Hello everyone, I just bought an AR on Thomann, I received the machine and I noticed that the pads are hard, you really have to hit them hard to trigger the instrument, and in mute mode the instruments are triggered and engaged by external vibration, so I returned the machine to Thomann who sent me another one, I received it again and it was fixed for the vibration triggering problem but on the other hand the pads are still as hard, you have to hit them hard to trigger the instrument, knowing that I had already tested an AR and the pads worked correctly, no need to hit the pads with your fingers for it to work, just a little pressure is enough, I would have liked to have your opinion and know how to react to yours because there I am sure the point of the return too, thank you in advance to you
The pads are velocity sensitive, so the harder you press the harder it will sound. Press ‘fix’ for always full velocity.
yes, sorry what I was talking about is velocity set to max
This is how most people view the feel. There are many topics on this and other pad quirks, it’s normal and all Rytms are like this, including the Mk1s
Yeah, they aren’t like the soft, pillowy MPC pads. When I first tried a Rytm, I was admittedly surprised by how stiff the pads are. That’s just how they are, and you either get along with it or you don’t.
Ok for the rigidity of the pads, but what about the sensitivity? because when I press on them in a classic way, that is to say just a pressure without lifting my finger, I have no sound even with the velocity set to the max, I really have to tap on them to play the instrument. I would have liked to know how yours were, knowing that I had tried one whose pad sensitivity was better, so I wonder if mine doesn’t have a problem.
Found this over att MW regarding restoring the sensitivity on the pads. I have not tried it myself and of course it would break yor waranty, but might be worth trying on a 2nd hand if you are confident. Restoring ANALOG RYTM Pad Sesitivity - MOD WIGGLER
TL;DR
Open up, clean pads, tight screws with specific torque in correct order.
Most users here agree the AR pads are too stiff. They get softer over time, but it can take a year or two to wear them in enough. Even after that time, they wont be like MPC pads.
TBF tho’, Akai don’t get it right every time either. I had an early MPK49. That thing had 1-2mm gap between the underside of the pads and the button/detector thing. I had to stick bits of thick tape to the underside of the pads to let me play softly on them.
I hope one day Elektron will release a box with pad which are at the level of a good MPC ( obviously not like the blue MPC1000 or MPC500 which were awful).
They are all like that. It’s probably down to how they incorporate after touch
There’s no point comparing to other gear, the feel is what you have. It’s not to everyone’s taste, but what you describe is normal. You have to come to it, it won’t come to you.
Learn how each gesture is triggered and see if that’s something you can adapt to. It will probably involve accepting that the velocity range is just inherently different in feel than other pad controllers … you might not like it, but you will get more used to it . They do appear to lighten up a bit with use, but not to a significant extent
I know, it’s personal taste. But I like the ‘stiff’ pads of my Rytm MKII better than the pads on my MPC Live 2. Maybe it’s my way of finger drumming but I got a lot of double trigs on the MPC, and never had that problem on my Rytm.
And yes, out of the box the pads need some time to come ‘alive’.
Well after several tests the pads also triggered randomly by vibration in mute mode, so I’m sending it back too, this is the second machine in 1 month, I hope the next one will be the right one 
Pads on the rytm mk1 and mk2 are utter shite. It’s a shame but it’s true, elektron did so many things right with the AR but they totally missed the pads, in fact they are probably the worst pads ever.