Xbase09 Vs Machinedrum

[jasedee]

Hey all,

Was thinking of picking up one of the above. Anyone have any opinions about the 2? Strengths, weakneses..

I will be using it for electronica (Breaks etc...)

Cheers!

Jase

[Tomer=Trance]

MD handsdown,its my dream drum machine\synth :P (damn expenssive tho).
the way i see you jase is that your not the kind of person to looking for a TR909\808 kind of thing which is prety much what the Jomox does IMO or at least going with the same general idea of.
on the other hand the elecktron MD is totaly inovative about creating new and unheard drum sounds and even synth&weird fx sounds and then tweaking+trigering them on the spot using the step sequencer.

[Khazul]

Im just about to order an MD SPS-1 UW - I basically dont just want 808/909 style unit (have that in god knows how many units allready), but rather I want something I can guenuinely craft my own sounds in, load my own samples into and that also provides alot of flexible step sequencing and fx in a single unit.

The other nice thing about the MD - its just the right size to live on the flat part of the Virus TI keyboard - OK - so thats not really a consideration, but its certainly a bonus when its comes to having it close on hand in a keyboard stand, and helps to bring it an the synths together when using perc sounds from both the MD and my other synths.

Other things I like about the MD - I have a midi drum kit as well - the MD is apparently quite flexible abount assigning midi notes numbers to sounds, so I hope to sometimes drive it from my drum kits when I want real playing, but strange sounds, or alternately maybe layering more natural sampled drums from my Motif ES or V-Drum kit onto it.

Alot of people describe the MD as being a bit lo-fi as well. Im not sure if thats likely to be a problem or not until I get my hands on one. From everything Ive heard done with them, I very much doubt it - if anything its a welcome part of the unit's character - and I do like just about everything have heard out of them. Sonically they seem amazingly flexible units.

Where they MD really seems to score is its apparent ease of use, though obviously owning one will tell the real story here.

Good luck with whatever you go with :)

[Merlot]

jomox analogue filters, MD digital!!! Tough choice though. I know with the new Jomox you will be able to load in samples as well.

[jasedee]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I really appreciate it.

I havent heard either unit, and the shops close by dont have them in store, they have to be ordered from the distributor, or in the case of Elektron, directly from them.

I think I might be leaning towards the MD though.

Will have to do some more thinking...

:)

[Hollowcell]

MD for craziness, but the Jomox for chunky analogue kicks. I know which I'd lean towards.

[jasedee]

MD for craziness, but the Jomox for chunky analogue kicks. I know which I'd lean towards.
Fuck HC, why'd you have to go and launch that spanner???

I dont know if the 909 kick is something I want. Isnt it kinda techno-ie??? A bit distorted etc..

Im looking for clean, fat, round and punchy sounds. Dunno anymore...

Im almost tempted just to pick up a Electribe ER-1, cos I've never had a hardware drum synth/sequencer.

[Onkel Dunkel]

MD for craziness, but the Jomox for chunky analogue kicks. I know which I'd lean towards.
Fuck HC, why'd you have to go and launch that spanner???

I dont know if the 909 kick is something I want. Isnt it kinda techno-ie??? A bit distorted etc..

Im looking for clean, fat, round and punchy sounds. Dunno anymore...

Im almost tempted just to pick up a Electribe ER-1, cos I've never had a hardware drum synth/sequencer.

http://www.jomox.de/xbase999.html
You know you want to :wink:

[Khazul]

Im looking for clean, fat, round and punchy sounds. Dunno anymore...


You tried the drums in the Motif?

Dunno if they are the same is the ES Rack, but there are some good clean punchy drums in there. A bit bland if thats you entire drum set and you bounce the entire set, but quite good is you bound each to audio separately and process each separately.

Ive just got to the stage where I dont really want to have to spend hours post processing each drum sound individually tho, hence desire for a dedicated drum synth/sequencer + they are great fun to play with - I miss my old TR606 I had when they first came out (had a 303 as well then - grrr - wish I still had it) :)

[jasedee]

[You tried the drums in the Motif?
You know, I've never really given the Motif a chance as far as drums go... I think I did in one track, but was using the more acoustic drum sounds... I mainly use the Motif Rack for Piano type sounds, but since I got the D-50, I have been using that for my piano/organs

I might revisit

[jasedee]

http://www.jomox.de/xbase999.html
You know you want to :wink:
Hmmm....After listening to the Jomox samples I dont think it is the machine for me. The Machinedrum samples are more up my alley.

