Got mine today. Freaking expansive and I just can’t believe I spent this money on such an old gear ;-) Your videos had me go back and revisit this machine again (as I sold MKI version years back). MK II is an absolute killer machine. The sound design posibilities is unmatched. Not to mention its dark muddy sound. You said it well. Its not 909 machine, for that . .. get TR8S which is much straightforward. The new boxes from Elektron are great but just very pristine and clean to my ears. Analog Rytm is a gem with way too much possibilities for sound design. Thanks for the videos. I really dig your style. The KLF way ;-)
Woah!! Nice one. Enjoy the new box. Also, thanks for the kind words, appreciate that. How you finding it sonically compared to V1? I guess too early to tell? I’ve never used the version 1. I sometimes wonder about the smaller ones they do, Digitakt 2 is curious, being smaller for throwing in a bag, but yeah i agree, the Rytm is a beast when you get with it. I almost bought a TR8s funny enough, although that helped me sorta realise how good the Rytm is. KLF are gonna rock ya!
Had my Rytm for don'´t know how many years.. I literally agree with 90 percent of what you have said here.. Really great thoughtful and honest breakdown of the machine.. Nice one!👍
I just got a Rytm and I am definitely feeling the learning curve. Even as a very experienced synth and drum machine player this thing is pretty damn deep and wide with lots of multi-key presses. My buddies all say “you’ll get there”. Your sharing of struggles makes me feel less lost; just need a bit of time! Thanks!!!
Happy to hear it’s helping. It’s certainly an odd machine in many ways of coming from classic drum machines and synths, this is my experience too. There are lots of little things that helped me along the way, and thinking about it all in a classic hardware sense, routing, why things might sound good, and then applying that thinking to the Rytm, might be a good way for you to go too. Good luck and feel free to ask me anything and I’ll try and help.
Started on the Digitakt as my first proper “drum machine “ and eventually stepped up to the Rytm after getting a deal on a used MKI. I quickly realized the new features and hardware upgrades on the MKII were worth the extra $$$ and took the plunge on one when a good deal on a used one came up. This was a couple years ago and it’s turned into the central hub of my workflow. What makes it indispensable is the amount of creativity it affords, whether just scratching the surface or plumbing the depths. You could have two of these things and nothing else and have a lifetime of music to explore. Your feelings about the cost (overpriced hardware or an investment in your creativity) really comes down to whether you’re looking for an “instant gratification machine” or a tool to develop serious programming and sound design skills. With the amount that’s on offer in a standalone box, it’s hard to fault Elektron in this regard - especially after the latest upgrade.
I totally missed your comments. Yeah I totally agree. I think Elektron are doing a great job with their products and the options and possibilities. It’s such a great entry to music making and continues to be very relevant and key even when progressed skills. We are in a very special era for choice for sure
I got one for 1200 US MiB and I couldn’t believe I handed that much over. I’ve had for a month and it’s been everywhere with me and I’m learning a bit day by day. Really happy I had the chance to finally have one.
That’s awesome. It can definitely be a shock when dropping a whole load of money on something. When i got my Mk2 i think it was one of if not the most i had spent on any music gear. Great boxes though. If you’re taking yours everywhere, that sounds like it’s worth every cent.
Ach, thank you. Just unwired mine from my rig as finally decided it wasn’t for me, but ran it again to try and confirm in my mind what it was that left me cold...you’ve summed it all up perfectly
@@ExpectResistance we've been together for 3 years...feels like some sort of abusive relationship. I've been having a fling on the side with a silly little tart called Razzmatazz and the fun involved has made me view the old grey ball and chain as a bit boring :) Thanks for doing this though. It's counselling
Hahaha, that’s hilarious. You gotta keep the relationships interesting that’s for sure. Glad it was helpful. I still find it really frustrating some days and exciting others. It can run very hot and cold. Never had another bit of gear quite like it.
what I found the hardest bit of rytm to grasp (after using it as my main instrument for quite some time) is just the gainstaging. There are tons of places where you can add or remove gain to saturate the sound in different ways that will all give you different results. This goes doubly so when you start layering sounds with samples and you have to manage levels of both sample and analog machine before it hits the filter in order to get levels of both right, with the right levels of pre-filter VCA saturation and overdrive. Love the thing though, once you put the time you can get where you need to really quickly Def has "a sound" but I don't see that as a bad thing. Tons of iconic instruments, electronic or not have a certain sound to them that you learn to play and manupulate
The gain staging is a hidden gem for sure. I totally agree with everything you say there for sure. I’ve seen many of you live videos, i need to come watch you do what you do one day, you clearly rip the Rythm to pieces, very cool to see/hear.
@@RadekPilich for sure, there doesn’t seem to be many i agree. I will be doing way more than i already have, with a closer breakdown and look at these little areas of the box, alongside jams like before. What would you like to see?
@@RadekPilich yeah, I can get how it's frustrating to see ppl point to "magic glue" and that you just have to stick with it. Can be bit hard to explain stuff like that out of context tough, I was thinking may be some longer form videos or stream where a kit is made from scratch and all choices are explained would work well to demystify where and how you can affect the sound on AR
@@ExpectResistance Thank you! Haha yeah I've been using it for a long time now to a point where I don't want to learn a new synth because I know ar so well, just don't want to have to go over that hump with another synth unless it's worth it. If you wanna see me play and hang out I'll be playing on 13th of June at Amp Studios, Old Kent Road. If you have a gig I'd love to come over to yours and see you perform
I just looked and found that I bought my rytm mki (used) in May 2018. I recently sold it…to buy a mkii. It is amazing/confounding and I’m in love all over again.
Thank you for making this video, I have had this for 5 years as well. I relate to all of these points you have made. I think a lot of what you read about this machine is that its amazing, but fewer people talk about what a struggle it can be to get it to sound right. Currently trying to figure out if I should stick it out and it could enhance my workflow or if I should just give up on it. I am looking forward to trying your overbridge template because that seems like it could allow me to continue my fast ableton workflow but allow me to pass samples through the rytm engine. I do notice immediately samples with a little bit of the distortion from the rytm sounds amazing, sometimes when I record them into ableton though it gets muddy and doesn't feel the same as it does coming out of the rytm when I start mixing the track. I should probably look into the gain staging you were talking about and make sure its not coming in to ableton too hot. Sorry for the rant! appreciate your videos and I will continue to support the channel.
