The Rytm Input : High headroom?

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. Itā€™s 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?

Iā€™d expect it to appear at both L&R if you used a TS ! edit

So what was being asked figures !

Iā€™m 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.

Iā€™ve suspected this for a while, but I may be wrong, so Iā€™m hoping Simon will clarify.

I very rarely use a TS, and when I have I canā€™t recall it being hard panned! But I do recall it being quieter.

No, it shouldnā€™t make a difference in signal strength. The is that it doesnā€™t 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 ā€˜quietā€™ in that circumstance, sure you could hear the A4 at the ins but it wasnā€™t 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
Youā€™ve got to imagine that thereā€™s been some wisdom thrown at this and itā€™s not just a token/compromised last minute add on. Either way, all the noise about these being quiet verging on unusable seems reasonable - I donā€™t get the sense that splitting a TS aot using a TRS was a determining factor in this collective viewpoint, but iā€™d 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, itā€™s possible to part insert a TS cable and get the signal at both L & R and it naturally sounds louder as itā€™s not just coming out one side

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Thereā€™s some terminology mistakes here but I get what youā€™re saying :stuck_out_tongue:

What components would need to be changed in the signal path to change level input?

Letā€™s 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. :imp:

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 canā€™t see?

Would be good to know. :slight_smile:

Iā€™ve had my RYTM since they first came outā€¦but Iā€™ve only just recently actually felt the need to try using the external audio in.

having read a lot of stuff on this topic I wasnā€™t 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 ā€˜hotā€™ output - & I do have the ā€˜hiddenā€™ 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 isnā€™t 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. thereā€™s no problem interfacing the TR-& & RYTM via a single cable.

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The input into the AR is quiet, but itā€™s not a deal breaker by any means, itā€™s just not flexible for the variety of levels off different instruments.

For example, Iā€™m thinking youā€™re using the boost function on the TR8. Off the top of my head, doesnā€™t that effectively raise the output level by 14db?

Perhaps the audio input is designed for +4db. Itā€™s this kind of information Iā€™m after :slight_smile:

A similar boost for audio input would have been a nice touch, and Iā€™m curious why it or some kind of attenuation wasnā€™t included?

Cost issue? Because Electron donā€™t make many obvious design flaws, usually thereā€™s 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 oā€™clock

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.

iā€™ve always preferred compressing first then EQing but this is the fun part of dynamics processing and probably a whole other discussion :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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 :slight_smile:

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?