Hello all! I was going to post this also on muffwiggler, but the site seems to be down at the moment.
I’ve had the rytm for about 5 months now and have quite enjoyed it. My problem is this: i rarely use any of the analog engines. I mostly use it as a place to put samples in before I throw them through my array of moog pedals. And most of the samples I use are 808 or 909 samples.
It seems a waste to me to have a machine that costs 1300$ to use only samples in. I do like the kick drum, toms and clap, but the cymbals, hihats and CB/RS are fairly useless to me.
I’m tempted to sell the Rytm and build a tiptop audio machine instead with a hybrid of 909/808 samples. Then again, I could always just get a tr-8… (too many decisions).
Any differing opinions than me on the analog engines? Anyone managed to make the hats or cymbals sound half decent?
Thank you for the reply. I should add that I mainly sequence in ableton, and simply use analog hardware (and moog pedals) to get cool off the beaten path sounds, not for the sequencing.
geoff my advice is to explore the AR a little more before you go down the expensive modular drum road - modular is great and i like it but modular is somewhat overhyped and is a money pitt compared to elektron kit
buy the AR tr 808 kit - examine the kits
for the caps, snares and hats, rims on the AR i always lower the volume right down and bring in the overdrive. and set to taste. Overdrive allows the hats to sizzle and the snare to snap with a vintage sound present throughout. I also muck around the the compressor with side chaining.
I ran my AR right into a cheapo four track cassette recorder ($50-70) and turn up the eq and distortion on the tape deck - this will give an electro Detroit or warp label sound with a little pump and saturation gained
buy the 909/808 sample packs from elektron or say a cheap sample pack from mars drumpack - explore the interaction with an AR synth layered with a tape drum sounds
another option would be to buy a volca beats or a stock tr 606 and sync it up
Dr 110s are also amazing and the dr110 groove is alone worth the $120
I am downright surprised by the volca beats - i just borrowed one from a friend. I now have the bass and i am extremely impressed with the sound on these boxes and also the overall analog groove.
I bought an MFB Tanzbar for this very same reason. I think samples in the RYTM do sound great. They just really need to improve every aspect of sample handling. I’m kind of waiting to see what they do. I’m hoping they add more sample editing abilities, better sample management flow, and improve sample loading speed… basically make the whole thing more ergonomic and enjoyable when handling samples. I’m also waiting to see what new analog engines are added. Kind of on the verge of selling mine too to be honest.
Modular drums are one thing I definitely don’t want to get into! That being said, if I did, I’d go with the hexinverter modular drums!
As for the AR, give it more time. I’m really digging into the AR now and I’m quite happy. Maybe I’ll try and make some synthesis-only packs! People seemed to like my A4 ones.
I have to admit though, adding the additional sample function just makes the AR all that much better!
I think i just need to delve into the depths of this machine more - I haven’t given it the time it deserves. Maybe someone can explain some cool LFO tips? (cause I suck with that kind of thing!
All this.
Modular drums, particularly with reverb, delay, compressor, distortion, all the LFO channels of the RYTM etc. etc. is going to run to far (far) more than the cost of a RYTM, and modular is no silver bullet. Assuming you don’t already have a case and so on, the money from a used RYTM isn’t going to get you that far into modular drums (in comparison to the options available in the RYTM).
Both options have their own flexibility and limitations, and both are fun but I wouldn’t drop one for the other.
If you were going to get some eurorack to use along side the RYTM, something like the Basimilus Iteritas would be a far more interesting option than the TipTop modules. That, a very basic sequencer, an LFO or two and a case would be a pretty interesting start IMO.
I like the rytm very much. It brings so much under your control for compact set-up.
From the analog sound engine I mainly use: kick - snare - rim and claps. Rest is samples. Unfortunately the hihat sound I don’t like so much. I really would like an analog hihat. Therefore I have just ordered the hexinverter mutant hihat…although I am also quite new to modular…don’t know what to expect. But its looks like the beauty of modular is you build you own system around the elektron boxes. You can compensate the weakest link. Maybe Elektron will improve the hihat in the future and i can sell the module. Its allways better to have less variables in your set-up.
I went through pretty much the same thinking you did but gradually started introducing the analog sounds back in - With external processing (pedals / Ableton) you can push the analog stuff in really interesting directions (more so than the samples I’ve found) and the more I’ve tried to move away from emulating the sounds they are supposed to be (snare etc…) you can get some cool percussive noises that are pretty satisfying to make.
Also as everyone has been saying here you’d really struggle to get off the ground without spending twice as much - I went to London Modular to have a chat about a tip-top rig after watching one of their videos and they basically said as much (really expensive!). If you are into making interesting patterns though the tip-top sequencers are really wild! (see below):
Oh that makes me sad. There’s SO much potential you’re missing out on.
The analog voices are so much more expressive than samples. Here’s a few tips to get the most out of the analog voices:
Use dynamics! p-lock the trigger velocity. Make each hit unique. Use velocity to modulate as much of the voice parameters as you can.
Use the “peak” filter mode and boost the punchy part of the voice range.
Just a dab of overdrive, just enough that the transients poke through.
As far as boring hihat sounds, I agree. I’ve gotten good results from mixing in an inharmonic sample alongside the analog voice. From there I almost always use a highly resonant filter setting to find and boost the crispy (again, “peak” mode). Use p-locks to seek to different start positions in the sample to get some variation and dynamics.
This^
I have the tip top trigger riot, and some drum modules. The tip top drums have almost no cv control. The mutant drums series is great in this regard. I find the AR’s analog system with lfo’s and plocks to be much more expressive. The basimilus is amazing. You can build your own “drum sounds” with a mix of other modules, but I find it better to ultimately sample these and sequence with the AR. Bottom line is modular drums are very expensive and use a lot of resources to pull off. It can also be challenging to create traditional sequences. I prefer to use my trigger riot for more out of the box rhythmic structures.
Now the AR handles the majority of my drums, and the trigger riot has become a crazy clocking/triggering source. They sync perfectly, and open up a lot of posibilties together. Great combo.