It can definitely be a tricky one to use and yet oddly not that complex to use. Really pleased this video was helpful, and hope you enjoy using the template. It really opens up the sound capabilities, in a really nice way. I really need to do a video on gain staging, just to explore it more for myself too. No apology needed, rant all you like 👍 and thx for your support 🤍
@@ExpectResistance Looking good ! The control Ins / sampled LFO's you demonstated once refreshed my perspective to working with it.... In any case, I've had the AR for about half a year now... learning quick i presume. But still hasn't gotten there... in other words, still struggling but super exited to finding my own working method / flow... Also hard for me to work with sound on a daily basis... I wonder how is it for others.
Nice! Yeah it takes a while. I definitely can’t do sound work everyday, although if not making sound I’m typically prepping, thinking or researching. It all helps though, even a rest day and playing PS5 or something 👍
I sold tr808 3 months ago. For this momey i get Octatrack 2, Analog Rytm 2, Analog Heat 2, Eventide H9 max and mogami cables. I am much more happy human since than… :)
Oh amazing!! Yeah i can totally see that being an easy win. The 808 is great but that second hand price isn’t so great. How you getting on with the new kit? That’s a-lot in one go but must be very exciting. I was looking at the Octatrack 2 this morning, wondering how it held up against the Digitakt 2. The Eventide fx are so good. Big fan.
@@ExpectResistance Well…i dont know if its sense to recommend Octa over Digitakt. Octa for sure need time and study. Digitakt is very popular here in Italy in young rave culture. Also better fx’s. I prefer octatrack for sure - bigger working space, things you can not find in other gear. Its timeconsuming, complex, confusing, … i love it. Digitakt is easy way to go….But too small for me. … well… Good luck :)
Cheers, appreciate the thoughts. Im definitely curious about the complexity of Octatrack, and can see myself loving extracting everything i can from it.
I also have the AR grey and i like it more than the black. The only positive point of the black is the improved response of the pads. I don’r finger drum so i don’t need this improved feature
Ah i didn’t realise the black one they improved the pads. Do you know if it significant? I wonder if it’s just a rubber and i could buy a replacement for my grey one?
They were not specific about the improvement- i noticed it straight away, and i asked them when I was st Elektron stand and they told me about the change; i understood ours cannot be improved. I assumed it has a cost implication. Best is to e-mail them
@@ExpectResistance Yes.. Really really excited. But tbh, I spend so much time in manuals. But it always ends in having more overal knowledge about the devices. And it's like you stated, how I hated sound design. The moment I feel like it's time to introduce a synth to my wash machine, they start delivering the unique stuff.
@@ExpectResistance I've recently started Interconnecting hardware in the studio. It started by having insufficient inputs to the computer. Now I'm purposely creating drum sub mixes to be processed in other synths and back. I never used my synths as FX units. : /
Manuals are useful, although i always forget to read them. Hoping it all finds your sound ok For sure, there is so much mileage to be found in different connections and routing. I’ve been really enjoying using the computer for fx and realtime processing recently. Great fun
I think you’d love the Syntakt - I have used your “glueing” approach as a starting point with it and also having all the other digital engines, it’s a universe of little sound tricks you can do. Meaning that the knowledge you’ve gathered would translate there quite seamlessly. Cheers!
Nice. They all look very appealing honestly. Elektron are shipping some great tools for sure. The Syntakt is guess is a good mini version of the Rytm and Digitakt. Cute looking machine for sure. Cheers
As much as I want to love the Rytm, I can't justify to myself spending that kind of money when theres the Digitakt 2 now. I have never owned an Elektron device before, and but my workflow is mainly sample/rhythm/live based. I think it makes way more sense to opt for the Digitakt in my case.
It’s crazy expensive and i agree, loads of great options for way less that are as good if not better. Were it not for the multiple outputs i wouldn’t have bought it myself. I really like the smaller footprint of the Digitakt/Syntakt, weighs way less too. The Model Cycles is pretty amazing as well, way cheaper. It does stuff i can’t even get close with the Rytm. What do you use currently?
The Digitakt is a completely digital box whilst the Rytm is a kind of analogue box. They are both completely different from one another although the Rythm is expensive there is such a lot you can do with it, but again it depends how you work if you opt for the old school work flow pre DAW you can really develop some colour from multiple machines, if you were to edit in a DAW you can really achieve some beautiful results.. with all of these machines you have to think outside of the box to get the most out of them.. I’d say maybe push for a rytm and a digitakt remember you don’t have to use either as an exclusive drum machine if you don’t want to and judging by the cost of old Roland gear I doubt you’d be disappointed.
The Digitakt is a completely digital box whilst the Rytm is a kind of analogue box. They are both completely different from one another although the Rythm is expensive there is such a lot you can do with it, but again it depends how you work if you opt for the old school work flow pre DAW you can really develop some colour from multiple machines, if you were to edit in a DAW you can really achieve some beautiful results.. with all of these machines you have to think outside of the box to get the most out of them.. I’d say maybe push for a rytm and a digitakt remember you don’t have to use either as an exclusive drum machine if you don’t want to and judging by the cost of old Roland gear I doubt you’d be disappointed.
Yeah i agree, i find any box i own there is always something more to find, and the Rytm is no different. I’m hearing lots of positive things about the Digitakt 2, especially being smaller and digital has an appeal. Still, I’m in no hurry, very much enjoying what i have with loads more time create in unusual ways, especially with Overbridge. Cheers 👍
It was the most expensive piece of musical gear I ever bought lol, but I was dreaming of getting an elektron drum machine since Maxhinedrum😋 Everyone has different things that they gel with, and to me the elektron sequencer felt immediately at home. 🤔Although I guess I WAS obsessing over those old tutorial videos that looked like ransom footage Elektron used to make 🤣 Edit: what you're describing a lot in this video is really true! It's like you bought a cello and you were mad that it was hard to strum chords on it lol. I do that type of thing a lot too 🙃
Haha! Yeah you’re totally right. “Why can’t i do power chords on this violin??” 😂 Those old videos really caught me too. Ransom videos is a good way to describe them. They had a sort of either you like us or f**k off vibe to them, which i really appreciate. Kind of a cross between Robocop’s “i’d buy that for a dollar” and the Max Headroom film. Amazing. I too couldn’t afford those early Machines. I spoke at length with a music friend in Malmö who had some, he would get so excited at the possibilities. I almost talked myself out of getting the Rytm until my partner Lucia sent me a photo of one she was with when in a music shop and she was “you have to get one” so i dug deep, landed a shit job and saved up. Was shaking when i hit buy. Glad i did though.
