I’m GASing for an Analog Rytm MkII (thanks @Sleepyhead), but I currently have a DT and AH. I’m a sample based producer and the DT does wonders for my drums with it’s compressor, but I like the idea of layering my sampled breaks with a drum synth that I can tailor to each sound, rather than looking for an additional sample for layering. I keep reading that the AR is one of the best drum machines ever, so I’m wondering if running my DT through the AH does about the same thing or if I should sell the DT (along with a 1010 Blackbox, if anyone is interested) and grab an ARMkII.
I also use DT to sequence sample chops in Ableton via USB, which I think can be done on AR too, correct?
Oh, last thing…I use a Roland SE-02 for sub bass and was wondering if AR can cover similar territory.
I don’t have an AR, but I’ve seen several posts lately about how it’s kind of overpriced for what it does.
Don’t really see that very often about the DT.
Personally, the DT and AH are probably two of the very last things I’ll ever get rid of from my hardware setup. Just too versatile.
I think the benefit of AR2 over DT is at least as much in things like the velocity sensitive pads, song arranger, kits, individual outs, expression/CV input, and the quick performance scenes / features, as it is having analog drum synthesis on board.
The DVCO is capable of some really meaty and gnarly synth sounds but it’s not really directly comparable to the SE-02. They’re rather different things. You can certainly use the DVCO for basslines, and it’s vibey and “energetic”, but it’s not a full-featured monosynth. It doesn’t track pitch or hold tuning anything like as well as the SE-02 for a start.
I suspect this comes from people who don’t want to use the analog drums that much.
It’s an 8 voice analog synth and FX unit. It has 9 LFOs, 18 envelope generators, distortion and compressor (plus a couple of digi fx). I can’t even count the number of oscillators. You couldn’t recreate that in modular for the same price and a similarly spec’d keyboard synth would cost around the same, too. And then there’s the Elektron sequencer. Plus it’s a sampler.
I think it’s good value on hardware alone.
It’s also very fun, has a nice design/UX (for its main features - sound management is a drag). The scenes and performance modes are brilliant. The bass this thing puts out is monstrous.
Whether it’s as useful TO YOU as your DT+AH I can’t say.
I’d say: Don’t sell your DT+AH for the AR! It might sound strange from someone who’s been saying the AR is his favourite machine ever, but I think you’d be better off sticking to the machines you love than getting something expecting to replace them.
The thing is: The AR can do a lot of things, but not in the way that you might expect. It’s not a DT+AH+monosynth in one package, but a weird machine that can sample, has analog crunch and can do synth sounds. It does so in a unique way, not like a regular sampler, character unit or synth. For me, it took me a while to embrace the AR for what it is, but I only started loving it after realising I shouldn’t approach it like a replacement for other things, but a unique instrument on it’s own.
Even though the AR is like the big brother of the DT, it’s not all better. The amp envelopes don’t retrigger, which can cause clicks in overlapping notes. the samplestart can’t be finetuned without a weird trick I found (you can read about it in the tips&tricks for the AR thread), the compressor doesn’t sidechain like the DT’s, The AR has no mixer page, and since the last update, the DT has 2 filters and lfos, while the AR is still stuck with one each.
For making samplebased music, the DT has the perfectly streamlined workflow. Everything feels logical and smooth. The AR in comparison has a weird character workflow-wise, and some quirks. I’ve grown to love them, but nonetheless, it’s not a ‘better digitakt’ in that way.
It’s possible to get awesome sounding basses, leads, and drum sounds out of the analog engines, but they too have their quirks. The dual vco doesn’t track that well, and it can sound kind of unexpected coming from regular subtractive synthesis. It’s not like: Let start with a saw wave and shape the sound from there, but more like: these waveforms sound nice, let’s see what this knob does now… I love it for making basses though, especially combined with a subbass sample.
It can sequence midi, but only monophonic.
Hope this helps! I might sound a bit negative… I really think the AR is awesome, but I just wanted to warn you what (not) to expect.
Thank goodness I’m not the one who said it was overpriced. I’m just reporting what I’ve seen kicking around this forum lately for perspective.
Don’t shoot the messenger.
Here’s a different idea:
Keep the DT and AH and get an Analog Four MKi for 1/3 the price of the AR.
It does analog drums pretty great, IMO, and as a bonus you get 4 mono synths.
You’ll still have the DT for sampled drums, just lock it up to the A4 or vice versa. With sound locks you could pull off a beat with 2 tracks easily, then have 2 more monosynth lines going.
AR MK2 if you really want a single device to focus on. If not, I’d pick up a mk1 Rytm instead. Seen them go as low as 600. You’re missing out on sampling, some performance options and an interface that’s slightly less user friendly. Don’t know if that’s worth paying so much extra for. Sound engines are the exact same.
if I had to keep only one hardware device it would be the rytm mk2 no doubt
even if I only use a limited number of analogue machines, it’s just an awesome self contained instrument that can make complete songs you can really perform live
Regarding the DVCO not tracking pitch correctly (in real time), would it be worth getting it as close to a note as possible and re-sampling it? Couldn’t you then edit the parameters to taste?
When you say “it can sequence midi, what exactly do you mean by that? Sending midi out to hardware or a DAW? (Still learning this box)
1: This is a trick I’ve used a lot for sure. It works great to resample a sound you made to save it to your library, so you can use it as a sample in later projects, and it’ll track perfectly. I’ve built up quite a collection that way. The pitch tracking is not terrible on the dual vco though, in the lower registers it works quite well. It also depends on the oscillator type you chose, some seem to track better than others.
2: you can set a track to send the notes you record into it out as midi notes. All tracks have a limited note range, and are monophonic, so that same thing goes for the midi notes you can send. But you could surely sequence a hardware synth from the AR, or send midi notes to your daw to trigger slices or whatever.
