Same here, I use the Volca Sample as a one-shot companion to the Octatrack. While I’m slightly limited by it and dream of the features that an Analog Rytm would provide - synced songs in the Arranger, save feature (!), stronger sequencer, easier to work with live - it’s still amazingly powerful.
If I’d ask for just one thing, it would be sustainability - let me export or save my patterns in some way, any way, so that I don’t have to start deleting things when it’s full, which it will be eventually. Obviously, it can import and export data - the samples - and it’s a digital machine. So hopefully, someone else other than Korg will figure this out through the SDK which I’m sure is exactly why they’re betting on and then problem solved. Ta-da.
Same here, I use the Volca Sample as a one-shot companion to the Octatrack. While I’m slightly limited by it and dream of the features that an Analog Rytm would provide - synced songs in the Arranger, save feature (!), stronger sequencer, easier to work with live - it’s still amazingly powerful.
If I’d ask for just one thing, it would be sustainability - let me export or save my patterns in some way, any way, so that I don’t have to start deleting things when it’s full, which it will be eventually. Obviously, it can import and export data - the samples - and it’s a digital machine. So hopefully, someone else other than Korg will figure this out through the SDK which I’m sure is exactly why they’re betting on and then problem solved. Ta-da.[/quote]
Ooooh yes, I can totally see how you would want this…
For me it’s irrelevant, I see source material as disposable information. Sometimes it’s saved separately, or it is automatically, but more often than not it’s the audio recording that’s the product, not the programming to make that audio product. If I do anything on the Sample and I want to keep it, I record it into audio.
Same for any instrument.
I know some folks work the other way, but I grew up learning guitar and well, you can’t save a damn thing on those 
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Totally agree with that, being a pianist myself to begin with 
For me, it really is an extension of the Octatrack, though. So the recorded audio you’re referring to, I apply the same principle to my work. Only part of that audio goes into the Volca Sample as one shots.
Seems overkill to get an ARytm to fit that purpose instead. But looking around, nothing matches what I need better than the ARytm. It’s just so damn expensive for its purpose, and a waste of a fine analog engine (I’m covered in that area with instrument whose sound I prefer over the Rytm’s).
Something just occurred to me, based on an earlier suggestion in this thread regarding the Akai SPX16.
Since I’m considering a Rytm, and use a Volca Sample now, I can definitely get by with 8 additional voices for my one shots. Why I’m considering a Rytm is mainly because of the sequencer, the song mode syncing with the Octa, and a few other things. Their tight connection to each other, basically.
But the Octa also has 8 MIDI tracks, of course, which I’m currently not using.
So if I hooked it up to the Volca Sample, but used the Octa’s Midi sequencer instead of the Volca’s, I’d get:
- All patterns within the Octa’s Arrange mode (Volca don’t have a Song mode - ok, it has, but really, it doesn’t count)
- Saved patterns (Volca don’t save)
- Mutes, tempo shifts, loops and whatnot from the Volca Sample, controlled by the Octa MIDI sequencer
And all other perks that come with this.
So basically, my current rig but the Volca controlled by the Octa’s MIDI sequencer instead of the Volca running its own sequences.
Does that make sense?
Why yes, it does. I’ve tried it for an hour now. Situation resolved.
For what I need, this setup is perfect.
It’s pretty powerful. Basically, you get an eight voice drum machine with a great sequencer and amazing real time tweaks while performing.
Apparently, the Volca Sample maps each sound to its own midi channel and you can’t change this. Bummer, says many - great, says me. Cause it means you just plug it in and it just works with the Octa’s sequencer straight away.
i use AR mostly as a sampler with occasional analog percussion
it does a lot OT cannot, but OT does way more overall
i see OT like a simplified ableton, i see AR like a maximalized roland sp-series
LinnDrum samples for kick and snare, 909 samples for the hats, various single and multi oscillator samples for the synths.
RYTM is a sampler…
Nice .
Hey Andreas,
I got round to testing this tonight - wow. Volcal Sample goes up in my estimations again., this works flawlessly & sounds great!! Haven’t tried them all yet, but it seems all the CC programming works too - 
Thank you again 
p/s/ I tried sync over midi, but that didn’t work anywhere near as well, there’s a long delay between the transport start messaged and the volca waking up - no problem though, using the Octatrack to sequence it is way better!!!
Basically,. it’s another 8 sample voices for your Octatrack for ~£100
pps. here’s the midi implementation chart for the Volca Sample:
Pretty funky, right?
