@circuitghost I was expecting to not like club versions of your delicate music but, to my surprise, it worked very nicely. Only thing I would say is to keep the drums as minimal as possible and to choose sounds that fit with the rest of the music. For example just a subdued, dusty, vinyl kick keeping the pulse, possibly with some crunchy (but lowkey) hats, some found sounds in between, etc.
2 Likes
That’s exactly what I’m going for now. The Rytm and its Silk kick is just perfect for the purpose.
2 Likes
Looks good! Now just crank that monitor knob and feel the beat 
One minor technical note: the SiX faders have the most “play” (sensitivity) around 0 dB. If you can gainstage everything so that at the volume you want each channel, the fader is close to 0, then you can make more fine-tuned adjustments
I.e. dial back those gain knobs on 3&4 and pump up the faders
1 Like
Your routing and setup looks good. I noticed you don’t have “cue post” in on foldback 1. I have those engaged on my SiX, but I can’t remember why. Great job boosting the return/ external input 1. I didn’t learn about that until a month ago. I kept wondering why all my FX seemed to be so quiet on the return. Oh well. Do you find that you overload the inputs of the CXM78? I used to have trouble with some FX when the gains/faders were up, but that could have been some other mistake I made. Or maybe the CXM has lots of input headroom. Glad to see you taking advantage of the SiX’s flexibility!
Cue Post: when engaged, the level sent to the cue out is post fader and then controlled by the channel cue level knob. When dis-enganged, the level is sent as 0 dB and then according to the channel cue level knob. A good use case would be if you want to fade in/out a track and have the FX follow the fade (probably would make sense for circuit’s setup). I personally don’t normally have cue post on, but I’m not sending them to a FX in that way.
As far as gain-staging goes: you can control the overall level sent to the FX (in this case the CXM) with the level control in feedback section. And then, as you mention, the return level is controlled by the EXT 1 knob in the monitor section.
Might be more appropriate to move some of this conversation to the SiX Routing Ideas thread 
1 Like
Thanks for the tips. The SiX is so flexible, it’s astounding. I figured I was using the cue post for post-fader send to fx. That’s a whole other philosophical discussion, huh? haha. I’d love to hear about your pre-fader send use case. The thing I didn’t know was that you could control the level of the send (st/cue 1 or 2) with the level knob in the feedback (foldback) section. That really opens up some options for send FX. I agree, we should consider a separate thread for SiX routing ideas. Tips and Tricks at least. It’s as simple or as complex as you can make it.
I seem to lose some of the characteristics of the source when I dial back the gain, and I can’t increase the source output anymore. It’s pretty loud as is. Ch3 - 6 are meant to be quite subtle, really in the background but with the wide space the SiX (now combined with the CXM( can bring.
But I’ll give it a go, considering that following your last advise got me here, I’m gonna try this as well 
1 Like
The CXM seem to be able to handle quite a lot. I haven’t managed to make it clip yet and I’m pushing it pretty hard. Some of the other little Chase Bliss darlings I got here, I’ve made them crack, sizzle and pop many times. But the CXM seem to be able to handle quite the load.
If it works for you, it works for you that was just another tip I saw from a Youtuber. I think it’s relevant if you’re changing the faders throughout the song, but if they’re pretty constant then there’s not really a benefit.
1 Like
Yes, the idea is actually to not change these settings at all through the remainder of the production. Find a reference setting for the track I’m working on now, and learn to work the source material to make it fit the SiX.
This method has its flaws, but to tweak the SiX every time I work on a new track and then hope I can recall the previous settings as I revisit older tracks again, I know for a fact that won’t work with my preset mind. So this’ll have to work.
In fact, that’s how I recorded All That We Lost and That Which Remained. I used one track as reference, tweaked it until I was happy, cross checked the mix in the Blackbox to make sure they all played out kind of the same before they went into the SiX, which almost by magic made them sound good by default once they entered the SiX. Only track had clipping issues, where I had to work the fader live to not distort the recording. Never did figure out why. But I know the Prophet 12’s sometimes nasty frequencies had something to do with it.
A little breakfast jam, trying out the new material on the family as the storm passed outside and sun came back to warm us all. I played, they had breakfast.
4 Likes
I am really struggling to get the Rytm to sound right in the mix. It seems like it goes nuclear if you just flick the wrong button or dial in a number too much on a parameter.
I did a little experiment and went back to the SP-16 again, just because at least I know how to work that one to get it to sound good while finishing my first coffee, and prospects for keeping the Rytm for this project are looking bleak, all of a sudden.
I’m kind of journaling this progression now, real time, I don’t expect people to chime in or read this, I’m finding this documentation and progression to find my sound for what’s coming, is helping me a lot. And I’m kind of satisfied that new gear doesn’t bring the solution.
3 Likes
That does indeed sound like the Rytm. 
I’d say it bodes well that you’re recognizing this pretty early on though, ha
2 Likes
Haha, well I guess there’s always that, then
What speaks in the Rytm’s favour is all the organic movement it offers. It’s just so alive .
What speaks for the Toraiz is that its basic sound is not only great, it’s also the sound I’m looking for. But there’s a lot less going on in terms of variation, when you just repeat the same four bars over and over. That stuff matters when you’re working on a banger gig, where nuances within repetition matter.
Buuut … the live looping in the Toraiz might be the key here. That is the stuff of power. Live loop, set the LFO to random starting point, the release to 127 instead of infinite, and retrigger the loop every once in a while, live.
1 Like
It was certainly the more sophisticated sequencer that drew me to Rytm as my first hardware device.
The thing that keeps me locked into Rytm (and A4) is the bandwidth for arbitrary modulation. Being able to push analog patches to numerous unrelated territories in a non-destructive manner is invaluable to me.
1 Like
I get that. It’s one of the primary reasons I’m wanting to use it.
But given that I got a few kits I know quite well, and I can get them to the sound I want fairly quickly, it’s frustrating that I’m struggling just to get the damn silk kick to place itself where it belongs.
1 Like
I totally feel that, yeah. I certainly wouldn’t fault you either way for choosing to continue on or abort. Tbh, there’s no wrong choice to be made. It’s all just about what you find to be interesting, or rather that which stokes the flames of curiosity, etc.
Re: any rytm kick – It’s certainly a device intended for less subtle affairs, ha. I foresee you’ll be spending more time taming it via means that you may deem to be unnecessary, which may ultimately make it unsuitable for you. That said, I do think the riches in modulation overhead are worth the blood sweat and tears spent in arriving at a satisfactory starting point. – Tbh, this is the elektron way, ime. It’s more often a meditative endeavor than a recreative one.
4 Likes
A very accurate way to frame the Elektron stuff, I’d say. Well put. You gotta enjoy the process and be fine with just exploring a lot. I’m more along the lines of getting somewhere fairly fast, and then work from there.
1 Like
well said
2 Likes
the longer I use all these devices, the more I recognize for me it’s all about that as well.
I have to get somewhere quickly. Most of the time I tend know what I‘m after and want to reach that without fiddling too much.
I‘m still trying out new devices that I‘m curious about, but most of the time I choose the stuff I know well and that I can trust to give me good results…
Which are not my elektrons for the most part 
3 Likes