#46

Yes workflow is. I’m fine with just the Rytm in the studio, but when on stage it is a very different situation. Especially if you do everything on the spot.

#47

Amen. The single reason I still have my comparatively ancient Roland SP-555 is its ability to capture live line-in loops. Even the 404 has audio in, albeit not in real time performance. These features make these and similar dinosaur machines relevant today. All of this machine’s other compromises and deficiencies aside, that single feature (live looping/internal sample record) would instantly make it appealing to me, even a total killer box. And it’s not that difficult to implement, conceptually/technically. Kinda baffling.

1 Like
#48

YOU are their target customer :wink:

3 Likes
#49

Wow everyone is caning this sub-$600 market now. Battery pack is interesting, hopefully it’s more than a money grab that could have been avoided with usb-c power.

#50

Feels like the identity of Elektron has been somewhat diluted with this product, but yeah - if it funds the development of something innovative in the future im all for it.
Along with some other users here and there though, I can’t really see how that will happen/why someone would choose this as their first sampler. Even if you’re not paying attention to the relative lack of features for the price - it looks kinda vanilla and boring, not what the average teen beatmaker envisions for their first piece of kit. Reminds me of this:
image https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91nWhef8V0L.SX355.jpg

Name is a stinker too!
/hatespeech

1 Like
#51

im more attracted to the ui/oled design of this than the digitakt. i really dont like their uis in general so thats where im coming from. i feel like they try to put way too much on a single oled screen sometimes. so far from what ive seen i think i could dig it.

1 Like
#52

This thing looks pretty darn playable… so why does it have me thinking that I’d rather use an iPad app?

(Frustratingly enough, there aren’t any apps I can think of that cover the same ground and are as playable as this. But there easily could be, and once there are, there’s no reason I can see to buy a device like this. IMO everyone who makes a groovebox without having iPads in their competition matrix is leaving their flank open.)

2 Likes
#53

I have no horse in this race, but if I was focused on Norns, I’d want one of these to accompany it. A battery powered sample and drum beast seems like the perfect Norms companion.

3 Likes
#54

I have no horse in this race, but if I was focused on Norns, I’d want one of these to accompany it. A battery powered sample and drum beast seems like the perfect Norns companion.

That’s the most sensible use case I’ve heard so far. Instead of relying on a Digitakt to do everything and running up against its various limitations, offloading live sampling and pre-processing duties to the Norns might be smart:

  • Norns is field recorder size and battery-powered for recording sounds anywhere
  • more on-board storage space (2gb dedicated for recordings, I believe, vs. Digitakt’s 1gb), with ‘record to external drive’ functionality coming in firmware 2.0
  • recording with LEVELS / TAPE is super clear, easy, and readily available at any point
  • records stereo (though M:S will bounce any incoming samples to mono, so unclear what the benefits are here)
  • no recording length limitations, vs. Digitakt cutting you off at 33 seconds
  • transfer recorded samples to computer over wi-fi
  • plenty of sound processing / sample mangling applications exist, extensible and growing
  • if something is missing in this workflow, you can learn lua/supercollider and add it yourself

Norns+Model:Samples would run you $1200 new, which is not cheap and certainly more than a Digitakt or Deluge, but it sits squarely in the Octatrack Mk II price range, and the combination is arguably more powerful and simultaneously more intuitive to use (for certain purposes) than an Octa while
still putting an Elektron sequencer in your hands. Probably provocative, but worth thinking about as an exercise.

Organelle+Model:Samples is also a possibility at $900 with many of the above-mentioned features and a large library of patches (many revolving around live sampling), and with Orac letting you easily build a sampling/recording chain on the fly, could be very fun and capable indeed.

The biggest downside I can think of is that you sacrifice the “one box streamlined workflow” of Digitakt or Octatrack - with either the Norns or Organelle with wi-fi dongle, the simplest workflow will involve 3 devices - wireless transfer of the sample to computer, then using Elektron’s Transfer software to transfer those samples to Model:Samples. At that point any benefit of portability is probably lost and anything that involves multiple steps and devices can hamper creativity and productivity. That’s a subjective consideration but not a small one, by any means.

And then there’s “your phone + Model:Samples” which is the cheapest option since you’ve already got one of these in your pocket, and there’s probably plenty of reasons to go this route…

4 Likes
#56

Thaaat! :slight_smile: I think so too - “it’s a lean clean hands-on machine!” that is what Muhammad Ali would have said, correct?

#57

Patterning 2 is really great if you haven’t tried it.

#58

I’ve had this for a few weeks now, I really like this machine a lot more than the Digitakt. More limited in that it doesn’t have recording, but I rarely if ever do that anyway and I have an Octatrack if I really need to bring out the big guns. This one is just pure fun.

7 Likes
#59

Great to hear that! I never really gelled with the digitakt. and recently was looking for a replacement of the tr-09 with its ultra clicky mini buttons, and figured I don’t really need a drum synth engine as I mainly trigger modular things. so this beauty just arrived and can’t wait to give it a spin!

#60

What’s your application for the M:S? Is it mostly/only drum duties, or as an all-rounder? Trying to wrap my head around this one, still. I’ve used pretty much every Elektron, and this is decidedly different.

#61

I pretty much just use it as a drum machine / percussion box

1 Like
#62

some opinions after spending 2 hours with it and very little manual reading:

  • the device looks absolutely gorgeous imo
  • the encoders feel great, they are on the stiffer side
  • the 6 trigger buttons are like drum pads and have aftertouch, specially awesome with the retrig function
  • the other buttons feel great too, they remind me of monome buttons!
  • samples can be punched in chromatically (or scale) or xox style
  • the graphics are very cute. very simple (you won’t find a view with the sample waveform, i think) and symbolic (e.g. when dialling in the delay time a circle gets multiplied to many the more you turn)

pros

  • simple
  • overall feel
  • delay and reverb inside
  • battery power as a future upgrade

cons

  • no usb power (!?)

summary

I’m very happy to say the least, and expect to have this around for some quite some time (definitely didn’t feel that way with digitakt, drumbrute, tr09, ymmv!)

#63

Let it soak in a bit - I am quite sure after some times quite a few of you will have one - I also have the feeling it’s a great piece of gear - and I am sure it will grow up a bit too…

1 Like
#64

e.g.


…in the right hands it’s already very mature…
11 Likes
#65

Can someone with a Model:Samples tell me if you can modulate sample start and end points with an LFO or envelope?

1 Like
#66

Yes, with LFO. 20characters

2 Likes