The part that took us a year to finish | MM(X) #6

[@robertholtz]

The Marble Machine and the MMX live on through Musikkabinett. Thank you SO much for keeping this shared dream alive with your care and craftsmanship. Much love.

[@makermentality8921]

Hey. Probably a silly question. What happened? Did Martin give/sell the Mmx to y’all? I saw he was working on something new that seemed way less fun. But I kinda lost track on when he stopped working on the mmx and now. I suppose I’ll have to watch all your vids :)

[@Koffeinsuechtigi]

@@makermentality8921, hi! Martin gave the MM and MMX to Siegfrieds Mechanisches Musikkabinett, a museum for music automata at Rüdesheim am Rhein in Germany. That is the place where the volunteers come to help Lucas tackle these projects, and where we re-assembled the MMX to its state it had before Martin took it apart for its move from France to Germany, and where we continued finishing it beyond that state. Martin started work on the MM3 at Sweden with designs, tests, and CAD. To start building the larger prototype and do further testing, he came to Rüdesheim am Rhein where he made use of the museum's workshops as well as his own tools and materials that he had moved there along with the machines - instead of taking everything to Sweden with him.

[@Guenther-Eichinger]

It‘s so nice to see that somebody is patient enough to finish the MMX ❤

[@AttilaAsztalos]

_SOMEBODY_. Patient enough. Sick burn. But entirely deserved.

[@inthefade]

I had no idea this channel existed! All I want is to see the MMX working.

[@PeterMoschopoulos]

Seconded. I want to see an actualy tune played even if the marbles are falling on the floor.

[@LunchThyme]

@@PeterMoschopoulos Well the MMX was playing the original MM song during the community meetup. Martin showed it a little in one of the recent MM3 prototype test videos, but you really couldn't see or hear much, so hopefully this channel has an proper showcase soon.

[@doncarlos7189]

@@LunchThymeSoon with a big TM! We are still working on the machine and several Episodes which cover more details. So stay tuned!

[@LunchThyme]

@@doncarlos7189 Looking forward to it!

[@99xara99]

It's playing! But it's playing slowly 😂 @@PeterMoschopoulos

[@madmmxx]

Thank you for taking so good care of this piece of art. ❤❤

[@bongi6811]

Amazing work from you all. Thank you so much for taking care of the MMX and giving it a new home.

[@gir_bot]

Super impressive! It's so beautiful to see all the love and attention the MMX is getting to assemble it in all it's glory! Pain is temporary, glory is forever!

[@EaglePicking]

These marble gates look great! (but they're an operational nightmare) Nice work, team.

[@patpatboy2]

"World Peace.... Empty, too bad!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@Smokkedandslammed]

You need to tell Mr Martin to let people know about this channel, I was so heartbroken when I learned the MMX wasn't going to keep being built but she lives! I'm so excited for the new one and the FREAKIN WORLD TOUR! I'm also excited to see MMX live on! Thank you!

[@Armadous]

It wasn't immediately apparent how much work remained to get the MMX working when Martin moved on, but I'm beginning to understand. While I was initially disappointed, it's now evident that it was going to take years. What an accomplishment to see this thing functioning!

[@BensMiniToons]

Took years for someone to learn and finish a project someone else had almost completed, but Marten would lose his crowd funding and ability to make new KZbin content based one building and selling a "never finishing" dream. If I had his funding I would make one within a year... He stopped making MMX when it was working because it would not play 9 hours with out dropping a single marble. Not like a wall on the marble track couldn't fix that. nothing adds up.

[@SuperSeagull12]

@Ben8nz burnout does that

[@Svelix]

I was very surprised and happy to see the MMX on the community Meetup and play music there, but up until now I thought you just reassembled it and replaced a couple broken/failing pieces. After I saw this video I just realised how much work you actually did put into it already!! And this video does not even cover everything that must have happened just before the meeting. Thank you so much!!! It was such a cool experience to be able to see and even play the mxx! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! ❤

[@rolfworkworm5002]

I concur, my thoughts exactly! It was unreal to actually play the MMX at the Meet-up. You did a marvellous job there. And seeing how the MMX needed constant care, while dropping marbles left and right, helped me realise why Martin wouldn’t want to take it on a tour. I am looking forward to more stories of the re-assembly and de-moling 😊

[@Actual-Knight]

I'm glad the MMX went to a good home...and it seems like it might finally be finished under your more focused team. I'm looking forward to more updates!

