Link please
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I usually keep the kick on pad 1, hats on 9/10 and probably some more high freq percussion on 11/12, but the rest of the pads get used for a lot of different things. I can see pros and cons to having a consistent setup, but would definitely recommend letting your imagination run wild when you first get the Rytm to really get to know what it can do.
I would specifically call out your choice for track 5 ā the bass tom machine sounds awesome, so you might want to free that one up and move your samples down to tracks 6/7/8.
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first jam on this. absolute stunner.
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This is how I started out with M:C, but I did settle on a consistent layout. One that Iād expect to keep on using even when/if M:C took on a supplemental role in a performance. It limits things to one instance of each type of sound per pattern but it makes controlling and muting things so much easier.
Might be jumping the gun a bit and should get to know the workflow on the AR first.
Yeah, it sounds great as an alternative kick. Free up 1 for dual VCO.
This is pretty smart, you may end up wanting to switch your kick to 5 and use the bass Tom machine cuz it makes the room go boom.
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Sound locks make strict track assignment into a userās self-imposed limitation.
Iāve started to think about having ārolesā rather than āsoundsā on any given track. Iām also dreaming up weird configurations just to see what theyāre like. E.g. āonly use four tracks for AR, and the rest for MIDIā. I also like to think of the choke pairs as a single track, but use them for trig variations.
Frustratingly, I have more ideas than time or energy to make tracks so I canāt tell you which configurations really cook.
Sell it to me! 
AR is in the mail. Thanks to @Aksdnt for providing me with a great deal with some nice accessories!
I expect to sell the MD within a couple months. I donāt think Iāll have any regrets. MD is cool but when youāre always forcing yourself to use something ā¦ thatās a sign that itās not meant to be.
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Get the Digitakt and a Jomox Mbase. Still cheaper than an AR and youāll never need another Kick in your life. Digitakt is a joy to work with and has an incredible midi sequencer.
Ohhh and keep your MD. 
Iāve been watching this thread and kept meaning to chip in. @Roger I was in a really similar position. I got a MD UW mk2, expecting (and then willing) it to be my bread and butter drum machine and, not wanting or being able to afford loads of different kit, the centre of my setup.
Reading on here how versatile everyone finds it and how flexible it is, I really felt I was just missing something and hadnāt learned it well enough when it never quite gelled for me and thought it was my fault. It just always felt like there were too many steps to get to where I wanted and it couldnāt make the sounds I needed to be hearing.
After a lot of deliberating I finally sold it and messed around with an Analog Keys and an OP-1 for a bit. Then last summer, finally got an AR Mk2. The chemistry was immediate and I havenāt looked back. Itās intuitive, a pleasure to use, I can get lost in it and I can quickly get something from scratch that has a groove, depth, warmth, joy! Itās the best bit of kit, for me, by a country mile. I know for lots of other people thereās itches the AR will never scratch but for me personally I feel like I could happily make music with it alone and never run out of possibilities or inspiration or new directions to go in.
So great choice, I hope you enjoy the catch as much as you have the chase! Happy ARing.
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Enjoy the AR and think about something that most of us here know all too well ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ You CAN own more than one device in a quest for happiness and musical satisfaction.
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Yeah, i agree with you. Mostly. I have had my MD mk2 for about four years now, and recently i replaced my Rytm mk1 with a mk2. Now, i feel that i have all the drums i need until the end of time (i also have other gear that can drum, of courseā¦ but rarely used for itā¦ no need).
Anyway; the MD have strengths and weaknesses. It craves tweaking to really find THAT sound, and patience.
With some sounds itĀ“s not so good, i tend to use my Rytm for claps, snares and some more (donĀ“t really remember the details). Also if i want cleaner sounds that cuts through a bit more, itĀ“s the Rytm. ItĀ“s like a big warhammer with sharp spikes protruding from it.
MD is awesome for that gritty electro-electronic feeling you want sometimes, and with tweaking you can take it many places you didnĀ“t expect at first.
But, i need them both. And with the entry of the MegaCommandLive and the new firmware for the MD that is bound to it, the MD can be exciting again. Or MORE exciting, rather.
To the thread-starter: Keep both if you can. I ask myself this: if i sell this, will i regret it later? If a yes, then i keep it.
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I wouldnāt sell the MD unless you just really donāt like it. Save up and add an AR.
I have both. I prefer the MD for āelectronicā drum sounds, and mainly use my AR2 for more acoustic sounding kits (samples). Had I known I was mainly going to use my AR2 in the way I use it, I probably would have just purchased an Akai MPC Live/One instead.
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My AR is coming today! Weee sorry Iām just too excited
I wonder if Iāll have time to resequence a few songs for an open mic tomorrow. Maybe if I do it real barebonesā¦
Iāve used enough Elektron devices and read the manual enough where I feel like I could get right on
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Some of the menu pages are a little bit unintuitive but everything else should be pretty instant
Well it didnāt come and the estimated delivery is now tomorrow. Iām not holding my breathā¦
Also, I realized that the Four sounds better to me.
I may have made my typical mistake again, buying something mainly by intellectā¦
At the moment, I look at Rytm as an Elektron-style MPC, or a more āevolvedā MD. It was meant to be the new heart of my setup (not in the sequencing sense like OT just as a band-in-a-box). Currently that position goes to Model:Cycles but it has a distinct sound that will inevitably get old unless I mix things up with samples and other sounds.
After listening and comparing more I know now that the Rytm synthesis options really are not as attractive as Four, though Iām sure thereās tons of territory to explore I donāt really know if it will be a sound that I love and to be honest the Four has a sound that I want without question. It can even do 4-note chords on a single voiceā¦ but no finger-drumming a drumkit as far as I can tell.
I watched some great sample-based jams on AR that got me pumped for it. The performance options win over the Digitakt. Yes I have means of doing chromatics with my other gear (virtual analog and FM) that I could sample in to keep things self-contained, or use single-cycle waveformsā¦ butā¦ I am more attracted to (and enjoy) the hybrid percussion/synth workflow of the M:C. ARās workflow resembles M:C, but I fear what people say about Dual VCO etc. may be true. Just basses and dirty buzztones and I could find myself frustrated. A4 seems to be the one more like M:C than AR and so could take its place but it lacks sampling. I would prefer an Elektron groovebox with a homogenous synth engine maybe half as flexible as A4 and sampling, and enough voices to write songs entirely on it.
Maybe thatās Syntaktā¦ I already predicted that in that threadā¦
Maybe it is simply going to be a question of if I can get sounds I like out of Rytm and if I like the performance features. I told myself it is supposed to be the skeleton on which I hang my performances, done live on keyboard and pads and knobs etc. But the beats I hear out of Four are cooler imo and itās probably not too deep for me, I know how to dial in analog presets.
My advice would be to take time to explore it and to get to know it inside out. I have both and love both, but as a rhythm machine, I largely prefer AR. Maybe try not to regret your decision before you even have the machine.
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You can get some pretty cool 3 note chords with the DVCO and a sample layer, I personally love doing this for wild huge sounds
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I wondered why my Ex always wanted an ARā¦
While this is a great thread and allā¦ there really is only one way to scratch the itch so like Nike āJust Do Itā
Hate sounding cliche but f me itās f ing true.
***I have just got into modular and Iām at ground zero yet again
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