Elektron Musical Instruments

hi Daniel

Thanks for the prompt reply.

>...it's not that simple to turn something like that on and off, we're
>dealing with a multiprocessor (DSP) system that need to work on audio
>in chunks,

Oh, I see...
Although someone could argue that you turned a limitation of the MD's 
DSP/code into a "cool feature".

Really, I'm just trying to understand... Does that mean that 
improving the MD's timing might be not possible due to some internal 
DSP limits?


>and we've adjusted them according to listening tests and
>going through all available BeatBoxes on the market.


Just curious... Which other beat-boxes did you use for 
reference/comparison while designing the MD?

In an previous email you mentioned the MPC-60. If you did analyze it 
then you've probably noticed that the "magic" timing of the MPC line 
relies in its almost sample-accurate tightness.

In other words, contrary to most people still like to believe, 
there's no magical groove at all in the MPC sequencer, just some 
incredibly accurate MIDI engine at work.

I'm not trying to turn this debate into an "MPC vs MD" kind of thing, 
not really in my intentions, but I still think that providing the 
most stable, reliable, repeatable timing scheme should be the first 
priority for ANY drum-machine.

Then, on top of that, you can have all the "Swing", "Groove", 
"Humanize" functions in the whole world (and I'd be the first user to 
make use of them!!!) but without a solid time base a "magic" groove 
doesn't make very much sense, IMHO.

The MPC is just a good example of that: the most stable MIDI timing 
in the industry still being the n.1 option for any musical genre 
where organic, human-sounding beats are an absolute requirement.

My Nord Modular (not a drum machine at all!) behaves equally well on 
this aspect, showing really low drift values when using its internal 
sequencer/time base.

So why can't a more recent and advanced piece of gear like the MD 
compete - timing-wise - with these two older machines?

>
>..and I know that people will hate me for that. :) But I'm very much
>of the belief that too many options and choices easily stand in the
>way of creativity. When we intruduce a feature we always think hard if
>it would have any negative impact on the workflow.

Not being able to properly sync the MD to other sequencers in 
real-time, due to its built-in "magical" timing irregularities, 
definitely has a negative impact on my work-flow. Many other users 
have expressed the same frustration.

And having to interrupt my jams in the studio because my MD loops 
needs to be edited/tightened up after being recorded in my DAW, 
that's another big annoyance I've always experienced.


>And we're talking about small, almost audible delays here, something
>noone has really heard until they meassured the timing. However, maybe
>they have _felt_ that they prefer a beat from a certain machine before
>another.

Yeah, I agree. The MD is a fantastic instrument but the timing of 
some other machines I have in my studio has always been more 
"inspiring", more convincing to me, without really knowing why...

... until I was suggested to measure the phenomenon to realize what 
was really going on.

>
>Another hint of that the small timing fluctuation is deliberate and
>hosted by a very high precision timer (We're talking MHz that's
>divided down) is that it's never ever drifting, and the different
>delays follow a special cycle. Not exact each turn,

So the fluctuation is there, it's different on every beat and it 
follows a mysterious "special" cycle that doesn't repeat itself every 
single bar....
In other words that makes any MD recording a real nightmare to 
edit/align on any modern DAW's timeline, right?


>What would be very interesting would be if people would do test tracks
>with different drum machines, and see if they enjoy the timing better
>from one or the other.

I've done that. When I have more time I'll make sure to make the 
results public.

>Daniel, Elektron - Pro mysticism and undocumented secrets that users
>dig up sooner or later :)

Well, if I had to defend my own design no doubt that I would adopt 
the same "mystic" attitude...

Best Regards
Leo

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