Swedish music hardware company Elektron has announced the discontinuation of their digital drum machine/sampler Machinedrum and the digital synthesizer Monomachine.
Elektron’s announcement reads:
“The original Machinedrum was introduced in 2001.
The Monomachine in 2003…. Crispy, weird and gritty – Machinedrum beats and Monomachine soundscapes are instantly recognizable.
They have soul…. But all good things must come to an end.”
Back in February of this year, Elektron disclosed an overstock of the instruments, and announced that prices of Monomachine and Machine drum were to be permanently discounted.
At that time, a company spokesperson said, “To put any doubts to rest it is important to stress that the price reduction is not because of any successors being on the horizon. Also, let us remember that the Machinedrum and Monomachine won’t be around forever.”
Remaining Machinedrum ($599 US) and Monomachine ($799 US) instruments will be on sale in the Elektron online store for one more week, until June 21. For more information, consult the Elektron website.
Great machines… Farewell. Looking forward to what Elektron does next
Octatrack Mk II
I am not simply stating this in light of all that has transpired around the world, yet this is really in poor taste to compare the end of the life of a product to that of actual death. Just really tactless marketing. Not the first for Elektron.
It’s called ‘humor’ and its how people deal with reality. If you’re offended by this, that’s unfortunate, but it’s not because they’re being insensitive
Elektron’s marketing is always unique and full of personality, which is a good thing.
RIP Machinedrum! RIP Monomachine!
They could just as easily depicted a retirement home to convey the same thing and it would have been humorous and correct in reality.
I may be in the minority, yet generally so is good taste.
‘Good taste’ is subjective, so claiming it for yourself is self-congratulatory, which is universally in bad taste.
If you consider your suggestion from a marketing perspective, though, showing these machines in a retirement home or ‘putting them out to pasture’ suggests that these are instruments that are past their prime, instead of instruments that we’ll miss when they are gone.
Right since death does not convey something being out to pasture or simply done being useful.
And most whom think that good taste is subjective, generally lack it thus they think there is great latitiude in determining that. Good luck with that AnalOG.
Going to have to side with C6 on this one. Good taste is not as subjective as you think. When people say that they generally have poor taste.
And that’s stupid, so death is not past it’s prime or out to pasture. You lose this argument then again not surprised for a violent country like US to lack perspective.
Elektron is a swedish company wtf. I live in Paris, we suffered 2 horrible attacks last year but i would never dare to monitor world’s behavior because of my country’s grieving.
but then by your standards I would have to assume we were making fun of the elderly in nursing homes.
I usually do not post on this site, you can fine me Sonicstate instead. I find that the discussion here is generally lower brow and this time is no exception. It does not matter how thumbs up you receive analog you are dead wrong on this.
Code is right be is marketing for humour, effect or whatever ill conceived notion of attention this is a fail in my opinion. Pure and simple.
Admin: Comment deleted because you’re using multiple user names (SST, MarcS) to comment. This is a common tactic of spammers and leads to your comments being held for moderation.
Using a consistent user name will help avoid having your comments being handled as spam.
Synthtopia, I only posted as SST as that is my handle on Sonicstate! So when I posted here again, your auto form function pulled my name up and I posted as SST. Yes, I am also Marc S. And what I said is correct.
Daniel Hannson the Co CEO of Elektron died in an auto accident so it seem sstrange that they would use death as a metaphor. Furthermore Analog is DEAD wrong on this, humour aside, this is a marketing failure. Taste is subjective, good taste is not.
Bye!
Marc (AKA SST).
Huh? Because one of their CEOs died 10 years ago (or because bad things happen somewhere in the world), you think Elektron loses their right to make a joke about the end of life of one of their products?
It seems very strange that you find this ad offensive. It’s a piece of gear! It’s like when people were offended by Moog’s ‘Moogerfooger’ and ‘Brother From Another Mother’ product names.
If a company’s marketing offends you, don’t buy their stuff. Maybe they are marketing to people that have a sense of humor!
“It’s now very common to hear people say, ‘I’m rather offended by that.’ As if that gives them certain rights. It’s actually nothing more… than a whine. ‘I find that offensive.’ It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. ‘I am offended by that.’ Well, so fucking what.” – Stephen Fry
You guys obviously don’t watch monthey Python come on! Comedy’s backbone is death this criticism towards elektron is way off subject and I fact one of the stupidest things I have read on this wonderful forum!
