Rytm, Elektron, Digitakt - How does the sound compare?

Elektron Gear
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Hello all!

So I’m trying to find a partner for my Digitone, having recently started my second foray into hardware. I have been reading a lot of posts on here to try and help me find the right machine for me, and while I feel pretty clued up, I’m no closer to coming to a decision!

Up until last week I was pretty sure my next box would be Octatrack, or potentially Digitakt to save a few pennies. However… I friend as thrown in an unexpected curb ball by lending me their Rytm MK2, and I am blown away by what it can do to samples, by the simple merit of it’s analog filters and overdrive. I make fairly distorted, “raw” (yawn) techno, and the sounds I was getting out of its sampler were right up my street. My budget is pretty limited, so this leaves me with a few choices, and some questions which I was hoping some of you fine people might be able to help me out with? In no particular order -

Octatrack MK1 - I’ve heard it described as very “transparent” and “dull”. How is the overdrive and the filter’s drive at colouring samples? Would these two be able to get some way toward that raw, warm sound? To be honest, in terms of features this is the box that appeals to me the most as it seems like a paired down 8 track Ableton in a box, but if it is very clean sounding, then I feel I might not gel with the sound much.

Digitakt - The sound is supposed to be amazing, and I love the look of the performance features. But I have read that it is a very clean sound. Can I get it to where I want to go with its overdrive? Can this box be made to sound dirty and warm? I love how the two overdrive’s on Digitone sound when stacked, but on their own they’re often quite subtle, is it also the case with Digitakt’s overdrive?

Rytm MK1 - I’m only after the character it imparts to samples and the sequencer here, I have no need to resample (samples will be made in Ableton) and the analog synth machines will only be an added bonus for me, not the main event. If I get the MK1, will the filter and overdrive have the same character as the MK2?

Of course in all these examples I will be using samples I have already put through multiple saturators, overdrives, tape emulators, compressors etc. So the machine itself is not expected to do ALL the work. But having heard first hand what Rytm MK2 can do to my samples I’m worried I will feel I’m missing out with the cleaner sound of the other two options.

Thanks all, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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I have an OT MK2 and DT. OT and DT sound surprisingly similar if you make sure you’re set to 24-bit on OT (most people don’t realize this when comparing the two). I think the extra FX you have on the OT will help you get more range, though people have different opinions on the quality/datedness of them. I personally think the filter and lofi effects are great, and the delay and reverbs do their job as well, but to be sure I would try and see if you could get a hold of one at a store to test out for yourself. The DT is very “accurate” sounding, and you won’t get the same level of distorted/“analog”-sounding quality with its overdrive, so not sure if that’s what you’re looking for.

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Welcome! You answered your own question here imo – get the Rytm Mki. You already know you love the sound of it and you can have some fun mixing in the analog synthesis engines too.

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It is very transparent, but it’s super flexible. I do like the filter drive myself, but I can’t honestly tell you how it compares to analog filter drives like on the RYTM or whatever. How “warm” your sound is comes from the source itself, I’d say. Once you get to resampling and mangling and coloring all bets are off. If you really want the awesome features of the OT but extra warmth, why not also get an analog heat or drive?

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On the Rytm MK I vs. MK II idea, also note that the MK I is bottlenecked over USB, so Overbridge and some of the new functionality is limited a bit (number of tracks streamed, class compliant audio, etc.), so if those matter, do look a bit deeper into the differences on the last firmware release thread.

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Haha, yes I think you could be right. I guess I’m just a bit gutted I can’t get that sound with Octatrack, as I love its feature set.

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Thanks for the info about the filter, leaning towards Rytm, but I think I might need to audition an Octatrack first! The point about your source being warm is a good one, I think my samples are pretty warm already, I stack a ton of saturation, overdrive, reamping etc when making samples, so of course this will contribute to the sound I was getting out of my friends Rytm, but the extra sauce in the overdrive was a total surprise to me.

Also, heat/drive and OT is a great idea! I will do some research.

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Thanks for your input! Hummm, interesting to know about the bottlenecking. Overbridge is not a major consideration. But I know it will make life easier when trying to get tracks into Ableton for final mixdown.

