Analog Rytm Analog Sounds

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

Hello everyone. I am a new Elektron user and I have an Analog Rytm MKII. I am confused about a few things and cannot seem to find any answers anywhere. My first question is, how are we able to tell which sounds coming from our Analog Rytm or Rytm MkII are analog or digital? For instance, Elektron soundpacks. I have downloaded a few soundpacks from Elektron. Are the sounds in those sound packs just digital samples? Or are they somehow using information to create the sounds within our analog engines? I would also like to know in general, how are we to tell what sounds are analog vs digital samples, coming out of our device at all? Besides the obvious point of just listening to them, sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference.
Second question, how do I get the Rytm MkII into a state where I can use the mono synth as just a synthesizer. I’d like to be able to play it just like a regular mono synth with my midi keyboard, is that possible?
I have some other questions but I’ll save those for later.

Thank you for any and all help.

#2

Hi EightySix!

If the volume on the Synth page is up and the volume on the Sample page is down, what you’re hearing is an analog sound.

If the volume on the Sample page is up and the Synth page is down you’re hearing a digital sample (which could be of an analog instrument).

If the volume on both Synth and Sample pages is up you are hearing a mixture of the two sources.

Why are you concerned about analog versus digital anyway or are you just curious?

Re synth and keyboard. Attach keyboard to midi in on Rytm, adjust Rytm’s Auto Channel in the midi settings to that of your keyboard. I tend to use short waveforms looping constantly by adjusting the Start and End points on the Sample page.

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#3

Thank you for your reply. As far as why I am concerned about analog vs digital. It’s mostly just a desire for knowledge of exactly what’s happening inside my machine. I’d like to know how to distinguish which sounds my machine is creating with analog technology vs just replaying. I tend to want to know small details about things. I want to know what this machine is capable of.

#4

Each track has toggles on the trig menu for syn (analog synthesis) and smp (samples)…
Just turn of the smp toggles and all you’ll hear is analog, besides any reverb or delay if added because those are digital…

I agree regardless of any type of analog vs digital it’s certainly more than reasonable to want to know how or if your making analog drum sounds out of your analog drum machine, or how or if your playing samples out of your device…

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#5

For a little more info…
The synth and sample are layered and both play at the same time if both toggles are on and there is indeed a synth machine assigned to the track and a sample loaded…
I imagine a lot of the sound pack sounds use both, but you can figure it out by messing with the toggles or looking at the sample page to see if a sample is loaded…

To use the AR as a synth, the BD sharp and BD silky work particularly well. To be in tune and get to a more synthy sound, set tune, swt, and swd to 0, and increase the decay. Tweak the filter…

And like nooooddy says very short samples set to loop can be used as well. There’s some single cycle waveforms in the factory samples that work great for this… Helps to lower amp decay from infinite when using these or they’ll never stop looping… :smile:

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#6

Awesome, thanks alot for the detailed response. I’ll have to spend another few hours tinkering tonight, as if I wasn’t going to anyway.

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#7

That’s what I’m doing… :smile:

#8

Have you tried reading the manual? It explains all the details, like how you can see on the machine what the sound sources are.

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#9

Yeah. I have tried reading the manual. You see, sometimes it’s more convenient and easier to understand something when you have multiple explanations from multiple people from their own perspectives, rather than just reading technical text off a page. Have you tried asking a question in a technical forum?

#10

The manual is one of these typical technical functions manuals, written from a programmer’s perspective rather than from a user’s “how to” perspective.

Elektron should add a workflow manual for practical use, to get new users going, by walking through an example project. For the time being, you get there much better by looking at tutorial videos (some of the best have to be bought at Ask Video etc), than by reading through this purely technical manual, and then having forgotten most the complicated and not quite intuitive UI by getting to the end of the manual.

I would advise
a) watching tutorial videos first of all
b) reading the manual once while colour marking essentials
c) constantly using the device while going back to videos and manual with actual practical questions in mind

Only by actually using it, you get used to the machine step by step. There’s no way to really understand this kind of machine completely BEFORE using it - and I mean using it a lot.

#11

I understand, but you were asking for some very basic info that is at the very basis of this machine. Like how to tell if what you hear is a synth or a sample.

Compared to the rest of the functions of this machine it’s pretty close to asking where the on/off switch is. :grin:

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#12

I’d have to agree . The manual is functional but not great. I read it in parts and only when i needed to.

#13

Not when you’re new to electronic music and just got your first Elektron item.

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#14

Cool topic - learned something too!