By the by. Check out this video

http://www.clicklive.com/korgUSA/sniffer/electribe

Edit: Link seems to be down. Shame, it was an awesome demo vid of the electribes and Kaoss pad

[Cryptic UK]

Machinedrum best drum machine ever.

Im sure even in 10 years time i will still be coming up with new sounds on it.

I dont think its expensive for what it is, you pay for quality

Its already a classic.

[Khazul]

[You tried the drums in the Motif?
You know, I've never really given the Motif a chance as far as drums go... I think I did in one track, but was using the more acoustic drum sounds... I mainly use the Motif Rack for Piano type sounds, but since I got the D-50, I have been using that for my piano/organs

I might revisit

There some real killer organ sounds to had on the D50. Used to have a D5 when they first came out, now have the D50 card on my v-synth :)

Excellent synths - I just need to get the FM card for the Motif and Ill be set :)

[jasedee]

Khazul: Well, I had a play with the Motif drums, and whaddya know??? Some cool stuff there. I have a track started already...

Will post it when it is done (hopefully soon)

Cheers!

:)

[Onkel Dunkel]

By the by. Check out this video

http://www.clicklive.com/korgUSA/sniffer/electribe/platform.htm

Edit: Link seems to be down. Shame, it was an awesome demo vid of the electribes and Kaoss pad

Just remove "platform.htm" in the url and you?ll be able to start the video manually like this: http://www.clicklive.com/korgUSA/sniffer/electribe/. Great clip by the way. What an enthusiasm :D

[jasedee]

[Just remove "platform.htm" in the url and you?ll be able to start the video manually like this: http://www.clicklive.com/korgUSA/sniffer/electribe/. Great clip by the way. What an enthusiasm :D
Thanks Onkel!!!

The video makes me wanna buy an Electribe Er-1mkII NOW! They are super cheap from the states, around USD$200. Over here is Sydney they retail nearly AUD$1000? Bloody criminal...

[Merlot]

The jomox has a filterbank to if I recall. I have owned a MD. It is a fantastic drumsynth and is probably more verssatile than the Jomox. Check the EMX out by korg also. The blue one with the tube in it. THat can be had for cheap as well.


Good god that vid is freat! That guy is with the propellerheads team now too.

[Smag]

I've had a Jomox MBase and the kicks are fucking excellent. They lean more toward 808 than 909 and have that kind of clicky sponginess to it. Very warm and with it being analogue you can keep dropping the pitch lower and it never loses it's punch - it's just a lower pitch.

[jasedee]

Well, I went out today and spent a little money!

Not on a MD or Jomox though. I thought I would try out a simpler/cheaper alternative before diving into the world of hardware drum synths/sequencers. Anyways, I got a pretty good deal on:

http://image.www.rakuten.co.jp/ikebe/img10291588631.gif

So far so good.

It is pretty simple and limited, but is a bit of fun. I like the immediacy factor, and hands on nature of this little guy.

[Khazul]

Well, I went out today and spent a little money!


Congrats :)


Just done the same - hopefully one of these should be arriving this later this week (UW version) :)

http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/machinedrum.jpg

Being a rather twisted person - Im actually looking forward to plugging my drum kit controller into it :)

[jasedee]

Just done the same - hopefully one of these should be arriving this later this week (UW version) :)

http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/machinedrum.jpg

Being a rather twisted person - Im actually looking forward to plugging my drum kit controller into it :)
Thanks mate! Way to make a guy jealous ;)

:)

Please let me know what you think of it!

[Hollowcell]

Nice one Khazul! Yeah, you have to give us a bit of a review once you settle in with it.

[Khazul]

Yeh will do - been itching to get back to having a good drum machine to work with - software drum machines just aint the same even tho Reason is very good for this kind of thing - looking forward to having this parked on my TIK ;)

Found out another thing about this beast today - apparently has some great features to help with syncing midi gear with DJs for on the fly remixes etc :)

[Khazul]

The MD arrived, just got it plugged in and had about 30 minutes playing with it so far - wow - kind of feels like the missing link has been filled in :)


Anyway - a little pic of the real purpose of the flat bit on a TI keyboard :)

http://home.btconnect.com/sirwarwick/images/vstimd.jpg


I'll post some proper comments once I've had a good play with it and got to know my way around it.

