To make short things short: I’m getting bored of all the Ableton + Native + [insert VST here] stuff and would love to start a more hands-on approach
So I have two questions:
Read a lot about OT, MD and AR and looks like I’m going to buy an AR. As from my point of view, it seems to be the most valuable solution to start making music with. As soon as I feel ready for it, I guess I’d like to add a TB3 or x0xb0x and maybe even an Analog 4.
So my first question is:
How much will I regret not having bought a Octratrack instead to control all that stuff with it? I’d really like to have an analog drum machine, as getting tired of Ableton + Co also includes getting tired of mainly working with one shot samples. But it seems as if the Octatrack is the only way to connect all the stuff together in a smooth way except choosing some other sequencer from some other company. Is it hard to just work with midi clock? No expercience here.
Second question (I guess that’s the easy one):
The sound. It seems that Rytm is a real beast when it comes to punch and sound quality. And adding a little salt by not sampling, but layering some samples into those sounds seems even more promising.
I’ve checked a lot of videos and sound samples, but something makes my thoughts turn round. I’ve seen lots of videos of the Xbase 999 and it’s sound seems to be awesome, while it’s usability/OS is known to be a total pain in the ass. Is my assumption right that a Rytm is easily able to acquire sound as the following by pushing the right buttons / doing the right thing with modulation/distortion?
I see a lot of Xbase 999 vids with that kind of dirty, raw characteristics, while most Rytm videos sound much cleaner. But I guess that’s just a question of configuration, right?
Sorry for that long message, but if I want to take a step into this, I want to be sure to walk into the right direction
About Q2
I just came from NI Maschine & komplete…
.
It was not so easy to start with this, Maschine felt like a bicycle I saw and stepped on it and I did ride away.
After some evenings of practicing and reading the manual… it starts to feel quite the same. Fast, everything you want can be accessed with 2 hands directly… but the sound shaping parameters are only a few. There are less possibilities, and sometimes I think it’s not what I want… then I find out I can reach it on another way.
Within seconds I make the sound "big and fat’ in this thing… That’s the main difference for me with Maschine.
No tweaking and loading things I prefer not to use… just the equipment I need, it doesn’t give me a choice how to setup my drum computer. i am happy i left the NI ship.
I can’t comment on the OT as a first step, but I can with the MD and AR.
The MD is rock solid and can produce some really fantastic sounds. I only have the UW so am a bit limited sample wise, but it means I just work harder with the samples I’ve loaded up inside the machine. I’ve easily sat for many hours just jamming on this machine entirely and produced some fantastic beats and pieces.
However, I think the RYTM is next level. The sound quality is incredible. Seriously, the low end is something else and will blow away any soft synth. The RYTM has some depth, though it could (and hopefully will) go deeper with future updates. This is my only gripe with the RYTM, it doesn’t feel ready and still feels slightly Beta. What’s on offer is slightly basic (single LFO, one filter, no eq, questionable sample management). BUT… it is very playable and I’ve made beats with it that I simply couldn’t have with the MD. It’s definitely more user friendly and nicer sounding.
So… MD feels more complete and solid whereas, RYTM sounds great and is easier to ‘play’. I’ll probably sell my MD at some point as I prefer the workflow and sound of the RYTM.
I can only speak for my self, but i had same setup like you, and bought an AR!
Im realy happy with it. One week of frustration, two moths now with pure joy and inspirational music making!
Now im realy into the elektron way of thinking, and its easy and intuitive.
You can certainly grime up the sound of the AR with the master distortion module and the compressor, so no need to worry about the AR sounding too clean
After listening to that Mbase video, I’d say that it has a bit of an edge to the AR in tom & snare synthesis… But the Mbase will easily lose in the range of sounds available (which is vast on the AR). And there might be new tom & sd machines coming to the AR in the near future which could even out the tom & sd department even more…
I would go with the OT.
Mainly because it does a lot.
Some of it is tricky to learn, some of it is simple.
When coming form Ableton and Machine it should feel somewhat familiar.
You can run other gear via midi, sample, loop, etc. Essentially having a drum machine, sampler, and midi sequencer, plus effects all in one unit.
This will also provide the opportunity to really learn the OT well.
The OT can definitely get further out there, but you can do a lot with the Rytm alone. I’m working on an EP right now made entirely in a single project on my AR. The way I’m using it is basically analog drums + one pad reserved for chordal/“main” samples + another pad for vocal or melodic samples. You can get some really cool synth leads and basses out of the AR too. (Stylistically, what I’m doing is kind of like dance-y hip-hop.)
