Schaltwerk and Vermona MK III on the way!

[breitt]

As my Seasonal Drum Machine Disorder (SDMD) enters its second year, I am proud to announce that I have chosen Doepfer's Schaltwerk and Vermona's new MK III drum unit as my rhythm duo for the final quarter of 2007. I've been eyeing this combo for quite some time now, even as I currently own the Jomox Xbase 999.

The problem for me with the Jomox is the interface navigation. It's just too quirky. Always has been, always will be. I can get around the basic functions fine, but the intricacies that allegedly justify its $1,900 price tag, are just too buried in the menu for me. I admire the intentions of its creator, but I think the unit suffers from overkill. Too much in too small of a space. The resulting software bugs are annoying and the encoders sometimes seem to have no corresponding alignment with the digital values displayed. As much as I've always appreciated having a sequencer bundled in the same box as the drum engine, I think that Jomox would have been better off separating the two. The Jomox sound is unbeatable (see Mbase), but its sequencer implementation is not for me. Also, I've attempted to glean info about these bugs and some of the functions described in the Rolandesque, Germanlish manual from the Jomox discussion forum, and I have received rather terse, sarcastic responses usually directing me to "read the manual again." For $1,900, I would expect a little patience, even if I (Forrest Gump voice) "may not be a smart man." Even Jorg Schaaf, whose Spectralis is far more labyrinthine than the Jomox, gives out prompt, patient and personalized advice.

All that aside, I know the Schaltwerk will not be without its quirks, but having all 8 tracks displayed for me visually, with multitudes of event options at my fingertips should be an accessible and somewhat intuitive experience.

The Vermona I'm not worried about at all. As easy as it gets with every parameter accessible via knobs and no menus to deal with. Plus, with the new updated model, it is more attractive than ever. To quote from Analog Haven:

"Vermona has introduced the third version of its popular DRM1 series. The MKIII version brings the following changes:

KICK channel instead of the DRUM1 channel.
The Kick channel has some different parameters and can create fatter and deeper kick sounds, but also can be used for higher tom-sounds.
The DRUM channels have a WAVE parameter instead of the DISTORTION which transforms the oscillator's waveform from sine to square.
The oscillators of the DRUM channels will be started with each trigsignal."

I know the Vermona lacks the gut-punch sonic quality of the Jomox, but, from what I've heard, it makes up for it with its total analog, lively, "organic" experimentalism. This will be perfect for the electro style I'm into.

[Soundwave]

I'm not sure but can you control sequencer parameters via MIDI on the Schaltwerk? The Schalt and Regelwerk have a similar OS and a great trick I've found is setting a spare slider for global control of a tracks velocity which still keeps the individual steps velocity relative to how its set kinda like a accent control.

Please let us know how the Schalwerk fares as a sequencer, there really isn't much info around about them.

[JSRockit]

Good luck breitt... I hope the grass is greener on the other side. Let us know if the MKIII is really that much better than the MKII. The sequencer seems like overkill though... but I guess you'll find additional uses for it as well.

[modulator_esp]

I think using a Schaltwerk as a drum machine is overkill, but you might like it. Personally I'd have thought the Regelwerk would be better suited to this kind of job.

Will be interesting to hear how you get on

[droolmaster0]

I'll be very interested to hear about your experiences with the Schaltwerk.

[breitt]

I think using a Schaltwerk as a drum machine is overkill, but you might like it. Personally I'd have thought the Regelwerk would be better suited to this kind of job.

Will be interesting to hear how you get on

The overkill opinion would be accurate for most people, but based on my own experiences, the visual display on the Schaltwerk could be the key for me to finally be able to conceptualize, at a glance, the link between the sequence and the sounds. The Regelwerk, while an excellent unit, does not provide this "at-a-glance" capability. I know that the Schaltwerk's sequence events interface is a bit cryptic, but I'm thinking I won't need to dig too deep in there for mere rhythm sequences.

Since I own 3 Mobiuses and do very well with them controlling 2 channels on my Nord and the one on my Voyager, I'm thinking that the Schaltwerk's visual display may be good for me. I've been wrong many times in the past, though, so I'm going to hang onto the Jomox for at least a few weeks after I get the Vermona/Schaltwerk.

[droolmaster0]

I think using a Schaltwerk as a drum machine is overkill, but you might like it. Personally I'd have thought the Regelwerk would be better suited to this kind of job.

Will be interesting to hear how you get on

The overkill opinion would be accurate for most people, but based on my own experiences, the visual display on the Schaltwerk could be the key for me to finally be able to conceptualize, at a glance, the link between the sequence and the sounds. The Regelwerk, while an excellent unit, does not provide this "at-a-glance" capability. I know that the Schaltwerk's sequence events interface is a bit cryptic, but I'm thinking I won't need to dig too deep in there for mere rhythm sequences.

Since I own 3 Mobiuses and do very well with them controlling 2 channels on my Nord and the one on my Voyager, I'm thinking that the Schaltwerk's visual display may be good for me. I've been wrong many times in the past, though, so I'm going to hang onto the Jomox for at least a few weeks after I get the Vermona/Schaltwerk.

