Lol - Been there, done that. Won’t do it again. Aside from synths and drum machines, I’m also a singer/guitarist/recordist, and I have a taste for high end gear (Custom Shop Fenders, Custom Shop Gibsons, boutique amps, high end mics and mic preamps, etc. etc.) so I have to factor in the costs of ALL of my songwriting tools.
2 Likes
I absolutely love my RYTM and will never get rid of it. I think it’s a deep sound design environment and wind up using it for melodic material and pads/drones/textures almost as much as I use it for drums. The bass sounds I am able to make with it consistently blow me away. I think of it more as a groove box than just a drum machine. I certainly have my issues with the way some things work and see potentially missed opportunities in some design decisions but overall, the results more than make up for the operational quirks.
4 Likes
Love the Rytm. Its more than just a ‘drum machine’ it can do so much.
I feel it takes some patience with some of the sounds to get to where you want to be. Its all been documented here and worth looking at some of those posts, ill never get rid of mine but then im a gear hoarder.
I would consider your needs. If analog is a big thing to you but you need that external sequencing perhaps a drumbrute and the digitakt to sequence it. Or buy a second hand OT and use that as your sequencer.
Theres a few options. Rytm and a beatstep pro for your sequencing needs?
But as an analog beat machine plus the ability to play samples ( albeit idiosynchratic ) and get full songs and sets together i think its a great instrument. 
2 Likes
Get SDS Drop. It really really worth it.
3 Likes
I hate to say this but the Drumbrute sounds less than stellar the snare leaves alot to be desired and i was surprised to see how inflexible the individual sounds where. I wanted to like it because its so cheap but not worth it in the end. The TR08 sounds way better and just as ugly. The Drumbrute does have individual outs so with that alot can be done.
2 Likes
Yeah from what ive heard of it im not a huge fan of the drumbrutes sound either but ive not heard one in the flesh if im honest. . I know some people really like it so its subjective i guess. if im interested in a bit of gear i usually like to hear it or try it before i purchase but as we all know thats a rare luxury.
If it wasnt for the sequencing needs the AR is a no brainer id say.
1 Like
You get what you pay for. The Drumbrute I tested had loose pots and had plastic feel to it. The sequencer is very similar to the beatstep pro which I a big fan of, I just feel the Drumbrute falls short. The AR is 3x the price but it feels like it’s 4x the product.
1 Like
Yea, I have it! But I guess it comes more to the shittiness of the project structure. If I just could save my “kits” (with samples) and change those as easily as with MD…
1 Like
Kind of a love/hate with it here, like the Octatrack it has some infuriating aspects to it - mainly WRT to operation, the sample side of things is great but hampered by a dreadful way of getting samples into it - although it has been suggested that this is set to improve.
The pads do not feel very playable, the sensitivity across the range is non linear, also at times the output can be noisy depending on drive and comp settings, the analog drum engines whilst very capable of a wide variety of all sorts of sounds, vary in their effectiveness at certain kinds of analog drum sounds.
However the toms, cymbals, hats and generic (impulse, noise) engines are very nice indeed, and can make some really wonderful analog sounds.
The filters, trig conditions, and scenes and perf modes are brilliant.
Overall as a classic sounding analog drum machine I think it could be smoother, but for modern or harder sounds, or completely off the wall stuff it is hard to beat(!)
5 Likes
I got used to that stuff pretty quick and normally don’t think about it much. In comparison to my other synths or MPC the menu-diving on the AR is really straight forward. However I totally see where your coming from. If only they made the project structure as good as the sequencer 
1 Like
have it since day 1, literally.
Analog Engines are great if you wanna do melodic stuff. Basstom literally creates the best Basses you might ever need. However: on the plain Drum Side of things im tired of the Drum Sounds already. Dont use them that often anymore. They all sound very similar (because they are all analog!). Sample Management is totally crap - C6 Sysex Tool if you are on Windows. I dont need to say more 
Mac at least has SDS Drop …
Performances are great, although they sometimes get stuck. Scenes can introduce noticable glitches if you dont hit them spot on. Only 8 Voices AND only 8 Samples at the same time (thanks to the Choke Groups). 12 Tracks though.
Overall - if its Drums you REALLY want - and if you dont care if they are analog or not - i would probably wait for the Digitakt. If the Digitakt doesnt fit in the end - send it back and get an Octatrack! 