It’s definitely a limited way to work, because 1) you have to choose samples first on the computer and then slowly load them in and 2) to “chop” them all you do is select a number from 0-120. BUT you can achieve so much just on the AR, and the filters + compressor sound great. You also get a broader range of pitching up and down than on the OT (4 octaves instead of 2). That limitation is always something I’ve found annoying about the OT.
Also the performance pads are incredible, and go way beyond what you can do with the crossfader. You can do multiple changes simultaneously, which is huge. I also like that the performances/scenes are relative rather than absolute. So you can turn on a scene that raises filter cutoff by 20, rather than a scene that says “sets cutoff to 120”. The difference being that if you have p-locks, the scenes/performances dynamically interact with them rather than overriding the,.
Eventually my plan is to combine the OT+AR, but for now I want to work on making a full set on the AR alone.
I’ve been watching lots of Emu SP1200 videos recently and marveling at how much you can get out of such a limited sampler, so part of my embrace-the-limits attitude comes from there.
TLDR: in addition to being a cool drum machine, the AR is a great sampler capable of making full tracks
Thanks everybody for the replies so far. I think I’ll gonna trust that machine regarding the sound. And even if the OT provides better integration of other equipment I guess I’ll stick with the AR.
As the whole community seems to be complaining about the AR not being able to control other devices, maybe Elektron will somewhen add that capability. Even if not… Maybe I’ll just go for some other sequencer instead of the OT to show them that they can’t force everyone to buy an OT just to integrate AR with one of their other machines
I connected rytm and four by sending midi clock and program changes. Works perfect for me. What is the reason people want to work from the OT sequencer?
[quote=““De wouzer””]
What is the reason people want to work from the OT sequencer?
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guess because OT has dedicated midi track for sequencing other gear. A4 has 1 CV/Gate track only.
apart from that I dont really get the buzz about external midi sequencing.
far from what dedicated hardware sequencers and MPCs can do. for example sysex handling, sending PCs (hasslefree), etc… for me OTs sequencer wouldnt be enough for a laptop-free setup anyway.
The Arturia Beatstep provides a standalone 16 step midi sequencer for less than $100 and yet Elektron has the audacity to not include the feature in the Analog Rytm… SMH
That’s what I thought. Have a Waldorf Blofeld here and was looking for a solution to integrate it, as I’m not willing to go for an OT instead of AR just to be able to sequence additional gear. Just waiting for my paycheck to arrive end of month and then I’m ready to go
I don’t think you’ll regret not getting the OT. It is notoriously complex, which can be awesome, or completely frustrating. Plus, if you’re sick of using one shot samples (ala Mashine) then getting an OT seems like barely stepping away from that paradigm. There is so much fun to be had with sound design/synthesis!
I don’t own a Rytm, but I do have an MDUW+, and a MNM. I have played with the Rytm in store, and it sounded so good, I almost shit myself. So deep and buttery! You could do spend a lot of time working with just the Rytm, even making complete tracks with it only.
However, you may want to also consider the MDUW+ as your first machine. It has 16 tracks (opposed to 8), and can also live sample and accepts one shot samples as source material. You can also mangle the shit out of samples in the MD. But the best part are the synthesis machines. Sure you can make killer percussion sounds, but you can also make bass, pads, and crazy buggery sounds too! The MD is also great for controlling external MIDI gear with. You can even play chords on external synths via the MD MIDI machines. It’s a crazy powerful box, yet very very easy to come to grips with. I love my MNM like nothing else, but the MD would be my first choice for a newbie to Elektron gear.
Im not surprised You used one scene or whatever for an EP - this machine looks very useful. The bass Ive heard from this is booming - in fact in one of those Cukoo VS Dataline I thought the bass was coming from Cukoo but it was dataline on the Rytm. Also the wayyou can assign the pads looks really creative. I still want to see more about sample management. Also does the Rytm deal with CV natively? CV outs like the A4?
[quote=“” Dogma""]
Also does the Rytm deal with CV natively? CV outs like the A4?
[/quote]
Nope man, Rytm don’t have CV out and no Ext midi Seq output.
You can only send CC messages to the midi out.
As previously said, the Monomachine is capable of sequencer midi out, on it you have 6 tracks for synth engines and 6 “mute” tracks for sequencing external gear.
