Hello all, I’ve been battling with the idea of selling my Rytm for a while now, mainly due the the fact that I’m mostly using it for sample playback and those samples are 97% 808 samples.
I feel like using it as a glorified sample playback machine isn’t doing it justice and as I’m not in a financial position to have expensive kit collecting dust do I sell it and buy something cheaper… something like the MFB-522?
Another factor at the moment is time, I barely get an hour a week to make music at the moment due to work and parenting and whilst I know the unit well I don’t have the time to really get it doing what it’s best at. I don’t want to regret it but I suppose I’ll never know until I sold it. Has anyone else sold a Rytm for a similar reason and regretted it?
I’m a dad and I remember there not being a lot of time the first year or two for music. I wouldn’t sell a nice piece of kit just because you don’t currently have time. Your kid will get older and you will regain your time, but you may not have the opportunity to buy something nice again. It gets better, I promise.
If you are going to sell, make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons, not on impulse. Consider what you will lose if you sell and try to replace with something else. Last, ask yourself if you are happy making music with it. A smooth workflow is worth a lot when time is scarce. Money can’t buy you productivity.
I too have very little time for music currently (ever, it seems like!). I eternally haven’t done anything for moths now…
I’ve got a Rytm Mk1 and together with OT Mk1 that’s the centre of everything in the music room. I will always keep it for those glorious overdriven kicks, sample/analog layering and the fantastic sequencer.
The RYTM “should I sell or keep” question seems to come around often. It’s such a beast of a machine and most of us don’t use it to capacity, which is why I think it ultimately goes up for sale.
You could try to make more use of its capabilities. One thing I like to do is use the Collider iPad app to generate patterns and especially kits.
The Collider kits can be very different than what you may normally use and may help generate some new ideas.
If it’s your only unit, hard no on the sell. You’ll have it for those rare moments youre both in a mindset and have a moment to create. You’ll be thankful you didn’t sell it.
Are you only using it to playback samples because you dont like the analog engines? Have you explored them? Imo theyre pretty amazing.
I’ve always struggled getting a song out of the analog engines but maybe I haven’t given them enough time and I’m probably a victim of the classic ‘revert to the TR sound’ as my attention span is pretty short.
Is it an MK1? Resale prices seem to have come down quite a bit. Offers seem to be generally in the 750€ ballpark. Are you ready to let it go for that kind of money?
Yup… I didn’t gel with the analog sounds and their limited (relative, compared to a full featured synth) parameters, so I bought a Digitakt a few years ago.
That said I’m less and less into sample-based drums, so I have tried other alternatives. The Analog Four is good at drums. The Digitone is incredible at drums. And these days I’m evaluating the LXR-02. I also have a TR-8S which is frankly a must if you’re into the TR legacy.
…i have the rule…if i sell something, it’s only something i don’t use anymore…
and if so, i only finance something else/new with it…
so, yes, if the rytm is nothing but a drumsampling device in ur workflow, it’s defenitly not really in use…so, drop all gear collectors pride and get things straight…
if it’s a mk2…u can refinance an oldschool mpc with it…best drumsampler in the world…
with real fingerdrummin included…
and since ur missing out big time on drumsynthesis…it needs by no means to be truu analog…there’s also digital drumsyntheis that can catch up easily in sonic charme…
like erikas replica take on sonic potions lxr…biggest balls in digital drum synthesis out there to find…and a truu versatile and easy to handle drummachine…
these both can be catched around 1000 bux alltogeter…
so if ur mk2 is in good shape…easy…
Not sold a rytm for these reasons but I do also experience a sometimes frustrating lack of time to play with it (and other stuff), due to work and parenting two small kids.
My experience as an owner / previous owner of almost all Elektron instruments is that (imo) the AR is the most immediate, which i find great for quickly dipping in and out of.
Unless you need the cash, perhaps using it in a slightly different way could help you see it as more than just a drum sample player.
I load up / record some chord samples, experiment with @taro’s amazing single cycle waveforms and play around rather blindly with the dvco to try to produce melodic patterns and tracks, without other synths or equipment. I find I can easily make nice sounding and complete (in terms of drums, melody, bass and chords at the same time) patterns - more so than my digitone for instance.
Once I got out of the mindset that the AR was just a drum machine, I started to make much more sense to me, both as an instrument but also fitting around disjointed and brief opportunities to use it.
When I was using Analog Rytm I eventually found myself using samples most of the time, and wanted something cleaner sounding. Digitakt came out and I haven’t looked back.
DT for drums, occasional bass and granular bits, DN for synths, and OT for stereo loops and mixing work great together. DT’s streamlined interface is a nice counterpoint to the extra depth you get with OT.
It does mean that trading it for a second hand Digitakt only gets you a couple hundred bucks, so doesn’t amount to much. If you’d traded it for a model samples or something it would be worth the hassle. Would that be enough for what you want? I personally gelled less with its sequencer and menus.
If you sell the Rytm, don’t do it in a hurry but sell it for a góód amount so you can always buy one back without a loss (as long as Mk1 units are around that is…)
I love love love my rytm but based on your situation description I feel like you’d be better off with a tr8s or 6. Seems like nobody dislikes them, they nail the 808 sound and they are super immediate and fun.
That said, the rytm is to me a pretty nice jam for an hour here and there and slowly build up a track type device for me. You can pick up where you left off really easily. But if you aren’t into getting deep into tweaking sounds and sequences… seems like rytm might not be all that fun to use.