No problem, glad they have been useful. It wasn’t videos for the Nord Modular unfortunately, it was a blog, audio and patches. The blog is no longer active but it’s all archived on Github: github.com/sm-ll/mono-log.org/wiki
I thought this was super cool.. I love the idea of “hey, how about we all talk about our relationship to a piece of gear we’ve had forever?” It’s interesting.. I’ve only had mine for a year and a couple months.. and have had such a different experience. Reading through the comments.. it’s clear I’m a weird freak in that what came to hyper naturally and obviously.. sounds like it’s a dark art to everybody else… and I wonder if I quite have figured out what’s obvious to you? I think it probably helps that I haven’t put quite so much pressure on my Rytm to be all things for me.. but.. I haven’t been real interested in 808 or 909s cause.. like how do I put my sonic stamp on them? So it’s interesting to here your.. sorta wanting something to start with.. to sorta wonder what I might learn if I was doing thing in more that way.
Glad you enjoyed it. It was super useful for me to reflect. Seemed like a fitting thing to do after the experiences. Freaks are the winners. 🤍 In my case, unlike most other gear where i experiment, the Rytm was a whole load of baggage and assumptions on my part and a general struggle to get the sound i wanted and more fails than wins when i did experiment. When i think across all the gear i’ve used, anything that i have used on it’s own, I’ve almost always had eq/fx and/or with lots if routing. The Rytm is probably my first all in one workstation, kinda, but missing some key parts i was used to. But ultimately i think i just got myself lost as to what i am using it for and why i was using it, instead of just using it and seeing what happened. It was like homework, where i studied hard, hated every minute of it, i felt i had a moment i found something only to fail in the exam again. Super valuable experience for me to come out the other end and feel pretty happy and positive about it now. Great box and it’s owner is a little better skilled now haha
Have you found a pedal or plugin reverb that's similar to the in-built Rytm reverb? I like to multi-track without the master fx and never quite found similar results with Ableton or Valhallla etc
I’ve always looked for a different sound as not the biggest fan of the reverb honestly. However, it’s a good question and the one that immediately come to mind is from ex Elektron designer fors.fm/romb All the Max for Live devices here are very cool i think. I would like something similar to how the delay feedback works tho in software. I might have a dig and see what i can find
I didnt realize they tightened the sounds. I mostly have issues with playing the pads; Theyre unresponsive in Play mode, have to hit them hard and push deep to get something close to 90% velocity. But oddly, it works on touch when in Mute mode.
Indeed. I had to run the system program to align them, i forget what it’s called but it was part of the OS1.70 upgrade. Took a long time as i had to do my twice, the first made a mess of the sounds for some reason. The pads are very hard, i totally agree. I tend to use the trig buttons or if i do use the pads to put in sounds i always have the velocity set fixed at 100% and then adjust afterwards. Trying to hit 100% either breaks fingers or the desk collapses.
@@ExpectResistance That was my biggest disappointment in this expensive device. And for those pads to be the main feature highlighted by their animated colors and sizes is a major letdown. I had a Novation Circuit Tracks and the pads on it were absolutely fantastic for 25% of the price. The AR is a premium device so this was a shocker.
For sure, they definitely got that wrong. Twice actually. I have often wondered how hard it would be to get some new ones made. I can imagine some big chunky pads like the old Akai ones would be great.
I’ve watched all of your Rytm videos and it’s really put me over the edge in terms of sound design and making interesting dark dub. Do you ever consider getting into the Octatrack? It’s my next device on the list after exhaustive research. Paired with the Rytm I’m excited to make some bombastic shit.
Oh wow! Thanks for watching them all. I probably need to do that myself actually. I did look into the Octatrak a little bit, almost borrowed one but not pulled the trigger yet. I think id like it though. We have to assume a new one is coming right? Oddly i don’t use as many of the individual outputs as I expected so this opens up the choices to other Elektron devices for sure. Octatrak will be dope though. When you hoping to get one?
@@ExpectResistance they’re awesome vids. You use it in a way that other TH-camrs definitely do not. My take is that whatever iteration comes next won’t blow the current OT out of the water. As I understand it the team who made the OT is no longer there so I don’t even know if they could successfully expand on the OG octatrack. Even if a new one comes out I’ll probably not jump directly on the new one unless there’s an undeniable amount of QOL upgrades. I need to get rid of this MPC One that just doesn’t work for me and then I’ll be picking up one of the used mk2s in my local market hopefully in the next week or so. Check out Max Marco’s videos on the OT on TH-cam if you haven’t already. He goes deeper than anyone I’ve seen with it and he’s very experimental.
That’s a very good point actually, and quite a challenge to make a follow up with that much power and be much more than a UI tweak. The Octatrak is pretty nuts already. They look cool too, very box looking. Maybe i will get a mate to bring his round to show me, if he still has it. Curious. The newer Akai stuff i’ve not used but it seems quite feature heavy?
@@ExpectResistance the Octatrack is very different than the Rytm - i found the GUI less inspiring than Rytm and the overall experience less immediate and fun than Rytm- you need to set up the things first - whereas with Rytm you lay down 5-6 steps of a plastic kick and explore different sound territories and leave the machine to bring you in new directions
Yeah that was my hesitation on getting one. Good to know, thanks. I emailed my mate and he has already sold it, said it was too difficult to use, too much setup, basically what you said. He got himself Digitakt 2 and seems happy with it.
Indeed. The whole thing is primarily designed for looping in time. And although Actions can be used to set up loops that aren’t warped, it’s a very different workflow to looping in say in hardware samplers and the Atari.
Your description of the interface made me think of the mc707. If you have ever spent time on a TR8S absolutely awful interface for sound design. I currently am working on separating sound design from my samplers and drummachies.