[@cagstix]

PLEASE!!!!! Please please please re-create the marble machine song on the MMX (like do a full recording). We all want to see and hear it, and recreate the magic of the first time we saw Martins original play. You are all so talented, and have completed this machine, thank you for your dedication and talents in this.... Also Martin if you ever see this, we would all LOVE to see you be the one to play the song on it

[@doro5751]

Parts of that is already visible in the streams of the meetup and also in one of Martins videos while he was at Rüdesheim.

[@davinderc]

That's actually quite unrealistic. If you had seen the machine at the meetup you would know it can't play at normal speed and if we're lucky they might get the machine operational under certain conditions. Not to mention, the original machine never played the entire song, it was 60 days of filming and 60 days of cutting to get the entire song together

[@doro5751]

@@davinderc Well, as I am part of the crew actually having hands on the machine, I know very well about the issues. And yes, in current state it is not possible to reproduce the song at full speed. But for creating a video, it might be possible. Let´s see how long we will need for filming and editing...

[@doncarlos7189]

@@davindercWill give our best to do a Music Video! But first there are several episodes more to come!

[@garbearfar1394]

@@davindercthan they aim for 30 days of filming and 30 days of cutting. Then MM3 can aim for 10 days of filming and 10 days of editing. It’s asinine to not TRY to use the machine after it was built. Martin should’ve at least tried to play a few songs on it before trashing it

[@HorseezTWB]

This machine is a masterpiece of beauty, thank you for not giving up on MMX.

[@matti3090]

Thanks for continuing this amazing project. I think the way is the goal and I am very happy to see the MMX way continue. :)

[@MallocArray]

Thank you for not giving up!

[@rudie2902]

Fantastic achievement. I really enjoyed seeing the Marble machines at the meetup! Well organised, loved it all.

[@craftedbyorre]

Thank you for all the work and love you’re putting into the MMX so it can finally play music ❤️

[@davidchidester5463]

I still believe in the MMX. Thank you!

[@biomorphic]

I am glad someone took over to finish this music machine. It would have been a waste otherwise.

[@metropolis10]

I can't believe the amount of work and dedication your team has to take on this project! I also can't believe Martin spent years of his live alone putting this all together, what a project!

[@_o_]

the stop-motion gates "crawling?" into place was cool. Great work, I can see how that marble gate with them either slipping out or getting stuck is a major issue, but you guys got this!

[@MrAshadams]

Really well done video. Excellent work. Well Done!

[@anti_honey]

This channel brings me so much joy, to see the amount of effort put into bringing these machines to life as they were intended for, very exciting!

[@Nocard636]

Great job! It is winderfull to see the MMX completely assembled!

[@cocon16_PW]

Thank you for your work and this video :)

[@C1oudstr1f]

Thank you to the team helping this amazing machine! It deserves to be finished!

[@billkeithchannel]

Awesome. Took me back to Martin's produced videos of the past. Great job team.

[@Admiral_Ellis]

I am so glad the MMX saga continues. Shoutout to you all for persevering!

[@daviddelayat-dnapictures]

The production quality of this video is amazing, congrats to the team and the filmmaker :)

[@Musikkabinett]

Thank you so much! We are trying to get better and better with every Video we post. It is fulfilling to read comments like this. Thank you!

[@daviddelayat-dnapictures]

The way we tell stories is as important as the story itself ! How many Marble Machines have been started but no one have ever heard of ? What you do is great because you've understood this principle !

[@omalila7399]

Thank you so much, beautiful people! It's amazing to see you all work together and make the impossible possible and make the MMX come alive. It's just amazing to see! Special greetings to Elliot who 3D printed spare parts for my kettle last year (still working great, thanks!). Great to see you be an essential part of the team. Lots of love to everyone!

[@BrunoWiebelt]

ausgezeichnete Arbeit .... vielen Dank

[@marcelk.4371]

Amazing! The MMX looks great :) can't wait to see it finished! Also the video editing gets better. Keep on going guys ❤

[@fredygump5578]

I would always comment this is all normal for a complicated design. It just takes time and perseverence. Happily you are taking the time!

