It’s still virtually impossible for me to enter a desired velocity pattern. Velocity seems almost random when hitting below a certain velocity threshold. I’ve developed a new intense love with the Tempest pads after owning the AR !
Thanks for chiming in, people. I have one coming my way, and this is slightly discouraging.
On the other hand, I think I’ll just use my Qunexus to tap beats in. That’s the way I did it with the Nord Drum 2, and I think it works really well. Sometimes the solution is way close. 
Really excited for the machine otherwise – seems like a good balance of sound sculpting and immediateness for me. I’m not the kind of guy who obsesses over a snare filter envelope for hours on end.
Avantronica seems to be okay with his – maybe there’s some variation from machine to machine. Oh well, external pads seem easy enough to add, if the Rytm pads really are a hassle.
For those interested in the PadKontrol: I have one for sale in NYC. PM me if interested. I found it really helped with velocity sensitive playing before I sold my Rytm.
Although the pads aren’t ideal, I’m actually pretty ok with the response in general I"m absolutely NOT a serious finger drummer, but I’ve made progress in getting desired results in the week I’ve owned the device. And yes, the QuNexus will do a fantastic job if you can’t deal with the pads.
Even though they aren’t perfect, having the integrated control has made making music far more enjoyable on the go. The lack of simple, dynamic input with the OT always frustrated me when on the road.
PMed.
Mine seem to get a little softer, but I don’t think the issue is really the pads themselves, but the OS-sided velocity sensitivity. In Mute mode, they’ll register even the slightest touch, but playing requires much more pressure, and it’s impossible for me to get anything other than either medium or maximum velocity.
I am of the same mind as even Performance mode responds really well. it’s just difficult for me to accept velocity as anything other than the pads’ fault, but if people think it could be resolved with an os update, i won’t lose hope.
The pads on my unit are okish but what really bothers me is that there is one pad (OH) that i have to hit quite hard to get good velocity.
So the sensitivity is not the same across all the pads, this is bad.
I’ve been playing with the pad hoping they would be better after some time but no joy.
Am i the only one with this problem ? I mean some of the pads respond well others not so well ?
thanks.
I’ve had mine less than 2 weeks and my right hand, specifically the knuckles and joints on the middle and index fingers will swell up after a days use on the pads. I find them to be very stiff not sure what to compare them against since this is my first device with pads. FWIW I do have arthritis in my hands already so I am guessing the impact is making it worse. FML! 
I’ve not spent a great deal of time with the pads yet, but they seem broadly comparable to my MPC1000 - they’re certainly capable of supporting nuanced playing, but I’m finding it tricky to do that ‘live’, so to speak - so if I spend a few seconds ‘calibrating’ myself on a pad, I can get a decent range, but I can’t maintain that on the fly across several pads. Yet.
I also have an MPC2000XL and a Maschine. These both fare better - the Maschine is the best, by far - but they have larger pads. Oh, and a Beatstep, which I haven’t used much for drumming but is probably a bit more comfortable than the AR - has anyone tried a Beastep as a controller? It’ll operate without a computer and it’s small, so I might set that up tonight and see how it goes.
It does seem a shame that the potential for pad playing on the AR is a little crippled by the pad size and stiffness, but it’s early days for me - there might be a big improvement over time. And also I expect that the more I play the AR, the more I’ll adjust to its requirements - so that when I go back to the Maschine, I’ll probably poke a hole through it. But then what are the chances of me going back to the Maschine?
(Actually, if this comes to fruition, things could get very interesting indeed…)
I have the same problem with my kick pad.
With my old maschine i had this too, but i opened it and cleaned it. I wont do this with my AR.
I’ve certainly noticed some improvement with the pads, supposedly there is a “break in” time with them.
However, after having aquired a Trigger Finger Pro for pad duties, I feel like the ARs pads could certainly be a lot more responsive… And last week I got fat pad replacements to my mpc1k and they’re incredibly articulate, best pads I’ve ever had!
Lets hope there will be improvements to the AR pad articulation in the future, either with improved software response or with 3rd party pad upgrades. Pad controllers are cheap and easy to come by so it’s not a show stopper, but would improve the standalone experience…
this was more or less the reason i sent mine back last year, the uneven pressure between pads. I noticed the difference within a month of using it.
and yes the tempest pads are superior in tactility/response.
Hopefully its an OS issue and can be refined, the curves for the velocity response are definitely a bit wonky
this was more or less the reason i sent mine back last year, the uneven pressure between pads. I noticed the difference within a month of using it.
and yes the tempest pads are superior in tactility/response.
Hopefully its an OS issue and can be refined, the curves for the velocity response are definitely a bit wonky[/quote]
So was it fixed ?
I’ve already sent back my Rytm last year cause there was a problem with an encoder. It took a while to get it back and im not sure i wanna send it to Elektron Again.
I know this is an old thread but any workarounds for the " record before bpm is set (set start and end like looper)" thought? really like my drumming better before i try to match them to a metronome.