This is a technique I use, as well as many others including:
TLDR “Mix the levels of all instruments in relation to a kick drum that hits the same dB level in your mixer”
- Set master volume on your Rytm to 80% or so, don’t ever touch it again
- Plug Rytm into your mixer
- Load up a kick drum sample, make a four-on-the-floor pattern with only the kick sound
- Look at the volume meter showing the level the Analog Rytm input…not the volume meter of the mixer’s master output.
- Adjust the mixer “channel input gain” of the Rytm’s input channel so that the level meter on the mixer hits about right in the center of it’s range (not hitting 0 dB / unity / the last green led)
- Cut a triangle of fluorescent tape and tape that little arrow to mark the point where the kick drum volume reaches
- Do not ever change the Rytm’s master volume output, kick drum track level, or instrument level ever
- Using Rytm track volumes, velocity, instrument level, etc… bring up all the levels of your other instruments to sit well in the mix in relation to your kick drum. Save the kit.
- Every time you make a new kit or call up a kit you’ve already made…normalize everything to your KICK, which now has an actual level which can always be referred to.
Does that make sense?
At any given time, your kick should always hit that point on your mixer’s VU meter, because that represents an absolute value. Everything else should be mixed to fit around that kick.
If you do this correctly, changing patterns will not be much of an issue. If you mute out all instruments except that kick, you should be able to jump around to any pattern in your Rytm and the VU meter showing the level of the Rytm channel should always hit the level you’ve marked with the tape. Don’t deviate from that.
Good luck!