I didn’t really gel with my first AR (mk1) but at the time I didn’t know much (never used retrig and almost didn’t play with the samples).
The MK2 is a huge hardware improvement (full OB power and individual outs for me more than live sampling) but I like the look and small form factor of the mk1 (the black mk2 looks neat though) so bought one again and well, I’m really happy so far!
They added so many engines, Dual VCO, trig probs, etc… OB is way better now too and with the new Transfer app, sample transfer should be much easier.
yeah I’ve gotta say I still prefer the looks of mkI even over the black mkII. I was using splitters for individual outs, never liked OB as it was introducing latency on my system.
I now use a usamo sync box and to be fair I still don’t get things on the grid but I stopped caring!
Yeah, I use splitters too but one track, one out seems so much cleaner.
I really like the mkI look too but a mkII look with a mkI form factor would be OK too (I wasn’t sure about the DN buttons but I really like them now so I guess the ARmk2 should be no different).
As for OB, I really like editing sounds/samples with it and I always live capture all the individual tracks with the capture feature when using my A4 or DN.
Sending the main outs to Apollo Twin gives me 0.7ms at 64 buffer/96khz so that’s nice. I don’t use OB as a plugin in my DAW though… too painful to setup (Logic Pro X, might be easier with Ableton Live?). So my only gripe is that with the ARmkI I have to choose which tracks to stream over USB but as the AR has individual outs, I figured I could live with that (when taking into account the price tag difference between the two and the form factor haha…)
I sold my Digitakt, Digitone & OP-1 (along with a bunch of guitar pedals) about 8 months ago to run with an A4 MK2 Black/AR MK2 Black & OT AE set-up, and the Rytm has always been the box I spend the most time with.
Overall:
The kicks and snares can sound absolutely killer once you dial them in.
The hats and crash are, to be honest, a bit tinny and mediocre and require a lot of work. I often use samples here.
Samples passing through the analog filter sound incredible with a HPF and a bit of resonance.
The bass this thing is capable of using the DVCOs are no joke – super fat, although I wouldn’t call it ideal for complex and melodic basslines unless you’re using a controller. Can be tricky to keep in tune.
I’ve heard a lot of people knock on the Rytm’s pads for being too firm. I haven’t used many others to compare it to, but it hasn’t bothered me. Not great for melodic parts but passable.
Scenes and performances are incredible for improvising and adding variety to your patterns.
The sound is punchy and deep (probably my favourite sounding Elektron box) but it does tend to compete with my A4 for the same sonic space.
As others have mentioned, the sample start and end points can’t get as granular as on the Digitakt, although it hasn’t been a problem for most of my use cases.
The toms are forgettable at best, and I usually will allocate the middle row of pads for samples anyways.
Overall, it’s easily my favourite Elektron box and I can’t imagine parting with it any time soon. That said, the Analog 4 is surprisingly capable of making great drums (Druma ftw!) and sometimes I almost prefer its sound to the Rytm’s.
A4 vs AR… I came to the same conclusion in the past, glad to hear I’m not the only one!
The pads are really hard so I don’t use them for finger drumming but I can’t compare as I’ve never owned anything else. I’d like to try a Maschine MK3 one day to see how different they are. but I’m not a finger drummer anyway so the pads are great for my use: scene/perf and mutes!
Sums it up nicely. I quite like the toms though, they don’t sound like toms from any classic drum machine I’ve heard and sometimes I will use samples, but in some tracks their sound works for me.
Ive read it has the best User Interface of all. Steep claim. But they say everything is immediately accessible, no menu diving. An instant filter button. Whats not to like?
I feel the same… and that’s also why the 2 A’s are so complimentary to each other, chopping and changing between them feels really seamless, and enjoyable.
Out of all the gear I have, the AR and A4 are the best creative tools by far, either individually or together… both inspire new ideas with ease and you’re usually creating/working on something new within a few minutes. (EDIT: I would also include the Digitone for being similarly inspiring…)
On the AR’s DVCO and it’s tuning/tracking… I keep meaning to explore setting up a sound, sampling it, put the sample back on the track but an octave up… and seeing what happens… I think I’ll try this later actually…
Also kits can be backed up and re-transferred if you want kits from different projects.
Or simply copy a kit, change project and paste kit. It’s work, but doable.
If you want kits p-lockable, it would mean the machine would always have all kits loaded ready in ram and thus the amount of memory needed would always be reserved for those kits. Not ideal.
Of course it should work like sounds (which can be loaded as needed to any project). Though you have to admit what a killer feature this would be if kits were p-lockable.
I used to have and love the Rytm MK1 and only sold it to fund a Digitakt. Don’t regret it as the Digitakt is an incredible box however I am tempted to get another Rytm, perhaps a MK2, to complement the Digitakt with analog flavours.
What I also dislike that the sample end point doesn’t move with the start point relatively. Digi owners will understand what I mean Filters are also in the end nicer. I’d wish they would make all of their hardware more equal in terms of usability.
Yeah. There are a few little things, that really bug me.
For instance, the position of the function button is not consistent on all Elektron boxes.
On OT and AR Mk1, it’s the second button counting from the bottom, on my AK, it’s the first button.
On AR MK2 it´s the upper button from three buttons…
I could not play a live gig with AK and OT/AR, because my muscle memory always lets me hit the wrong button…luckily opening the pattern popup menu instead of hitting function just wastes time.
I mean, the instrument’s development spans over many years and the team changed during that time, new technologies made it possible to implement stuff, that wasn´t possible before…but that damn function button…
Filters are also in the end nicer. I’d wish they would make all of their hardware more equal in terms of usability.