2 Likes
Check out my YT Channel - i made some stuff with the Brute. I think it is a nice Drummachine if treated right. It can create all of those classic Minimal Techno Drumsounds with ease and that was something i was looking for Its rather “hard” in general though. Dont expect an 808ish sound; hell - that first Kick Drum is unusable to me - waaay to hard and kicky, i dont like it. Used it with the OT once to create a melodic element with that first kick (Comb Filter on the OT as far as i remember) Second BD is OK though. Clap and Snare are a bit weak (although the Clap has an interesting Tone to it when you turn down the Decay, sounds funky 
) and the Hihats sound metallic. But it fits a niche; it has character - if you like it is a completely different thing
2 Likes
Second time around after the update and sds drop and strom, I’m really loving it.
It’s one the best samplers/sample players I’ve ever heard.
The machines are versatile and the ability to sample straight into ableton via USB is amazing.
I quite like the compressor with the monomachine on the input. Dropping the monomachine sounds into the ar turns the monomachine into almost a super a4 for me.
As an instrument 
it’s very vey playable , even the muting ideas are golden.
Whereas the mduw was very micro house and electro sounding, the ar is haunting and powerful, and warm. It can get pretty dark, which I quite like.
3 Likes
It’s all about having analog AND sample technology at the same time on the AR, or digital sampling on the DT.
For my electronic music I prefer to have synth engines, because I am more in tweaking all those parameters until I like the sound rather than to layer and optimize samples. But this is personal preference only. This brought me to use the AR every day as my electronic drummer. I love the sound and the flexibility, which is coming with the synth engines and the p-lock capabilities. Sometimes I use samples too, but only to be electronical again.
If I want to have a “real drummer” with authentic drum sounds, I use one of the well known “in-the-box” candidates
If you are okay with the MD and search for a drum sampler, the DT could be a good candidate as well as the OT, which should give you even more options. If you are searching those thick and punchy analog percussive sounds, which make your speakers pump in and out, the AR would be best.
1 Like
To me the rytm is the best analog drum machine ever made. I like it so much than I wouldn’t trade it even for og 808/909 boxes. So many ways to use it.
On the synth side, I find that having access to AR808, synthetics and cuckoo’s soundpacks give me many, many examples of how to coax various sounds from the synthesis engines. On the sample side, well, still figuring that out since the rytm’s sample management encourages a very meticulous and thoughtful sample usage strategies. But samples sound real good on the rytm.
The sequencer is where it’s at. Trig conditions, plocks, instant pattern/kit recall, track offsetting, macros. Love it all.
I call him Rashad. Love u man
14 Likes
I traded my AR for a machinedrum.
The AR was too modern sounding for me,
Too limited in polyphony, not user friendly.
Maybe more live oriented.
I am happy with the Rytm & like it, for its own very particular sauce…
but for good reason, just keep going back to the Machinedrum time and time again.
Partly long term habit, but moreso for its particular feature set.
Modular LFO’s, 16 tracks, resampling, no limits on machine assignments, midi & sheer variety of synthesis machines. Nothing like it except possibly connecting a Sonic Potions LXR + upcoming DT.
Both are for life, and cover deficiencies of each other. Combined, they are top of the heap.
4 Likes
I sometimes struggle to synthesize good snares. I recently discovered that for these I didn’t like the sound of the filter, since then I get better.
Since THE update with retrig recording on the fly, trig conditions and fills, it has become a very powerful instrument that I like a lot !!!
2 Likes
the next thing i wanna do is buy a bunch of the packs off the Elektron store to juice the box up a bit with a bunch of sounds. i always feel like, i mean, with all elektron boxes, i think its hard to justify the cost if its just sitting around doing nothing. i thin thats the thing with gear, you’re not always using it, whereas something like your laptop or phone you use daily, you can justify ownership, but sometimes a partiular piece of gear or whatever sits around for a couple months not being used for whatever reason (work, fam, busy etc). in those moments i think about selling, and i sold the octa, but i think the rytm is just too immediate, too fun. i have the a4 too, and i could probably get rid of the a4 first, but even then. i think it was easy for me to sell the octa because all i was really doing was putting the a4 and ar into it. these two boxes, much harder to let go of. but i agree with adam, its a real do it all box. its performative and has really immediate feedback. just coupled with a little macbook air or something for ob or sample dropping, piece of cake. im really looking forward to spending some real time with it again in future. i often want to take it with me on holidays but i get worried it’ll get stolen. thing about the rytm is, its all there, if you’ve got the time to put in. entire tracks can happen there.
1 Like
im in no way a advanced user but i am happy with the AR, despite that i am currently looking out to getting a MD because i want those kinds of synthesis MD has. knowing what i know now id still go for the AR over a sample based only drum machine that i think digitakt is?