I wish you luck in finding a combination that works for you. Ultimately, all people can give you is their own experience, and that should always be taken for what it is - yours might be different. Whenever I've researched the Schaltwerk, I've been afraid to pull the trigger - too many people saying it's overpriced, limited, etc - but when I read the specs, it seems to do some very cool things. As I recall, I was very impressed by the fact that you can set event timing to any number of ticks...maybe that's a faulty recollection. Damn the $....I probably would have picked one up at this point had it been cheaper. In any case - I'm very interested in your experiences - both with the Schaltwerk, and the Vermona vs the 999.

[breitt]

I wish you luck in finding a combination that works for you. Ultimately, all people can give you is their own experience, and that should always be taken for what it is - yours might be different. Whenever I've researched the Schaltwerk, I've been afraid to pull the trigger - too many people saying it's overpriced, limited, etc - but when I read the specs, it seems to do some very cool things. As I recall, I was very impressed by the fact that you can set event timing to any number of ticks...maybe that's a faulty recollection. Damn the $....I probably would have picked one up at this point had it been cheaper. In any case - I'm very interested in your experiences - both with the Schaltwerk, and the Vermona vs the 999.

I grabbed the Schaltwerk off of ebay for $1395.00 I don't think I could have brought myself to pay the full $2000.00. Hopefully, I will receive it next week. I'll let you know my first impressions right away.

[droolmaster0]

I wish you luck in finding a combination that works for you. Ultimately, all people can give you is their own experience, and that should always be taken for what it is - yours might be different. Whenever I've researched the Schaltwerk, I've been afraid to pull the trigger - too many people saying it's overpriced, limited, etc - but when I read the specs, it seems to do some very cool things. As I recall, I was very impressed by the fact that you can set event timing to any number of ticks...maybe that's a faulty recollection. Damn the $....I probably would have picked one up at this point had it been cheaper. In any case - I'm very interested in your experiences - both with the Schaltwerk, and the Vermona vs the 999.

I grabbed the Schaltwerk off of ebay for $1395.00 I don't think I could have brought myself to pay the full $2000.00. Hopefully, I will receive it next week. I'll let you know my first impressions right away.

yeah - definitely. My next sequencer is a sam-16. I have a deal worked out with its inventor for the last one ever to be made

[analogue wings]

As much as I've always appreciated having a sequencer bundled in the same box as the drum engine, I think that Jomox would have been better off separating the two.

Ahem. AirBase 99, anyone? Yes the interface is quirky, but with no sequencer, there's a lot less of it! Perfectly usable, I think.

Something to consider when the Vermona's lack of patch storage has you climbing the walls

[breitt]

Ahem. AirBase 99, anyone? Yes the interface is quirky, but with no sequencer, there's a lot less of it! Perfectly usable, I think.

Something to consider when the Vermona's lack of patch storage has you climbing the walls

Ouch! Is that hail on the parade?

A seriously good point. And I have considered the Airbase option, but I am just hoping that the joys of hands-on tweakability of the sound parameters on the Vermona will outweigh the potential deficiency of no patch storage. Since I don't gig live, a little variation in sound parameters won't bother me all that much.

I admittedly know very little about the Airbase. Does its structure allow for parameter locks?

[analogue wings]

Ouch! Is that hail on the parade?

Nah, it's horses for courses really. It came down to the MKII vs the AirBase for me, but I went with the AirBase for reasons of practicality - I need to store and recall my kits!

And I have considered the Airbase option, but I am just hoping that the joys of hands-on tweakability of the sound parameters on the Vermona will outweigh the potential deficiency of no patch storage. Since I don't gig live, a little variation in sound parameters won't bother me all that much.

I admittedly know very little about the Airbase. Does its structure allow for parameter locks?

I'd love to have a Vermona as an add-on to tyhe JoMoX for live tweaking, but not as my workhorse machine, cas I DO play live:)

Also, the AirBase have every single parameter assigned to CCs so hooking it up to a knob box for real time tweaking is child's play.

Sound wise it is the same "engine" as the 999 except that it has the XBase kick rather than the MBase one with the slightly longer decay time. You also can't add you own samples, but who buys a JoMoX for the 8bit samples?

I actually don't have a clue what a parameter lock is, sorry

[GeneralBigbag]

I admittedly know very little about the Airbase. Does its structure allow for parameter locks?

It doesn't have any sequencer attached to it, it's just a drum engine. If you had a sequencer capable of transmitting midi CC at each step, you could do parameter locks like that, but it won't do it on its own. I'm going to experiment with driving the Airbase from a Machinedrum, I can assign 2 or 3 machines to it and thus get the option of having 16 or 24 midi ccs controllable per trigger.

[hearttimes]

Damn I'm jealous of your Vermona! Lack of memory doesn't scare me, it's part of the fun and horror of analog. Not so happy to hear about the jomox, though. had high hopes for that beast.

[breitt]

Damn I'm jealous of your Vermona! Lack of memory doesn't scare me, it's part of the fun and horror of analog. Not so happy to hear about the jomox, though. had high hopes for that beast.

Definitely DO NOT go by my opinion with regards to the Jomox! I may have some kind of ADD or laziness attached to my disdain for its interface, though admittedly more than a few others agree with my assessment.

Thanks for inspiring the title of my next book, "The Horror of Analog: One Man's Odyssey Into Discrete Circuitry Purgatory". Or, maybe "The Horror of Analog 2: Diodes, Transistors and Capacitors, Oh My!". Or, maybe not.

"Scotty, bring me another Lexapro."
"Aye, Captain."