[@TheRealFreekBos]

Yessss.... and the journey continues! It is such a beautiful design, I am stoked that so many of you will try to finish the machine after all. Martin deserves a working MMX for sure! You have my support for sure! Good luck guys and gals... see you on the webz... :)

[@benjaminwalter5486]

found the channel by chance and I am happy that you are going to compleate the MMX. so cool

[@onehitkill5816]

For years since i first watched the originsl marble machine prototype music video ive wanted to hear the marble machine x play, and as the months go by and the days grow longer, my dream comes ever closer to reality. Thank you for continuing to keep the dream and hope alove that one day i msy hear the beautfiul music this clockwork machine can make.

[@justinejacks0n]

I was spellbound! Congrats on your shared vision and perseverance to see this technical project through to completion. (subscribed)

[@katharinap0116]

Sehr schön! Gute Arbeit an alle! Eine unglaubliche Geduld müsst ihr ja alle haben, wenn ihr an dem harten Projekt so fleißig arbeitet. ,:D Aber schön zu sehen, dass die MMX trotzdem noch den ein oder anderen Auftritt hinbekommt!

[@tankoalhadji]

Es war so toll ein paar von euch kennengelernt zu haben! Toll wie ihr das macht

[@creageous]

Love love love what you are doing. Thank you. So much gratitude!

[@chriscorvus1808]

The Idea is planted, now the germans do the engeneering. Nice international teamwork. Love it

[@Musikkabinett]

Not only Germans are working on the machine. Actually most of the volunteers come from countrys around germany!

[@patrickradcliffe3837]

It is amazing to see the MMX in a state of completeness. Well done!

[@alsothejiraguy]

Not going to lie, he pulled out the angle grinder, and I went "NO!" Glad it was just a cleanup and not removing part of the MMX.

[@miss_adventure]

Holy shit the production quality is outstanding!

[@Zeratoxx_]

Feddisch

[@ratvomit874]

Someone should definitely write an entire album of songs for this machine, be it Martin or one of you guys who finished it. It may not be fit for live tours, but it is definitely a engineering marvel which deserves nothing less than that

[@Koffeinsuechtigi]

Don't worry, there are ideas floating around ;) Martin will most certainly not be involved, he passed on from this project, understandibly, to maintain whatever sanity this machine had not yet taken from him ;)

[@alessiodimaria3320]

Amazing guys! Woooo more from u! Great team 😮

[@8o8inSquares]

Amazing work everyone!!! Can’t wait to finally hear it!

[@doro5751]

A sneak peak of hearing it can be found in the meetup livestreams as well as in one of Martins videos while he was in Rüdesheim.

[@KruddMan]

great to see this beautiful machine is still kickin

[@Zortorond]

OMFG I envy people having SO much free time to waste!

[@Koffeinsuechtigi]

Well, everyone needs a hobby, and a way to spend a couple of weekends ;)

[@paulbolus9399]

Martin must be ike: You guys are crazy!

[@froehlichwl]

Great job guy’s!

[@NeonNijahn]

So thankful for y'all

[@jobobminer8843]

Thank-you for your work

[@claudio.zunino]

Martin had changed the "divide by four" in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGHOq4edr5Ksars

[@Simon8463]

OMG I just found you. I was so sad for MMX and you give her new hope. If the lower ring pulls up too much marbles why don't just remove some magnets? Check how many marbles fills in the pipe, count how many magnets carry that much, then leave some space.

[@Musikkabinett]

This issue is already solved. We are a bit behind with our videos so stay tuned!

[@DaredeepThomas]

This is great! Thanks!

[@peterkoch3777]

Danke Leute, ihr habt bewiesen, das Martins MMX tatsächlich funzt. Ich kann verstehen, warum Martin abgebrochen hat, die MMX ist nicht bühnentauglich, aber ihr habt sie soweit hinbekommen, das sie spielt. Ich war vor ein paar Monaten im Musikkabinett und Lukas war so freundlich gewesen, uns die Maschinen zu zeigen. Sie waren in einem traurigen Zustand. Jetzt hüpft mein Herz und wenn ich bald wieder nach Rüdesheim komme, wird die MMX spielen! Und vielleicht bekommt ihr ja auch die okinal MM wieder soweit hin, das sie ein paar Murmeln umherschleudert🤣

[@Musikkabinett]

Ja, fraglich bei MM wo das reparieren aufhört und das bessermachen anfängt 😅

[@alessiodimaria3320]

This process is literally like debugging

[@LOOKMUMNOCOMPUTER]

nice one!