CC works fine for me in this setup. I’ve done some LFO laser mega magic, pan crazy stuff and amp and whatnot, and it works like a charm.
Seriously, the Volca Sample is a deep instrument. I’m not even gonna say “for the price”, I’m just gonna say it’s deep, period.
Ironically, I have one of the new Electribes as well, and while it’s a solid piece of gear, it never surprises me. It does what’s expected, and it does it quite well, but even those damn skilled at using it, don’t produce anything you didn’t expect.
I’ve been planning on getting a volca sample since its announcement, but theyre still not available in my usual music shops… And not available from Thomann either 
IMO The keys and the sample are the stars of the volca range, very good bang for the buck!
I’m more a Volca Beats kind of guy. I like the filth and the dirt that comes out of it.
But seriously, the Keys - for that price, a three voice poly analogue synth with that sound in it - it’s so damn good it’s absurd.
I’ve got a small micro rig I turn to from time to time when I just get tired of all menus and displays. It’s a Monotribe, a Volca Beats and a Volca Sample, the Monotribe going through a Minifooger delay and the Beats going through a Minifooger Drive. The Volca Sample don’t really need any help, it kicks like a mule on its own.
Hey Andreas,
I got round to testing this tonight - wow. Volcal Sample goes up in my estimations again., this works flawlessly & sounds great!! Haven’t tried them all yet, but it seems all the CC programming works too -
Thank you again
p/s/ I tried sync over midi, but that didn’t work anywhere near as well, there’s a long delay between the transport start messaged and the volca waking up - no problem though, using the Octatrack to sequence it is way better!!!
Basically,. it’s another 8 sample voices for your Octatrack for ~£100
pps. here’s the midi implementation chart for the Volca Sample:
Pretty funky, right?
CC works fine for me in this setup. I’ve done some LFO laser mega magic, pan crazy stuff and amp and whatnot, and it works like a charm.
Seriously, the Volca Sample is a deep instrument. I’m not even gonna say “for the price”, I’m just gonna say it’s deep, period.
Ironically, I have one of the new Electribes as well, and while it’s a solid piece of gear, it never surprises me. It does what’s expected, and it does it quite well, but even those damn skilled at using it, don’t produce anything you didn’t expect.
[/quote]
Yep, it’s a keeper for sure! I’m going to have to source a power supply using it at this rate!
If anyone is thinking of getting one and needs a nudge …
I might make a post about this in the Octatrack forum
http://www.elektronauts.com/t/additional-voices-for-your-octatrack/10684/86664
Interesting about the Electribe, they didn’t appeal, I wonder if the upcoming S will have the element of surprise?[/quote]
I really prefer the previous generation, the EMX and potentially the ESX, depending on what’s coming from Korg next. I don’t even think they compare, they’re very different instruments. I even think the EMX sounds better, because of its way of handling effects and the LFOs and stuff. It’s true that the raw quality from the new Tribe perhaps sounds better, but once you get down to it, I think what comes out of the older Tribes appeal more. But the new one hasn’t been around for long, of course, so it needs some time to mature. And apparently, the architecture is very flexible. Maybe Korg releases plug-ins (outs?) for it that just transforms it into a beast.
But people have been persecuted and charged for less controversial opinions, so I’ll be quiet. For now.
Right. I wanna wake this thread again.
So I’ve done some thinking and some research and some testing and some tweaking, and I’ve come to this conclusion:
Even if you bought a Rytm mainly for its sample playback engine, it’s still a pretty powerful device. Given the quality and feature set of the amps, the filters, the lfo and fx, you can do some serious damage with those eight voices, even if there are other instruments out there that can spit out more polyphony and other nifty features at less of a price.
But the Analog Rytm still seems in a class of its own even when it comes to sample manipulation, given the power of its sound engine. So buying it mainly to use it as an eight voice sample playback instrument doesn’t sound like such a bad idea to me, seeing that I can’t think of any other instrument that right now offers that kind of approach and quality to sample playback. The flexibility it offers to shape the samples and build tracks from them, is only matched by the ESX as I see it right now. And I guess the ESX2, but we’ll see.
Thoughts?
Yup, and also radically morph and filter and pitch those samples, and make performance macros on the pads. Analog filter, overdrive, compression. Done.
The AR is sick as a sample player.
My Science Lab Challenge track below was on the AR. It was surprising how much you could alter one simple vocal sample.
