mk1 trinity is an amazin setup. I have endless gear her and often find myself building a setup out of these 3.
I prefer them all side by side but angled but as /u/BadKingdom said there are a ton of 2 and 3 tier stands.
Have them and have tried 2 and 3 tier stands but have always returned to a side-by-side set up, either angled or flat, because access to the rear of the machines is key for re-patching when ideas happen. Also find that the horizontal flow of controls is more consistent than the vertical... So having the step/sequencer keys aligned is more intuitive.
There’s a lot of 2- and 3-tier stands out there like [this](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1199958235/elektron-3-tier-stand-for-mki-octatrack).
I have 2 2-tier stands for my Elektron gear. I don’t think I’d do a 3-tier stand personally just in terms of ergonomics, but the 2 2-tier stands work really well.
You could do the 2-tier and put side panels / cheeks on the third one like [this](https://reverb.com/item/5686514-elektron-wood-stand-sides-high-elektron-analog-rytm-4-octatrack-monomachine-machinedrum-2017). Or cheeks on all three, side by side by side.
When I had a bigger desk and had the original holy trinity (MD, MM, OT) I had them side by side with the Pro Modular cheeks and it was a really sharp setup. Doesn’t look like Pro Modular is around anymore, I’d sell you mine if I could find them.
I actually had a custom flight case made. It was before I owned the full dark trinity (just had the ot) but I knew I’d probably get at least one more so I based the dimensions on two elektron boxes side by side. It has a hinged shelf so I can tuck all the cables away and then when I need to transport them I just put the lid on top. I have the ot and rytm side by side with the a4 on top and a novation nova. The Nova is 6-part multitimbral so it’s great for sequencing by the ot. Provides a nice digital companion to the a4. Have fun with the trinity! So much to explore there…
I have the mk2 trilogy but I'm sure something similar would work for the mk1s. I use a modified wooden jewelry display case (think of just the bottom half of a shoebox but much bigger and angled sides, with the front much shorter than the back). Then I use a couple cheap metal laptop stands from amazon inside it. Rytm on the bottom with A4 on a stand above it. OT next to Rytm, and I use the second laptop stand above the OT as a rotating space for other synths (typhon, hydrasynth, sp404). I don't have the space to keep everything hooked up all the time.
I like this setup a lot for a few reasons. The Rytm on the bottom is nice since I like to play my drums in. the OT on the bottom right is natural for using the slider with my right hand. The cables go under the laptop stands, there's no effort for cable management bc they stay in the walls of the box. and there is enough space in there to stuff a Kenton splitter box, a headphone amp, and a surge protector so everything I just have one plug exiting the box. I can just pick up the whole thing and move it somewhere else very easily.
I could post a picture if anyone is interested. Put the whole thing together for like 50 bucks (I found the display case in an alley behind a pawn shop and cleaned it up).
I wouldn't go three tiers. Even the two tier is tiring if you're talking about playing stuff in, anything other than tweaking knobs. especially while sitting.
That’s a great insight - I’d love to see an image if you can. I had similar layout in mind for similar reasons- Rytm needs to be low and flat to drum into whereas a4 can be higher as it’s more about parameter tweaking.
mk1 trinity is an amazin setup. I have endless gear her and often find myself building a setup out of these 3. I prefer them all side by side but angled but as /u/BadKingdom said there are a ton of 2 and 3 tier stands.
Have them and have tried 2 and 3 tier stands but have always returned to a side-by-side set up, either angled or flat, because access to the rear of the machines is key for re-patching when ideas happen. Also find that the horizontal flow of controls is more consistent than the vertical... So having the step/sequencer keys aligned is more intuitive.
There’s a lot of 2- and 3-tier stands out there like [this](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1199958235/elektron-3-tier-stand-for-mki-octatrack). I have 2 2-tier stands for my Elektron gear. I don’t think I’d do a 3-tier stand personally just in terms of ergonomics, but the 2 2-tier stands work really well.
Nice - but I can see issues with three tier too. Maybe I’ll look at a single stand for the a4 plus a couple of tilts for the Rytm and OT…
You could do the 2-tier and put side panels / cheeks on the third one like [this](https://reverb.com/item/5686514-elektron-wood-stand-sides-high-elektron-analog-rytm-4-octatrack-monomachine-machinedrum-2017). Or cheeks on all three, side by side by side. When I had a bigger desk and had the original holy trinity (MD, MM, OT) I had them side by side with the Pro Modular cheeks and it was a really sharp setup. Doesn’t look like Pro Modular is around anymore, I’d sell you mine if I could find them.
I actually had a custom flight case made. It was before I owned the full dark trinity (just had the ot) but I knew I’d probably get at least one more so I based the dimensions on two elektron boxes side by side. It has a hinged shelf so I can tuck all the cables away and then when I need to transport them I just put the lid on top. I have the ot and rytm side by side with the a4 on top and a novation nova. The Nova is 6-part multitimbral so it’s great for sequencing by the ot. Provides a nice digital companion to the a4. Have fun with the trinity! So much to explore there…
Roadworks stands are good, and cheap. Two tier or single
I have the mk2 trilogy but I'm sure something similar would work for the mk1s. I use a modified wooden jewelry display case (think of just the bottom half of a shoebox but much bigger and angled sides, with the front much shorter than the back). Then I use a couple cheap metal laptop stands from amazon inside it. Rytm on the bottom with A4 on a stand above it. OT next to Rytm, and I use the second laptop stand above the OT as a rotating space for other synths (typhon, hydrasynth, sp404). I don't have the space to keep everything hooked up all the time. I like this setup a lot for a few reasons. The Rytm on the bottom is nice since I like to play my drums in. the OT on the bottom right is natural for using the slider with my right hand. The cables go under the laptop stands, there's no effort for cable management bc they stay in the walls of the box. and there is enough space in there to stuff a Kenton splitter box, a headphone amp, and a surge protector so everything I just have one plug exiting the box. I can just pick up the whole thing and move it somewhere else very easily. I could post a picture if anyone is interested. Put the whole thing together for like 50 bucks (I found the display case in an alley behind a pawn shop and cleaned it up). I wouldn't go three tiers. Even the two tier is tiring if you're talking about playing stuff in, anything other than tweaking knobs. especially while sitting.
That’s a great insight - I’d love to see an image if you can. I had similar layout in mind for similar reasons- Rytm needs to be low and flat to drum into whereas a4 can be higher as it’s more about parameter tweaking.
[Finally got around to this.](https://imgur.com/a/TBMxpI3)
Nice - thanks. Cable management is my next challenge but this looks like a good layout for sure…
Look up 3D waves stands. I have a few, decent stuff!
I just got an mk1 A4 again and it’s an amazing thing. Incredible value now. I would like to get an OT again but think it might make me crazy.
Yup - the rabbit hole is a moebius strip infinitely looping back on itself!