Wow , I thought that only happened with MKI !!!
Finally someone correctly briefing this amazing piece of gear. The best IMHO. Thanks!!
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thank you,you are very informative.can Rhythm run 4 midi channels? thanks
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No it can run 12 MIDI or Audio channels, but I believe you have to choose between audio or MIDI. So if you have drum sounds on 10 pads, you could use 2 for MIDI. I may be wrong about this, but someone can correct me. Also it can only trigger 8 Audio sounds at once. But 8 sounds hitting at once in a dance track is a ton, so that has never bothered me. Essentially there are 12 pads, but 4 pair of pads choke each other.
Each channel plays 4 notes at once. So a 7th chord, a 9th with no 7th…etc. You can’t program a 6 note chord for example.
Also the Rytm manual is actually pretty good. What I did that made me way faster on the machine was download the PDF and just search for any term I needed to figure out. Its the fastest way to learn this machine, imo.
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thanks for this information.analyzed as best you could.
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Ive kinda given up on buying a Tempest and im trying to convince myself to buy a new AR.
But i have a problem 
Ive been listening to YT demos for a few days and i can say that im still not convinced; the synth part just sounds really boring, especially compared to Tempest. Not interested in ST atm.
I already have an OT mk2 and SP404 mk2 so buying it for the sampling part it’s not that exiting tbh.
Just to offer my current workflow for perspective. I often use some midi tracks to trigger samples on my 1010 black box, which has a mode that lets you slice audio. So the result is I’m using AR’s pads for beat chopping when in chromatic mode. The great thing is two pads that normally choke each other work simultaneously when routed out to midi. And, you could still use their audio. Just keep in mind the track will follow the sequencer. I wish Elektron would add sample chopping to the AR.
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there’s a pretty cool feature to assign synthesizers to one of the rytm pads, it’s like a new machine with even more features. this gives you the rytm sequencer, envelopes, effects, etc. once you get to grips with how this works, it’s an absolute feature, because then the complete mix is glued to the rytm and the synth gets even more character through this the rytm distortion and the analog filter and in general the sound fits much better into the rytm drums. you can also play pads, chords, etc. as normal, which you simply import into your daw. editing the track with the daw is also possible without any problems.
this is roughly explained here at minute seven: Elektron Overbridge 1.10 and Analog Series Software Updates - YouTube
it’s really very simple and I can only recommend it. the rytm has become my main tool and it works with every device and synchronously.
and if you listen to sounds like e.g. here min 17:20: Syntakt Week 2 + My thoughts on Elektron's Drum Machines: Syntakt , Analog Rytm Mk2 and Machinedrum - YouTube
then I can only recommend experimenting with the resonance filter and adjusting the volume. when I found that out, the drums were suddenly amazing. they too can sound really fat and no longer so thin and hissing.
I wouldn’t recommend it for such normal drum sounds, then the digitakt with samples or ot also works.
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Can you please explain this feature? Are you referring to playing via midi a synth via the Rytm pads?
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The kicks and snares offer a lot of sonic variation and sound great. The toms to an extent too, but the hats and cymbals less so. However, you really can’t beat synthesis for shaping the sound using LFOs, parameter locks, automation, and especially the Rytm’s performance features. Plus the sample layering can actually be really effective — it’s not just one or the other. But push things through the fantastic filter and overdrive (plus the distortion fx) and they really start to shine.
There is always room for improvement, but as a whole package it’s a compelling value, particularly when you factor in the performance features and analog components in the signal chain beyond the drum synths themselves. I’ll save my complaints for another forum (pun intended), but the Mk II is really a joy to use.
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I have a rytm mk 2 and yes the drum synth is not great - i rarely use them, I only use my own samples, the noise machine and the impulse machine sometime.
I never use the VCO I don’t like it
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Sorry, we hobby musicians are limited by our skills and available time and not by our gear.
Here it is often similar to photo forums: Every HW feature is discussed in detail and forever. However if you look at the photos of the discussing people: Oh meh …
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So I’ll try to explain that clearly.
In this example, we are assuming that you are controlling an external synthesizer (regardless of which one) via ableton via MIDI and playing it back via your audio interface.
To perfectly integrate the synthesizer via Ableton, use the Ext.Instrument, which you can find in the Instruments section. Once here, enter the correct MIDI channel of your external synthesizer in Ext. Instrument and your correct audio channel from your audio interface.
Now go to the Ableton Channel by loading the Ext. Instrument. Here it says MIDI From, which doesn’t interest us, and Audio To, which interests us, because here you now select the OB plugin, which you have to load beforehand in an Ableton MIDI channel. Underneath it now says Sidechain 1/2 etc…
Now you go into the OB plugin and in the top right in front of the kit editor there is a strange sign, you click on it and go under your assigned sidechain channel, in this case 1/2 on a pad you assigned, which you use with the Rytm or want to control A4, i.e. CH, CY etc. - so nice!!
Now you first create your MIDI stories via Ableton, i.e. chords or whatever, it works best with long drawn-out MIDIS, but that is not a must, but you can use the sequencer really nice this way, because you cannot use pitches via the Rytm or A4, but that doesn’t really matter because you do it via MIDI in Ableton.
Now you can play your synth through your Elektron as if it were a new machine. You can also turn off the machine with its own sound to just hear your synth. For proper note length control, go to the amp envelope short and adjust it so you see a note and dial down the decay a bit to taste. Now you can enter the exact note length via the TRIG page on the Rytm via LEN, which is a real hit because it’s really like a new synth. You now have access to everything, VEL, filters, trigs, sequencer, compressor, everything.
This also works with plugins…
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it just occurred to me that you could also play pitches with the elektron sequencer in this setup. Here you simply set the midi channel and the corresponding assignments, as you would do if you only wanted to control one device via MIDI with the Elektrons. However, I find it better than ableton because you have unlimited polyphony, or you can use the polyphony that your synth has to offer.
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I really like the performance features, like the dedicated fill button, direct jump/start, scenes and performances. Those make it a very deep machine.
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It’s funny because I found this thread while looking up ‘bored of my rytm’ and it’s true that given limitless gear and time I’d never get bored but snatching an hour here and there between work and kids means I can get easily frustrated with things like shitty drum pads and limited polyphony so I’d get a tempest if I had my rytm mk2 evaporate for some reason which it did as I sold it…third one I’ve had and sold so hopefully I have learned that I do not get on with it
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I like my AR2 quite a bit, but I pretty much just use it as a drum sampler. If I had known I’d be doing that, I probably would have just picked up an AKAI machine instead.
Really enjoying my Rytm MK2 quite a bit since I bought mine late last year after spending time borrowing a friend’s Rytm. I had used the Machine Drum and Digitakt before and liked the pads and additional features of the Rytm focused toward drum performance. I am getting fantastic results with the analog drum synth engine by tweaking it to my taste for various types of music whether it be techno, house, trance or whatever it excels. Folks complain on the kick but I get massive sounding kick drum out of the core engine and amazing snares too. The hats are ok but decent enough and toms a lot of fun.
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