I have both the Rytm and the Volca Sample.
From '99 to around '04 I used an MPC2000XL for everything. Rarely used it to sequence midi synths, but rather sampled the synths and used it that way. Then with Ableton Live v4, I set my computer up similarly to my MPC, and used Live in that mindset.
I use a lot of samples on my Rytm, and the Rytm reminds me a great deal of that old sample-based groove workflow, but it is more refined due to the Elektron sequencer. Also the filters, overdrive, distortion, and compressor just put it over the top, sonically.
Because of my previous workflows, I came to the Rytm with the perspective that it is a great sampling drum machine that allows one to layer in some quality analog drum sounds, which is kind of reverse what it is promoted as. That layering capability, combined with the sound locks makes it incredibly versatile.
I just wish it had one more LFO per voice (perhaps in an OS update down the road?), but long realtime recording passes are a decent work around.
I disagree with the notion that it’s the wrong tool for the job. The fact that it is capable of doing what you need, and has additional features, will no doubt make it a unique solution with much room for creative exploitation. Chances are what you’re doing will sound incredibly unique due to it being a less conventional use.
GO FOR IT
The Volca Sample is fun, but 10 tracks and 10 patterns means you are quite limited for extended use. Still, it can serve an auxilliary purpose.
If you like the LOOP sample feature, and the quick pattern changing on the Volca, the Rytm will just feel like a Volca Sample that got into Lance Armstrong’s medicine cabinet.
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I play my AR like a spec’d up SP1200 with analog drum synthesis. There’s a lot of demos made by ponytailed IT guys online and very few examples of people spanking the AR for all that it’s worth.
You could run a track with its analog kick & snare/claps and samples alone - it takes up a lot of space.
Hats are nice but limited - you couldn’t run them in too many tracks in a set.
For the music I make (dirty little gems) it’s a big winner.
On a side note, you should never play an instrument like this in the way that the designer intended it. I doubt Roland engineers heard Madlib or Jeff Mills in their head when they were making the SP303 or TR808.
Hear, hear, to all of you. Very sound advise and opinions.
I own an Electribe2 and have grown rather fond of it over time. And it offers more depth than you’d think, despite its limitations.
The ESX2 is very similar in what it offers in terms of editing. Not a bad value proposition.
But when it comes to sample playback, I’m thinking it’s harder to get away with the limitations of the new Electribe series, if your intention is to really twist and transform the samples. You can do a lot, but no matter how you look at it, the Tribe don’t come near the Analog Rytm in terms of transforming something into something else.
I’ve got a small rig, don’t want to bring much when I’m playing live, and right now it’s an Octatrack and an Electribe 2. Octatrack for loops and other non-harmonic stuff, Tribe for bass, leads, pads, everything with clear harmonics in them. Anything that develops over longer periods of time goes into the Tribe as well, opening and closing amps and filters slowly while the track’s playing. Stuff like that. I’m sampling mostly my own stuff, from a Tempest, Tanzbar, composed loops from the Volca Sample (love the grind it produces), some fx manipulation through a few minifoogers and into the Octatrack.
I’m thinking the Rymt could replace the Electribe2, I rarely use more than eight tracks anyway and polyphony (chords and stuff), I don’t use much, there’s always ways to get around anything when you’ve got an Octatrack anyway, but the filters, the amps, envelopes and all that, just sound so damn great, and I’m thinking that this whole organic, slowly developing aspect of my tracks, stuff you just can’t sample, I’m thinking perhaps the Analog Rytm will replace the Electribe for that purpose.
@AndreasRoman: The Rytm is incredibly good at providing sample-based melodies or doing anything else with samples, and these analog circuits are great. Wait, there’s no A4 more in my setup? I don’t hear that.
The Rytm is THE ultimate groovebox!
Great to hear.
So you replacing the A4 with the Rytm would be the equivalent of me replacing my Electribe with the Rytm. Very reassuring.
Gonna make myself some coffee now, make breakfast for the wife, be very nice to the kids, and gently slide this proposition into the relationship economy. They won’t see it coming.
Great to hear.
So you replacing the A4 with the Rytm would be the equivalent of me replacing my Electribe with the Rytm. Very reassuring.
Gonna make myself some coffee now, make breakfast for the wife, be very nice to the kids, and gently slide this proposition into the relationship economy. They won’t see it coming.[/quote]
good luck!