So, I have been toying with the thought of getting a Rytm for a couple of years now, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger yet. I usually do ambient / drone kind of music which is low on drums, but every once in a while I like toying with some minimal / techno and can see myself doing that more in the future.
At the moment my setup is a Mother-32 (controlled via Arturia Keystep) and Ableton Live 9 + Push 2. As a software instrument I mainly use Serum. When I create my beats, I load up a drumrack in Live 9 (usually an 808 sampled pack), use Push for creating the patterns, fine-tune it via nudging notes on individual steps (does the Rytm have this feature?) and then play around with the samples via Simpler on the Push until things sound okay to me. Later in Live I add some effects to the chain (compressor, saturator, EQ8) and then record the whole thing in the arrangement view where I later move some parts around until I like the result.
OK, now the question… what can the Rytm add to my setup that I currently cannot do? I somehwat have the feeling that the Live + Push 2 combo is probably more than I ever need, but every once in a while a man needs a new toy, right? So, does it make sense?
Thanks for any advice!
Markus
Edit: I consider myself to be way too unskilled to perform live yet, so this whole thing is about my studio setup and not for planning a live setup.
Maybe think about digitakt too if you are working mainly with samples. You could use it as your midi sequencer too. If analog drum synthesis is important, then rytm.
Sonically the Rytm probably won’t add too much to your arsenal. The upside is more that it’s hands on and self contained and it’s a lot of fun to play. You can twist the audio engines in many ways and there’s tons of stuff to discover and to experiment with. On the other hand mixing in the box and out of the box will add some complexity. Overbridge might help, but it doesn’t work 100% for everyone all the time.
I don’t think you need one. if you are happy with what you have in terms of sound and sequencing then you’ll probably only make things more complex by adding this box.
Who knows if you’d need or like it, but i 'll put in my shout for the RYTM being the best sounding Elektron and a joy to tweak - I’m not really a sample user, so it’s possible that the sound spectrum of the AR is just right up my street … but when something sounds so good it draws you in and it’s great with samples
No doubt you can do an infinite amount with a pc, but that then comes down to whether you can deal with the overhead of working on a PC (if you suffer from that even) … I can’t, it’s a buzzkill for a variety of reasons, that is where a good instrument which is largely self contained stands on its own … it’s there, it sounds incredible, it’s flexible and it’s deep yet master-able
just a bit of AR love, but it’s a luxury, probably
well, you don’t NEED a rytm. it is a lot of fun though. its my favorite drum machine i’ve ever used.
you’ll get beats out of it faster then from Live. it’s pretty turnkey really. it gets more fun as you fill it with samples.
Word! I should be getting another RYTM this weekend, it’s sample support is one of the main draws of it! The synthesis is great, and the sample support is right there if I feel like throwing in some samples into the workflow. And you can do a lot with it.
Also the tweaking on the thing can sound pleasantly peculiar, listening back to my old tracks. I can’t wait to reacquaint myself with it.
It can get you off the computer, if that is something that appeals to you.
You can make full tracks on the Rytm.
Having a Mother 32 and Keystep alongside it gives you even more hardware-only versatility.
A Hardware-only workflow means more limitations than a DAW workflow. And this can force you into some uniquely creative alleys.