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I have RYTM mk1, OT mk1 and DT. Rytm has the best sound for gritty warm beats. For me the only problem with RYTM mk1 is the lack of sampling. OT is kind of dull soundwise, ofcourse you can resample with it but the fx is just kind of boring, i find the red korg esx has more interesting fx. For me the most fun and fastest techno machine is DT. The basic sound from DT is very clear and crisp. Sampling/resampling is so easy on the DT and i often resample loops on it thru the compressor pitching up/down overdriving bit crushing, using delay and reverb to make some rumble then resample etc. mangling. The DT is very versatile if you like easy sampling and fast working resampler. You can get nice gritty dynamic sounds by resampling over and over again and again. But it is still not the same as analog filter+distortion. For me RYTM mk2 would be ideal because of sampling. All depends on the working method so if youre okay with transfering samples from a pc, RYTM mk1, if you have a slightest doubt about that then mk2. In the end i would only suggest a RYTM mk1 if its VERY cheap.

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Thanks for the reply! Ok, so this is interesting, it’s good to here Digitakt can be made to sound warm and rough as I am considering it as a temporary partner for my digitone while I save up for Rytm or Octatrack (I have really clicked with digitone, but without something to use with it I find I just put it down and load up Ableton instead :frowning:)

I am definitely not bothered about resampling. I have a ton of samples I have already made ready to go and I have a huge range of software plug ins which I intent to continue getting value out of by making samples of them in Ableton. But what would you consider cheap for a Rytm MK1? I’m seeing units for around £800 minimum.

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btw, great community here! Thanks for the replies so far. :slight_smile:

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I’m going to add to my comment above because of what you have said to others about getting one and saving for another at a later date. The DT will reproduce your samples perfectly every time (same thing for OT) and if you’ve already processed them with saturators and other analog-aping plugins, then you’ll be absolutely fine with DT. Plus, it slots next to a Digitone perfectly, is smaller, and has OB for instant multitracking in a DAW. It could be the one to go for while you decide on your final setup in the months to come. Also, this is cool (though extremely time consuming!) for degrading samples:

Edit: one more thing to consider. DT and AR are mono only. OT is stereo, if that’s something you would like to have at some point :slight_smile:

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Solution, buy them all.

The dt can definitely get dirty and do some good resampling but it doesn’t have the analog internals so it’s logical AR can do more.

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Thanks Dude! Great video, love Ricky’s channel but somehow missed this one.

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DT can do dirt.
Check this, pure DT, live take:

AR is amazing, but I would definitely get a mk2 over a mk1. One day you’ll have the money and you’ll be able to treat yourself with this cool machine…
In the meantime, go for DT :slight_smile:

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I too own the Digitone and analog four, and the digis are WAY faster to use for my taste. For me its all about the easy/fast way when creating, i find myself thinking too much when working with the “old” analog black boxes. The only big + with the analogs are the sound.

It sounds like you would do really good with a rytm mk1. The filters, overdrive and compressor are very nice for any kind of banging, the sample engine is somewhat lofi but sounds good (is it 12 bit? maybe im wrong). The DT cant sound like that but still for me the way of making a simple kick or anykind of loop with a good sampled kick and then resampling it over and over and layering etc. is just so rewarding and the size matters too. I didnt understand at first how awesome resampling is.
Its hard to know how important different methods etc. is for someone else. But RYTM is very amazing soundwise. For the price its hard to say, i live in finland and i think i have seen someone selling Rytm mk1 for 600€, my memory is bad, hard to say what is cheap because i wouldnt buy one (sorry). I would still probably go for a Mk2 or DT. DT if you want the possibility to sound clean aswell, maybe pair it with analog heat, i have it too but have not used it for a while.

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It is very transparent but not at all dull, it doesn’t colour the sound like some samplers, but I’d hardly call that dull. The filter is very nice for dirtying stuff up, and the EQ is very good too.

But - I think given that you already like the sound of Rytm that would be your best bet, you can always try the others later.

I had Digitakt, I didn’t like it anywhere near as much as Rytm or OT, it sounds great but I didn’t like the UI as much, compared to Digitone DT feels a bit too cramped to me, YMMV.

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Yeah, I’ll be honest, in most instances I would be more than happy with transparent, as it gives you some level of control. But I just got so excited to hear what Rytm could do (and I honestly had no interest in it until I used one, I’m not someone who gets wobble knees about the importance of analog usually).

In what way was Digitakt cramped compared to Digitone? It seems like it would be less cramped looking at the layout?

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DAMN i misread and thought this was AR all the time. In the end its just the samples that matters, DT to the maxwingreatnessawesomeepic!

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for me digitakt is less cramped than digitone or the fact that there is less options maybe. but thats just me and i use both alot

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