It seems the TR8S is like the old R8 drum machine, which by today’s standards of interface is probably pretty tricky. Not used the TR8S though but never felt 100% convinced, especially the sample part seemed really bolt on. How are you separating your sound design?
@ExpectResistance well sort of the opposite of what you describe in your video. Crafting sounds for 30 minutes to 4 hrs. So I'm doing my sound designs on other synths. Then, sampling or loading up the sounds I have made and using them in that form. For example, I take an analog drum machine, sample the kick 4+ times, and then map it to velocity or random. Rather then try and craft the kick in the machine.
Makes total sense. I generally use other gear when making sounds outside of TH-cam videos and preparing for live currently. It’s just quicker, but, have got to the point now of incorporating the Rytm more into the general workflow via overbridge, and seeing where it can get to. So much more to explore, it’s really pretty endless which is great.
It’s been a love hate relationship for a long time, with lots of struggles. I think ultimately through getting more frequent positive results, and using it for TH-cam, has helped me enjoy it more, despite it being a pain to use sometimes. Lots to like about it features wise, but it’s using it and getting something out of it I like, that helps me like it more each time. I still struggle with it though.
Although Inreally like the sound and sound design options and a few unique features from the both machinedrum and analog rytm they both suck in timing. The internal jitter is absurdly high. I don't mind a latency from a synced clock (erm multiclock solves this brilliantly) bit when using the sequencer you notice that the overall timing is locked but the individual notes have this massive jitter which ruins the fun of using the sequencer randomness in timing is a disaster for a tight groove. Jitter is not human feel or a groove. I kept using the two machines with a cirklon but that doesn't give the fun of p-lock and this makes the elekron kinda useless. The only way to use the sequencer is by bounce to audio and get the shit on the grid to suddenly become consistently into that tight groove. Human brain can make very small distinction (sub millisecond) when a groove is established there is no space for jitter (and the numbers are messed up no sequencer is jitter free and all have their own latency (clock to audio latency) but the elekron sequencer are a joke and the biggest joke is people not even taken care of individual clock to audio latency with for example a multiclock. For some parts this would not be huge problem but anything rytmical drums, bass or sequence this is not working at all. A pad or string doesn't show the problem but anything with short attack and decay wil reveal the jitter and offset of notes and parts. There was extensive testing back in the days and elektron simply did not care or weren't able to improve this. It sure kept me away from newer elektron products as well because after the second analog rytm I was sure they did not improve this most fundamental flaw. Still love the machine drum for it's fantastic sound and the analog rytm had some sonic potential as well but when I have a great sequencer I want it to be great in timing and randomness is not great for timing.
60 up to 200 plus samples / 0.6 ms up to 2.1ms elektron jitter vs a cirklon with 6 samples midi tx jitter makes a night and day difference. Fair enough the 60 samples a analog rytm produces is kinda accepted (many sequencers don't do better sadly) but 200 samples is unusable for sure. I measured both rytm mk2 and 1 and the are getting worse (up to double the 60 samples jitter) when using the sequencer a bit more intensive. It's a sad thing.
Thanks tor watching the video. 🤍 I think every sequencer i have ever used has different timing and different feel, Elektron included, although the Elektron was pretty shocking synced. I typically use the 909 or Atari, or just the laptop. I think timing as more options to a different sound than it being a good or bad thing, slrhwhen syncing stuff it can be a bit annoying. I ain’t gonna time it though, if it sounds close enough i’ll work with it. Sometimes i don’t even sync them. 😂 Although i typically don’t use the Rytm synced with much or controlling much, just as stand alone or as a processing tool. The Cirklon is great from what i have heard, but i guess it’s a more premium than Elektron. I would expect it be better for sure. I would love one. The Rytm is crap as a sequencer for other devices, so i just use it on its own mostly. If i want solid timing, i’ll use the Atari and an Akai, maybe a synth of two. It’s very audibly tighter compared to anything i have used, which is nuts considering it’s so old. I think my expectations of sequencer timing is always it will be a bit wonky, and it’s one of the reasons i have so many sequencers. I think of the flaws as creative features personally and use them for how they work. Something that’s rough and i try to use it that way, something that is tighter i use it that way. Still, everyone has their preferences, which is what makes tracks sound different. If everything was the same, and in some cases music has got very samey, it would get boring. Good to know someone who is a keen timing type though. I will pick your brain i’m sure in the future. Actually, have you ever done tests with the Atari 1040 STE? Curious. 👍
Got mine today. Freaking expansive and I just can’t believe I spent this money on such an old gear ;-) Your videos had me go back and revisit this machine again (as I sold MKI version years back). MK II is an absolute killer machine. The sound design posibilities is unmatched. Not to mention its dark muddy sound. You said it well. Its not 909 machine, for that . .. get TR8S which is much straightforward. The new boxes from Elektron are great but just very pristine and clean to my ears. Analog Rytm is a gem with way too much possibilities for sound design. Thanks for the videos. I really dig your style. The KLF way ;-)
Woah!! Nice one. Enjoy the new box.
Also, thanks for the kind words, appreciate that.
How you finding it sonically compared to V1? I guess too early to tell?
I’ve never used the version 1.
I sometimes wonder about the smaller ones they do, Digitakt 2 is curious, being smaller for throwing in a bag, but yeah i agree, the Rytm is a beast when you get with it.
I almost bought a TR8s funny enough, although that helped me sorta realise how good the Rytm is.
KLF are gonna rock ya!
What's the KLF way? Did he burn a million quid on Jura? Lol
I have my MKI since 2015 and still rocking as day 1, best drum machine in the world
Nice. Crazy it’s been out that long really.
@@ExpectResistance It was released in 2014 actually!
10 years!!! I wonder if Elektron will do some anniversary thing this year. I haven’t seen any yet.
Thanks for sharing.
@@honigtamara no probs 👍
Had my Rytm for don'´t know how many years.. I literally agree with 90 percent of what you have said here.. Really great thoughtful and honest breakdown of the machine.. Nice one!👍
Cheers, appreciate it. It ended up going long, as so much to say about it. Thanks for watching 👍
I just got a Rytm and I am definitely feeling the learning curve. Even as a very experienced synth and drum machine player this thing is pretty damn deep and wide with lots of multi-key presses. My buddies all say “you’ll get there”. Your sharing of struggles makes me feel less lost; just need a bit of time! Thanks!!!
