Here are some useful things to know while working with the Elektron Machinedrum.
- Control all (fn+knob) on the LFO depth parameter can result in cool transition effects even if a bunch of tracks having un-configured LFO settings.
- Kit reload (fn+extended) will only apply the saved parameters back to the track parameters upon the next trig, useful for timing drops.
- Kit reloading won’t make a MIDI machine emit the saved CC values, which is super annoying.
- Placing a note off trig on step one with a p-locked release time of zero is useful for preventing stuck notes across pattern and kit changes.
- In song mode, you can press up and down on the main screen to move a cursor and then yes to cue that row of the song to play. Combining this with very high row repeat numbers that you’ll never actually wait to play out lets you use the song view like scenes in Ableton.
- As an extension to the previous tip, using the digits of a repeat count you don't actually care about as comments lets you get extra context for where you are in a performance. I use the final digit of the repeat count for pattern intensity: 61 for intros / outros, 62 for breakdowns, 63 for builds, and 64 for drops / highest intensity sections of songs.
- Filling a bank with variations of patterns involving RAM play machines and keeping a RAM record machine in every other pattern lets you do improvised beat juggling stuff.
- You can use the copy / paste commands in the sample manager, including to copy RAM slots to ROM slots which allows them to survive restarts.
- Tonal mode in the X firmware uses 24 notes per octave, only the even numbers are notes on a keyboard.
- The sample playback machines have their own pitch scaling system, 3 steps of pitch adjustment is one semitone.
- Slide trigs need to be placed on steps with locks and will create slides to the next step with the same locks.
- Accidentally creating a MIDI loopback from the Machinedrum back into itself without the correct message filtering will make it appear as though all locks have been disabled even in extended mode.