[@carlosvilches6206]

Thanks!! 🥰🥰🥰

[@Sorestlor]

nice to see this continuing

[@Artichoked1]

it makes me so happy to see this

[@Nepfbert]

Now I know where all the "World Peace" went, it's in a box! 0:40

[@Nepfbert]

oh no, you're out, too! There was some hope.

[@tiper2107]

GG for the fix. C'est marqué fini dans le titre, mais on as pas vue la fabrication de la nouvelle roue et surtout l'élaboration du nouveaux passage de bille entre les deux roues. Merci pour les vidéos.

[@doro5751]

That will be something for the upcoming videos.

[@tiper2107]

@@doro5751 Nice :)

[@johannesdberg]

This is soooooooo great 🙌🏻

[@VanceMorris]

I believe

[@Petero3]

9:24 - maybe it makes sense to bend the top bars outwards (closer to the escapement wheels), because it's not a problem if marbles of one track touch the marbles of the neighbouring track.

[@jbert42]

Sadly that's not much of an improvement. The neighbouring track never moves at the same time, so if a marble wanders from the current track towards that other track then it might bump into the static marbles, stop rolling and hence form a clog. And if the pressure is high enough then it's also possible that marbles simply start pouring out from there, so ideally we keep some kind of constraint. A lot of tuning has happened since that video so we got it to a point where it is good enough, but if we want real improvements then we would need a better constrained solution, like the small wooden roof which Martin made for the cybergates.

[@glenmcgillivray4707]

​@@jbert42I'm pretty sure all the gravity forces from the tubing are going to be loading the singular top track rod, so refitting may be required, and consequently it's entirely possible that we might find inconsistent results when marble stockpiles run low, as marble gates designed to contain marbles when loaded may jam up with the weight off. Limitations of trying to simplify the design I suppose. Might have been better to contain them within two machined aluminium shells or 3d printed plastic to grant visibility, and rigidity and remove any flex. Regardless it's pretty, and the goal is now 'get it working' rather than 'fix everything' Glad to see it start working!

[@Koffeinsuechtigi]

@@glenmcgillivray4707, we worked on all parts with the aim to keep it in principle within Martin's designs. We did add things, modify some, but we didn't want to completely redesign the escapement gates, or rather the three-rail marble path as that would significantly change what the gates look like. As we now know what the failure points are, we try to find ways how to make modifications that alleviate the issues while not intrusively change the overall look. As JBert said, there are ideas floating around ;)

[@glenmcgillivray4707]

@@Koffeinsuechtigi I'm mostly commenting because I had the realisation of why precisely Martin's design choices had considerably hindered his goals of marble containment and management. It's unfortunate but understandable he made some mistakes in the process. And the marble gates are complex components with hilariously many moving parts and simultaneously complex enough to make redesigning and rebuilding them a fourth time painful. Containment and constraint of marbles which just wish to escape will forever torment this project unfortunately. But so long as we keep our eye on it, we can work around the complexities.

[@Koffeinsuechtigi]

@@glenmcgillivray4707 , hahaha, "Containment and constraint of marbles which just wish to escape will forever torment this project". That's a nice summary :D

[@regulatormachine2788]

Awesome!

[@gabrielgomescunha]

FINALLY! 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@jeanlebel5979]

thank you so much for the work done there! would i be closer i'd gladly help. Can i help you in anyway from afar (i'm from paris)

[@Musikkabinett]

We are working on ideas. Besides that the usual stuff: watch the videos, subscribe and spread the word. There's also the subtitles team on our discord.

[@wilkoufert8758]

This is so great. Although it wouldn’t meet demands for the world tour, Martin should reassess this as a win, not least for bringing so much people together in such a wholesome project. maybe he would record a special song just for the mmx? We all would love to see them together again

[@Musikkabinett]

I'm sure bugging him about it. But I don't have high hopes :/

[@cathleenapril3499]

Fertig 😹👍

[@padraiggluck2980]

Titanium

[@aeris-mo]

Sweet

[@WildoTheRubberFist]

Was that aluminum you were putting to the bench grinder?

