Hey guys
I want to get a drum machine for techno live performance. I have a Digitakt, Also own Octa and A4, but want something more “traditional”
I’ve been debating between Tr8s and AR.
Would love to hear your recommendations between these two or anything else really.
Thanks a lot,
BZ
Rytm
Ive got a TR8-S. While it doesnt have the wacky sound design and far out sequencer tricks of the AR, it is much closer to one knob per function. Those faders count for a lot. As does a dedicated pitch and decay knob per track. The sound quality is amazing, the onboard fx are actually really good. If you want more traditional stuff (roland TRaditional) you cant really go wrong with it.
I didnt like the AR, i had a mk2. Too many bugs, too unreliable, too many menus for what I wanted to do.
it depends how you want to perform…
if you trigger externally the vermona drm might work , lots of dials etc.
if its sequencing itself , i’ probably go rytm due to the performance pads,built in fx , audio thru etc.
or even try rd-8 or rd-9 when it comes out. i suggest you read up about it though, rd8 has some nice live bits of functionality .
There is a lively thread here dedicated to the dfam. Seems people love it
If you got a DFAM thinking it is a drum machine, you would be severly disappointed.
TR8S is the one I would choose…love that
Thanks a lot to everyone. I’ve got the DFAM and it’s not a drum machine imo.
What has me leaning towards AR2 is quality of the machine itself, the sequencer and workflow.
Roland, simplicity, dedicated knobs.
I think Roland lends itself more for improv thank AR. But AR is more powerful
Just to chuck my two pence in on a sunny Sunday morning…
I use the Rytm MK2. It’s the drum machine that in most taken by. Especially for live performance. Bug wise, I had it returned to Sweden as it was a unit suffering from the pad muting issue where more than one pad muted when only one pressed. That was sorted quickly a perfectly. It’s now a very reliable machine.
Sound design is good, and there’s plenty of scope to create a varied and rich palette of sounds that work great for house and techno etc. Plus, performance wise, it’s really playable with the scenes and performance macros.
I’ve tried many other machines:
TR8S - I know others love it but it wasn’t for me. Often I either gel with something or not; the TR8S just felt like a toy to me coming from other machines.
Vermona DRM sounded pretty good but I wanted something for live use, save the DRM just got sampled all the time into my OT. So that went.
DFAM - adorable machine. Definitely something I gel with. But nothing like a conventional from machine.
Machinedrum - sold it to get an Octatrack. It was an amazing machine. I only appreciated how good it was probably 2 years after having it. I don’t miss it as such, the Rytm MK2 covers all my drum needs. But it’s a great machine, and I’d add one to my setup of I had money doing nothing.
So, as you can probably tell, I’d say Rytm. It’s a beautiful machine. I’ve become really attached to it.