I got mine a week ago after wondering the same thing. I chose the AR MK2 over Alpha Base about a year ago after probably reading the same forum threads about buggy OS as you have. The OS might have been buggy back in the day but I haven’t had any workflow breaking stuff happen. Manually saving kits and patterns differs from the Elektron workflow for sure but you learn it fast, after losing a couple of kits and patterns
I find designing sounds with the 4x4 grid both satisfying and fast. And the sound is really something special. The metal noise is much more usable than the sample + analog voice on the Rytm (for me).
I took a chance on the Alpha Base because I’ve liked the Analog Rytm, but I don’t love it. Love the Alpha Base.
A jam from last night with 5 Alpha Base voices going through some hardware + a few synth samples thrown in.
There’s really nothing else like those JoMoX kicks. I so regret selling my Xbase09 many years ago. I’ve dreamt about getting an Alpha Base a few times even though I’d probably be much better off just getting an Mbase. Congrats and nice jam!
I´m also thinking about getting an Alphabase. The kick is sure something that really kicks through. I already have the Modbase MK2 euro module.
I just wondering if the kick from the Alphabase is the same or much different … and if the other sounds from the Alphabase worth the expensive upgrade - as I also have a Rytm Mk1.
I came across this video.
And he says the Alphabase kick is more on the hard side. But I think the Modbase kick really shines on 808 style kicks. But its also a bit of a hassle to setup up with the noise / metall noise parameters.
Same here… and I still do believe 09 kick sounds “better” than later revisions. I use Jomox samples quite a lot on my DT and usually kicks from 09 are more “full” and “nasty”, even maybe too big to fit sometimes. Also there’s something about those rimshots and hats… 6 bit samples? : )
Later revisions are of course amazing but a bit more polished. But if getting Jomox again, of course Alphabase is the way…
I would say that (with my limited experience) that you easily can get hard kicks but it’s highly tweakable towards a softer, but punchy kick. It’s quite difficult to demo the kick voice because most parameters interplay with each other. However I recorded some live tweaking towards something softer. No processing, except normalized during export from Ableton.
Regarding upgrade, I think that best way to find out is to try it out if possible. If sound and vibe is a priority the Alpha Base might be something for you. The different VCA and VCFs has the quality of what you mean when talking about an analog sound, at least to me. But if you rely on an advanced sequencer with a lot of p-locks (and fully featured firmware) the Rytm is unbeatable unless you sequence the Alpha Base with the Rytm mk2, Octatrack or Cirklon for example.
I began writing a lengthy comparison to the Analog Rytm MK2 but have stopped short of sharing it. While researching the Alpha Base, I watched a lot of videos from its creator, Jurgen. This guy has put his heart and soul into this machine, so who am I to point out where he’s going wrong? Instead, I’ll address some common misconceptions.
First is the OS on the Alpha Base. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t full of bugs. It works exactly how it’s intended to work and hasn’t failed on me yet. However, it’s undoubtedly peculiar and quite basic. You’re not buying this machine for a state-of-the-art OS.
Second of all, the Alpha Base isn’t an Elektron box. If you compare the two, they are worlds apart. I’ve only ever known Elektron drum machines, and what makes them shine is clearly not considered as important on the Alpha Base. The Alpha Base is about sound, above everything else, so judge it on that.
Lastly, my personal summary would be that the Analog Rytm is like complete system, while the Alpha Base is a drum machine with tricks. The only thing these machines have in common, is they produce sounds. So that’s how you should decide which is better for you.
A question for the Alpha Base owners here. Is your internal clock stable? Mine is drifting, going faster than the set tempo. No problems when clocking it with the Multiclock.
got one from Thomann b-stock and had my first honeymoon day with it:
the overall sound is raw and punchy and thight
it’s far more then an expensive bassdrum for sure
its way more fun to edit bassdrums on the alpha then on the mbase modul due knop per function.
the mbrane can give some really nice and punchy snares (that sounds different to the Rytm)
the sample engines sound great
the fm is fun to play, because basically I didn´t know what I was doing … happy accidents on the way.
the room reverb is good for drums
the delay … okayisch
I like that shuffle! It feels really groovey. For some reason I didn´t used shuffle on the Rytm.