[@Koffeinsuechtigi]

Yes, the rack supports are made of aluminium.

[@WildoTheRubberFist]

@@Koffeinsuechtigi use great caution when grinding soft metals like aluminum on a stone grinder. The aluminum will embed in the grinding stone. A stone that's loaded up with material like that could explode when it's running.

[@TheDiveO]

Irgendwie hat Marten damit die Musik-Version von Babbages Analytical Engine erschaffen...

[@Isaac-wr8et]

Are we going to get a proper video of this masterpiece playing? 😭

[@doro5751]

We are working on it, but it will take time. Much time...

[@xl0xl0xl0]

Sure it looks beautiful and magical, but wha's the point if it is not _tight_? /s

[@Musikkabinett]

For a start the gates themselves tend to be leaking marbles. So some more/better tightness would be a good thing :P

[@vegandr.u_mme_rprefRR]

[@sean_miller]

Nobody: Martin: I'm trashing this project because I can't do a world tour with it.

[@Trockenshampooleopard]

It has always been Martin's goal to take a working Marble Machine on a world tour.

[@sean_miller]

@@Trockenshampooleopard Anyone with common sense could see from the start that the world tour goals were very likely impractical.

[@IvoTichelaar]

​@@sean_miller you don't know many artists, do you? ;-)

[@sean_miller]

@@IvoTichelaar lol. I am an artist/creative, dude. 😂 … I do get you, though. Martin reminds me of a guitarist I used to be in a band with. Too eccentric and creative for his own good. Band went up in flames because of him. Point taken, I guess. Lol

[@IvoTichelaar]

@@sean_miller I was being a bit sarcastic, but kind of figured the chances of you being a creative were pretty high lol

[@mindmachinepsy]

I wasn't a big fan of Martin abandoning this machine. To me it seemed like he didn't even want to finish because he wanted to keep the funds going. But the more i see how even the pros struggled with it, the more i understand why he had to move on xD All these "little" things that just failed miserably turned the whole thing into a disaster. I'm impressed you guys really went so far to actually make it play music

[@Musikkabinett]

Turns out someone just today joined the discord and showed mathematically why the droppers are so difficult to tweak correctly. So yeah. Abandoning MMX as a touring instrument was the right move. I think he specifically stopped patreon and memberships to prevent people from getting the idea he wants to intentionally prolong the project.

[@retsamyar]

considering he gives away the music on his website and never seems to have sponsorships i find it funny that some still managed to see him in this scammer light. All the evidence is showing the opposite from my view but everyone sees thing in their own way. best of luck my friend.

[@IvoTichelaar]

It's getting obvious the MMX required a bit too much further development and a bit too much maintenance and a few too many engineers to be practical on the road...

[@cowforcow]

I never understood why this machine was ever intended to travel. Record an album? Yes. Package up and travel with? No. I think the number one problem with the mmx was its conflicting goals. It needs to be a massive musical Rube Goldberg machine, and it’s also supposed to travel. Pick one or the other. I personally would have rather seen the traveling showman requirement dropped than the machine itself.

[@Thrillbo341]

Prediction: Martin will guilt you into letting him take it on tour after you finish it, it will get ruined somewhere along the way and he will hand it back to your care to "restore", it is unclear if he will have finished his own by then.

[@Musikkabinett]

yeah, no. MMX is basically dead to martin.

[@dvduwu]

One of my biggest criticisms of Martin's MMX is his obsession with removing and minimizing the mechanical noise of the machine. He spent weeks if not months putting noise dampening on everything, prolonging the already marathon pace of the project. I believed that the mechanical noise was one of the biggest highlights of the machine, giving a unique charm to the music it played. If the music was too sterile and clean, it would make little difference to just have a band play each of the machines in isolation. The mechanical noise gives attention to the fact that it is a complex machine with tons of moving parts that contribute to each of the instruments that form it.

[@youareliedtobythemedia]

The noise you hear is not the noise the machine makes in real life. It's a lot louder in real life

[@randomnickify]

All the music you heard while MMX was playing was recorded from contact microphones attached directly to the machine. In the videos the "noise" of the machine itself was heavily reduced in posproduction. In reality MMX was way too noisy too work as a stage instrument.