Why have a scene mode at all?

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

Hi! I’ve been searching through the forum and the web and haven’t really found a great answer for this. I’m learning more about some of the deeper Rytm features and trying to understand how to apply both scene and performance mode features.

There are some good general ideas in the thread below but I’m struggling to understand why there’s a separate scene mode altogether (as in, why not just use performance and mute modes to perform a track?)

Right now the way I see most people using the feature is as a convenience function for muting different groups of tracks as a performance progresses. Do folks have other good usage examples for scene mode or a better understanding of how it’s expected to be used?

#2

Mutes and subtle changes are one thing you can of course do, but when you consider the power that p-locks give you scenes can open up a lot more. Using scenes in combination with performance macros allows you to do even more.

Some examples: completely change a track sound during a scene, say by locking a different sample to it. Or turn looping on for a sample and then use a performance pad to modulate the end point to shorten the loop and change its frequency.

Scenes can be subtle or drastic, but they are absolutely useful. Plus their switchable behavior is really convenient in letting you mess with other things while a particular scene is active, and you don’t have to worry about things like getting the pressure just right on the pad to apply or release a performance macro.

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#3

I’m not an AR owner so someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Scenes allow you to switch between two sets of parameters 100% on or off, while Perfs let you fade between them with pad pressure or the Perf knob.

#4

Correct. Another difference is you can only have up to one scene activated at a time, which makes for easy transitions with just a single tap.

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#5

Scenes: permanent ON/OFF state, one at a time

use cases:

  1. mute groups
  2. change samples (almost like a new kit)
  3. change sounds (same as 2 but for the analog side)
  4. FX mangling (manipulate the fx track settings)

4 you could create some stutter effects by turning on/off scenes that apply an LFO with different speed and depth on the main compressor volume or modify the reverb/delay settings to get a very short delay (almost comb filtering territory) or so that all of sudden you just hear the sends (and not the main sounds) to transition to something else

Perf: momentary value interpolation (based on the pad pressure), several at a time

  1. fade out/in a track slowly
  2. increase/decrease delay/reverb sends
  3. increase/decrease distortion (on the delays or the track distortion)
  4. interpolate from one sound to another one (increase the kick decay or slowly increase the attack time of a few or all tracks so it almost becomes like if everything was reversed)

1 is a bit tricky because once you remove your finger, it goes back to the original (there’s a trick where you can switch to another mode and the pressure will be kept as is)

so for example you could do 1 with a perf and then keep this state as is by turning on a scene.

you have as many perf available as there are tracks so you could create a different sound/state for each tracks and for example interpolate 4 tracks at the same time slowly to another sound then apply a scene to keep it as is (I’m pretty much sure that’s why when you switch from perf mode to scene mode, the pressure value is retained)

The sky is the limit

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#6

Thank you all for the fast and detailed responses! I had a pretty good grasp of the technical differences (one vs many active, immediate changes vs interpolation) but was struggling to understand how to use them together effectively.

This makes a lot of sense and gives me a better idea of how the features might be intended to work together. Right now I’m thinking about performance mode for transitioning between parts of a track/set and scenes as more static transformations of a kit that compose to become those different parts (although of course see how you could use a scene as a short performance effect).

These specific usage examples are great! Please keep ‘em coming (or add to the linked thread in the parent post)!

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#7

I also use them when I want to use a previously created kit in a new context. Just to tune kick and snare according to the new context instead of duplicating and adjusting the kit.

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#8

Someone upthread mentioned changing samples. A variation of that is changing start/end points along a sample chain. You could use that for chord progressions, variations in vocal one-shots, risers, etc.

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#9

i’ve read this term in couple of threads but not sure what people mean by that, are we talking about locking the AMP or trig velocity to 0 values for several tracks or is there an actual way to MUTE a track in scene mode?

#10

I always set Scene 16 up to drop every channel’s VOL to 0. It’s not as good as mutes, because it cuts out the tails of any sounds playing (Mutes block trigs rather than audio), but it’s handy enough.

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#11

the one issue I have with scene & performance mode is the lack of memory allocated to it.

having such a powerful performance tool but hamgstringing it with a maximum of around 26 locks (can’t remember the exact amount, maybe someone can chime in) for the whole 12 pads is a real pity.
it should be 26 locks per pad imo.

I run out of memory after about 4 pads.

#12

yeah i thought about that too, but what if i have amp locks already? will it override or is the change relative?

for some reason i thought there’s a way to actually MUTE tracks, that would be awesome…

#13

the docs says it says 48 in total both for scenes and perfs, which is not unlimited but not too shabby as well…

A total of 48 different parameters may be locked to any of the 12 scenes, in any combination, for each
kit. For example, 48 parameter locks may be used for a single scene, two scenes may use 24 parameter
locks each, four scenes may use, say, 2, 4, 10 and 32 parameter locks, and so on.

A total of 48 different parameters may be locked to any of the 12 performance macros, in any combina-
tion, for each kit. For example, 48 parameter locks may be used for a single macro, two macros may use
24 parameter locks each, four macros may use, say, 2, 4, 10 and 32 parameter locks, and so on

#14

thanks.

still, 48 divided between 12 pads. 4 locked per pad essentially. was never enough for what I wanted to do personally.
still, it’s a cool performance tool anyway.

#15

yeah i’m trying to think about a strategy to utilize these as well, i suppose if try planning them it’s possible to come up with strategies to have “effect groups” and mix between them with the QPERF toggles… not the same as unlimited locks but could be a better way to maximize efficiency…

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#16

I guess with perf mode you can combine pads simultaneously if I remember correctly. that’s pretty cool.

can you enter a scene & then use perf mode on top of it?

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#17

as @Octagonist explained, there’s no MUTE per say but it is still useful. I use the MUTE queueing feature a lot though.

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#18

thanks for clarifying, I’ve figured locking the AMP to 0 method but for some reason i thought maybe there’s also a way to lock a mute state.
the mute queuing is something i need to learn as well, it’s very handy, i still need to get used to the workflow, there’s so much you can do with it… insane machine…

#19

oh I call it this way but that’s not the proper term I think. In MUTE mode, hold the function button and select the pads you want to mute. They won’t be muted right away, only when you release the function button (if the tracks are already muted, it will unmute them). If you hold the retrig button it will solo the tracks you’ve selected (quickly selecting/unselecting a track in burst can create a fun effect).

Yes, the AR is really deep and powerful! The perf with pads really turn it into an instrument of its own.

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#20

I have two Rytm related questions:
Is midi muting - rather than audio - possible via scenes?
Am I right in thinking scenes are meant for a using within a pattern, so if you want to switch to a next pattern with just one track playing, for more to join as the pattern builds momentum, scenes are not the way to do it because you would have to be faster-than-latency, which is undoable? How to make pattern play only selected tracks upon switching to it?