the OS has its quirks for sure. for example sometime I got stuck on switching menus … like goint back from the bpm menu to the edit trig menu … I wish there would be kind of “exit button”
I agree with flos, tempo display is not same as the real tempo. I had a track in logic at 125.4 bpm, but the alpha was not on the same speed, when set the tempo to 125.4 … had to clock it from the A4
I’m super close to ordering one of these for myself… maybe even tonight. Can the external stereo inputs be used just to pass audio thru with no need to trigger or sample for output? I’m very limited on audio interface inputs at the moment and would like an easy way to pass another synth through it to go through to the main outputs.
If anyone is looking for this info later on, I found out the answer on the Facebook group:
EDIT: Initially got one answer, then someone clarified, so it does look like it’s possible.
1st answer: " short answer : unfortunately no the external stereo input are only sample inputs"
2nd answer: “You can pass audio through. I do it all the time with a Roland SH-01A . As Thibault said above. You just have to have X-Rec pushes and use the input gain to control the volume. The output is through the stereo output. It is definitely possible.”
Well, I just ordered an Alpha Base, so hopefully I’ll find out in 3-4 days.
I really need to upgrade my audio interface situation for more I/O (especially inputs), but what I have now has been working for the past 5 years, so it hasn’t been as high on my list. I really just needed something simple to pass through a mono or stereo synth in the meantime. Wouldn’t have been a deal breaker either way.
Admittedly, my somewhat self-imposed and peculiar way of working along with space limitations has kept me to only working with 1-2 pieces of gear at a time which I record, then switch out as needed. I’m really avoiding getting a mixer and would prefer just additional inputs on a new interface or ADAT expansion (like a Behringer ADA8200 or Audient ASP880).
Recorded a nice hihat sound today. But i notice there is some low end clicking around 100 - 200 hz. Have this on the closed and on the open hat. Had to cut at 1k with 12db to get rid of of it. Just wondering if someone had similar experiences? Maybe its from the analog vca? Or some wierd filter going on? Not sure what i was doing and menu is not helping either
Great… maybe not getting an Alpha Base now. Was my first time ordering from Thomann since I’m in the US and I’m not liking the experience thus far. They took longer to ship it than I expected and now after two days of no UPS updates at all the tracking suddenly says:
Returning to Sender. Service disruption occurred. The package will be returned to the sender.
Corbeil Essonnes, France
Since the German staff is long gone for the day (still business hours here in the US) I won’t get a reply until tomorrow morning. I’m really hoping they make this right and ship me another unit before waiting for this one to be returned. My guess is that something happened and the package was badly damaged, because I can’t imagine why it would get from Germany to France on its way to the US with UPS, then have to be returned.
If they say that I have to wait which will wind up being a week or more, then the order is getting cancelled.
I’m in the US and I ordered one of the last MAM MB 33’s from Thomann. It arrived in a pretty reasonable amount of time, but unfortunately it was a brick. I spent almost as much on postage returning it as the unit was worth. I was so exited for that MB, too
Sorry to hear that. I keep seeing that Thomann’s customer service is really good, so I’m hoping (anticipating) for good service and outcome. My understanding is that they’re the EU equivalent of Sweetwater. Even with import fees and shipping the AB was a good $100-150 than ordering from a domestic seller, so I took a chance. We’ll see how that works out.
I just found out an hour ago that I’m going to have to be out of town all of next week, so even if they sent out a replacement tomorrow, I wouldn’t be able to touch it until I get back on 3/20 anyway. I’m just hoping UPS didn’t mangle this one, I have to wait for it to go back and Thomann decides to ship the same one to me regardless. I just get easily worked up by these things, but I realize there’s far worse things happening in the world. It’ll get sorted out one way or another and I might lose some money on shipping if I decide to send it back, but that’s it. Next time, I’ll likely stick to a domestic seller though.
I’m sure my experience was a fluke. And their customer service was totally fine. You’ll get a good unit. I just checked out the Alpha Base’s user manual. It’s pretty extensive. I love a good manual.
… happy accidents on the way.
the external stereo input are only sample inputs"