Happy to hear it’s helping. It’s certainly an odd machine in many ways of coming from classic drum machines and synths, this is my experience too.
There are lots of little things that helped me along the way, and thinking about it all in a classic hardware sense, routing, why things might sound good, and then applying that thinking to the Rytm, might be a good way for you to go too.
Good luck and feel free to ask me anything and I’ll try and help.
Started on the Digitakt as my first proper “drum machine “ and eventually stepped up to the Rytm after getting a deal on a used MKI. I quickly realized the new features and hardware upgrades on the MKII were worth the extra $$$ and took the plunge on one when a good deal on a used one came up. This was a couple years ago and it’s turned into the central hub of my workflow. What makes it indispensable is the amount of creativity it affords, whether just scratching the surface or plumbing the depths. You could have two of these things and nothing else and have a lifetime of music to explore. Your feelings about the cost (overpriced hardware or an investment in your creativity) really comes down to whether you’re looking for an “instant gratification machine” or a tool to develop serious programming and sound design skills. With the amount that’s on offer in a standalone box, it’s hard to fault Elektron in this regard - especially after the latest upgrade.
I totally missed your comments. Yeah I totally agree. I think Elektron are doing a great job with their products and the options and possibilities. It’s such a great entry to music making and continues to be very relevant and key even when progressed skills. We are in a very special era for choice for sure
I got one for 1200 US MiB and I couldn’t believe I handed that much over. I’ve had for a month and it’s been everywhere with me and I’m learning a bit day by day. Really happy I had the chance to finally have one.
That’s awesome. It can definitely be a shock when dropping a whole load of money on something. When i got my Mk2 i think it was one of if not the most i had spent on any music gear. Great boxes though. If you’re taking yours everywhere, that sounds like it’s worth every cent.
Mk2 is now up to $2k US. Ugh...
Ooof
Ach, thank you. Just unwired mine from my rig as finally decided it wasn’t for me, but ran it again to try and confirm in my mind what it was that left me cold...you’ve summed it all up perfectly
Ah yeah it’s definitely a tough one with this machine. Maybe time will help coming back to it, but for sure I nearly sold my so many times.
@@ExpectResistance we've been together for 3 years...feels like some sort of abusive relationship. I've been having a fling on the side with a silly little tart called Razzmatazz and the fun involved has made me view the old grey ball and chain as a bit boring :) Thanks for doing this though. It's counselling
Hahaha, that’s hilarious. You gotta keep the relationships interesting that’s for sure. Glad it was helpful. I still find it really frustrating some days and exciting others. It can run very hot and cold. Never had another bit of gear quite like it.
what I found the hardest bit of rytm to grasp (after using it as my main instrument for quite some time) is just the gainstaging. There are tons of places where you can add or remove gain to saturate the sound in different ways that will all give you different results. This goes doubly so when you start layering sounds with samples and you have to manage levels of both sample and analog machine before it hits the filter in order to get levels of both right, with the right levels of pre-filter VCA saturation and overdrive. Love the thing though, once you put the time you can get where you need to really quickly
Def has "a sound" but I don't see that as a bad thing. Tons of iconic instruments, electronic or not have a certain sound to them that you learn to play and manupulate
too much talk about this online without any explanatory demonstration of the effects and differences
The gain staging is a hidden gem for sure. I totally agree with everything you say there for sure.
I’ve seen many of you live videos, i need to come watch you do what you do one day, you clearly rip the Rythm to pieces, very cool to see/hear.
@@RadekPilich for sure, there doesn’t seem to be many i agree. I will be doing way more than i already have, with a closer breakdown and look at these little areas of the box, alongside jams like before. What would you like to see?
@@RadekPilich yeah, I can get how it's frustrating to see ppl point to "magic glue" and that you just have to stick with it. Can be bit hard to explain stuff like that out of context tough, I was thinking may be some longer form videos or stream where a kit is made from scratch and all choices are explained would work well to demystify where and how you can affect the sound on AR
@@ExpectResistance Thank you! Haha yeah I've been using it for a long time now to a point where I don't want to learn a new synth because I know ar so well, just don't want to have to go over that hump with another synth unless it's worth it.
If you wanna see me play and hang out I'll be playing on 13th of June at Amp Studios, Old Kent Road. If you have a gig I'd love to come over to yours and see you perform
I just looked and found that I bought my rytm mki (used) in May 2018. I recently sold it…to buy a mkii. It is amazing/confounding and I’m in love all over again.
Time flies when making noise on the Rytm, but great times for electronic music gear for sure. We are spoilt.
Three and a bit years here and growing to love it more as time goes by. So many possibilities, a wonderful device to create with.
Totally. Time reveals more and more. It’s a great box.
Thank you for making this video, I have had this for 5 years as well. I relate to all of these points you have made. I think a lot of what you read about this machine is that its amazing, but fewer people talk about what a struggle it can be to get it to sound right. Currently trying to figure out if I should stick it out and it could enhance my workflow or if I should just give up on it. I am looking forward to trying your overbridge template because that seems like it could allow me to continue my fast ableton workflow but allow me to pass samples through the rytm engine. I do notice immediately samples with a little bit of the distortion from the rytm sounds amazing, sometimes when I record them into ableton though it gets muddy and doesn't feel the same as it does coming out of the rytm when I start mixing the track. I should probably look into the gain staging you were talking about and make sure its not coming in to ableton too hot. Sorry for the rant! appreciate your videos and I will continue to support the channel.
It can definitely be a tricky one to use and yet oddly not that complex to use.
Really pleased this video was helpful, and hope you enjoy using the template. It really opens up the sound capabilities, in a really nice way.
I really need to do a video on gain staging, just to explore it more for myself too.
No apology needed, rant all you like 👍 and thx for your support 🤍
Great to see you on screen ! :) you postponed me selling the Rytm by watching your videos...
Thanks, glad the face is ok haha!
Ah nice, yeah it can be worth sticking with if you can manage it. The Rytm just keeps on giving.
