Watching this thread intently. Update 1.70 has put some unholy ideas on my mind.
I got an A4 last year and I haven’t spent as much time as I would’ve liked with it. Mostly feeling like I get stuck on the twiddling part and struggle with composing much.
Been really enjoying syntakt and digitakt (and push 2) as the main devices for composing so I had some GAS telling me I could downsize by trading the ST and A4 for the AR (due to the euclidean and perf/scenes stuff) - am I entirely off base?
… or trading A4 and DT for AR, keeping ST …
I’ve thought about that… I do like the immediacy of the DT for jungle/breaks though. Not sure how the AR’s workflow goes with that.
And for context I’ve been digging your ST sound pack so the AR master distortion is attractive.
DT and AR will have a good amount of overlap, so if you ditch the A4 and ST for an AR, you’ll be losing a lot of capability. If you’ve already got those three machines (A4/DT/ST), I would focus on the tunes, not changing your setup. That’s an absolute powerhouse.
With the A4, don’t be ashamed to use some presets until you get your feet under you. And it’s been said many times, but I’ll repeat it. The A4 may not sound as impressive in isolation, but it sits in a mix really well.
yeeahahhhhhh unfortunately on the AR, the slicing has to be done manually, that’s the biggest downside. About the distortion, AR and ST sound very different, but ST has more flexibility since you can run everything or just a selection into the FX drive (my point being, the FX drive is equivalent to the AR’s distortion, just sounding different). [But of course the Digitakt has no distortion at all, and an overdrive that does almost nothing.]
(Thanks! 
)
Whew. Thanks for input then, GAS averted for now. I’ll try to supplement the performance macro stuff with ableton and other workarounds.
Regarding the performance mode, I bought the AtoVproject 16n Faderbank (instead of a Faderfox, which I didn’t find attractive) for my Syntakt (in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOgsV5HxzeQ ) and played already two live concerts with that combo. An even better solution might be Novation Launchpad Pro MK3, which I plan to try out at some point 
Yes and no. I think that you want it, but also don’t want it.
Yeah, something like a fader controller could be cool. Just curious but why the Launchpad specifically? It doesn’t have any knobs or faders.
(Sorry, hopefully we’re not too OT)
Hello … There’s a lot of threads around all kinds of controller options, you’ll find them! 
Coming back to your initial question: I’m always tending towards not buying anything new unless it’s pretty clear you can’t live with what you have. From what you got at the moment, I’d put the ST into its box and focus on the A4/DT combo. Or just the A4 for a month or so. Try to get close to getting the most of it. Then evaluate again.
Time to resurrect the thread.
A year and a few months later I found myself one. No idea where to start, but it feels like it has always been sitting there on my shelf. 
If I were you, and it was A4 vs Rytm, I’d keep the A4. If you need more tracks, get a Digitakt or Syntakt to pair with, they are very affordable 2nd hand ATM
I personally need both though. I got the Rytm at my home rig, and AK as the master keyboard in the studio
Don’t worry. The initial post might be misleading. I keep the A4 no matter what. And best case I keep both.
Ahh so the goalposts have moved? In that case, try to get a Rytm from a shop with a return policy and give it a try… If you dont gel with it, just return it.
OTOH if it doesnt matter what brand of a device it is, Korg Drumlogues go for peanuts these days, and they are somewhat comparable to a Rytm, for drum duties anyway. It has analogue synthesis (very limited but usable), samples, and logue SDK2 which can host a MI Plaits instance, FM synth, etc… SDK2 effects as well. 4 indi outs, just enough for getting a drum kit cutting in a mix proper like. The OS is a bit buggy but the price is hella good ATM
I have personally played gigs with just the Rytm, but its price has gone up quite a bit, and I bought mine already in 2013 so its paid itself back by now. All of the big trinity boxes are keepers, if you can deal with their cost / size
Well, he already bought one, see photo above ;).
Congrats, excited to hear what you’ll do with it!
Find me over @Current Sounds. 
Banging out patterns almost daily. I like the pads. I like the immediacy w/ mutes and scenes and performance mode. And I haven’t even loaded samples into it… 
You’re up for a nice surprise if you see what that filter, distortion and compressor will do to samples 
!
I think Rytm feels like Elekron’s most well rounded and complete machine in some ways. If you take it for what it is (a drum machine with some synth capabilities and basic sampling) rather than what you‘d wish it could be. Really an achievement!
Wait until you realize what a dope synth the Rytm can be when you load a bunch of singlecycle waveforms in it 
Sure enough, the amp env doesnt retrigger but there’s plenty of cool stuff you can do
FTFY ;).
those only work on a couple tracks, plenty left for the samples