As a sound designer and sample maker, I’ve had the Rytm Mk1 for a few years now and have sampled it extensively. So currently contemplating it making way for a new drum machine.
Sheerly in terms of sound design can anyone comment on what the Syntakt might offer that’s not available on the Rytm?
I’m not so bothered about live performance or sequencing, my workflow has always leaned towards sampling one shots, and then once in the DAW i’ll layer and sequence.
What i love about the Rytm are the kicks (obvs!), toms, snare, rim shot and cowbell. Never been a big fan of the noise based sounds (clap, hats, cymb). The overdrive sounds incredible, as does the distortion and compressor. And these tend to get used a lot when designing sounds.
I’ve seen that the same models are featured on the Syntakt; BD Hard, Classic, FM, etc, do these sound identical on the Syntakt? And furthermore are there any other models that it features that the Rytm doesn’t?
All the digital machines on Syntakt are different from Rytm, in particular the Tone, Chord, and Toy engines cover waves and modulations that would be really hard or impossible to do on the Rytm - FM tones, modelled idiophones, wavetable chords. Even the Bits Machine sounds very different from the Rytm’s DVCO despite having some “headline” aspects in common. The “normal” digital drum engines are all much cleaner and stiffer than the analog ones (on Rytm or Syntakt).
The FX block in the Syntakt has a) a filter and b) no compressor and c) just is softer and fuzzier than the Rtym’s gritty distortion.
It has a different tone, overall. The Rytm’s a little dustier, rubbery-er and murkier; the Syntakt’s a little bit brighter and plasticky. The Rytm is Mortal Kombat; the Syntakt is Outrun.
(although @Jeanne can make a Syntakt scream a death howl so get her opinion on this too)
i tried the syntakt and it just couldn’t keep up with the rytm.
the ability to overdrive, destroy and compress everything, then put a fast modulated delay on that and resample it to me is worth so much more than the syntakts digital machines. in my opinion the only usable ones are the supersaw and tone machine anyway and the master overdrive just stinks compared to the rytms combo of overdrive + make up gain on the compressor.
Here’s the BD HARD on the Syntakt in default settings, I then add Overdrive, and then the FX Drive, until everything is maxed out. I am curious how the same would sound on the Rytm?
I actually never had interest in the Rytm since it doesn’t have square waves. And now Syntakt has square waves and Rytm still doesn’t.
Weirdly, at first I was neglecting the analog tracks, but then I really fell in love with them, up to the point where I am interested in the Rytm (Maybe I try it out sometimes.)
Here are two things with just the analog Tracks on the Syntakt:
@Jeanne sure, I’ve bounced the BD Hard on the Rytm, in it’s default state only with the tick taken off, i think you can compare 2 more effectively like this:
I made a pack for the Rytm going back, if you check out this link - the fourth track (Replicant Sounds Breakdown) features the sounds in isolation including tons of sounds done with the Dual VCO:
…it’s way more a cool/real analog meets digital SYNTH than a drummachine…
while sonicwise, the real intresting stuff like dual vco u got on the rytm is also in there…
u got a totally different lfo planet and by creating just oneshots with it, u’d miss out on it’s real potential…
(Maybe I try it out sometimes.)