AR for glitch and experimental?

hey – i have the possibility to get an AR in mint condition for 800€ and want to ask how you use it and what sounds you can get out of the machine. i do own an octatrack and am very happy with it but would love it to have a machine to focus on for beat-making. here i have to say that the sound i’m looking for isnt a typical one, i love to make use of errors of machines or try to do stuff which isnt the primary usage. so the ability to use samples on the AR is great to start with i think.

please tell me if you think that the addition of the AR makes sense or would another drum-machine like a tanzbär do the same here in case of searching for experimental stuff for less money. or do you know a machine that fits better to build beats in polyrhythm and being able to destroy them on the fly. thanks

Hi,

you can use it as a drum synthesizer - it has different machines to fill your need for percussion sounds. The different engines can be tweaked in different directions, but the underlying machine is often quite noticeable in character - the BD engines can sound like either kicks or simple mono synths, but not like giant robots fighting in space. For the thing you describe - going places in sound design - the sample engine can do a lot, as you can use almost any sample as the basis and use the analog filters, overdrive and tuning to create new things from it. But for this, you have an Octatrack, the Rytm offers far less options to dig into samples itself - only a limited amount of setting start and end points, no sample slicing etc.

Rytm truly shines as a performance and arrangement instrument, that’s where it’s real magic lies. It has probability sound triggers, scenes, performance macros and individual sounds per step, parameter locks and polyrythmic tracks, so no problem creating tracks that evolve over dozens of bars, never quite producing the same results each run.

800€ is an excellent price btw.

Best,

Karsten

1 Like

At €800 and in mint condition i think you could pretty much use it for a few months and sell it for the same or more if you find it doesnt suit your needs.

2 Likes

Isn’t the machinedrum usually considered more capable in these styles?

In any case, 800 for an AR is a steal. You can easily sell it for profit if you don’t like it.

Basic computer protracker sample glitching is very doable on the AR fwiw, since you can automate sample looping and start/end points ( & sample selection). But the synthesis options are mostly of the subtractive variety whereas the MD has alot more options.

2 Likes

i had a MD when elektron offered them for 699€ but sent it back to get an octatrack first. i started a thread in here about that too. the reason why i returned it was because of the limits like same length for all tracks and no individual tempo.

now i’m considering to get a drum-machine and thought about getting a cheap one (like mfb tanzmaus/tanzbär) which is capable of p-locking, live-recording … but when i saw that offer for 800 i thought the rytm is the perfect solution, which i never considered before because of the price.

i’m happy to run typical beats through the machine and then the fun starts when it begins to stutter, stuck and transform.
or what machine could you name to get crazy with as well?

If you are only wanting glitchy sound design the RYTM can definitely do this, but really only via the digital sampling side of the unit.
If you were only wanting to use the RYTM in this method i.e. digital sampling you are really missing out on its main synthesis capabilities and really what it was designed for, and that being the analog engine.
As mentioned the machinedrum seems like the logical choice as digital glitch is its absolute specialty and why I miss mine so much, that I sold so long ago.
I have the RYTM and it’s incredible, but looking at adding another machinedrum for precisely this reason. Digital madness at its best.
Don’t think you should be looking at anything analog as this stuff is really only exploited best in the digital realm.

He doesn’t have or want analog modular gear does he?
He wants a drum machine.
I still think for the sounds you are after you cant beat the MD.
Anyway great to have such good options. Can’t go wrong either way really

Haha all good man
So many options so little time :grinning:

2 Likes

Yeah been trying to snag one of those for a while.
Combined with that iPad editor would be pretty cool I reckon.

If you’re really into glitch and experimental than i would suggest you buy a Machinedrum.

1 Like

well, you are right about the digital-glitch of the MD, but as i mentioned before there is a problem with step-length and tempo. of course i’m also interested to be able building analog-beats, so the AR seems like the right choice. the question is how far it can be taken, whats left of the built beat after starting to deconstruct it. guess i have to check it on my own, but the seller isnt responding at the moment. hope its not a bummer!

What about OT ?
For me it’s the best at glitching and tracks length and all.
Resampling can get you quite far from the initial beat.
Not a drum machine per se, but can be :slight_smile:
And a whole lot more !

That’s why I’m considering buying one. Sounds awesome in the demos

i have a rytm and write in these styles only and the rytm works well for what i do.

hello nui…

i really like making telefon tel aviv alike glitch sounds with my AR by using sample chains and heavy modulated delay.
Check out my Video if youre interested. Sounds start at 1:00…

Wake Up

2 Likes

sounds nice man!

nuff said

7 Likes

Great link.
That man rules

Scene or perf controle loop & start end of samples will do a lot

1 Like

Awesome