Rytm MKII reliabilty

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

Hello

Bought a Rytm MKII new and unfortunately it has issues fresh from the box including the “missing cal: pads” error, slow or non boot up and UI freezes. The retailer has offered a no quibble replacement.

My concern moving forward is, what is the overall reliability of the MKII? Obviously just looking on forums isn’t representative as people will post more often about failing units than they will flawless units.

Have Elektron made any kind of official statement about numbers, solutions and causes? I know they claim to have addressed the issue in an OS update but I upgraded the Rytm to 1.40D and the problems persist. I’m worried they’re clutching at straws or hoping for the best and that ultimately they’ll do a hardware revision and those of us who have one already will be unlucky and just have to put up with an unreliable machine. Maybe they’ve done a hardware revision already. Some retailers in the UK are carrying the Rytm at around £1,215 whereas Gear4Music (normally very competitve) are rocking there’s at £1,359. Is this a “later batch”?

Furthermore, I could get a new unit and it be fine only to start glitching in a few months time (I’ve seen at least one post along those lines) in which case I’m stuck with a repair rather than a replacement.

I hope the numbers are tiny and I just got unlucky but in another thread there’s at least one other person who also got their Rytm from Juno which might suggest the problems are with “batches” in which case it’d be sensible to move retailer.

On the plus side my initial impressions were very positive. Elektron take my money but only if the thing don’t let me down, right? There’s nothing like reliabilty issues to kill a hardware company.

Danger Will Robinson! Danger Will Robinson!

Jim

Rytm issues and reliability
Have the Analog Rytm MK2 bugs/problems been fixed?
#2

Been saving up for a high end drum machine. Wanted to see if the past issues with the MK2 Rytm are fixed or still being worked on by Elektron team. So far really dig my Analog 4 MK2 and Octatrack MK2 which have been rock solid since I have owned them over the past few months.

#3

Other than a very few issues reported loudly by a couple people, my understanding is the RYTM is, and has always been, generally a very reliable unit for the vast and silent majority of owners.

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#4

Haven’t had a single problem with Rytm mkii

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#5

ditto here. my mk2 (1 month old) has no issues either.

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#6

kewl beans glad to hear that. I will probably save up this year and see what other things come up. Been using my OT and A4 as drum/bass beat making machines and they do well but I want pads for knocking out beats.

#7

I bought an AR2 from one of the first batches that came out, but it quickly had problems booting up (as in it wouldn’t), so it was returned to Sweetwater. The new replacement unit I got has been trouble free since the get go (about 6 months now). Fingers crossed.

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#8

i think at the moment Elektron is not reliable.

problems with overbridge
sticky knobs in digitakt
wrong leds in A4 mk2
wrong pads in AR mk2
Heat MK2 after only 1,5 y MK1
Heat soundcard drivers were pretty bad
I bought a new A4MK2, sold it, the new owner has screen problems and elektron says the machine is on someone elses name (not on my name)… really suchs, because I was the first owner and I dont want problems when I behave honestly!
etc… etc… etc…

You name it, I had problems with it. My store in Holland doesn’t sell elektron at the moment, they say 50% goes back to elektron because of problems, that’s too much!

But… i decided to buy a new AR mk2. New, because I was afraid of having problems
I bought it after positive update stories last week
I also bought it because my AR mk1 was my favorite machine ever… I sold it to buy an MK2, and I was in the situation of not having an instrument for a while.

Now I have the AR MK2
it is great, no problems (yet), just an amazing machine, also the new DuoVCO machine is cool!

I hope the waveform can be seen in the screen when sample is selected, just like digitakt
I hope overbridge will work
we will see…

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#9

I bought a brand new Rytm MK 2 a month ago… zero issues.

#10

Sorry Meriphew… didn’t mean to reply specifically to you! That was meant for the OP :slight_smile:

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#11

So far zero issues with my MK2 OT and A4. Love both and they pair well together. Saving up now for high end drum machine.

#12

The waiting and the problems I had were nothing
When looking back while playing the new machine
I love this Rytm mk2

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#13

It’s an amazing drum machine for sure but my second unit is glitchy too. Some pads will trigger adjacent pads. The kick drum is particularly susceptible.

I can’t stomach dealing with it yet. I’ve a Post-It note beside it that reads “Return before March 2019”.

I won’t go via the retailer as I’ll be out of the loop. I’ll return it direct to Elektron before the warranty runs out. No doubt I’ll have to pay for postage.

I’ve previously owned a Monomachine, a Machinedrum and an Octatrack MKI. They were fine.

Engineers get stuff wrong sometimes or manufacturers can fall foull of issues anywhere along their supply chain. I think Elektron’s no quibble policy with regard to the AR MKII is a tacit acknowledgment something went wrong at some point for some machines. Don’t forget it’s the SAME issue across all the affected units. That’s something other than just the average failure rate for a given product.

I’m not sore at Elektron or claiming their going down the pan. I just don’t want one pad to trigger another when it shouldn’t.

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#15

mine is glitch free since the return, only thing is there is something loose inside it , when picked up you can hear it rattle…for me no reason to send it back, but its not how its suposed to be…
did not made me stop to buy the digitone and recently the digitakt also …no i really want and need overbridge

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#16

You have a built in shaker machine!
All joking aside though, it’s a shame for such a great box to be subject to these problems, but at least Elektron are addressing them…

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#17

well i could sample the rattle an d use it in my tacks…:slight_smile:

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#18

I think sometimes some voices stop sounding
No idea what to do… Sometimes after turning it off an on it works again
Happened twice to me in 2 weeks

#19

You could, you should, I would!:clown_face:

#20

a rattle is a very good reason to send it back

#21

Interested in one but have been scared off by the problems the unit seemed to have a year ago with some hardware specific things like heating etc

One year later is it safe to buy one?