Using External Drum Pads as Trigger for AR

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#11

Sounds like a good companion for the RYTM!
Does the toggle setting let you use it the same as the Rytm scene pads etc…?

#12

EDIT: that can’t be it tho as no one has had an issue with other pad-based controls.
It’s weird. Maybe some different configurations in the global menu?

#13

xidnpnlss wrote
[i]Do you see any kind of pattern as to which hit and miss? How about the strength, or velocity?

I’m curious because I too am a drummer and would love to hook up a drum pad; the pads just aren’t doing it. That Roland should not be skipping. I’m curious if the bad pads is actually due to bad midi sensitivity.[/i]

EDIT: that can’t be it tho as no one has had an issue with other pad-based controls.
It’s weird. Maybe some different configurations in the global menu?

I tried alot of different midi and pad settings but still have these problems. It’s a shame because that combination plus my Octatrack would be the perfect live rig.

#14

I just bought the Akai MPD 226 for the same reasons. Works like a charm. Solid MPC Pads and a couple of Faders/Knobs that i assigned to the Performance Mode. Also: Note Repeat is triggered by the Rytm Tempo.

1 Like
#15

Hey Arve.

I am trying to map my spd-s (no x) to the AR now…

Here is my problem: Each track or “voice” of the Rytm is connected to a different Midi channel. The spd-s only plays through one selected midi channel at a time, so I can’t understand how to play the different “tracks/voices” simultaneously on the Rytm with the Spd-s.

I can only play one channel at a time, i.e. All the pads on the spd-s play through midi channel 1 into the rytm’s midi channel 1 so all i hear is kick (kick is set to channel one). If change the Midi channel on the Spd-s to channel 2, all I hear is snare drum from all the pads, and so on.

I can’t separate the pads onto different channels, and why should i?? I can do that easily with the MachineDrum.

Is it possible to have different # notes (from the spd-s pads) play different tracks on the rytm?

Any help or advise greatly appreciated !

#16

Use the 12 lowest MIDI notes (on any channel). See pages 15-16 of the manual.

Triggering AR sounds via Midi with SPD-SX. How to set up?
#17

Is it possible to have different # notes (from the spd-s pads) play different tracks on the rytm?

I don’t know the SPD-S but in the SPD-SX you can assign different Midi notes to each pad. 0=BD, 1=SD, 3=RS/CP and so on.
By the way, I solved the triggering problem. There is a gate option in the pad menus of the Roland device which I had to set to max. Now it works perfect. Playing the AR like a drum kit is so much fun!

2 Likes
#18

I’ve been able to get my Yamaha DTX-MULTI 12 to trigger the AR. One pad per voice just using the 12 lowest MIDI notes.

#19

how do you get it to play the kick?
i played with it but couldn’t get below c#-2, and the kick is hardwired to c-2
thanks!

#20

Got it! Assigned the midi 01-12 on the spd-s = Rytm. Tweaked the threshold on the spd-s trigger sensitivity. Perfect. It work like a dream.

3 Likes
#21

Thanks for this. I emailed customer support about this problem a while back and they didn’t know how to help me. I will test this soon and report if it also solved my exact same issue.

2 Likes
E-kit drumming question
#22

You’re welcome! Does anybody know if it is possible to midi map live rec on/off?

1 Like
#23

It’s not possible to do so, unless it’s in Elektron’s undocumented SysEx implementation.

1 Like
#24

I just tested my RYTM with the Roland SPD-SX and adjusted the gate settings. I could not get rid of the occasional missing trigger problem. Has anyone else experienced this and found a proper solution? I have an open ticket with support. They know of the problem but seem to have no solution.

#25

Do you have the newest OS (1.06) on the SPD-SX?

#26

I tried this configuration again yesterday. Go to the Kit Menu of the SPD-SX an turn on EXT CONTROL. Then adjust GATE to 0.1 s. Do that for every pad. Check if Overbridge Mode on the AR is off. Change Midi Input to MIDI and click the Midi receive options and use the same Midi Channel for both devices. Now, you should be able to trigger really fast notes on the SPD-SX. The short gate lenghts allows you to use ‘live rec’ via SPD-SX which is very usefull. Don’t forget to save the settings as a Kit on the SPD.
It was alot of try and error to figure out how it works. The Roland manual is not really informative.

3 Likes
#27

Thanks for taking the time to work on this. I really appreciate the help.

  1. I have been on 1.04 and meaning to get to 1.06, but haven’t really prioritized it as the updates seem only related to the addition of specs for new external triggers offered by Roland. I plan to update it tonight!

  2. Indeed, last week during my testing of the GATE settings, I hadn’t been fully aware of the effect EXT CONTROL has on them. It’s not intuitive if you don’t have the manual in front of you… and frankly… it’s not intuitive if you do! I’ll check it out. It’s good to hear that you have it working at 0.1s. I was afraid that having to turn it way up would screw up really fast note playing.

Thanks again for the help!

1 Like
#28

You’re welcome. I can play double strokes and the two devices trigger the notes without latency. It works perfect. Let me know, if you need some more help. Good luck!

1 Like
#29

I’ve used Yamaha DTX400k with my AR.

It is really cool to play drums using more real pads and drumsticks.

1 Like
#30

I’ve just sent a response to customer support directing them to this thread. Hopefully our efforts produce a reliable fix (or workaround) to this problem. I included this paragraph:

“It would however be interesting to know what the actual technical problem is. My guess is that the SPD-SX is sending out very tight timing of the note on and note off messages. It’s possible that the RYTM cannot listen as quickly as some of the most extreme triggers are being sent. It would explain the situation where I am inserting a DAW in between the two and it corrects the problem. The computer using the DAW probably has no problem recognizing even the most extreme triggers (as well as the DSI Tempest and others) and as it receives them, it then regenerates outgoing triggers to match, which probably have been regenerated to be not faster than what the RYTM can handle. I assume this would be great technical information for you to attain for future problem solving that may be related to the same issue, but may not be as easily correctable on the generating side of the MIDI note on and off messages. The SPD-SX offers quite granular control of these settings that not much other gear offers… at least in this regard.”

Here’s hoping they can get to the core of the problem from the perspective of the RYTM and how it should be listening to outside MIDI!