The title says it all. I own an Analog Rytm and Analog Keys. Will a Machinedrum add a lot to this combination, or will it overlap?? Does anyone here owns them all? Really interested in the differences between these machines.
Iāve got them all (well, A4 not AK). My personal opinion is that the MD and AR are both fantastic drum machines. The MD sounds a bit sharper, more precise and computer like to my ears, while the AR is a bit more wild and has a bigger āphatterā sound. The drum synth sounds in the AR are actually a bit weak too atm but this could be improved upon in future updates.
Iād say the MD could add a lot to someones set-up. The MD+UW can sample which is cool and you have more tracks for sounds in patterns.
Thanks for the reply. How do you incorporate both drum machines in your workflow? Do you have certain style of sounds that one machine does better than the other and how do you sync them, if at all?
Although the MD has a few more interesting options for immediate wild sounds ( like ctrl all machines), its sequencer is now archaic compared the ARās, so if I ever had to make a choice, the AR would be a very clear winner.
Cheers !
āArchaicā seems a bit harsh to me. The most recent Elektron I have experience with is the Octatrack, which is certainly more advanced than the MD (and maybe the Rytm slays them both, I havenāt looked into it enoughā¦must not summon the GAS Demon), archaic makes me think of an old Kawai sequencer or something. āSimplerā, maybe, but simple isnāt always bad. I like how quickly I can get something cool working quickly on the MD, and you can still take it plenty deep. Kind of a semantic argument, but words have meaning, yo ;).
1 Like
What I do think is, the machine drum has already earned itās place up there on the great drum machine pedestal, with countless amazing tracks utilising itās goodnessā¦ It is one of them machines say, in ten years or whatever, people will be revisiting all the tracks and having to have āthatā sound again.
The Rytm is just an unbelievable machine and so fresh and right now people all over are making fresh new sounds and tracks with it that we aināt heard yet! It is my favourite elektron product and something I would never let go off and will be a future classic.
So yeah the machine drum will defo add to your arsenalā¦get it if you have the moneyā¦ If not, the Rytm is more than capable to be your one and only drum machine
Machinedrum has a nice digital offset to AR in terms of sound, I think it compliments it really well esp in percussion area. Indeed the sequencer is somewhat crippled compared to AR, and you donāt NEED it if you have an AR, but sound-wise itās different enough to WANT it.
1 Like
While the MD compliments the AR nicely, a MNM, ND2, OP1, or XD5 could also take you to interesting places.
The Monomachine and XD-5 is such a killer combo for weirdly percussive stuff. The XD-5 itself is worth picking up for the price if you have a way to sequence it.
āArchaicā seems a bit harsh to me. The most recent Elektron I have experience with is the Octatrack, which is certainly more advanced than the MD (and maybe the Rytm slays them both, I havenāt looked into it enoughā¦must not summon the GAS Demon), archaic makes me think of an old Kawai sequencer or something. āSimplerā, maybe, but simple isnāt always bad. I like how quickly I can get something cool working quickly on the MD, and you can still take it plenty deep. Kind of a semantic argument, but words have meaning, yo ;).[/quote]
Yeah - āsimpleā is a good way to describe the MD. I imagine the AR is also good for coming up with something decent quickly. Aside from sonics, arenāt there a few things that the MD does that the AR is missing? midi tracks? Sampling (UW)?
āArchaicā seems a bit harsh to me. The most recent Elektron I have experience with is the Octatrack, which is certainly more advanced than the MD (and maybe the Rytm slays them both, I havenāt looked into it enoughā¦must not summon the GAS Demon), archaic makes me think of an old Kawai sequencer or something. āSimplerā, maybe, but simple isnāt always bad. I like how quickly I can get something cool working quickly on the MD, and you can still take it plenty deep. Kind of a semantic argument, but words have meaning, yo ;).[/quote]
haha ok, fair enough 
but donāt forget Iām French, so when I āexpressā myself in English, I use the words that come to mind, without too much thought !
Youāre right though, archaic is a bit strong. And to be honest, the ARās sequencer is less advanced then the OTās, at least for the moment. You cannot have different clock subdivisions per track, just individual lengths. That boggles my mind by the way, why they wouldnāt make their newer machines as good as the older ones. Also, I do love the MD, had one for over 10 years now, and itās still getting used a fair amount. Iāve got nothing against it, but the AR certainly has captured most of my interest recently. I understand why they didnāt include MIDI sequencing on it, as it would have made the MD that little bit more obsolete.
Midi sequencing and live sampling.
Unrelated - be very curious to hear what yall are doing with yer XD-5ās as Iāve got one stuck up in my closet.
Folks, need your help
Iāme leaning towards machinedrum as my next elektron purchase, but want to make sure that I donāt need rytm right now. With which one it is easier to make drums like these:
especially those snappy and punchy snares and kicks.
If theyāre both are not good enough for this, it is totally understandable, and I will continue to use OT for drum duties.
had a quick listenā¦ these drums in there sound very "over"processed, over compressedā¦ i am sure it is MD territory ā¦ bear in mind the sampling capabilities will reproduce what you feed herā¦
I didnāt hear any particularly special sounds drums in what little of that mix I listened too. Iād say the MD could easily cover it. Especially the more crispy sounding snares.
RYTM sounds amazing for sure, but you donāt get nearly as many tracks to work with as on the MD.
Or, you can go the really easy/boring route and just buy samples to load on either machine. But then, whatās the point of buying a top-of-the-line drum machine if all you do is load samples into it?
Letās also not forget the MDās comprehensive Song mode. Hereās a great example of how creative you can get within Song mode.
The RYTMās Song Mode is āarchaicā in comparison. 
I boxed away my MD when the RYTM arrived, mainly to make space in my studio. However the other week I got a new desk and the MD came back out. Iād forgotten how more versatile it is for sound design.
The RYTM sounds great out the box, but right now, the MD goes much deeper.
1 Like
thereās already a thread, probably 5 or 6 positions below this one now, where we already discussed the differences:
Check it out and read the opinions; you will get a lot of info there.
As for the Mix: Yeah, well - compressed/limited to hell, prolly with dedicated comp at 1:10 Ratio and Thresh below -30 with Hard Knee and a lot of Make-Up Gain for the Snares on some parts. Neither the MD nor the AR nor any other Hard/Software will yield such sounds by default. You normally should know that if you want to produce in this style as it is pretty much the default there!! So as already said you have to use overcompressed samples for that or route the audio to the DAW and compress it there. If one would really want the drums to sound that way but anyway - in the end its all about personal favor 
Yeah, as you can see, Iāve appeared in that thread too I know, about compression, and MD/Rytm have one, arenāt they? Plus you have layering on both boxes when it comes to those steel snares that are hard to synthesize. Anyway, to get rich sound compressed, you have to have rich sound as input.
Hi there,
Seen a SPS-1 for sale.
Donāt know if it any advantages over my AR, anyone?
yes and no