[jasedee]

You lucky bastard!

Cant wait to hear about the MD...

Cheers Khazul

[Tomer=Trance]

shit,this is a killer live setup you got there!

cerful not to scratch the TI :wink:

[Khazul]

LOL ta - its gets worse :) - this is he rest of it....

Most of the rest (http://home.btconnect.com/sirwarwick/images/home3.jpg)...
and the Drums (http://home.btconnect.com/sirwarwick/images/home1.jpg)

These photos are a bit old now though - has changed a bit since (all important lava lamp got moved :))...

[Onkel Dunkel]

LOL ta - its gets worse :) - this is he rest of it....

Most of the rest (http://home.btconnect.com/sirwarwick/images/home3.jpg)...
and the Drums (http://home.btconnect.com/sirwarwick/images/home1.jpg)

These photos are a bit old now though - has changed a bit since (all important lava lamp got moved :))...

This one look familiar: Cable mess (http://home.btconnect.com/sirwarwick/images/home5.jpg) :lol:

[Khazul]

Yeh - that was one of the "why soft synths are less hassle" shots :)

The rest are the "Why soft synths aint as much fun" shots :)

[Onkel Dunkel]

Yeh - that was one of the "why soft synths are less hassle" shots :)

The rest are the "Why soft synths aint as much fun" shots :)

I can live with the cable mess :D I like the challange in getting everything cabled corectly together (hmm, where does this cable go) :wink:

[Khazul]

I can live with the cable mess :D I like the challange in getting everything cabled corectly together (hmm, where does this cable go) :wink:

Get a patch bay or two...

Just about every audio cable in that shot goes through one of the two patch bays that are hidden at the bottom.

Only downside with the MD is ive run out of channels again (with no expansion option this time) so need another patch bay which means another weekend making cables - Grrr :)

[Onkel Dunkel]

Get a patch bay or two...


I bought one a few weeks ago and are just about finished setting it up. Just need to buy a few more cables (danm cables are expensive) and routing signals will be peice of cake (compered to the mayhem before) :D

[Hollowcell]

You really have some great stuff there Khazul!

I watched the sonic state V-drum movie thingy a few weeks ago and it made me want a set ever since. Can't play real drums very well, but man I love to hit things that make sound! :D

[Khazul]

When I bought the V-Drum kit I had been really only looking for a very cheapo drum kit style controller for the Reason Drum kits - like that cheap Alesis Ion kit for eg.

Then I quickly realised they were crap and went off the idea - I knew about the roland kits and yamaha kits at the time, but thought they were way too expensive for someone who had never even had a go on a drum kit, and I only needed a controller.

Anyway - I was in this shop that had a TD6-KV on demo was curious etc, the guy gave me a quick demo and told me had had only just started to play since he worked in the shop - well I thought he sounded pretty good.

So he leaves me to it - 2 hours later I was still messing with the thing and ending up buying a kit - just something I realy took to. Ive had it for about 9 months now, still havnt had a lesson, dont play ever day either, but I play nearly all my drums on tracks now from 85 bpm slow hip-pop beats upto drum and bass style stuff upto around 140bpm, breaks from 120-135 and a load of other stuff in between. Im still along way off being good enough to play in a band though.

I still havnt quite got the hand of triplets, but the real point I can lay down enough of a groove to use it with only a little tweaking and then layer programmed stuff over it. Its also taught me alot about making really convincing programmed beats as well - I quite like to layer programmed with played - gives a nice rich texture to the end result.

TBH the getting the MD was a toss up between selling the TD6KV and buying a TD12KV or hugely expanding my options for pattern based drums - I figured I have the best of both worlds now as I can use the drum kit to play the MD as well and of course the MD adds a huge pallete of drum sounds and I really missed having my old TR606 :)

If you fancy it - give it a go - its one of the most enjoyable bits of kit I have - sure it takes years to become a good live drummer, but for studio use, most reasonably co-ordinated musicians should be able to get productive quite quickly with it.