But this is just modern nonsense. My MS20 hasnt had an update since 1979, and it works totally fine. Gear doesnt need constant OS updates, if it works, it works. And will continue to do so.
Im still running an old OS on my TR8S because the New OS introduced a bug!
Anyway. No You dont need that Rytm. I wouldn’t get one for the purpose you describe. Id get an OT. But then I have an OT and know it pretty much inside out. 9 years and mine is still banging.
Somehow I imagined you’d say that.
Bill Hicks voice…
Cus its the truth
yeah love it. I set up scenes to have 3-4 different configurations of Sy Chip and play it to work as a longer musical phrase.
it’s not ideal but I resample snare from T3 and put it up on T5 to free up T3 for melodic machine. Resampling is great option for parts of your beat that will not change or get performance macroed … kick could fall into this also.
Wish you could do this on the mk1, but alas, no resampling on that machine.
I listened to some of your music on Bandcamp. I think the AR would fit well with your style (I was digging 20230615 and 20231006). You could probably create tracks like those in the Rytm by itself with some clever programming. You could use a DVCO track for drones or sample a drone to an unused track, sample some keys on another track, lay down some bass or melody with another DVCO. Then you could easily craft sparse beats with the remaining tracks.
Hey, really awesome you took some time for a closer look and had a listen! Really appreciate that, thank you!
I guess what you’re saying is pretty close to the initial thoughts and feelings I was having considering Rytm. Will it be easy and will it help me move on to another level? – I’m not sure at the moment but at some point I have to see myself and give it a try.
iv´e listened to your incredibly inspiring A4 creations and i say this with as much love as i can muster for this, DONT sell the A4 to fund a Rytm.
From what i can gather, you really enjoy deep diving and making complex patterns and to be frank, Rytm isn´t that. you can of course do a lot of P-locks and what not to get complex sounds going, but its nowhere near the depths of A4.
I fully understand the want and need to have something which is easy to get going with.
So i would suggest getting a small sampler or drum machine to complement A4.
Maybe sell that Mono Lancet and buy a Black Box, Tangering, Drumbrute impact, Volca Drum, Drumlogue, EP-133, SP404 mk2, MPC etc.
i think that would open up your world alot more then replacing A4 with a Rytm.
What a nice encouraging response from you @MichaalHell. Thanks!! 
There’s a lot nice examples/albums from Elektronauts, that made me drift towards the Rytm. But there’s also a lot of truth in what you and others have been saying. Modulation options are not that many in Rytm. On the other hand I can craft all kinds of percussives and FM hits quickly on A4. And when it comes to track-count I’ve never felt just four a limitation with all that p-locks et cetera…
To me:
They are two different side of the same coin, but two entirely different starting points.
Myself I’m more comfortable with the A4, but I have to say I’ve never tried to “break order” with my AR, I just use it as a quick source of order for my A4.
I think I should dedicate some time using and exploring the AR alone, but it’s hard 'cause as I said I’m so comfortable with A4 since I started with that machine alone and only added the AR a few years later…
That’s another interesting way to describe it, although for myself there’s nothing really chaotic in A4. But of course that’s just a personal thing.
people keep saying this, but with the performance macros you basically have 12 playable lfos, each with several mod destinations at once. and then scenes, aftertouch, velocity mod etc…
Switching from A4 to Rytm, you’ll lose a lot of sound design possibilities and the ability to play polyphonically. If you already know the A4 workflow, that will be an easy switch. As far as the sound, the Rytm can definitely be used to make the type of music you already make. Could you push it further than that? Very likely yes.
I have ARmk2 and A4mk1. If I had to pick only one, I would personally keep the AR for the samples, VCO and compressor. It’s a very self contained groovebox solution
True. But I never counted how many more the A4 has. Without trickery like CV to Exp-Ins of course. However: The sheer amount of cross-/modulation sources doesn’t make it good or bad either way. If I had the money I’d be up for a challenge any time. I love limited options!
I’d love to put a questionmark here - but of course you haven’t heard everything. When it comes to heavily modulated self-running drones’n’stuff A4 is hard to beat.
modulation via perf mode on the AR is a bit crude as those pads are super stiff, esp on the mk1 and its hard to remember what each green pad modulates in each track
still there is velocity mod thats very useful too
and if you use OB, you can have more lfos going
so i dont think mods are limited really, just a bit crude if yoy use the machine as a standalone groovebox
I like the rytm for the reasons you mention.
It’s been the simplest / quickest Elektron to me, second only to Syntakt.
Very fast to get an idea going and expand on it. The UI / layout of the Rytm just seems the cleanest too.
But I also have a Prophet X / Bitwig to get my deep modulation kicks with.
I’ll still say if you plan on working with samples, you a get stuff that sounds complex but isn’t. Once you start plocking some looped samples around at different rates and pitches, you can get to exciting territory with little effort.
It’s just different. It’s exciting programming, less raw sound design ( though many of the engines are unique.) It will never be like your A4 or my PX.
I’m a sucker for GAS, I love buying gear, and normally I would say stuff like “just get both” because I really think they’re both great… but you only want to own one of them for cost and space reasons, so I’m gonna pick holes in your initial message looking for reasons to discourage you from doing something costly just for GAS.
Keep it. The love is important, plus replacing them gets harder the longer you wait. They’re (slowly) going up in price all the time.
This is a “you” problem, not a “gear” problem. Work on your self-discipline; practice finishing tracks. Push the A4 to the limit of what it can do.
The Rytm is not straightforward at all. It’s got LOADs of options for control, and a couple of odd quirks (like the single LFO and filter) which coerce you to go over many sounds twice (once with the synths, then again as a sample).
Yeah, but it’s 8-voice. The choke tracks are more like a convenient way of adding sound locks or alternative sequences.
It’s actually not ideal for that. It can work, but that’ll depend on your use cases. The external signal is low compared with the internal voices, so mixing and balancing into the compressor is hard. Also, the compressor is kit-specific rather than global, so you can’t really use it as an end of chain for multiple songs (I’m thinking about doing live sets here rather than recording individual tracks into a DAW or recorder).
It is fabulous at the “variety of sounds, styles and experiments”. It can’t replace your A4 in terms of features. They’re very different. It’s not a great centrepiece either, unless you have other sequencers to drive your other gear.
For some I already have, for myself I will keep trying! 
Thanks for taking some time to write up that nice elaborate reply. I have decided to keep the A4 and will try to push it further throughout the year.
I really hope this thread keeps going and proves to be helpful for many. I learned a lot and it really helped me getting a differentiated view. Thanks to all of you sharing some insights and opinions! 