“Help Help I’m being repressed!” 🙂 My fav Python quote when it comes to this PC internet safe-space nonsense.
“I was offended, I have rights!”
Blimey. Cheer up, mate. It’s like your sense of humour died, an actual death.
i agree with you. i have never been an Elektron fan, and this fits right into the list of reasons why not. good riddance.
Maybe This ad got out becuase the people at Elektron are too busy developing cool things to look for tenuous reasons to be offended.
I don’t understand what you are talking about. Are you referring to the photo of a man and woman holding the instruments while standing in a graveyard? Is that what you are offended by? How is that offensive? Or was there something else here that was deleted or changed?
Better pick them both up. Elektron makes fantastic products.
Not surprising, there is not much money in aging digital hardware technologies. People are generally aware that they can get oversampled 96kHz VSTs that sound better nowadays. I’d love to see Elektron make 96kHz successors, maybe even hybrids with digital sound generation and analog filters and vcas.
Yes, that will happen.
But you will need a number of USB hubs because of all the dongles required.
Are you talking about Overbridge? That’s an audio streaming cable and not a dongle. Also any oberbridge product so far can be used standalone all the same, Overbridge is just a added feature.
I’ll never get rid of my MD or MNM. There’s so much depth in those machines.
Makes me wonder what a electron has planned, now that they don’t have a proper synth in their lineup.
A4?
Right?! No way that a 16 OSC, multi timbral synth with 8 LFOs, FX, linear FM, neighbor routing, feedback OSCs and 8 filters isn’t “proper” enough.
Sensitive crowd. I have zero objections to this end-of-product lifetime marketing. Off with these old classics and in with the new!
I’m looking forward to what Elektron makes next!
They say that they don’t have replacements in line for these, but it does make me wonder….
I don’t often comment either but I find this a disturbing exchange. For a group that declare themselves as so discerning and have such a keen interest in real artistry- why can’t someone voice that they feel a marketing effort is tactless or in poor taste? or to be independently artistic one must agree that such “humor” is edgy or interesting? Being able to identify and give feedback with regard to a company’s judgement is part of what sites like these are meant to foster, IMO. And yes, I do think it’s cheap and tactless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq5dNcrHE8w
As Fry suggests, it’s just not very meaningful or interesting to see random people on the Internet complaining in an inarticulate way about things that offend them.
Also – if you ask ‘why people can’t voice their opinion’, while simultaneously complaining because other people voice opinions you don’t like, you’re being hypocritical.
Steven says it so it must be true…..like he said abuse victims should ‘grow up’ …..
Nothing against the guy but his mental health issues frequently affect the application of his not inconsiderable intellect.
Conversely I agree people are overreacting. Stop watching all violent films before you criticise advertising copy, perhaps.
Admin: Personal attack deleted. Keep comments on topic and constructive.
Just ordered a machinedrum uw as a backup for when my current one decides to pass on. I’m head over heels in love with my mk1.
The ad was awesome BTW. Elektron are great at black humor. Makes me wish for another Hector video.
Next? I’d love to see them make a mixer/effects unit like the Roland aira one, but with parameter locks and side chaining between channels. Something like that would really bring it all together.
What is interesting about this entire exchange as well is that I don’t believe myself nor anyone else said we were offended by the ad. We simply stated, in my opinion, the obvious, that it is in poor taste. Offense does not come into question with regard to the ad copy. Interpreting tactless or poor taste as “offensive” is using quite imprecise language interpretation…so maybe that’s the issue at hand.
As for telling me that I am complaining about others voicing their opinion I reread what I wrote and I did no such thing. I have no issue with someone that considers something I view as poor taste as not being so. I am simply stating that I agree with Code and others that have mentioned they felt the ad copy was tactless. I don’t need a YouTube video to explain that, but I can draw a diagram if visuals really help? 🙂
ARGH! Agonizing about whether to buy the Machinedrum MKII now that it’s in stock and $600. I’m compelled to save for an Octatrack (more flexible) or whatever Elektron has next, but really torn. Wish I had the extra cash to toss at one 🙁
its interesting that they would “annouce” this. I dont remember the last time Roland “announced” they were deleting the manufacture of a synth. They just stop making it and its up to you to figure it out.
So its a good thing to get a “heads up” like this in an official press release actually. But i suspect the real reason is to finally flush through their overstock of the last units (wearing my cynical hat hehe)