AR sounds

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#82

They are plenty AR only tracks on this forum.
I especially enjoy @George_Michael’s one.

I think I only have one pure AR track:

Maybe not the best drum design there is, but the choir-like sample is an old guitar loop captured with an old phone, and pitched 2 octaves down: the filters were a blessing to shape it!

With analog overdrive per track, analog compression and distorsion on master, you can have a sound from warm to agressive easily.
And I feel like it’s really a pleasure to play with.
I would recommend the black mk2 for resampling and the killer looks ^^
I’ve had all the AR models and this one is just gorgeous!
Yes, it’s expensive. But you won’t buy another drum machine after that.

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#83

I take your word. :wink:

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#84

FWIW I have an OT mk1 right now, and I want to replace it with an AR mk1. Have owned mk1 and mk2 of AR before. But with OT I feel a need for 1-2 other units for drum duties. With AR I don’t feel a need for other units for samples or drums.

#85

Man I have hots for Elektron sampling, but just cannot pull the trig.

Does anyone have Rytm and Octatrack?

I would love a small comparison with both devices using same samples and maximum audio quality settings, and hear what effect the Rytms analog nature has on the samples.

Preferably melodic comparison.

#86

I have both and honestly it’s much easier to make something sound good with the Rytm. The effects, filter and overdrive are much nicer sounding than the OT. It’s also much more immediate to use.

On the other hand OT can do a tonne of stuff the Rytm can’t. Depends if you want deep and complex and are willing to work for it (and probably have outboard effects to use) = OT, or you want an all in one box of fun, still deep but that it’s hard to make anything sound bad on = Rytm.

Personally, I have limited time for making music and love being able to do it all in one box, so am really digging the Rytm mk2 right now and would recommend that to most people. It sounds amazing and is so immediate to work with. But if you need some specific features of the OT (live looping, stereo samples, etc) then obviously it can’t replace that.

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#87

I have both but unfortunately can’t provide you comparisons atm.

I will say, in addition to what was said above me, if your focus is melodic content, there are also UI factors involved: playing samples chromatically is far easier with the the OT (sequencer as keyboard, 1 and 1/3 octaves) than AR (pads, 12 notes).

If you mean melodic loops, OT all the way: timestretch.

I think when people usually extol the analog processing of the AR they mean on one-shot drum samples and textural material and such.

2 Likes
#88

I’ve owned the Rytm for a while (MKII currently, but started with MKI). In the early days I tended to use samples pretty quickly because they were there and I felt like that was something I should be doing. At the beginning of the pandemic, I decided that I wanted to dig in on the analog side exclusively with some intent. I sat down with a number of other cheaper analog drum machines I have (Rhythm Wolf, Tom Cat, Multicassa, Volca Beats, Volca Kick) and I meticulously recreated the sounds from those machines on the analog engines of the AR. Most sounds I was able to get to about 95%-100% there. The most difficult of the bunch was the hi-hats of the Akai machines. There is a certain warmth and mushiness to them that I just couldn’t achieve, and oddly I came closer to it using the cymbal engine rather than the hi-hat engine. But in the end, I’ve made plenty of hi-hat sounds on the Rytm that I do like.
This undertaking was not easy but it was super rewarding. I learned so much about how to create quality sounds on the Rytm. I learned the importance of the filter, overdrive, and one shot LFOs in shaping the analog engines to a place that you might not get to without some focus. I now have all of those sounds from those machines I like, right inside the Rytm… with the advantage of being able to sequence and Plock them with sophistication. I’m also super confident in the Rytm’s ability to produce fantastic analog sounds, and probably more importantly, my ability to do that on the Rytm.

15 Likes
#89

This inspires to at some point do exactly the same!

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#90

I have to say, I’m enjoying the mk2 so much. I think it sounds incredible for techno especially - I’m finding it hard to make it sound bad and it’s very fun and immediate to use.

Lots of potential in the engines and being able to resample stuff quickly is great. Also looks amazing. Could be my favourite Elektron box… I definitely think it’s the most “live performance” friendly

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#91

Actually, I’ve been drum machine sober since my Analog Rytm.
:sweat_smile:

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#92

i was on the fence bc i had read the rytm’s internal sounds weren’t that great, but i knew i was going to use 90% samples and that it had digitakt’s abilities for the most part, so i decided to take the chance. 2 months later or so, i’m glad i did. the rytm does the things i was struggling to do with the digitakt… make single cycle waveforms sound good, give samples that extra UMPH, save sounds and reuse them as kits later, and song mode to name a few.
but i got insanely inspired to have what was a digitakt on steroids, basically without the midi…and when i layered samples with the overdrive and analog compressor, i realized that bringing in the synth sounds was impressively rich and thick sounding, and suddenly i didn’t wanna use much outboard on it at all. before i knew it i quickly had a new album of material.

get the rytm!

here’s a track completely using rytm and a minilogue:

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#93

Cymbal engine makes the best hats :billed_cap:

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#94

I mean… maybe Elektron knew that and put the cymbal/cowbell voice on the upper right pads so it would be easier for live performance as hats. :joy:

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#95

Tomorrow AR will be in my studio! It s because of u guys! :slight_smile:

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#96

I think you’ll enjoy it! I’m so impressed with it – it was the one current Elektron box I was never bothered about, but now I have it, I think it might be my favourite! :upside_down_face: So quick to get something which sounds really good going, and the performance options are really fun, probably preferable to the Octatrack fader or the A4 macros for me.

#97

Nice one mate!

Mk1 master race I hope :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

#98

Mk2, but if I don t like it enough for the price, I ll return and get Mk1 second hand.

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#99

I’ve already said it but… man, this thing sounds so good.

So impressed, the drums thump and the dual VCO makes some of the heaviest dirty bass I’ve heard. It’s just so easy to sit down with zero inspiration and within five minutes, you’ve got something exciting going, and from there it’s so easy to tweak, refine and perform.

Wasn’t expecting this at all when I picked up an ARmk2 on a tipsy whim, but I think it’s my favourite all round Elektron. Certainly the one that I think I can do the most on one machine with, and probably the one I’ve had most fun with. If you’re on the fence… do it :joy:

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#100

It might be difficult to replicate sounds of certain classic drum machines using synthesis on the Rytm, but if you just accept the sounds as they are without comparing, I think they sound great. I feel that the Rytm has it’s own particular sound, which is warm, organic and different in its own right. I have tracks that use only synthesis / no samples and the sounds just fit perfectly within the sonic texture of these tracks. I use samples in some tracks, but just to give me more options. If I had to I would have no problem making an album that uses only synthesis for drums on the Rytm.

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#101

I have hardly used samples yet. Mainly synth. TBH at the moment I’m mainly using Dual VCO, impulse, and noise + filter + effects to make percussive noises. And I love it. I think the scope, scale, and depth of this machine is truly amazing.

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