OP-1 or RYTM

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

So, after getting an OT half a year ago i started to save up to get a RYTM next. I created a thread in order to get to know if it can be used for experimental stuff. Thanks to a lot of you i got convinced that this is easily doable. Thanks!

Now the op-1 was offered for 648€ at amazon and i hit the button to grab one (check the thread in here as well). I had the money available, but not enough for a RYTM.

I would like to know if you think that the op-1 is a good choice for that price or if it would make more sense to wait and save up more to get a RYTM within the next months.

I’m into experimental sample-based stuff, kind of musique concrete with a techno influence. I really like the fact to use the taperecorder but would also really want to have a drummachine like the RYTM.

Cancel the op-1 order or let it go and start to save up again to get a RYTM as well?

Thanks!

#2

OP-1

Smells better.

#3

Hm, its very difficult. I have the Rytm for a while now and just got the OP-1 (also for 650 €). As far as I can tell the Rytm is more kind of a “serious” drum machine. Great for doing all kind of deep techno stuff with lots of control over sound shaping (reverb, delay, filter, overdrive, compressor etc.).

However the OP-1 is a great box for experimental stuff. Have a look at this tutorial:


With the sequencers both the synth and drum parts are great for abstract and glitchy beat making.

If I was you I would definitely keep the OP-1 and give it a try. You could easily sell it in a few weeks with no or only little loss, if you don’t like it.

#4

How important is portability (being battery powered) to you?
Because that is the main advantage of the OP-1.

#5

Thanks, both of you are right. I once had an op-1 for a few days and had a lot of fun with it but had to sell it for financial reasons.

The fact to use it mobile is a big plus, so i thought taking the op-1 with me for sketches and recordings to use them later with the OT. That was the reason why i hit the button.

But on the other hand i’m still missing a real drummachine, right. Ok, i’m able to sample and use foundfootage, but to have a serouis drummachine seems logic.

#6

Do you have an iPad?

I used Patterning on iPad as an OP-1 companion and they were great for one another.
I could do more complex beats with parameter locks and automation than the OP-1 drum sequencer was capable of, and just record line out of the iPad into the OP-1’s sampler. (I also tested transferring .wavs but in the end the line out into line in sounded the same)

#8

iPad: yes – and the OT as well

#9

For musique concrete OP-1 anyday, it can also handle drums fairly well. Having said this the Rytm is much more than just a drum machine, but the sample handling is a bit of a chore (getting them in there, once they are in it is fine) compared to the OP-1.

So yes, keep the OP-1 order and save for the Rytm also :slight_smile:

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#10

Cancel the order. Buy nothing else. Wait until you come to a point where you don’t have to ask these kind of questions.

9 Likes
#11

Op-1 is super fast/portable for musique concrete stuff. To the extent that it kind of feels like it could have been intentionally designed for that alone. (not that it was…). And similarly to OT it just spits unimagined ideas back at you. Wrote the bulk of two tracks on it in half hour last night while waiting for someone. The 4-track tape thing can be frustrating sometimes. Depending how intricate you wanna edit stuff etc. And no timestrech option when pitching chromatically. But can always export files to Daw to get deep if you aren’t anti-ITB.
Never owned a Rytm so I can’t really add anything on that. Permanent semi-gassing for one but I’m not super heavy in to analog drums and the lack of onboard sampling kind of puts me off. Can see why people love em tho.

#12

I paid more than that for my op-1 and I have no regrets. It’s the only piece of kit that I always have with me in my backpack. All other things live at home or only come out occasionally.

I love having both instruments, but the Rytm is bigger, more costly and has to travel in its own case I have for it, so I take it less places. Op-1 is more grab and go and does so many wonderful things

#13

Totally different machines serving different purposes?
If you are wondering which one of these 2 you need to do a little more research what they actually do.
I’ve had both and still have the RYTM

#14

i had the op-1 for a few days and wasnt so impressed. the synth engines are not that flexible and the recorder is destructive. it has many technical restrictions, that might push your creativity, but in the end i think an ipad with a few apps is more flexible. i still think that 600 bucks are too much for an op-1, when it comes down below 400 we might talk again.

rytm is cool, if you want to mess around with analog drum sounds and mix them a bit with samples.

1 Like
#15

True for me.
In the end I always buy both.
I bought the AR as a analog way to make kickdrums in addition to my modular and also the modbase 09.
The AR was really getting dispatched because I still wanted the Jomox.
But now I’m settled with both an happy with both of them.
Glad I didn’t sell the AR, slowly becoming familiar with the workflow I really like it.
Mostly it comes because I’m impatient to wait for a month or two.

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#17

I had an OP-1 for a couple of months and sold it because I never took it anywhere, I already have an Octatrack and sampling is not my main concern in life (which I think is kind of where it shines).

I personally think the RYTM is the sounder, more long-term, more versatile (in the sense that it performs a relatively bread-and-butter function, but does it exceptionally well, so will probably feature more heavily in more of your tracks) piece.

Nothing against the OP-1 and I know a whole host of people here dig it immensely, but I don’t think the two are directly comparable. I would go for the RYTM 10 times out of 10.

#18

To be fair, if you get SDS Drop it takes pretty much all the hassle out of transferring samples to the RYTM.

#19

I’ve heard the OP-1 referred to as a jack of all trades. The Rytm might be a bit more specialized. Heavily depends on what genre you like to make and what other gear you have of course. I’ve sold two OP-1s. Still have a Rytm. I make Dub Techno, mostly. I find it way better for that genre. I used the OP-1 as a very fun and powerful sofa machine. But none of the little loops I made on it ever ended up in tracks. I also have SDS drop. Makes loading samples a breeze. Get Audio Hijack and/or Piezo, and SDS Drop, and sampling becomes much easier/faster, at least on the mac. Not sure if those work on PC.

#20

Op-1s strength is quick randomness IMHO. In a couple of minutes you can do stuff like grab a sample from YouTube or whatever, chop it, sequence it with the Endless sequencer, find a cool/weird pattern, then transpose that sequence’s global pitch in real-time while recording it to tape with fx. Copy it back to a drum kit and repeat… And that’s only scratching the surface. Lots of sequencing/sampling/resampling workflows/tricks to be used. So fast for random little explorations. 9 times out of 10 they turn in to something usable.
The worst thing about it is that it’s this great ideas generator/scratch pad/4-track recorder that’s super prolific at hitting new ideas on but it has almost zero memory… I have to empty mine a couple of times a week… Not a dealbreaker but SD card and onboard file management would have been a huge addition to overall convenience.

#21

What I like to do in these circumstances is ask if I am buying the machine to make music or am I buying the machine because I already have musical ideas and need the hardware to voice them. A lot of my buying decisions have been based on the former. You think that a new piece of equipment will spark your creativity but it rarely works like that. Plus ALL gear is expensive. When we are in the consumer mindset we want instant hits. When we are in the creative mindset we have the ideas and we craft the idea using the tools available.
Sorry if this sounds like a lecture, but the two pieces of hardware you mention are very very different from each other. (Edit… Ah you have an Octatrack).
As an aside, I visited the British Museum in London. It was full of inspiring objects that had been crafted into being using the creative vision of the artist. That visit taught me a lot about music and GAS.

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#22

Neither.