Analog rytm vs jomox

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#2

When you can afford AR you can try a jomox box.

#3

I have an Xbase-999. For all it’s good points, I’m afraid I can’t recommend one given it’s price and especially in comparison to the Analog Rytm.

Now, the AR isn’t out yet, so take this with a pinch of salt.

$2K AUD — same price as the AR — gets you the Xbase-999, only four analog channels, with the rest being samples. The sequencer is nowhere near as good as Elektron’s. The user interface is awful; a two line character LCD which is often crammed with confusing labels/values. The general build quality is high, but with some odd choices. For example, the knobs feel weedy, despite being nutted to the case. The buttons are tiny and don’t feel satisfying to use; short travel and a hard ‘click’.

It sounds like I completely hate the Xbase, but I don’t. The analog channels are amazing. The bass kicks like a horse! The analog filters on every channel — inc sample channels — are really good sounding.

The bottom line is that the Xbase has some good points, but in the end I think it’s under-cooked, old-school — in a negative sense — and disappointing.

#4

Ive owned 999 and have now 888,love the sound of the jomox it mostly dose 909 and 808 sounds. from what i hear AR will have tons of variation.

like the last post said AR sequencer will blow jomox’s sequencer away. the jomox also has tons of bugs pretty sure AR will have very few.

I suggest getting the AR and you can add mbase 11 or 01 for the great jomox kicks.

#5

I’ve owned a Jomox XBase999.

I sold it because the sequencer had severe limitations.

e.g. 32 step maximum patterns with no pattern chaining…

RYTM will not have that problem.

That’s not even mentioning the easy sample support.

If, for some reason, you NEED that Jomox kick, there’s the MBase…but my question to you is, why live with such a limited sequencer and tedious sample engine? The choice is clear…

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#6

I got an x base 09 and love it. Got it on the bay years back for five bills. It is monster. With that said I’m frothing at the mouth waiting for the rytm. Rytm is going to be baller status.

#7

Jomox Airbase is quite nice, and you can use whatever sequencer with it. Cirklon and Octatrack work great. That said, I’ll be adding an Analog Rytm, and deciding whether to keep both after I get it.

#8

I had an 999 for a while which basically can also be turned into the 888 by using another OS (to have the additional parameters from the 888 like metallize on snare etc.).

I really liked the kick (it’s so huge) and the hats - but not so much the sounds of the toms. I would say for that you should wait until the AR is finally available to make a comparison and see what fits you best.

In fact I sold my 999 because I was very unhappy with the OS and the limitations of the sequencer. As already stated here it was quite buggy (but that was maybe 3-4 years ok - don’t know if/how it improved in the meantime). Anyway the elektron sequencer is on a totally different level as the jomox

#9

the jomox 888 and 999 os is still really buggy!

#10

Had 2 888s in the past and loved it but was frustrated with the workflow and sold it twice… That said I always forget what my original beefs where and start wanting another… It won’t happen again tho unles there’s a mk2 with a propper screen and pro written OS… Ohh yeah.

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#11

thanks for replay…i think i’ll go for analog rytm…
cheers.

darmanmerdeka

#12

Buy an analog rytm and a roland aira tr8 :slight_smile:

#13

As a former owner of a 999, I wouldn’t really recommend it. Didn’t love the sound (and for 1300€ it should sound pretty damn great!), didn’t love the cryptic UI, plus it was quite difficult to find a buyer when I wanted to get rid of it. It took me like 6 months and several price drops to sell it.

I’d get an Aira TR-8 instead any day of the week.A Rytm even more so.

#14

Akai rhythm wolf

#15

it’s tempting…analog drum machine with price wise :joy:

#16

do you have any particular approach with AR +TR8?

#17

On a quest for the ultimate (mostly non vintage) analog drum hardware setup a while ago I picked up a Jomox Mbase 11 and an Mbrane. I added an old Boss HC-2 and sequenced them from the MD (or MNM). For some reason I ran into sequencing issues (via midi) that I’ve still never quite resolved.

The Jomox gear didn’t always hit on all trigs from the Elektron stuff unless multiple adjacent tracks are unmuted.

Last year I got the A4 and while I still tinker occassionally with all these pieces of gear, it has been much less often. The A4 can kick as hard and deep and is as modulatable as the Mbase. It’s snares and toms as snasty as the Mbrane, and its claps… …well maybe not it’s thing but whatever. The Darenager sounds illuminated the A4’s capabilities for me.

I can’t quite conceptualize how the AR will push the A4’s sound further (aside from sample layering), but I’m sure it will and I’ll look forward to fiddling with one when I grt the chance. I’ve never been quite as charmed by a piece of gear (or company).

