---- Elektron User Topic -----

[nocernoc]

A new cum machine from Elektron is a painful prospect, made even more so by the cruel policy of 'analogue with toast'. After all, their previous percussive shithouse, the Machinegun, is widely regarded as a digital abortion and now, borrowing odorously from the Analog Zero and Sneeze, Elektron have spewed the Analog Rytm, a jumped-up mongrel of a cum machine awash with sewage and sickening lights.

[Mono-xID]

A new cum machine from Elektron is a painful prospect, made even more so by the cruel policy of 'analogue with toast'. After all, their previous percussive shithouse, the Machinegun, is widely regarded as a digital abortion and now, borrowing odorously from the Analog Zero and Sneeze, Elektron have spewed the Analog Rytm, a jumped-up mongrel of a cum machine awash with sewage and sickening lights.

Aerrrm...WHUT?????

[Jean Luc Cougar]

I too just purged all my Elektron gear (except the Heat) and tbh I feel relieved. I owned everything except the Digitakt and DigiTone at some point.

(That’s no diss to anyone who likes it)

I too have just learned that I like much simpler interfaces. I also always felt like I was battling common sense/logic being forced to deal with Elektrons quirks - the most recent example is the Rytms stupid way of tuning, but I found something like that on every box. That, coupled with some business practices I don’t agree with (Octatrak, Heat, Rytm upgrade to Mark 2 felt like a cash grab and lame to loyalists)

Anyway - I enjoyed their stuff while I had it, but I ado feel relieved that it’s gone. Very happy with simpler gear for hardware, and then complex stuff with VSTs.

[buffered]

The hundreds of youtube videos of people with only elektron gear in their studios has really put me off. Sounds shallow but is the same with all this volca shit and tape machines on instagram.
'Oh i wanted to get away from the computer'....and then stare into a tiny screen and use shift functions all night.

[td3l]

The hundreds of youtube videos of people with only elektron gear in their studios has really put me off. Sounds shallow but is the same with all this volca shit and tape machines on instagram.
'Oh i wanted to get away from the computer'....and then stare into a tiny screen and use shift functions all night.

Sorry mate, it is a bit shallow . Tools are tools (I say this as someone cautiously giving Elektron one last try, not an uber-fan). Using a function-button combo isn't really any worse than 2 or 3 mouse actions required to pull up a VST interface in Ableton (and honestly it's a nice change of pace).

At least the Elektron fans have less random succulents in-frame than the ambient modular crowd

[a$$erbik]

I completely ignored Elektron gear for years. Perfect timing for me to be digging deeper to see what all the fuss is about - y'all getting sick of this shit and all these MKII coming out. Now I'm scooping up MKI's for peanuts.

[Jean Luc Cougar]

^

No doubt, that’s the way to do it.

All my grumbling aside, it’s all cool gear.
I have seen Analog 4s go for $500 and Rytms go for $700 which is insane.

TBH - I could make entire records on the Rytm.
If that was my only piece I think I would like it better, the funny thing about my personal experience with Elektron gear is how I feel it sounds / workflow relative to the rest of my studio.

Maybe that’s why you see studios where all the hardware is Elektron?

[a$$erbik]

Yeah, I picked up an AK for $500 earlier in the year. Loved it and that kind of made me start lusting after the other boxes eventually. Just picked up an OT for $700. Should be here tomorrow. I've also been on the lookout for a non-UW MD. If I come across one for under $600, I'll most likely jump on that. They still pop up from time to time for that, from what I can tell, but no luck so far.

[P0607r0n]

I’m with rytm for 2 years now, and I would say it’s centerpiece of my setup. If you use it to ~70% of its potential, you’re able to make full tracks on it. Since getting it I have the “click” moment with it from time to time, when I realize how something can be done/improved. You can do some crazy shizznickz with it.

[between stars]

I often think about getting rid of everything except Octatrack and/or Rytm. Either one is enough. But yeah their workflow is so specific that it’s quite difficult to use them with other gear. And I like other gear...

Still, the simplicity of such a setup is appealing.

[Jean Luc Cougar]

The flipside of this (which is why I got out of the Elektron game) is for all the power Elektron devices offer (I truly think them to be some of the most unique and flexible devices) the sweetspot is small, and building great sounds from scratch is tedious (for me).

I can make a great synth sound with a Roland Juno in a minute, adjusting a fairly basic set of parameters. To get a sound of that quality with the Analog 4, it takes a lot longer.

Same thing with the Rytm vs something like a 909, or an MFB. I love all of the range of the Rytm, but building an amazing kick from Init means touching every section, and but really only using a small range on those parameters. conversely, a 909, 808, MFB, etc - 3-4 parameters gives me plenty of room for variation in a 1 minute or two and it's different to make it sound bad.

