I think I might have one answer that might help people, but I could be wrong.
The input is stereo, so it takes R+T input. If you insert a standard mono jack, does it only receive half the gain?
Would be good to know.
I would get a pre-amp, not a compressor, to boost the signal before interfacing with the inputs on the Rytm.
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Simon can you answer my thread one above yours?
A TR cable - No, but it will be hard panned left. Itās just an analog insert to the main mix.
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Are you sure a mono input into the AR will be hard panned left? If so, effectively you lose half for amplitude, yes?
Iād expect it to appear at both L&R if you used a TS ! edit
So what was being asked figures !
Iām trying to clarify this as I suspect the input is quiet because people are using a regular mono TS jack at half the signal of a TR jack.
Iāve suspected this for a while, but I may be wrong, so Iām hoping Simon will clarify.
I very rarely use a TS, and when I have I canāt recall it being hard panned! But I do recall it being quieter.
No, it shouldnāt make a difference in signal strength. The is that it doesnāt have an amplifier for the inputs. Simple as that.
If you are using an instrument that does not provide a hot enough signal, you should use a pre-amp, or balance the volume between the two.
And yes, it will hard pan a mono signal. The input is a stereo input, straight to the compressor stage. No digital control of it or anything.
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I use an adaptor cable with TRS, never tried with TS at the input - It was āquietā in that circumstance, sure you could hear the A4 at the ins but it wasnāt keeping up with the Rytm track levels if you let them drift up. The ins on the OT are taming the input signal by about 12bB afaicr - perhaps the ins are tamed here too to protect the total levels going into the compressor
Youāve got to imagine that thereās been some wisdom thrown at this and itās not just a token/compromised last minute add on. Either way, all the noise about these being quiet verging on unusable seems reasonable - I donāt get the sense that splitting a TS aot using a TRS was a determining factor in this collective viewpoint, but iād be happy to give it a spin later to revisit this
.
but it sure would be interesting to get some design/usage insights on this from Elektron
Indeed it does ! Slightly confused why I assumed it would be any different now that I think it through !
Anyway, fwiw, itās possible to part insert a TS cable and get the signal at both L & R and it naturally sounds louder as itās not just coming out one side
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Thereās some terminology mistakes here but I get what youāre saying 
What components would need to be changed in the signal path to change level input?
Letās just lay this to rest. The input uses a TRS insert cable. Using a mono cable will only add to your problems : )
Works! I pulled out my Rolls Monitor Amp. 
Simon, it seems as if this is a design error, in practical terms, in terms of how your users use the AR.
What was the reason behind having such no attenuator/booster for the input? Was it a cost factor, or has it been intentionally designed this way, for a reason I canāt see?
Would be good to know. 
Iāve had my RYTM since they first came outā¦but Iāve only just recently actually felt the need to try using the external audio in.
having read a lot of stuff on this topic I wasnāt exactly hopeful of a great resultā¦so imagine my surprise when my TR-8 interfaced quite beautifully via a TRS insert type leadā¦ it sounds fantastic going throught the RYTMs Compressor & final output sectionā¦& mixes superbly well with the RYTMs sounds too. Drum machine heaven.
Now, perhaps the Roland Corp have blessed the TR-8 with a particularly āhotā output - & I do have the āhiddenā internal gains in the TR-8 quite high,as I like to have plenty of scope on the fadersā¦& yes the master output is on fullā¦but then again I work like this on all my gear really.
So isnāt this exactly what this AR ext in issue about ultimately : gain structure??
I tend to have internal levels ( synth, sample & Track ) pretty low in the AR. The master volume is up high & often levels are also fairly high in other output sections such as the compressor. The gain is then quite carefully set via my mixer - nice & hot but nowhere near clipping. This seems to work perfectly - I have plenty of scope for mixing internal AR voicesā¦loads of control over how the ARs FX sound & the external level in from the TR-8 is just fine.
I appreciate other external instruments might not be blessed with a nice hot output, but I can only comment on my own experience - i.e. thereās no problem interfacing the TR-& & RYTM via a single cable.
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The input into the AR is quiet, but itās not a deal breaker by any means, itās just not flexible for the variety of levels off different instruments.
For example, Iām thinking youāre using the boost function on the TR8. Off the top of my head, doesnāt that effectively raise the output level by 14db?
Perhaps the audio input is designed for +4db. Itās this kind of information Iām after
A similar boost for audio input would have been a nice touch, and Iām curious why it or some kind of attenuation wasnāt included?
Cost issue? Because Electron donāt make many obvious design flaws, usually thereās some reasonā¦
when i run my OP-1 through the AR i usually have the track levels on the AR at 50% or less and the master volume knob at 3 oāclock
I tend to use the OP-1 with very little overdrive to minimize noise and it works well for me but it always varies a bit from patch to patch.
Essentially I make sure I reduce the volume of all the internal RYTM tracks until the external output cuts through to my satisfaction. Afterwards I compress or eq the final signal to make up the lost volume.
i do this with a stereo compressor going into a stereo eq. you can replicate this in all DAWs and even on the OT by using a THRU track with the EQ and COMP fx blocks.
iāve always preferred compressing first then EQing but this is the fun part of dynamics processing and probably a whole other discussion 
I just came here to say that I have my A4 going from 2 mono 1/4" (aka TS) to 1 stereo 1/4" (aka TRS) into the AR and it takes some gain staging but but everything gels together just fine
Now if I could just deal with that noise floorā¦
With the new pulse trigger Im hoping the audio input works well for adding a percussion unit!
Anyone adding audio to the input?