases etc.) once you learn new way of thinking.

Tarekith wrote:
The sampler in the MD is NOT a phrase sampler per se, it's main intention is drum hits. ... Not sure you'd be able to record more than 1 sample at 2 bars long before running out of memory.
Thanks! I'll look for your files on this.

I guess my question at this point is: If you DO use the sampler to snag an entire 2-bar phrase, can the sample be made to loop continually, and with minimal knobwork? Sampling one phrase at a time will be plenty; I'm just curious as to whether it's possible to use it for DJ-style transitions.

If it isn't possible, I could use my Kaoss Pad 3 downstream instead...but then I'd be curious to hear how well these two devices sync up via MIDI clock, which -- as those of you familiar with the KP3 may know -- is a whole other can of worms

Yes, you can set it to loop, as long as you don't change the tempo from which the sample was recorded, since the MD doesn't time stretch. Basically anything you sample has to be triggered by a note in the MD's sequencer. So you'd place a note trigger at the start of every two bars to trigger the loop. I use the MD as a sort of phrase sampler all the time in my DJ sets, the effects send knobs on my Xone62 feed the MD inputs, and then the MD goes to a free channel on my Xone.

The MDUW is the funniest machine I've played in my whole life.
I don't think it's ended, it needs a couple of years of developing to make it perfect. It's 99% reliable, but not 100%
For example yesterday I had a sample on R1 and playing on P1. When I copied from R1 to the ROM it deleted it from R1 so P1 muted suddenly.
Those kind of details must be corrected but at this moment I'd play with it live without a doubt.

Whatever, I feel bad thinking about selling it last week. Ok, it's a complex machine and needs lots of practice but.... who needs to sleep?