@@ExpectResistance Looking good ! The control Ins / sampled LFO's you demonstated once refreshed my perspective to working with it.... In any case, I've had the AR for about half a year now... learning quick i presume. But still hasn't gotten there... in other words, still struggling but super exited to finding my own working method / flow... Also hard for me to work with sound on a daily basis... I wonder how is it for others.
Nice! Yeah it takes a while. I definitely can’t do sound work everyday, although if not making sound I’m typically prepping, thinking or researching. It all helps though, even a rest day and playing PS5 or something 👍
This was so informative and helpful! Thank you for sharing your experience so transparently!
No worries, glad it was helpful. You have a Rytm or similar? How has it been for you?
I sold tr808 3 months ago. For this momey i get Octatrack 2, Analog Rytm 2, Analog Heat 2, Eventide H9 max and mogami cables. I am much more happy human since than… :)
Oh amazing!! Yeah i can totally see that being an easy win. The 808 is great but that second hand price isn’t so great.
How you getting on with the new kit? That’s a-lot in one go but must be very exciting. I was looking at the Octatrack 2 this morning, wondering how it held up against the Digitakt 2.
The Eventide fx are so good. Big fan.
@@ExpectResistance Well…i dont know if its sense to recommend Octa over Digitakt. Octa for sure need time and study. Digitakt is very popular here in Italy in young rave culture. Also better fx’s. I prefer octatrack for sure - bigger working space, things you can not find in other gear. Its timeconsuming, complex, confusing, … i love it.
Digitakt is easy way to go….But too small for me. … well…
Good luck :)
Cheers, appreciate the thoughts. Im definitely curious about the complexity of Octatrack, and can see myself loving extracting everything i can from it.
I have AR MK 2 grey since 5 years too - I am looking forward to add an A4mk2 grey, Rtym Is a great machine
Niice. A4 looks/sounds like a great box. Hope to try one day.
I also have the AR grey and i like it more than the black. The only positive point of the black is the improved response of the pads. I don’r finger drum so i don’t need this improved feature
Ah i didn’t realise the black one they improved the pads. Do you know if it significant? I wonder if it’s just a rubber and i could buy a replacement for my grey one?
@@ExpectResistance they did an hardware tweak- i tried it at the London Pedal Expo- it is significant
They were not specific about the improvement- i noticed it straight away, and i asked them when I was st Elektron stand and they told me about the change; i understood ours cannot be improved. I assumed it has a cost implication. Best is to e-mail them
Yes, would love an overbridge vid! Love your channel, much gratitude
Nice one, much appreciated. Have the Overbridge video in the works so hopefully very soon. Cheers
Fascinating story really. Getting mine in 25 days...In fact the analog 4 too. Those boxes are truly stubborn...I finally decided to jump in.
Ah nice. I’ve not tried the A4 yet, sounds really good though. 25 days and counting.
@@ExpectResistance Yes.. Really really excited. But tbh, I spend so much time in manuals. But it always ends in having more overal knowledge about the devices. And it's like you stated, how I hated sound design. The moment I feel like it's time to introduce a synth to my wash machine, they start delivering the unique stuff.
@@ExpectResistance I've recently started Interconnecting hardware in the studio. It started by having insufficient inputs to the computer. Now I'm purposely creating drum sub mixes to be processed in other synths and back. I never used my synths as FX units. : /
Manuals are useful, although i always forget to read them. Hoping it all finds your sound ok
For sure, there is so much mileage to be found in different connections and routing. I’ve been really enjoying using the computer for fx and realtime processing recently. Great fun
Yup, buying is the easy part…sticking with it not so much ;)
Very true indeed. Although thinking about it, it did take me years to be able to buy it as well 😂
I think you’d love the Syntakt - I have used your “glueing” approach as a starting point with it and also having all the other digital engines, it’s a universe of little sound tricks you can do. Meaning that the knowledge you’ve gathered would translate there quite seamlessly. Cheers!
Nice. They all look very appealing honestly. Elektron are shipping some great tools for sure. The Syntakt is guess is a good mini version of the Rytm and Digitakt. Cute looking machine for sure. Cheers
Thank you for sharing :)
No worries, enjoyed chatting. Thanks for watching.
As much as I want to love the Rytm, I can't justify to myself spending that kind of money when theres the Digitakt 2 now.
I have never owned an Elektron device before, and but my workflow is mainly sample/rhythm/live based. I think it makes way more sense to opt for the Digitakt in my case.
It’s crazy expensive and i agree, loads of great options for way less that are as good if not better. Were it not for the multiple outputs i wouldn’t have bought it myself. I really like the smaller footprint of the Digitakt/Syntakt, weighs way less too.
The Model Cycles is pretty amazing as well, way cheaper. It does stuff i can’t even get close with the Rytm.
What do you use currently?
The Digitakt is a completely digital box whilst the Rytm is a kind of analogue box. They are both completely different from one another although the Rythm is expensive there is such a lot you can do with it, but again it depends how you work if you opt for the old school work flow pre DAW you can really develop some colour from multiple machines, if you were to edit in a DAW you can really achieve some beautiful results.. with all of these machines you have to think outside of the box to get the most out of them.. I’d say maybe push for a rytm and a digitakt remember you don’t have to use either as an exclusive drum machine if you don’t want to and judging by the cost of old Roland gear I doubt you’d be disappointed.
The Digitakt is a completely digital box whilst the Rytm is a kind of analogue box. They are both completely different from one another although the Rythm is expensive there is such a lot you can do with it, but again it depends how you work if you opt for the old school work flow pre DAW you can really develop some colour from multiple machines, if you were to edit in a DAW you can really achieve some beautiful results.. with all of these machines you have to think outside of the box to get the most out of them.. I’d say maybe push for a rytm and a digitakt remember you don’t have to use either as an exclusive drum machine if you don’t want to and judging by the cost of old Roland gear I doubt you’d be disappointed.
Yeah i agree, i find any box i own there is always something more to find, and the Rytm is no different.
