Hello
Considering buying an AR MkII
One criticism I’ve seen quite often is something along the lines of the ‘base analog sounds are uninspiring.’
Would anybody care to expand on this, either way?
In demos the base sounds sound largely 808/909 to me and for my money, that’s a good starting point surely?
Thanks
J
No really, there are excellent. Especially if you modulate stuff (lfo, env). Try it in a shop
How is “uninspiring” defined in this context? I think it’s all about who’s using the machine and what he or she is trying to achieve. 808/909 styles are definitely attainable on the Rytm, but to me, THAT sounds uninspiring. Not trying to criticize your taste, though. Who doesn’t love a booming 808 kick drum after all? But what I mean, isn’t it uninspiring to copy something, however iconic, instead of crafting a sonic world of your own? And for precision crafting, the Rytm is an excellent tool.
But yeah, visit a store with a demo unit and try it out. It’s the best way to know for sure. Maybe even take a look at the manual before going so you can try some of the deeper features.
Yeh. When I was in the shop trying out the mk1 AR, the rep was totally uninspired by it.
“Kick drum is weak as mate,” he said.
Then I pointed out the gain knob. “Give that a tweak”.
He did, and he shat himself as expletively as the monitors did.
Anyway, make sure you double click the SYNTH button to bring up the list of machines for each pad/Track. Some may suit you, some may not, but they’re all tweakable and it’s down to our knowledge of making drum patches.
AND can be mixed with a sample so basically the possibilities are endless.
Sure, vanilla 808/909 isn’t that inspiring (and historically the tracks for which the TRs became loved would have included gain/compression and other treatments and not the raw sounds anyway) but it is a fairly good benchmark/starting point for what we generally take to mean by ‘analog drums’.
I’ve just seen a few comments here and there saying the analog bit is weak, which surprised me and as there hasn’t been a sudden rush of posts saying 'yeah they are but … ’ then obviously that’s not the consensus view … which is great! 
There was, for example, a pretty loud chorus of PANTS! when it came to Akai’s Rhythm Wolf.
It’s BASS.
given nobody’s ever complained about the bass from an AR that seems rather unlikely
the op is using the term base as in default/core/vanilla etc !
note: to avoid confusion, word in topic title subsequently changed from base to basic
It’s KICK 
indeed BASE = beginning/home/basic/starting point/origin etc
I think compared to an 808/909 it is “weak” right out of the box.
But with some work it can slam and groove and sound effin brilliant. Using the sample to layer transients is just…
Low end on the RYTM is pretty special IMO. Love it for basslines. Kicks and floor toms can be monsterous
the rytm’s kicks are pretty on point imo. i like the claps too.
the cyms are a bit limited, but their arn’t bad. just their own thing.
the toms are good sine waves.
and the overdrive is very nice.
i wouldn’t call it a subtle machine though.
As for trying in a ship, I do live near GAK (big UK independent retailer) but they only do the AR as special order, so none on display. I’d have to drag my arse to London to see one in the flesh.
Lolz. “Shop” not “ship”. Ah shiver me timbers! Or should that be ‘timbres’?
I think the analog machines were a bit weak in earlier OS’s, but since the last few updates it has improved greatly. A couple of things to bear in mind - because of its flexibility it can take a while to dial in the exact sound you are after, it can sound very mediocre and some of the parameters have odd ranges, omissions or responses, for example things like decay and sweep seem to have strange curves which can at times sound unnatural and make dialling in specific things impossible.
The filters and overdrive are excellent, as are the reverb and delay, the various machines are not really seeking to emulate classic drum machine sounds nor are they particularly adept at it - although you can get fairly close and compared to something like the drumbrute the Rytm kills it. But the hi-hats and cymbals are very very nice indeed and can sit proudly by classic x0x sounds as equals or better once you animate them with a bit of tasteful modulation.
All the other machines are pretty good too once you get to know them, but unlike x0x machines they are not always in the sweet spot and it isn’t an instant gratification machine, but once you learn it you will be rewarded.
Definitely one of the best drum machines ever made IMHO.
I personally never heard anything I liked coming from the Rytm via demos or YouTube vids (that’s subjective though)
I read the manual and knew it had enough power to warrant purchasing one.
I think it’s a brilliant machine and only a lack of imagination would hold a user back.
One look at the machine parameters is better than any kind of audio demo, if you can’t get your hands on one in a store that is…
opinions on the synthesis engines run the gamut from the best drum machine of all time to super uninspiring , needs samples to sound good. my point is, its highly subjective. go listen to one in person. I love them personally. but some of my friends hate them. It depends on your style/taste/etc
Anyone saying the sounds are weak haven’t used the box long enough. Just selecting the default parameters for the sounds will get you nowhere. I think those people would be better served by getting a TR-8 / TR-8S since they want instant gratification. If you don’t mind fiddling with each track sound then you will get some great results. I find this is the case for all Elektron instruments. They take a bit of work before you get rewarded.
I sold mine
the preset sounds are definitely uninspiring IMHO… not the analog “machines” themselves, just the sounds pre-programmed with the unit
its a tweakers drum machine - so if you love sound design and tweaking knobs and getting dirty with the details then its great, just like the rest of elektron stuff
if not, probably skip it… you could buy sound packs for more presets and so forth… but ultimately its still going to be a machine for sound designers, because thats how it will shine the brightest
btw - combining the analog and samples is ridiculously good for getting freaky with some gnarly lo-fi action… and the way they work with the sequencer gives a heavy tracker vibe… its great stuff if thats what you are into
so far, my all-time favorite drum machine