Best Gear Combination for my Purpose?

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
1

Hello everybody,
Im producing music since 2013 and did a lot of work with sound design on Vsts like Serum or Kontour (from Ni Komplete) and also a lot of Sound manipulation by several FX, LFO Tool etc.
I also did some Sampling ( mainly by cutting one shots by myself and repitching).
I produce mainly Psychedelic music, Techno, and Hip Hop, everything with a very experimental approach to it.
I love oldschoold beats, acid sounds, Complex automations and often try to get some hypnotic flow into my music.
Recently i stopped producing and got deeper into music theory and jamming on pianos and drums.
I also realized that i want to produce more organic music, which feels more alive.
Right now im planning to build up a new setup of gear, to get a more physical approach to my music, with a lot more live jamming and melodies.
I also realiced that i love arps and sequencer and that im missing the easy use of hardware arps at my computer.

I recently thought about getting an Analog Rytm, to get a Drumpad, Sequenced Drums and Analog Sound. Im fascinated by the idea of P locks.
I also thought about getting The Analog Keys since i essentially want to use a keyboard to jam in melodies.
I heard that neither Analog Rytm nor Analog Keys are capable of Sequencing external gear, but that the Monomachine for example is.
On the other hand side i would like to have the Analog Keys for analog Synthesis and because from what i heard their sound is pretty nice and this thing seems like a damn temptating machine.
But im afraid that i would miss jamming with more than 4 Keys, since i like Jazz Chords. I also prefer more complex synthesis types like FM synthesis.

Therefore im Thinking about getting a monomachine + a studioledge acuna 88 to control it, and an analog rytm for jamming in rythms and delivering analog pressure.
But im still hesitating if this is a good idea. Is there anything at the Analog Keys im missing?
Any other suggestions on my setup ?
Im willing to spend about 3 K on my setup. I would also like to upgrade it somewhen.

Best regards!
fred

2

I would recommend to start with the Analog RYTM, and if you add an Octatrack, you could sequence other synth with it. It has its limitations though - you could not compare it to a linear sequencer, and sooner or later you might miss that.

A RS7000 offers this, but is by far not so versatile with sampling as the octatrack, and does not have as much sampling RAM. It has an internal synth.

The more devices you have, the more time you need to spend learning those, each of the electrons need a lot of learning time.

If you work with hardware, think also about a recording solution, and account for the inputs, also at a certain point external FX units will be interesting for you.

3

Thanks for your answer!
Right now i have no hardware synth - this would be my first… Yeah, im pretty sure about getting the Rytm, because it seems most useable as standalone device, and i like the idea of jamming in drums… are they actually velocity sensitive when i record them ? I heard people arguing about the lack of this ability or did this just relate to the Keys ? I also want to play melodies and produce Pads, Acid Sounds and stuff… thats the reason why i think, that an analog rytm would let me leave unsatisfied…
BTW does the Rytm have the same Delay and Reverb as the A4 ?
I just listened to more monomachine stuff and realized, that im not really sure if i like the sound or not, or if the users are just unable to produce unique presets.
On the other hand i could also even get an Octatrack, to sample an A4 and loop drums made with them, afterwards playing in synth pads and stuff, or beefing all that up with samples… the sample manipulating posibilitie is also quiet temptating…
im totally confused by the overwhelming amount of different possibilites !
help is always welcome :smiley:
best regards

4

Also into hip hop, psych, experimental here.

I also like jamming on drums and keys.

For me, the Rytm just doesn’t cut the mustard as a set of pads. I’m shopping for a Quneo to control it with, because it might just have the worst set of pads I’ve ever played (maschine is my favorite, followed by lpd8, I’ve also used MPCs, MPds, Korg nano, Ableton push and various rompler drum machines with pads). Velocity sensitivity is a no go: the first soft hit is super loud, then all other soft hits don’t trigger. Hard hits play softly sometimes. I seriously can’t gel with it, personally. The Rytm sounds really good, though. It can definitely get noisy and wonky real quick–in a good way.

My favorite instrument to jam with right now is actually the analog four controlled by a moog sub 37. I know that’s the most ostentatious midi controller ever–I’m sure you could get something much more cost effective. But I love having big solid knobs (that you can sweep quickly without pressing them down like on the a4/keys), aftertouch, quick transpose, cv controllable midi to use a foot pedal to control the a4’s filters, etc.

So you might want to check out pairing the a4 with a nice midi controller that gives you access to everything on one surface: effects sends, LFO speeds, the works. It really opens up the machine.

As far as the four key limit, I do feel the effects of that, but with a synth, I find that I don’t want more than four pitches playing at once that often. It muddies up the mix way more than say a piano or a harp.

The Octatrack is a lot of fun, but it’s definitely a programmer’s party. Do not expect it to feel fluid for jamming until you’ve spent a lot of time learning it, scratching your head, etc. I love it, but it’s really built around the concept of programming sequences. You of course can use it as a super meta live looper, which is my favorite use for it. But that means I own a $1k loop pedal, for better or worse. And even then it’s not the best for doing live looping stuff where you have a chorus/verse structure with two different sets of loops, especially if you want to control it hands free while playing another instrument.