I’m hearing lots of positive things about the Digitakt 2, especially being smaller and digital has an appeal. Still, I’m in no hurry, very much enjoying what i have with loads more time create in unusual ways, especially with Overbridge. Cheers 👍
@@ExpectResistance looking forward to your Overbridge vid 😀
It was the most expensive piece of musical gear I ever bought lol, but I was dreaming of getting an elektron drum machine since Maxhinedrum😋 Everyone has different things that they gel with, and to me the elektron sequencer felt immediately at home. 🤔Although I guess I WAS obsessing over those old tutorial videos that looked like ransom footage Elektron used to make 🤣
Edit: what you're describing a lot in this video is really true! It's like you bought a cello and you were mad that it was hard to strum chords on it lol. I do that type of thing a lot too 🙃
Haha! Yeah you’re totally right. “Why can’t i do power chords on this violin??” 😂
Those old videos really caught me too. Ransom videos is a good way to describe them. They had a sort of either you like us or f**k off vibe to them, which i really appreciate. Kind of a cross between Robocop’s “i’d buy that for a dollar” and the Max Headroom film. Amazing.
I too couldn’t afford those early Machines. I spoke at length with a music friend in Malmö who had some, he would get so excited at the possibilities. I almost talked myself out of getting the Rytm until my partner Lucia sent me a photo of one she was with when in a music shop and she was “you have to get one” so i dug deep, landed a shit job and saved up. Was shaking when i hit buy. Glad i did though.
Looking forward that overbridge take 👊🏽
Awesome. Just recorded it, so will upload it in a sec.
Thanks for sharing this! Your tutorials have given me some interesting ideas with my AR. Could you provide a link to your videos from Nord Modular?
No problem, glad they have been useful.
It wasn’t videos for the Nord Modular unfortunately, it was a blog, audio and patches. The blog is no longer active but it’s all archived on Github: github.com/sm-ll/mono-log.org/wiki
@@ExpectResistance Thank you very much! I'll explore this with my micromodular
Sweet. Loads of free patches and audio on the Bandcamp. I need to do some videos some when. It’s such a great machine.
Excellent piece. 👍
Nice one, appreciate it 🤍
I thought this was super cool.. I love the idea of “hey, how about we all talk about our relationship to a piece of gear we’ve had forever?”
It’s interesting.. I’ve only had mine for a year and a couple months.. and have had such a different experience. Reading through the comments.. it’s clear I’m a weird freak in that what came to hyper naturally and obviously.. sounds like it’s a dark art to everybody else… and I wonder if I quite have figured out what’s obvious to you?
I think it probably helps that I haven’t put quite so much pressure on my Rytm to be all things for me.. but..
I haven’t been real interested in 808 or 909s cause.. like how do I put my sonic stamp on them? So it’s interesting to here your.. sorta wanting something to start with.. to sorta wonder what I might learn if I was doing thing in more that way.
Glad you enjoyed it. It was super useful for me to reflect. Seemed like a fitting thing to do after the experiences.
Freaks are the winners. 🤍
In my case, unlike most other gear where i experiment, the Rytm was a whole load of baggage and assumptions on my part and a general struggle to get the sound i wanted and more fails than wins when i did experiment. When i think across all the gear i’ve used, anything that i have used on it’s own, I’ve almost always had eq/fx and/or with lots if routing. The Rytm is probably my first all in one workstation, kinda, but missing some key parts i was used to. But ultimately i think i just got myself lost as to what i am using it for and why i was using it, instead of just using it and seeing what happened. It was like homework, where i studied hard, hated every minute of it, i felt i had a moment i found something only to fail in the exam again. Super valuable experience for me to come out the other end and feel pretty happy and positive about it now. Great box and it’s owner is a little better skilled now haha
Have you found a pedal or plugin reverb that's similar to the in-built Rytm reverb? I like to multi-track without the master fx and never quite found similar results with Ableton or Valhallla etc
I’ve always looked for a different sound as not the biggest fan of the reverb honestly. However, it’s a good question and the one that immediately come to mind is from ex Elektron designer fors.fm/romb
All the Max for Live devices here are very cool i think.
I would like something similar to how the delay feedback works tho in software. I might have a dig and see what i can find
@@ExpectResistance Romb is cool! I think the Elektron reverb sounds really nice in headphones, good stereo image I think. The delay is special too!
It’s not bad. I find the length/size being connected to the stereo width a little limiting at times. I wish i could have those two separate.
It’s not bad although i wish the stereo width and length were separate parameters, as i find that a little limiting at times.
I didnt realize they tightened the sounds. I mostly have issues with playing the pads; Theyre unresponsive in Play mode, have to hit them hard and push deep to get something close to 90% velocity. But oddly, it works on touch when in Mute mode.
Indeed. I had to run the system program to align them, i forget what it’s called but it was part of the OS1.70 upgrade. Took a long time as i had to do my twice, the first made a mess of the sounds for some reason.
The pads are very hard, i totally agree. I tend to use the trig buttons or if i do use the pads to put in sounds i always have the velocity set fixed at 100% and then adjust afterwards. Trying to hit 100% either breaks fingers or the desk collapses.
„the desk collapses“ 🤣
@@ExpectResistance That was my biggest disappointment in this expensive device. And for those pads to be the main feature highlighted by their animated colors and sizes is a major letdown. I had a Novation Circuit Tracks and the pads on it were absolutely fantastic for 25% of the price. The AR is a premium device so this was a shocker.
The pad on the Black Mk2 have bene improved. The response is much better,. If you have the chance to try one you will spot immediately
For sure, they definitely got that wrong. Twice actually.
I have often wondered how hard it would be to get some new ones made. I can imagine some big chunky pads like the old Akai ones would be great.
I’ve watched all of your Rytm videos and it’s really put me over the edge in terms of sound design and making interesting dark dub. Do you ever consider getting into the Octatrack? It’s my next device on the list after exhaustive research. Paired with the Rytm I’m excited to make some bombastic shit.
Oh wow! Thanks for watching them all. I probably need to do that myself actually.
I did look into the Octatrak a little bit, almost borrowed one but not pulled the trigger yet. I think id like it though. We have to assume a new one is coming right?
Oddly i don’t use as many of the individual outputs as I expected so this opens up the choices to other Elektron devices for sure. Octatrak will be dope though. When you hoping to get one?
@@ExpectResistance they’re awesome vids. You use it in a way that other TH-camrs definitely do not.