Maybe I am just a simpleton

[td3l]

You don't have to start from Init though, you can utilize your own Sound and Kit Pool. In terms of sonic range and speed of results, turning to a 909 or 808 is functionally equivalent to loading a good pre-made kit on your Rytm. There's no capacity to actually design sounds on those machines -- just a very narrow range of possible sonic changes within a fixed architecture.

[Críoch]

Slowly getting to better grips with my Rytm MK1. Have it nearly 3wks & have spent every spare second with it, to the near detriment of Everything else.

Love it. I adore the sound.. though I need to refine it I reckon. That takes tine. Knowing what to tweak. Been watching tuts & sitting with it on the couch wearing headphones.. saving kits, patterns & sounds like a boss. Play them through the monitors the next day.. hmmm. It's just the kicks. I think you need to hear them loud & maybe inspect with headphones. That's why I'll try to build up a library of my own presets inside the machine.

Might even record & import some of those as samples. Haven't gone near the sample side of things yet.

Brilliant machine though. Seq is killer, esp the being able to record automation & apply conditional trigs Loving the sound of the machines. Reverb is pure class.

[Jean Luc Cougar]

^ def read up on sample chains if you go that route

[Críoch]

Yes.. seen the cool vid from Carl Mikael about that topic. Will do. Thanks man.

Just wanted to add.. & possibly repeat lol:

What I love about the AR is the sound.

It's punchy, bassy, crispy & always seems to cut through. There's just something about it. The sound is right. It's incredible how full a loop can sound with only a few elements & in fairness.. fuck all processing.

I used to have a MachineDrum UW & didn't feel the same way about the sound. I will load samples.. but the AR machines are so good that I haven't felt the need to look for any Roland samples yet.

Overdrive is lovely. As is the compressor. Really glad I picked it up.

Just a pity about the midi out, but ahhhhhhh... Let it go

[P0607r0n]

Hey, as well I think we should post here some stuff we found out about the workflow or sound design with those machines.

My recent fav is that I finally made decent sounding toms on AR.

For long time I was struggling with them, as being not very percussive, and “all over the place” really. For me the game changer was dialing in quick LPF envelope and short amp decay at the same time, to make them phat, percussive, and usable.

There is also one thing I use for short pattern breaks, but you can probably find some other ways how to utilize it...

LFO to sample slot.
Dial in triggers doin 16th’s and assign the lfo (shape of your choice, but I pref. Sin and Tri) to the sample slot destination.
It makes very good glitchy, percussive swells.

[td3l]

Feeling on the fence again about my AR MKII.

I bought it last year to replace my TR-8s in my live setup, as I wanted a machine that could go a bit further sequencer-wise and with one-shot samples. But due to both covid as well as some personal philosophical changes, playing live is indefinitely off the table for the time being. I've been struggling to make the most of the AR now in a studio context.

It's certainly a capable machine, and I adore the sequencer, but I simply do not like the sound quality of its analog engines (which I knew when I bought it). By the time I flip through my sample library (always in Overbridge, because fuck doing that on the small LCD screen) and get some suitable sounds going, I start to feel like I might as well have just done so in Ableton with my pre-configured Drum Racks channels. The creative gains I get from subsequently sequencing on the device are a pro in its favor, but the flip-side is that I can't apply per-channel effects and EQ in remotely the same fashion as I can in Ableton.

It's not a bad device per se, but I wonder if the money in it would be better invested elsewhere. My only other outboard gear at the moment (beyond FX) is a Moog Grandmother w/ a small module skiff to apply wavefolding and envelopes -- these together are absolutely essential and give me the warm-fuzzies every time I use them. I'd like to get the same feeling out of using the Rytm, but can't quite get there -- feels much more like a tool than an instrument (which has value, but I have no shortage of "tools" ITB already).

My goals aren't to work completely OTB, but rather have some inspiring machines with which I can get ideas flowing while _not_ looking at a computer screen & using a mouse. Alternatives I'm eyeing are 1) Jomox Alpha Base -- sounds godly, but I hear mixed things about the UI, 2) Octatrack -- yeah, completely different beast but I've always been intrigued by deep sample manipulation and wouldn't mind exploring that, 3) give up on doing OTB rhythms and get a nice poly synth to go with my Moog.

Input is welcome but I also appreciate the space to vent a bit

[Root]

What makes you think you can't apply per channel fx in live on your rytms Instruments? You can.. so this might not be your flip-side.

[td3l]

True, I could be utilizing OB to stream channels straight into Ableton.

[Root]

Yes, that's what I do and it works perfectly. Plus you got the stereo sum for routing the rytms fx signals in live, so I can mix them, too. For me that's a really nice way to have rytm integrated in my workflow and be able to jam out arrangements while still being able to use all vst plugins etc. Maybe the question for you is more if you want the sound that rytm offers you or if you want to go some other direction?