Thoughts on my experience of owning an Analog Rytm MK2

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

Hello, dear Elektronauts! I thought for a long time whether to write this post or not. First of all, I want to thank Elektron and their support team for helping people who have problems with their Elektron devices.

As the title says, the post is about the Analog Rytm Mk2.

About a year ago, I bought a new analog Rytm mk2. A few months after the activation, problems started with the transfer application and the overbridge application. After that, the track-level encoder went out of order. I wrote about almost all the issues here on the forum.
Three months ago, Elektron sent me a new AR MK2, which had exactly the same problems except for the track level encoder. After a very long conversation with support, I was convinced that the problems mentioned above were not caused by me.

I also want to say that the new paint (black) with which the AR mk2 is painted cannot withstand cleaning with baby wipes. Of course, it is possible that it is caused by low-quality baby wipes, but I can assure you that the Rytm mk1, which I had before I bought the Rytm mk2, was cleaned with exactly the same baby wipes, and it did not leave any stains on the body (exterior). I also want to say that I clean all my music devices first with baby wipes and then with a microfiber cloth.

Apart from these problems, which, in my opinion, are very funny when the price of the unit is 1800 dollars, the new backlights are too bright for a dark environment. Also, the pads are bright. I have also written a post about this, where people told me to wear sunglasses :))

After sending a future request to Elektron about this, I hope that users will be able to control the brightness of the device like on Octatrack.

Resample capability, quick performance mode, and higher USB bandwidth—those are the main reasons why the Mk2 is 1000 dollars more expensive than the previous model ? We probably all agree that we are elektronauts because we trust Elektron products, which I can’t say about the Rytm mk2 due to its bugs and lags.

We need future updates and stable devices!

#2

Thank you for sharing, and I’m sorry to hear the problems you’ve had.

I would respectfully say that at this point, any issues regarding Transfer or Overbridge not working are down to the endless variables associated with the setup of the user, rather than the software itself. Not least because Transfer and Overbridge work flawlessly for the vast majority, including myself. From the computer your using, the settings, the USB cable and permissions, there are so many things that could cause complications.

I’d be happy to help troubleshoot if you can provide specific info.

The baby wipes issue - I personally wouldn’t use those, only a very lightly damp cloth at most. I appreciate if it’s good for a baby, it should theoretically be good for anything, but you can’t be too careful and in the end, metal faceplates and rubber knobs are quite different to human skin and react differently to various chemicals as a result. Sounds like you are careful with your gear which is great!

In terms of the LEDs being too bright, this is very much a personal opinion. I’ve had no issues with this myself, but agree it would be nice to see an option to amend the brightness.

Cost to value is another personal issue. One could factor in the cost of the new materials used to construct the Rytm Mk2, such as the different keycaps, the significantly larger and higher quality screen and the improved pads, not to mention the R&D cost to get it to that point. However, none of this necessarily means it’s worth the extra money for you, and I know what its like to be soured by an otherwise brilliant product due to issues I’ve faced incorporating it into my setup and technical issues faced.

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#4

Screenshot from AR MKI user manual:

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image1125Ă—271 67.5 KB

Hi Udi9,
Please read the post before writing a reply.

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#6

I believe the vast majority of buyers have never encountered the issues you had. It’s unfortunate you’ve been this unlucky with the device but your anecdote does not demonstrate that the devices are not stable (nor buggy). Usually people who encounter issues will be the most vocal with any product.

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#7

@Udi9
As the post says, I’m the former owner of the Ar Mk1, which I have been cleaning with exactly the same baby wipe for approximately 5 years. I’ve had my AR mk2 for over 3 months, and it’s already tarnished.

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#8

Baby wipes or Surface wipes or Antibacterial wipes of any kind are basically an ecological scourge - none of these should be used on any Electrical device you care about because you cannot manage the chemical content nor amount of liquid pooling or dripping into the cracks.

There shouldn’t be any need for these - but when you do need something a slightly damp cloth or a slightly damp microfibre cloth corner is all you should need - these are much gentler than woven plastics

Never needed one in my 10 years ownership

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#9

@victorcampos
Hi, I didn’t think that reflecting the problem and writing it in such a community as Elektronauts would be considered as an anecdote :))
But nothing surprises me after sunglasses.

Cheers ^^

#10

What? It is an anecdote, it is your personal anecdote telling your experience, how is that not an anecdote? :thinking:

Edit: “The meaning of ANECDOTE is a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident”

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#12

image

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#13

Even though the MK1 manual says the same thing as the MK2 in regards to proper cleaning, that doesn’t mean that they are going to react the same way when you do something outside of what the manufacture suggests. It would be impossible to test all different cleaning products from all different parts of the world on every machine. Like, how could that even be written in the manual?

“Use only water. No but seriously, this time we REALLY mean it. REALLY only use water this time.”

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#14

Anecdotal evidence is personal experience, I don’t think it was intended as a slur.

If you would like, I’m happy to chat to see if we can diagnose the issues you’re facing. Either here or in private message. No pressure. :slight_smile:

#15

Hi there,
I cleaned the Rytm mk1 with baby wipes for 5 years, which did not leave any traces, and the new product purchased 3 months ago, after 5–6 very thorough cleanings, already left spots.

Elektron is known for its durable devices, but I can’t say the same about the analog Rytm mk2. This is my personal opinion. Of course, everyone can express their own opinion. That’s exactly why I wrote this post.

#16

curious how did you get from me thinking out loud for myself to “people told me to”?

yes the pads are bright, yes we have a feature request thread where many people like us posted this feature request, yes I’ve sent feature request directly to elektron email.

other then that nothing we can do really, it is what it is.

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#17

I don’t understand why you are so defensive in the tone of these posts. No one is trying to stop you from sharing your opinions, from what I’ve seen it’s been quite a supportive bunch.

The only thing people brought up is that in the manual it’s explicitly said to use at maximum a bit of water for cleaning, which you didn’t do and now you are comparing your experience of using something else to clean (not in the recommended ways to clean per the manual) and saying that because you did it on the Mk1 you tried on the Mk2 and it’s been tarnished. Oh well, it sucks but it’s not the way you should be cleaning either machine, it’s awesome that it didn’t create any issues on the Mk1 but it does on the Mk2 and probably that’s why the manual says to only use water. Elektron can’t know what exactly is in the baby wipes you’ve been using, maybe something there works perfectly fine for the Mk1 finishing but not on the Mk2.

I’m sorry it has caused you issues but it’s exactly because of that the manual states to only use water :confused:

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#18

What issues have you had with Transfer and Overbridge exactly? What bugs and lags are you referring to?

#19

Hi there,

Why did you decide that “people told me to wear sunglasses” written in the post is related to you?

Im not only an elektronauts member :))

#20

image

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#21

The other poster saying to “wear sunglasses” was clearly joking :thinking:

#22

so… you want to tell me… I’m not the only one thinking about it??

#23

Hi there, thanks for response
Uploading samples from transfer to AR2 for example
The transfer application gives me an error. I have checked the samples that I am trying to transfer to an AR2 and there is no such error on devices that can load samples - mean samples are not corrupted.
not even mk1 gave me that error when I had one.