Elektron Model:Cycles

Absolutely lovely groovebox, the workflow is very fun and deep, virtually endless possibilities.
The sound is really unique and wide, but the being a specific FM synth is not suited for everything of course.
What didn't convince me was the build actually. The unit itself is sturdy and well assembled, buttons are ok, pads are not the best and is a well known problem, but the really disappointing thing is the knobs quality.
I got two different units and they both have inconsistent knobs, some of them are stiff, some are very loose, all is very random. Quality control doesn't seem to be the best or they use cheap encoders, I'm not sure. The first unit I ordered had the Color knob with a sort of internal click, like the middle dent of a pan knob, really annoying.
I returned both the unit back at the end, but it was just me, I didn't like the knob problem, even if they were working properly. Also I'm more oriented to the Model:Sample, which can be more versatile. Or better an Sp-404, let's see.
Anyway, if making electronic music of any kind is your goal, this machine can do it wonderfully. Ambient, IDM, dance, techno, the only limits are imagination and skills. Price is fair, tons of options and most of all is very very fun, probably one of the funniest machines out there.

I must say I love this unit but at the same time I never use it! First it took me about a year to learn it. I am slow leaner and I have kids so limited free time but I did not expect to have to learn and read and watch so much YouTube tutorials!! Now that I know 95% of the workflow it bores me to death. Yes you find amazing sounds but it takes you an hour of navigation and error handling to finally get what you want. The biggest issue for me is that I never finish any project. The sounds I like don’t go together, It gets too complicated and in the end I give up. Frankly I prefer to play with my Korg Volcas! Now there at least I plug it, have a blast of fun for an hour with easy workflow and then go to sleep. Some of the model cycle sounds are just amazing (kick, bass, synth) and if you try with a midi keyboard it’s just WOW because you’ll have more than the 16 trigs to play notes. But some others like hats and snare are just meh 🫤 in my opinion. Also everything feels too manual in my opinion, not enough automation. So you’ll have to find everything by ear, for ex the LFO instead of trusting the AI to fine tune. Take the pocket operator for example, it chops your samples and time it in scale. And it has 16 effects out of the box, press a button, done. Here with the MC it’s all up to you to make, encode, tweek, and at the same time there is no high or low cut off and some knobs just tear your ear drum apart. Muting is ok but the func button is too close to the pattern button and the combinations are confusing and I end up erasing instead of copying sometimes. It’s so frustrating! You can preset some ratchets but again it’s up to you to tweek speed and scale. Not a bad thing, but not for everyone. I guess at this price point I expected more fun and less technicity. The build quality I find perfect though. The unit is hard and very very light, and I like the rubber of the pads and trigger steps. Very soft and bouncy. So I will keep it because the sequencer is good (4 pages of 16 steps=64 steps) plus you can scale to 1/4 steps so it takes a while to retrig to step 1. The probabilities are amazing and will make your pattern NOT boring. Each step can be programmed. And it can be a different sound or preset. Technically 64 sounds each with own tweaks x 6 tracks in one sequence! Again too complicated for me but then you can use as a midi sequencer for… volcas!! But best set up is use volca drum and sample but use Model Cycle for bass and tones. Add a volca keys and your the king of live performance!!And it beats the amazing Volca bass because it can basically do 6 lines of bass!

Total : model cycles Is a great way to enter the elektron world you can take advantage of the phenomenal sequencer and use it as the brain of your setup or just jam with it on its own.

Handling : Delivered perfectly

Features : It has almost all the quirky features elektron offers on their high end devices. especially the sequencer is just to love

Sound : Its an FM drum machine so it sounds a bit electric, harsh and raw from time to time but not every drum machine has to sound warm and analog. It has its own sound signature and character and it greatly owns it. Engines are a bit limiting but at the same time guiding as well.

Quality : It is plastic but it does not feel flimsy at all. of course in this price point you cannot expect a full metal body like some of the other elektron devices.

We use this to make BASS driven music . We want them LONG BOOM ... this is the one ...

Bass cuts thru like Crazy and the cord are really cool a warm . the FX are better than the Model Cycle . I only with there were 4 instead of 2 ....
Presets are OK enough to Make at least 10 tunes if not more . though I still wish there were More ; but then you would never learn how to use the machine if you are only using presets.
I recommend this specially for the Hole Elektron eko-system and way of thinking . the control ALLLL function Really set both the Cycle and sample apart . VEAR VEAR COOL TOYS .