Elektron Musical Instruments

Okay... I've had the MnM for a few days now. 

It delivers unique sounds. The sequencer is a breath of fresh air. 

However... Stability leaves something to be desired. The number of
times I've had to shut off the MnM to make it responsive (under OS 1.3, and 1.5) is
disquieting. 15% of the time, when I play with serious dealy/feedback, the machine will get 
to a point where there's nothing playing, all the tracks are muted, and yet the delay
continues. Load a new kit, switch to a virgin pattern... Still, all I get is the delay. No
response from any of the individual track machines, just the feedback artifacts from the 
delay until I restart the machine. 

Not too big a deal in the studio, but I definately wouldn't feel confident tweaking delays 
live. Considering how much acclaim the MnM has recieved as a performance instrument, 
I'm left wondering...

(Also, the unit's powersupply emits an annoying hum, which support
tells me there's 
nothing that can be done about. )

-- Is this normal? 
-- Did I get a lemon?
-- Does the SFX-60 have these problems?
-- Are these issues why it's now "limited"?

Aside from these issues, I really do like the Monomachine. 
However, IMO these issues are not "little things" and might warrant a
return. 

Has anybody else experienced these issues? What was your final
solution?

Thanks...

-- iTrope

I had a vrey high pitched (grounding?) him coming out
of it when in a rack case only. I got Nylon screws and
washers and taped the metal on the rack and the hum
stopped.
Chris


		
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>-- Does the SFX-60 have these problems?
>-- Are these issues why it's now "limited"?
>
>  
>
I am on my third SFX-60.  The first one I got was one of the first 
produced (no MUTE MODE painted under BANK).  Cosmetically, it was fine, 
but it locked up frequently, to the point of making it unworkable.  I 
returned it and got a second one.  This one had a crooked LCD (rotated a 
few millimeters), which I thought was a drag, but I was willing to put 
up with it.  Then the function button started sticking.  I returned it 
and got a third one.  This one is cosmetically perfect, and generally 
operates flawlessly.  It has locked up three times in the time that I 
have had it (2.5 months) with a high pitched 'eeeee' sound.  This I 
attribute to software problems, which hopefully will be corrected.

I think that you have a lemon unit.  My pet theory is that Elektron 
hired new people to assemble Monomachines to meet production demands.  
These new people might have been under trained, over hurried, or 
otherwise unable to meet product assembly specifications.  I think that 
you should return your SFX-6 and get a new one, if possible.  The 
problems you are experiencing are unusual, and not acceptable in a $1900 
product.  You can get a Nord Modular G2 for less than that, just to put 
things in perspective.

Regarding why the SFX-6 is limited, my speculation is that they aren't 
selling terribly well at such a high price point, and they cost so much 
to make that Elektron can't drop the price.  By making them limited, 
they might cause a buying rush, which will inflate their coffers 
substantially.  Between product returns and the price, the SFX-6 must 
have cost Elektron a lot of money.  I think that the SFX-60 is at a more 
reasonable price point, and will continue to sell.  Hopefully, we will 
see an add-on joystick + keyboard module or the like coming out soon. 

Please remember that these words represent my opinion, and are sheer 
speculation.  I have no wish to offend anyone.

/Scott