There are quite a few functionalities of the Elektron sequencer (for example: sound locks) which cannot be captured in any way as MIDI stream, because there is simply no functionality to trigger a specific sound which isn’t the track’s sound on specific step from external.
If I remember correctly plocked parameters aren’t sent as MIDI CCs, too, but at least you can get the notes from the audio tracks as MIDI stream.
Since October 2019 - yes - the AR can be made to transmit basic note data only - it won’t be comprehensive at covering what the internal seq can do as explained above - it’s a super basic implementation and only spans the 4 octaves that the instrument can send on per track
there’s no CC sequencing as stated and it’s pretty much bare bones - it will appear at Din out if enabled per track (or USB) so any device can see this and record it etc - there may be hoops to jump through if trying via OB though
it will send a note for any that it actually plays, whether sound lock or normal note or conditional (if condition is true) - yes it can be fun with conditional stuff
There’s arguably not that much more you could expect it to do (if the AR is the endgame of the data)
It doesn’t offer you a feature rich midi sequencer for other gear (and it’s strictly four octaves centred on 64 iirc) - but that’s not the intention - this basic note data was what people wanted for years
imho you shouldn’t yay or nay an AR on the strength of that nuance - unless you do just need a more flexible midi sequencer for other gear
I don’t really use it - but there’s no obstacle to offloading the midi data into a daw one way or another
I don’t see the appeal of offloading the note data to a sequencer (though many do) but it won’t be too hard - it’s outsourcing something the box does far better imho, sure there are ways to use visual tools, but the fact is you’ll be missing more bells and whistles on the device compared to gains of sequencing via Midi
If e.g. you create a great pattern in the AR and you simply wanted it transcribed to a DAW for other purposes, then the basic note data is all you need to make that an easy task
The AR has so much more to it that should be a determining factor in whether it’s for you - you’d have to like the synth/analog side of it imho, rather than buying it for samples (which do sound terrific through it tbh) - think of midi out as a free part of the functionality, justify the outlay on the other features - remember that the Ar Mk1 is sonically the same, just lacks internal sampling and a few added touches (though maybe not as slick an OB experience tbh)
For some additional info, check out this older Cuckoo video, you can skip to like the last 15 min when he starts talking about Logic:
Some things that have changed since the video was made - Overbridge 2 has been released and works well, and the Rytm can send notes information as well - but it gives a great view as to how you can use DAW MIDI tracks and the Rytm together.
Basically, let the MIDI track capture live parameter adjustments, scene changes, mutes, and pattern changes, and let the notes and p-locks be controlled with the onboard sequencer, and you’ve got yourself a super powerful workflow.