I am "stuck" with just a mk1 RYTM and a Blofeld. Any advice on making them play totgether?

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

So I used to have the old dark trinity. Needed money and asked which one I should keep. I decided to not follow advice and told me myself beacially whatever sells. Sellign gear is hard so the guy picked up A4 and OT from me.

Now my “setup” consists of Reaper (and outdated Pro Tools), mk1 RYTM and a keyboardless Blofeld.

What’s the cheapest way to make them play together in a sequencer like fashion. Blofeld will mostly handle pad sound and light melodic content. Blofeld only has MIDI IN. So do I need some kind of Aruria Beatstep device, those things look pretty basic, I imagine it will have no memory at all so I will have to make do.

Any other hardware ideas? Or do I really have to fall back into a DAW in order for them to play together?

Thanks.

#2

A beatstep pro is a nice little sequencer. You can have mine for €140 plus shipping :wink:

And start saving for an OT again.

4 Likes
#3

Ok so how would you setup Blofeld and AR then?

#4

Beatstep (not pro) has sixteen 16 step patterns, but no song mode and no polyphony iirc. You could go beatstep -> rytm midi in -> rytm thru -> blofield

I’d try use your pc for sync and sequencing

#5

replace rytm with a digitakt
https://www.elektronauts.com/t/digitakt-blofeld-multi-mode-midi/51291/21

1 Like
#6

i’d sample the blofeld and feed it to the rytm, but not try to make them work together

the filters and vca of the ar give a great oompf to the samples
plus you can play them in chroma

the blofeld has like a million menus although i think they are very well thought out i’d stay away for live
it’s perfect for sound design tho everything is accessible

don’t get a beatstep or any other controller. then you’ll want an interface or whatever to connect a to b, clock c to d, control e to f and so on…

you can use your computer keyboard as a chromatic one and sequence the blofeld to it’s fullest multitimbral and all, and sync it eventually to the ar

having a limited setup is a blessing
my 2c

1 Like
#7

You can use a Sonuus G2M or B2M and one Rytm track or voice to sequence other MIDI gear monophonically.

#8

maybe i was doing it wrong but i encountered quite noticeable lag when using a G2M via midi din and ended up returning it

#9

^ From what I understand, it’s all about octave selection of the sounds going in. Outside a certain range (up, or down) will induce more latency.

#10

youtubing examples of other people using things is a good place to start. some good ideas usually come up

#12

Just sample the blofeld a bunch. Chop up the samples. Load them onto the Rytm. It’s a more than capable solo groove box, especially with the new VCO engine.

2 Likes
#13

Yes, thanks you are totally right. I do have a small budget of “non physical” money as a gift. And to be honest I am only looking at suggestions. I will still try to sell the Rytm, but so far it’s looking like I have to drop the price more which might make the whole thing less appealing or wait longer. In either way I am accepting it right now.

Beatstep is nice but to be honest it’s less appealing for the money, maybe if I read a bit more about it. Only 16 steps but it does have a memory.

I actually do not mind at all about falling back to a DAW it’s just that Blofeld will get the sequencing but then Rytm is now is left alone. of course I could give Overbridge a try but I have no idea if it even works with Reaper and how good.

Anyway, sampling waldorf as a creativity gap seems like a cool idea so I will stick to it right now. I was hoping someone had some magic solutions.

#14

though i wouldn’t really recommend spending as you just unloaded equipment for money, if you are going to spend, maybe look into picking up a used yamaha qy10. it is cheaper than a beatstep or keystep and would be a decent sequencer for the blofeld.

while im mentioning a beatstep, i wouldn’t even considering purchasing a regular beatstep if i were you. I own one and while its a decent sixteen step analog style sequencer ultimately it was just arturia’s way to test the market for the beatstep pro. the regular beat step was abandoned with only a 1 or 2 firmware updates to fix encoder speed & a few bugs, and is very very limited.

2 Likes
#15

partly disagree re the beatstep - the sequencer is very basic but as a controller its very good for the price, 16 knobs and pads you can set to do anything.

#16

I started my hardware excursion with just a Rytm. I have a stable setup right now, but I almost miss the time when it was JUST the Rytm. I would be designing sounds very carefully and sequencing with p-locks then recording specific layers separately in. I’d do the same with the Blofeld by sequencing through a DAW. Having to record stuff in and work with stems makes you pay more attention to the sound design process.

Do you have a sound card or midi I/O capabilities? I managed to find a 4x version of this a few years back and it’s worked wonderfully (as long as you have an audio interface). It sucks to buy stuff, though.

#17

Yes I have a sound card with one midi in and out but Blofeld can send MIDI through USB.

#19

I use a modded korg volca as my sequencer with my 2 man setup of Deepmind 12 and RYTM, then you can use the secondary feature of the volca being a synth as an added bonus

#20

Beatstep is a garbage sequencer. If you’re broke just bite the bullet and use a DAW, it’s going to be 100x better than anything you can get on a budget.

That said… How bout an old RM1X?

#21

Plug Blofeld Audio Out into Rytm Audio in. Plug Rytm Audio Out into Soundcard Audio in. Connect Rytm and Blofeld with PC via USB.

Now use your favorite DAW as a sequencer for the Blofeld and maybe some additional plugins. After all, the Blofeld is digital - there is nothing it can do your PC can’t do. And the Rytm, just sync it to the DAWs Midi Clock.

Done! Cost: 0. Versatility: Probably better than the Trinity. It’s just another workflow.

2 Likes