Dual VCO + Noise may be better than Machines!

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

Last night, I was swooning over Moog DFAM videos, admiring the raw quality of the sounds, when it dawned on me that I hadn’t tried using the Dual VCO machines to make drum sounds yet.

On my Monomachine, I’d always loved making drum sounds because of how raw the process was – one channel handling the white noise, while another channel handles the modulated sine wave tone (much like how they made drum sounds in good NES soundtracks)… it hadn’t hit me, for some reason, that now with the Dual VCO machines, I could technically use the Rytm in a Moog DFAM workflow.

So I laid out a new kit, the kit simply had the bottom left 3 tracks with a Dual VCO machine (set to Sine Wave), the 3 tom tracks above those I gave Noise Gen machines (to support the kick and snare), and every other channel disabled.

With the above configuration, I created a deep Kick drum (on BD1 and BT5), a Snare drum (on SD2 and LT6), and a really aggressive percussive synth/tom sound (on RS3). I used the MT7 to make a Hihat sound, and HT8 to choke it for open hihat.

I did the simplest pattern and was blown away by how ROBUST the sound I made was. I could make it deep and clean, or make it GROWL. Most of all, I’ve never been 100% satisfied with the bass drum machines on the Rytm, they always felt like they sort of lack that depth and “roundness” that other analog drum machines have (Even my Volca Beats has a rounder, deeper kick drum)
…but, to my surprise, the bass drum sounds I’m making with this setup VERY deep and punchy. I’m astounded.

I know it might not be very appealing for many people to work this way (only raw waveforms, and eating up channels with layering), but it really pays off when you give it a try.

Suffice it to say, I’m not drooling over the Moog DFAM this morning, because Elektron is finally treating us Rytm owners like adults and letting US control the synthesis. :slight_smile:

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#2

Ooh, fascinating! I need to test these ideas.

What do you generally do with the noise layer track?

thanks

#3

Definitely sounds like a nice idea.
Let’s hear it. :tipping_hand_man:

1 Like
#4

Quick example…

Simple render, comparing the default kit with the Dual VCO + Noise Gen.
First you hear 2 repeats of the default kit. Then two repeats of the DVCO+Noise kit.

Really rough, I know, but it gives a little example at least.

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#5

The VCO track would do the pitch modulation, and the noise track would add whatever supplemental noise needed. The logic I always follow with this is (based on reading a lot of Sound On Sound, back in the days)…

  1. The VCO makes the sound of the hollow body of the drum.
  2. The noise makes the sound of the mallet/stick hitting the face of the drum.

Here’s them, in isolation:

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#6

I’m by no means an expert at drum synthesis, but I really like this workflow.
I’m a firm believer that if you approach the same synthesizer a new way, you will get new results.

I’d love to see others’ examples of this method in use. I feel it breathes new life to the old machine, and I appreciate Elektron for finally making the VCO machine available (as well as a massive thank you for the excellent Noise Gen machine)

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#7

Slightly different but I just completed a track using a Boog for drum sounds. Really interesting to go about programming drums in a different way.

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#8

Agreed def took the edge off my gas for a DFAM.

I did these when it was first introduced. You can also find a lot of peoples contributions in the dedicated Dual VCO thread. Like you, I only used bottom 3/4 tracks. Noise is a good idea. The AR shines best when layering.

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#9

WOW! Those examples are amazing. Great work!

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#10

Thanks! Yours too. The noise adds a lot :star:

#11

Nice! You dialed those sounds in real well. Reminds me of Vermona stuff like Giorgio Moroder, Ryuichi Sakamoto, or Firefly a bit and maybe an odd Aphex Twin Collapse flavor there too…? :man_shrugging:t2:

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#12

Very nice

#13

another layering advocate here.

Triple VCO?
I enjoy adding a single cycle wave sample with my DualVCO synth sounds, tune to satisfaction, throw in some filter FM and things can get wild.

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#14

ok now that dvco bass drum sounds awesome :muscle:

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#15

These sound really nice! I haven’t tried this on the Rytm yet, but I do something similar on the A4. I like the ability to change the pitch of the noise on the A4. (I didn’t see a way to do that on the RYTM unfortunately.) Luckily I have them side by side, so I can mix and match.

#16

The “pitch” of the noise in the A4/AK seems to be like on the NES (Nintendo) chip, the ‘pitch’ is sort of just the way it’s generating the noise itself, which appears to be digital noise (a burst of random bits) resulting in that very chiptune-like noise. The only equivalent on the Rytm is to adjust the filter (HP/LP) on the synth page to make the noise sound brighter or darker. But the A4 noise is really something special - like Lo-Fi chiptune noise.

The advantage on the Rytm for this kind of percussion is that you can use that wonderful overdrive. The Rytm overdrive sounds amazing. (Reminds me of Multidrive on the Sub 37)

And like @waftlord said, you have the advantage of even more layering with the sample page! :slight_smile:

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#17

Precisely. I believe both machines generate it the same way, it’s just that the clock is fixed on the Rytm. (this is how the 909 does it as well) It’s a Linear Feedback Shift Register configuration. (these were done with CMOS ICs on the older machines like the 909) I’m sure it’s done in the firmware on the A4. This is actually one of my favorite types of sound, and I’ve designed several circuits (for modulars) based on this configuration. (some with CMOS shift registers, some with flip-flops, and one with CPLD)

I really like your Rytm examples though. They have a really nice punch to them.

I could be wrong about the RYTM doing it this way, but it can get really close to 909 sounds on the synth engines, so I figured it probably was LFSR/digital noise based. Typically if analog white noise is used, it has more of a softer sound like some of the earlier drum synths/computers.

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#18

Yep, Elektron said somewhere that the Rytm noise generator is digital.
(I don’t think the Rytm has an analog noise source anywhere)