Compressor in addition to compressor inside RYTM

I just purchased a RYTM… should I also be grabbing a DBX 160 or some sort of a compressor for the RYTM? I really want my RYTM to sizzle & crack… overkill?

I sold the A4 because I didn’t ultimately like its sound… didn’t do enough in the low end for me… how well does AR address this?

Almost bought a Jomox 999 in place of the rytm… hope this wasn’t a mistake :frowning:

alex

Right.

You can get more low-end with an EQ. You can kill dynamics with a compressor. There’s no magical pixie dust. Compressors can help, but they won’t make the music for you.

Personally, I like the sound of the AR’s built-in compressor on drums.It gives good punch. But I will not be using the AR to compress anything through the external audio input because it just kills (attenuates) too much of the signal. I have to lower the volume of each drum track significantly just to match levels of even the loudest external signal. Then the mix has too much noise from the compressor. For drums alone it’s not bad though.

I still like external compressors anyway since they offer more flexibility at the expense of not being internally integrated.

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hearing mixed things about the onboard compressor on the RYTM, going to try and do some demos of it when I receive my unit ths week.

I will probably get 2xWA76 down the road but if you’re on a budget the FMR compressor is a good choice too

You can get more low-end with EQ, sure. But will it sound good? Not on the A4 in my experience… felt too thin or something. Had no substance. Obviously the compressor won’t make the music. I just want fat drums & A4 is anything but fat (which is why I worry RYTM isn’t fat sounding like a Jomox).

As with all Elektron boxes, the parameter ranges are rather wide. This means that you have a lot of flexibility to get unusual or extreme sounds, but it also means that the “sweet spots” where it sounds “nice and fat” in a classical sense can be rather narrow. If you don’t like the A4 because it doesn’t immediately sounds like a 303 or 101, then a 999 or the new TR-8 might be a better drum machine for you.

Not looking for it to sound like a 303 or a 101. Just looking for a bit more girth in the sound. Too digital feeling for me.
I’ve been wanting an analog version of machinedrum for 8 years now… AR is finally here. I’m just hoping it’s as good as I think it may be…
We will see.

The AR is like a more organic version of the MD. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

There is plenty of lowend in the ar. The bass tom provides enormous lowend. You can already hear that from several vids posted here.
The lowend in the a4 is a bit tricky indeed, but i felt alot of that changed with the update. But yeah, a basic saw wave with filter envelope still wont cut it in the a4.

yeah, its moreso a lack of quality in the oscillators than anything else on the a4… very generic sounding oscillators in my opinion. whatever, though, still an amazing instrument that paints elektron style: modulation…
can’t wait for ar… I’m stripping down my studio to almost nothing…
AR + a7x + mixer + minitaur + dx7
all i need
alex

yeah, its moreso a lack of quality in the oscillators than anything else on the a4… very generic sounding oscillators in my opinion. whatever, though, still an amazing instrument that paints elektron style: modulation…
can’t wait for ar… I’m stripping down my studio to almost nothing…
AR + a7x + mixer + minitaur + dx7
all i need
alex[/quote]
Yeah not a big fan of the plain saw in the a4, but polyphonic pads with the square and tonnes of modulation are brilliant. I think the ar is more sinewave based, providing a very precise and full lowend. Thick without getting muddy, its excellent in my opinion.
About a compressor, i have a fmr rnc, it completely sucks the lowend out of anything you throw at it. Wouldnt recommend it for adding bass. You can make sharp claps or snares with it though. In supernice mode it retains more of the bass but i cant hear the difference with the original signal most of the time.

what about the RNLA? I’ve been thinking about adding one

what about the RNLA? I’ve been thinking about adding one[/quote]
Never tried one…

Recently purchased a ART Pro VLA II leveling amplifier and I am p[lease with the results it brings after swapping out the tubes for Mullards… Given it is ART not known for superior quality it works quite well and the reviews on line mention this as well… I use it on my overall mix and it can be used on everything… You can make it pump and then use it subtley to round out your mix…

Cost around $350 CDN…

what about the RNLA? I’ve been thinking about adding one[/quote]
Never tried one…[/quote]
it’s another from FMR unit that people rave about

The best compressor I’ve ever used for analog drums (I’ve used a lot) is the MXR 136 Dual Limiter. They can be found real cheap too when they do come up, even though they are getting rare. I’m not a big fan of FMR compressors. The MXR 136 retains all the bass, and has a very aggressive sound. It really makes your drums smack.

Sssshhhhhhh… Overstayer :wink:

+1… Overstayer VCA is a smart option for allowing low end presence… Grab function to avoid affecting low end, Blend to mix in original signal & Basic 2 band eq to add more boost where needed.

The other OS FET compressor is nice for putting hair on digital stuff… mine locked onto Monomachine/Nord Modular outputs.

Another option if you can find one for smack & sizzle is a Niio Analog track thickener… the saturation curcuits/filter/dry mix/envelope gating & sweet eq are doing sweet things to the machinedrum.

Warm Audio has a clone of the famous 1176, the WA76. I’ve not used it but it’s supposed to be quite good.

You can put a sherman filter also :

That can warm the sound probably better than a compressor