Either Jomox or Elektron can get you where you want to be, but one is just more adroit in doing so.

#18

Hi all,

I am looking at the Jomox Alpha Base, DSI Tempest and Elektron Analog Rytm as my drum machine sequencer. Does anyone have experience with these competitors and how do they compare to the Elektron? I love the MD workflow thus far but not sure if these other drum machines offer any advantages over the Elektron gear or not.

#19

It’s always worth looking at previous discussions on the forum:

Tempest & AR:
https://www.elektronauts.com/search?context=topic&context_id=4031&q=Tempest%20Rytm%20&skip_context=true

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#20

Thanks I will take a look. Been having fun learning the MD and also consider the less expensive DT as that leaves extra cash for the new OT MK2 and Virus.

#21

I know it is an old thread. Propably everything has been said and done. I just want to mention that

  • the 888 sounds great (also with the 888 OS on the 999), I mean REALLY GREAT
  • tracks in one pattern have all the same length
  • the 888 has other samples in the first 4 slots than the 999
  • the sequencable stereo filter in the 999 is really complicated and better shut off
  • the 888 has an extra parameter for base drum and tom for making pitch decay longer
  • the metallic noise feature of the 888 vs the 999 is, well, nice but not more
  • the mbase11 is the base drum of the 999
  • the clap is not analog
  • there are only 2 toms
  • accent doesn’t work on toms (bug)
  • odd pattern lengths are only up to 15 (because A/B have the same length) (888/999)
  • song mode works if you know how (differently on 999 and 888!)
  • in performance mode selected drum kit is saved with the selected pattern :frowning:
  • the buttons are crap and need replacement after a few years no matter if used or not
  • the backup-battery is soldered (!! :frowning: )
  • in the 09 samples have different tunings - so no mixed hihat and clap in one track in performance mode
  • the snare has few sweet spots on the extremes (09, 888, 999)
  • up/down is ONLY for patterns, not for navigating
  • you have to save a pattern before changing it
  • custom 8bit samples sound GREAT
  • there is only a filter for the HH-sample, not for the other sample tracks in the 888/999
  • the VCA for the samples is … strange but usable
  • shuffle is possible on all xbases, cumbersome on the 09 AFAIR, set per track in each pattern in the 888/999 - sounds great but is a lot of work
  • the computer sample transfer programs (yes, plural - one for 888 and one for 999) work fine up to Mojave (!)
  • the 888/999 needs to be reset manually to internal clock after EACH whatever-data-dump to the machines
  • there is a traditional accent track on the 09 but not on 888/999 - here you can add accent to every already set step by double clicking the instrument button
  • in order to live tweak the parameters of each instrument you have to select the instrument by tapping pattern write, select instrument, then come back to main
  • the midi tracks for sequencing external equipment from the 888/999 are ok but not more - no programming of velocity
  • you most certainly need a mixing desk or submixer in order to EQ the snare (esp. on the 09), set CH/OH balance on the 888/999, give the delay to the HH and the reverb to the clap and for every filter trick - you will need an external filter or modular or semimodular synth for that, too

So basically the 888/999 is like your borderline girlfriend/boyfriend - energetic, fun, forceful, great in bed, experimental, connected, smart - but you have to be mindful ALL THE TIME else REALLY BAD THINGS can happen. These machines are like russion photo cameras. Follow the routines in the handbook exactly as described - don’t do anything else, you might break it.

The 09 is plain and forward. Too bad there is just one sample track and the built in samples are not tuned to the same tuning (I guess he used the original raw samples - they have to be played at different clock speeds I think - at least that’s the case in the 626 and 707 AFAIR).

Since things have been the same over decades with Jomox (seems to be more interested in producing new and really complex stuff like sunsyn or a neuronal synth instead bug fixing) I suppose it won’t be much different with the alpha base. Will have that Jomox sound. Has a more complex membrane track. Built in sampling capability (HiFi ??? !!), built in FM-track, NO song mode anymore. That said you are propably better off with a 888/999 and a modle:samples and a model:cycles… (still cheaper than the alpha base).

Apropos: the 888s are considerably cheaper on the secon hand market than the 999 - although they have the better sound engine (additional parameters) and so far I found nobody who could make good use of that strange filter in the 999.

Well, maybe buying a rytm and a used mbase11 as side-kick :slight_smile: or for sampling is the better option. You’ll have a much better sequencer and the most essential FX in a very useful package.

SCNR - but now I can forget about all that. It is written down :slight_smile:

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