Samples or synthesis ? RYTM MKII vs DT/DN

Elektron Gear
#1

Hi Elektronauts !

I’m trying to make a minimal setup for music production with Elektron gear and I’m torn between a standalone RYTM MKII or a Digitakt/Digitone combo.
So let’s talk about these awesome machines. :heat:

My thoughts at the moment :

RYTM MKII

  • analog feeling
  • more filters (bandwith very handy)
  • performance & scenes
  • cool drum engines but they sometimes need a lot of tweaking to get good sounds
  • dual VCO is as the drum engines very interesting but it seems to be all about sweet spots so lack of versatility and gets harsh very easily
  • amp is weird ? and no amp reset

Digitakt / Digitone

  • workflow a bit more immediate
  • love the FM Digitone’s synthesis, way more versatile than the VCO (obviously :pl:)
  • Digitakt’s sample mangling is a bit deeper (e.g granular)
  • I think i prefer patterns than kit
  • lack of bandwith filter or 2nd page EQ on Digitakt
  • ctrl all is really nice but not as powerful as performance

I feel like it would be a more streamlined and versatile workflow using the Digitakt for drums/percs/fx and the Digitone for creating bass/synths/pads but maybe it would lack the performance capabilities of the RYTM MKII ?

Do you prefer using samples or synthesis for your synths ? For your drums ?

I would be interested to hear what you guys think about these machines. :content:

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#2

Nothing wrong with sampling analogue stuff. Nothing at all.

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#3

I find the DT/DN combo a very perfect match,
Also think that this setup will gave you a broader pallet to work in.

And yes I also have the workflow of using DT for drums, percussion, tweaked voice sample etc
and DN for the bass/synths/pads

I would be doubting about the combo DT/DN or RYTM/DN :wink:

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#4

The unique advantage for me with DT/DN is that you can use DT for sequence DN, this is handy if you want one song with a lead that is changing on frequency and melody without be bother with the no kit architecture

#5

If you have no idea whether you want a sampler, a digital synth, or an analogue drum machine, why are you only considering Elektron gear? Why not other manufacturers?

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#6

I’m certain you want the DT/DN.

The AR struggles with chords (you can get 3notes if you use another device). Its VCOs are not stable when playing across the note range. Doubly so if you want FM effects. LFO pitch tracking is called out as unstable in the manual, if I remember right.

The DN is 8-note poly without workarounds. It is designed to play accurate pitches, in full poly, across the note range.

Your initial message makes it seem like you already prefer the DN sound over the AR, and that seems the most important factor to me. You gotta enjoy the sound-making process, not constantly fighting its inherent qualities to get what you want.

In my case, I wanted a pounding and noisy analog drum machine, so I got the AR. The sampling is a handy bonus.

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#7

The DN does great drums too. You could start there and add a sampler later on. Lots of options on that front: OT, AR, DT, Tracker, MPC Live/One, SP16, Blackbox, etc etc

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#8

…if drums get created and treated via realtime synthesis, they tend to be way more versatile than based on a good sounding moment, once frozen into a little piece of an audio snippet…

so it’s always good to have both options at hand…

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#9

not sure I could have AR replace DN ever. if I were just using DN for drums, then maybe. even then it’s a stretch, as DN’s drums are different from AR’s. both are good; but you have to commit to one or the other then.

but the AR replacing DT? yeah I can see that. you still get sampling (even though, yes, there are some differences), plus you add analog drums and a VCO machine.

I guess my point is: AR/DN is the most flexible combo out of what you’ve shown interest in. but if you’re more of a sample person than a synthesis person (drum and otherwise) then go for DT/DN. you CAN make great music with just the AR, but it’s going to be different music. it’s up to you to decide if that’s your kind of music though…

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#10

I’m used to Elektron machines, I’ve had M:S, M:C and DT. I’m pretty sure I need samples and synthesis but I was mostly wondering about the drum engines and the depth of the DVCO.

The more I think about it (and watch videos :nerd:), the more I agree with you !
I think the RYTM is a wonderful machine especially for techno, but I think I’m gonna need the depth of the Digitone’s synthesis.
Thanks mate. :thup:

100% agree, I think that would be the most powerful option. I’m just wondering if the kits & patterns live good together. (also pricy combo :pl:)

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#11

they’ll live fine together as long you understand how they work. plenty of people use these machines together.

also you can get a mk1 AR for cheaper than the mk2, and it’ll sit prettier beside the DN :+1:

#12

Do you know if the Digitone can be controlled by the RYTM perf & scenes ? That would be :heat:

#13

I prefer synthesis but got MD with break samples.

If you won’t use break or long samples, think you can go with the third option. :slight_smile:

First Digitone for drums/percs and second Digitone for bass/pad/lead.

#14

Double digitone combo, nice idea. :cool:

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#15

AR/Digitone gives drums/synths/sampling and the best performance platform by far.

The DT is great, but that Control All trick becomes cliched really quickly…

The AR is on another planet when it comes to real time performance/jamming/improvising. I don’t think there’s another machine that can get so much out of a single pattern.

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#16

DN + AR2 is an awesome combo. If you go DN + DT I’d recommend a saturation/distortion unit of some kind to beef up the sound when sampling. Then your palette is super broad.

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#17

Yeah I guess it would be the best combo ! The DN would love the RYTM’s master compressor & distortion. :heat:

I’m just wondering about the jamming workflow with RYTM’s perfs & kits vs Digitones tweaking/reloading & patterns.

#18

You just need to adopt the mentality that it is achievable… it might not be the simplistic utopian functionality that we would all love to have (same with having one master ‘save’ function across all devices… :hugs:)… but when you have the AR/DN set up, you know what you have to do for each machine.
The ‘pros’ outweigh the ‘cons’ 99-1.

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#19

Yeah, it’s interesting, I don’t do a lot of kind of jamming out / live knob tweaking with the DN, I tend to find the sweet spot and then use LFOs to modulate within a fixed set of parameters. With FM a small tweak can have a drastic effect on the sound. The DN would really benefit from quick performance macros like the AR. Seems like a missed opportunity on the Digitone Keys that the user assignable encoders above the keyboard are literally just single parameter assignments and can’t have defined ranges or multiple parameter assignments.

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#20

I’m just wondering about the jamming workflow with RYTM’s perfs & kits vs Digitones tweaking/reloading & patterns.

Scenes on the Rytm are great for this, in that they allow you to lock up to 48 parameters to the 12 scenes. Nice way to quickly high/low pass certain tracks, change the attack/decay or throw some delay in a kick or snare with a quick tap of a pad.

Between scenes, performances, muting with the pads and using the “fill” trig condition (slide a trig to the left on the grid, use “fill” condition on one trig, and “no fill” on the other trig it’s nudged against) and you can quickly get a ton of variation on a single beat.

I loved the Digitone while I had it, it was more about the journey than the destination, if that makes sense. Rytm gives me quick and immediate, dialed-in shortcuts to the tricks I want.

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