Elektron Model:Samples 3-stars Reviews

Top notch Sample playback thingy

Built like the proverbial tank, the Model:Samples offers basic sample playback, some parameter f*ckery and USB-Audio and mono(!) external MIDI sequencing. YouTube says you can get some banging tunes outta this box. I couldn't. Mea culpa. Samples, reverb and delay are mono, and stereo panning can not be locked to a step. Gateway drug to the elektron universe? Maybe. Center of a DAWless setup? Nah. With just six tracks and a limited parameter set this is not your Schaltzentrale. But who am I to judge? Live free and be happy!

Peace,

Martin

Fun device, but I ended up selling it after 3 months

Ok, so this thing is fun and pretty hands on (mostly). But I ended up selling the unit after 3 months or so, for the following reasons:

a) Only the single pair of stereo outs. Feels pretty limiting when it comes to post-processing your stuff.

b) Browsing samples is tedious

c) . The small screen makes all the tiny little menu diving you do pretty awful. You can't see your whole sample names, you can't een see the whole name of some projects etc.

d) After getting the grip of it, I realized I'm just not a fan of the "elektron workflow" - it feels like lots of tiny menu-diving actions. where each knob has its own little menu. It's very powerful, but just does not come natural to me.

e) I was using it with squarp pyramid, and even when trying to only use the m:s as a sample playback device + effects, there are some annoying bits, like you can't use the mutes on the m:s if the notes are being played in through midi etc.

That being said, it is powerful and if I only had a simple mono-sequencer with it, it would probably be a better fit.