Hard to explain, and yes it can be done–you have eight loopers to play with after all–but because everything is locked to a clock once you put in your first loop, the tempo of the chorus part has to be the exact same tempo as the verse part down to the bpm decimal. Which is totally fine if you’re playing with a clock to begin with, running sequences, etc. But it’s different than guitar loopers meant for live jamming with traditional instruments where you just have two loops of whatever length, and they start whenever you step on them.

In my opinion, and I say this as a deeply converted Elektron enthusiast, they’re great machines for sound design, and they’re awesome for (time-intensively) setting up preprogrammed conditions that you can then jam around with and end up with happy accidents, but only after you’ve put in quite a few hours to set up all the constraints that you then play around with. That’s the whole philosophy undergirding key features of the instruments like scenes, the OT’s crossfader, pre-sliced blank sample slots on the OT, performance macros on the Rytm and A4, etc.

Hope that wasn’t too bloated of a response. Good luck in your search. It’s a very, very fun search :smiley:

5

Hey midilifestyle - I totally agree with you that when my RYTM first arrived that the pads felt stiff and not sensitive, but over time they sort of seem to break in. You can also help break them in using a method similar to whats described in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7anbsUIQGyg

I know it seems crazy that it would work, but it does. Really improved my experience finger drumming on RYTM and even the tiny little hits register correctly. I do agree, though, it will probably never drum as accurately as say a MPC would.

6

Can anyone of you compare the Rytm pads to those of an Akai MPK 49 ? If they are just nearly like that, that would be a deal breaker…
I have no problem with digging deep into things, i love tweaking synth and stuff for hours,as i never use presets or loops and always try to design everything by myself…
Thanks for your answer but im not sure if it helped me :smiley:
right now i even feel like i should get something completely different, since im not really sure if i dont need some sound that is way brighter and clearer… just heard presets of the op1 and they are really impressing though this thing looks like a toy …
I also think an A4 could be my “only” real instrument, but i think i would be missing a lot of voices, since i almost need all of the 4 voices for proper pads and basslines… thats why i would need a rytm or something comparable too.
Maybe elektron isn’t even the right brand for me when i search a deep sounddesign but possibilities for hands on jamming…
But youre right, chords on synths can be a big problem !
i also like the idea of restricting myself by that, and working towards a more minimalistic approach to music, but im also afraid of this restrictions, since they could also destroy my worfklow…
Sorry if im confusing me, but im really not sure what i need to put together ; but i know that im willing to use hardware, and that i got time and money to spend on it, and elektron gear looked like a nice investment for me

7

Given your background, skills, and budget, if I were you I would think very carefully before buying an Analog Four or Analog Keys because of the limited polyphony and the 16-steps-per-bar sequencer.

You should try out the Analog Rytm in person to see whether its pads are good enough for you.

As a keyboard player, you probably already have a good idea of what kind of keyboard feel you like.

If I were you I would strongly recommend that you think about a set-up like:

controller keyboard (to your taste)
+
Access Virus or Waldorf Blofeld desktop synth module (for complex synthesis with good polyphony and multi-timbral capability)
+
MPC 1000 (for drum pads and its high-resolution and polyphonic MIDI sequencer)

The Virus and Blofeld also have reputedly nice keyboard versions if you didn’t need to have a separate controller keyboard.

8

I checked both, blofeld and Virus, but i didn’t like the virus that much, also it has its power…
the blofeld sounds great but not that deep and rich as the a4…
i also heard a lot of people saying it would have massive bugs ( artifacts, shutdowns etc)
…
I don’t know what to think bout using an mpc, since i got the feeling that the octatrack for example or the rytm have a way more innovative approach to drums.
I also want to synthesize my own drums and the p - lock function seems irresistible to me…

probably ill end up getting either an octatrack and another synth, to process everything through the octa ( e.g. A4)
or the rytm and a 4 to play together, although i think this setup will be much more limiting…
can’t decide, really, probably i got to try more gear

9

i have an A4 and a blofeld. i dunno what about the blofeld isn’t deep? as in… “warmth” i like the A4. dont get me wrong. but spend some time with the blofeld… and its a way more expressive, and insanely deep.
the blofeld is also 16 parts multi. so. you could arguable do a whole song with just one 500$ blofeld. a complex song…
but its not a turn on and instant happy kinda of thing. unless… wavetable pads are your jam.

10

I have a A4, blofeld and Virus B. I love all of them for different reasons but if I can only buy one I would get the Virus followed by the Blofeld.

A4 is a great synth and even though you can play as a poly, only having 4 voices can get in a way depending on the kind of music you want to make. It’s a great 4 mono analog synth but so so as a poly synth due to only having 4 voices.

As far as Blofeld having bugs, I haven’t had any issues ever since the last update.

Both Blofeld and Virus have matrix mod feature which I love. A4’s perf macros can be used like a pseudo matrix mod able to mod various params but only having one mod source (encoders).