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Thanks for all input guys. Iâve decided to just use Rytm, Analog keys, Octatrack and OP-1.
This is more than enough to do the job I think!
The Tempest sounds too synthy to me. I actually think the thing that makes the AR what it is is the ability to infuse samples into the sounds!
Weâre here to talk synths, not someoneâs ability to program such synths.
The 808 and 909 are classics, and a 3 year old could make a slamming techno beat on them. What does that tell you about the user ?
Any analog synth can make drum sounds, so this discussion about the Tempest is futile. Of course it can do drums. Of course it can do kicks and snares and clave and toms. You need a sine wave, a filter and pitch/filter/amp envelopes. Why everyone who thinks that getting a drum sound out of the Tempest makes them a programming God is beyond me.
Youâre not a special snowflake because you use the Tempest as a drum machine. Is it designed like a drum machine ? Hell no. Itâs a poly synth that can, like any other synth, do drums. But let me tell you something. The Waldorf synths have envelopes much better suited to percussion than the Tempest, yet theyâre not called âdrum machinesâ. DSI made a monumental marketing mistake calling the Tempest a drum machine, and itâs costing them still today, with disgruntled customers. Had they called it a â6 part multi - timbral analog synthesizer with PCM supportâ , we would not be having this discussion.
You know, if it really came down to it, and I had to take ONE drum machine with me on a desert island, it would be the AR, obviously. It feels like an instrument made in 2014. The Tempest is stuck in the past, unfortunately. It sounds great, feels great, is incredibly inspiring, but the clunky operation and limited sequencer make it something that will feel limited if youâre used to the Elektron way of thinking.
The AR is way overrated. The kicks and tomâs are loved, but the reviews on the other machineâs are average at best. Most other machines and synths are way more raw than what Elektron has going on.
Elektronot AKA Captain Obvious: all you do is bash Elektron gear.
The AR is the most interesting drum machine created in the last 10 years, especially from a performance point of view. The previous one was the Machinedrum. There are some recent drum machines that have a better clap or hat, but nothing comes close to what the AR does. You probably donât even have one, which is why you rely on reviews to make your point.
Are you sure about that poontang? Sweet picture btw, I mean that.
Am I sure about which aspect? And thanks about the pic, but credit must go to the monkey who took the selfie (definitely not to the owner of the smartphone that tried to take credit).
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I get great sounds out of Rytm including hats, claps, snares. My drums have never sounded better.
sweet. Thats all that should matter then.
Youâre just more easily satisfied with sub-par sounds, thats something different.
Iâll chime in and say I love the sequencer in the AR more than I did the Tempest. I was able to create some way more awesome sounds in the Tempest though. I donât really understand why Elektron chose to limit sound design in the AR by using âMachinesâ. I can get better drum sounds out of the Analog 4 most of the time. The sample function and Strom make it a keeper for now. I really hope they open it up more so that I can get a bit more out of it. My guess is that they didnât want to compete with the Analog 4 which is a shame as it limits the AR customers. I can just use the A4 or my modular and create all sorts of stuff! Now if Strom could sample my modular directly that would be killer!!
I suggest downloading the the Drums sound pack. I think there was a better third party one that was also free. One of the users here on Elektronauts. Reverse engineer some of that stuff. Youâll find some âAh-Hahâ moments when using the filter & Pitch with different Env shapes. The advantage of the A4 in my eyes is that you more envelopes, more LFOâs , better noise source, and volume control over every bit of it. The fade In/Out of Noise. The AM and Metal functions on the second oscillator. These are all great tools for percussion building. Itâs astounding that the RYTM is so modest in what they let you do. I am hoping that they âfixâ this with an update!
These are cheap and sound great! You can learn from and bend these to your will.
A Kick & Tom tutorial.
Thatâs great thanks - I already have those, hadnât seen the tutorial though - so thanks again. But nooooooo, I just get the impression that yours will be loads betterâŚ
Iâm really curious, I would love to know what you guys do!!! Especially with making the A4 sound like the RYTM but also the sounds that youâre making for the RYTM too!!
Come on guys, share some stuff, pretty please??? It will only take a few minuteso to export em zip em up 
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We will see. I donât generally take any computers to my studio space. I also donât save my sounds outside of kits so Iâd have to go through and sort them out. Do you have both AR & A4?
Itâs not about making it sound like the RYTM. Itâs more that you can do more with the A4 than you can with the RYTM. The A4 has the 4 voice handicap and no sample support. The RYTM has 8 voices and IMO would be kinda weak without sample support if they were to leave the Machines as is. I feel they must expand them and these were just temporary to get the RYTM into peoples hands. One can still get great sounds out of it. Itâs fun how limiting the machines has made it more difficult for me to do what I hear in my head. I often have to resort to samples and augment them with the analog synthesis. The fx are cool when messing around but are ultimately useless as Iâll use the individual outs as soon as I get a new mixer. I keep falling in and out of love with both the Rytm and A4. I know Iâll hang on to them. Love my OT but you and I are not allowed to talk about the OT anymore! Haha!
Back to topic, Tempest has a great physical interface in that there are knobs everywhere. The envelopes were a little whack and required some creative ModMatrix stuff to get really great kicks. I actually miss the kicks I was getting the most. Outside of my modular, they were some of the best Iâve ever heard!