My take is that whatever iteration comes next won’t blow the current OT out of the water. As I understand it the team who made the OT is no longer there so I don’t even know if they could successfully expand on the OG octatrack. Even if a new one comes out I’ll probably not jump directly on the new one unless there’s an undeniable amount of QOL upgrades.
I need to get rid of this MPC One that just doesn’t work for me and then I’ll be picking up one of the used mk2s in my local market hopefully in the next week or so.
Check out Max Marco’s videos on the OT on TH-cam if you haven’t already. He goes deeper than anyone I’ve seen with it and he’s very experimental.
That’s a very good point actually, and quite a challenge to make a follow up with that much power and be much more than a UI tweak. The Octatrak is pretty nuts already. They look cool too, very box looking. Maybe i will get a mate to bring his round to show me, if he still has it. Curious.
The newer Akai stuff i’ve not used but it seems quite feature heavy?
@@ExpectResistance the Octatrack is very different than the Rytm - i found the GUI less inspiring than Rytm and the overall experience less immediate and fun than Rytm- you need to set up the things first - whereas with Rytm you lay down 5-6 steps of a plastic kick and explore different sound territories and leave the machine to bring you in new directions
Yeah that was my hesitation on getting one. Good to know, thanks.
I emailed my mate and he has already sold it, said it was too difficult to use, too much setup, basically what you said. He got himself Digitakt 2 and seems happy with it.
Ableton lets you turn off the auto warp in preferences
Indeed. The whole thing is primarily designed for looping in time. And although Actions can be used to set up loops that aren’t warped, it’s a very different workflow to looping in say in hardware samplers and the Atari.
Your description of the interface made me think of the mc707. If you have ever spent time on a TR8S absolutely awful interface for sound design. I currently am working on separating sound design from my samplers and drummachies.
It seems the TR8S is like the old R8 drum machine, which by today’s standards of interface is probably pretty tricky. Not used the TR8S though but never felt 100% convinced, especially the sample part seemed really bolt on.
How are you separating your sound design?
@ExpectResistance well sort of the opposite of what you describe in your video. Crafting sounds for 30 minutes to 4 hrs. So I'm doing my sound designs on other synths. Then, sampling or loading up the sounds I have made and using them in that form. For example, I take an analog drum machine, sample the kick 4+ times, and then map it to velocity or random. Rather then try and craft the kick in the machine.
Makes total sense. I generally use other gear when making sounds outside of TH-cam videos and preparing for live currently. It’s just quicker, but, have got to the point now of incorporating the Rytm more into the general workflow via overbridge, and seeing where it can get to. So much more to explore, it’s really pretty endless which is great.
awesome
Cheers 🤍
I’m confused. From your video it more less seems like you dislike it. What makes you actually like it?
It’s been a love hate relationship for a long time, with lots of struggles. I think ultimately through getting more frequent positive results, and using it for TH-cam, has helped me enjoy it more, despite it being a pain to use sometimes. Lots to like about it features wise, but it’s using it and getting something out of it I like, that helps me like it more each time. I still struggle with it though.
Although Inreally like the sound and sound design options and a few unique features from the both machinedrum and analog rytm they both suck in timing. The internal jitter is absurdly high. I don't mind a latency from a synced clock (erm multiclock solves this brilliantly) bit when using the sequencer you notice that the overall timing is locked but the individual notes have this massive jitter which ruins the fun of using the sequencer randomness in timing is a disaster for a tight groove. Jitter is not human feel or a groove. I kept using the two machines with a cirklon but that doesn't give the fun of p-lock and this makes the elekron kinda useless. The only way to use the sequencer is by bounce to audio and get the shit on the grid to suddenly become consistently into that tight groove. Human brain can make very small distinction (sub millisecond) when a groove is established there is no space for jitter (and the numbers are messed up no sequencer is jitter free and all have their own latency (clock to audio latency) but the elekron sequencer are a joke and the biggest joke is people not even taken care of individual clock to audio latency with for example a multiclock. For some parts this would not be huge problem but anything rytmical drums, bass or sequence this is not working at all. A pad or string doesn't show the problem but anything with short attack and decay wil reveal the jitter and offset of notes and parts. There was extensive testing back in the days and elektron simply did not care or weren't able to improve this. It sure kept me away from newer elektron products as well because after the second analog rytm I was sure they did not improve this most fundamental flaw. Still love the machine drum for it's fantastic sound and the analog rytm had some sonic potential as well but when I have a great sequencer I want it to be great in timing and randomness is not great for timing.
60 up to 200 plus samples / 0.6 ms up to 2.1ms elektron jitter vs a cirklon with 6 samples midi tx jitter makes a night and day difference. Fair enough the 60 samples a analog rytm produces is kinda accepted (many sequencers don't do better sadly) but 200 samples is unusable for sure. I measured both rytm mk2 and 1 and the are getting worse (up to double the 60 samples jitter) when using the sequencer a bit more intensive. It's a sad thing.
Thanks tor watching the video. 🤍
I think every sequencer i have ever used has different timing and different feel, Elektron included, although the Elektron was pretty shocking synced. I typically use the 909 or Atari, or just the laptop. I think timing as more options to a different sound than it being a good or bad thing, slrhwhen syncing stuff it can be a bit annoying. I ain’t gonna time it though, if it sounds close enough i’ll work with it. Sometimes i don’t even sync them. 😂
Although i typically don’t use the Rytm synced with much or controlling much, just as stand alone or as a processing tool.
The Cirklon is great from what i have heard, but i guess it’s a more premium than Elektron. I would expect it be better for sure. I would love one. The Rytm is crap as a sequencer for other devices, so i just use it on its own mostly.
If i want solid timing, i’ll use the Atari and an Akai, maybe a synth of two. It’s very audibly tighter compared to anything i have used, which is nuts considering it’s so old.
I think my expectations of sequencer timing is always it will be a bit wonky, and it’s one of the reasons i have so many sequencers. I think of the flaws as creative features personally and use them for how they work. Something that’s rough and i try to use it that way, something that is tighter i use it that way.
Still, everyone has their preferences, which is what makes tracks sound different. If everything was the same, and in some cases music has got very samey, it would get boring.
Good to know someone who is a keen timing type though. I will pick your brain i’m sure in the future. Actually, have you ever done tests with the Atari 1040 STE? Curious. 👍