I really didnât get along with the sequencer. Something just felt off about it to me. Had a few other software issues as it was new and DSI are very very very slow to update things. I want a Pro-2 so bad right now but Iâve had such bad luck with DSI updates that Iâll probably wait until next summer before dropping the hammer on that one. . . . probably.
The polyphonic stuff on the Tempest was awesome. My friend Baseck does some amazing work with his Tempest. The pads were definitely more playable than the RYTM. I dunno if we need to break them in or what but I donât feel that I have any dynamic control when playing the pads. Itâs either mash the fuck out of them or no sound at all! . . . except when using RETRIGS. For some reason that works but we canât record them. Which is another win in the Tempest department.
Iâll keep the AR as I feel it will be better in the long run. They just need to open up the machines a bit.
Thatâs great thanks - I already have those, hadnât seen the tutorial though - so thanks again. But nooooooo, I just get the impression that yours will be loads betterâŚ
Iâm really curious, I would love to know what you guys do!!! Especially with making the A4 sound like the RYTM but also the sounds that youâre making for the RYTM too!!
Come on guys, share some stuff, pretty please??? It will only take a few minuteso to export em zip em up
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We will see. I donât generally take any computers to my studio space. I also donât save my sounds outside of kits so Iâd have to go through and sort them out. Do you have both AR & A4?
Itâs not about making it sound like the RYTM. Itâs more that you can do more with the A4 than you can with the RYTM. The A4 has the 4 voice handicap and no sample support. The RYTM has 8 voices and IMO would be kinda weak without sample support if they were to leave the Machines as is. I feel they must expand them and these were just temporary to get the RYTM into peoples hands. One can still get great sounds out of it. Itâs fun how limiting the machines has made it more difficult for me to do what I hear in my head. I often have to resort to samples and augment them with the analog synthesis. The fx are cool when messing around but are ultimately useless as Iâll use the individual outs as soon as I get a new mixer. I keep falling in and out of love with both the Rytm and A4. I know Iâll hang on to them. Love my OT but you and I are not allowed to talk about the OT anymore! Haha!
Back to topic, Tempest has a great physical interface in that there are knobs everywhere. The envelopes were a little whack and required some creative ModMatrix stuff to get really great kicks. I actually miss the kicks I was getting the most. Outside of my modular, they were some of the best Iâve ever heard!
I really didnât get along with the sequencer. Something just felt off about it to me. Had a few other software issues as it was new and DSI are very very very slow to update things. I want a Pro-2 so bad right now but Iâve had such bad luck with DSI updates that Iâll probably wait until next summer before dropping the hammer on that one. . . . probably.
The polyphonic stuff on the Tempest was awesome. My friend Baseck does some amazing work with his Tempest. The pads were definitely more playable than the RYTM. I dunno if we need to break them in or what but I donât feel that I have any dynamic control when playing the pads. Itâs either mash the fuck out of them or no sound at all! . . . except when using RETRIGS. For some reason that works but we canât record them. Which is another win in the Tempest department.
Iâll keep the AR as I feel it will be better in the long run. They just need to open up the machines a bit. [/quote]
You donât back up??? Eeek!!
Yeah, ok, if itâs a hassle then donât worry!
Yep, have A4 & RYTM, think theyâre very different machines and sound quite distinct from each other, but always wiling to be shown other ways!
Hehe, yeah re. the OT, but hey, moving on, happy to talk about anything, even if itâs about something not working. Just prefer to keep things in perspective and look at the positive even if things are frustrating at times. First world problems are not worth busting a vein over 
Agreed re. RYTM pads, they are not really performance pads exactly. Iâve had some good times with the Quneo & RYTM though and someone was hinting that Elektron are working on the velocity curve implementation so there could well be some improvements there in the not too distant future - thatâs hearsay though so donât take it as writ.
Also quite sure Elektron will develop the RYTM a lot :)[/quote]
A Quneo would probably be awesome with the RYTM!! Cold probably assign different things to the pads along with note triggers. I use a Qunexus, SoftStep and 12 Step. Love their stuff.
FWIW:
I am not âshit at programming drumsâ.
In fact, I won 3rd place in the DSI sound design comp for programming drum sounds and some beats.
Pretty much any subtractive synth can make pretty decent or awesome drum sounds.if you know what you are doing. Thatâs not the point I (and others) are trying to make.
Itâs a good synth, itâs a terrible DRUM MACHINE.[/quote]
I think both the Rytm and the Tempest fall into this catagory. I dont have much experience with the Tempest but the Rytm is basically crap as a standalone drum machine. It doesnât have the sonic pallette to cover many areas like the machinedrum could and it manages (like all Elektron gear) to squash the life out of your samples. However the Rytm is superb as a bass and sound fx box and it sounds beautiful. I imagine this is the case with the Tempest also.
So to summarizeâŚboth crap drum machines both awesome sound boxes.
Neither company would have sold as many if they called them sound boxes tho
I am interested to know what youâre comparing the sample playback sound of the rytm to? To my ears the Rytmâs sample playback sounds rather decentâŚ
It doesnât sound bad but compared to the same samples played from pc there is something missing in the dynamics and the volume is significantly lower. The Octotrack does exactly the same thing too.
It doesnât sound bad but compared to the same samples played from pc there is something missing in the dynamics and the volume is significantly lower. The Octotrack does exactly the same thing too.[/quote]
I like the sound. It fits the analog characteristics nicely.
Iâve started normalizing my samples which makes a world of difference volume-wise. I still have to replace the samples i put in before i started normalizing.