64 thoughts on “Analog Rytm Specifications & Audio Demos Now Available”

1. Best drum machine since the 808. Period.

   1. I think you could make a strong case that the Tempest is better than the 808, and probably this is too.

      1. Bwahahah. Tempest. Very funny. That dysfunctional
         P.o.s?

         1. Everybody I know that owns a Tempest, loves it. It’s the first drum machine that I know of that’s really a full-fledged synthesizer.

            1. tempest sounds like shit! if you think elsewise-you got no ears!!! i don’t give a f..k what anyone will say,i have my own opinion and i had tempest for almost two years…

               1. great thought process there.
                  a tool is only as sharp as its operator.

               2. Yeah, almost all of the DSI stuff sounds like s**t.

            2. Oddly enough I do most of my beat programming on a Monomachine which probably has more in common with the Tempest on that front. I use a standard MkII (no plus drive) for percussive work and use a MkII+ for the more melodic elements.
               Sounds quite different to the Tempest being digital and all but it really does some very nice FM based percussion, kicks and the like with gusto.
               If I had the money I’d take a Tempest over the Rytm purely for the reasons you mentioned above. Besides which as an Analog Four owner with a rack sampler in tow I can get all the analog percussive stuff I need out of the A4 also should the desire arise.
               That said, I am sure a lot of people will crank out some great material with this new Elektron product.

   2. I respectively must disagree. It probably is the best analog machine out right now, and maybe since the 808, but I think the Machinedrum UW is still far more interesting in its synthesis and sampling capabilities.

      1. you are so right 😛

      2. sold mine,but i think MD is awesome

2. any thoughts on the Rytm vs. the MFB Tanzbar ?

   1. thumbs down on an honest question planning to buy one or the other ?!?!?!

3. Demos sound a little disappointing. After hearing all the tracks, what stood out the most was the reverb (and not in a good way). Not as much variety as I thought it would do. It doesn’t even sound better than any VST drum machine.

4. Yep with the disappointing demos. Still not heard anything impressive. A little over-hyped I should say. The fan reaction at Elektronauts is immense.

   1. As an Elektronaut member, I can tell you there are a lot of fanboys in there. I love Elektron gear, don’t get me wrong, but I try to keep a leveled head regarding instruments… the Octatrak, sure that deserves a standing ovation, this is exciting but it’s also expensive and it’s nothing worthy of getting one’s panties in a twist.

      1. Amen to that. I’m a member over there as well and don’t even want to bother looking at it today. RYTM is cool, sounds good, but yeah, not blowing my mind. I think anyone familiar with Elektron could have predicted these specs a month ago. It’s innovative for a drum machine but I wouldn’t consider it particularly innovative for Elektron. Machinedrum UW is still the most innovative and interesting drum machine out there as far as I’m concerned.

   2. “Over-hyped”…. well, yes and no. I believe in buying a couple of higher-end tools and really digging into them, adding cheaper or specialty fringe pieces as I go. Actually, I am 90% soft-synth now and that path still applies. While I find the OS a bit arcane, every tool has its loose threads in someone’s view, so that’s not an issue. The company clearly has its act together. IMO, the real “problem” is that disco begat house and everything since then still has too much DISCO in it. When I hear complaints about hype and the like, I always end up thinking “Well of course that gets under some people’s skins. These things are designed for dance above all, which defines them so much that you can feel restless with the mechanical results after a while.” I like Juan Atkins, but I’m less thrilled, here in 2013, when someone is clearly using a preset named JuanAtkins1. With “dance boxes,” I almost never hear a waltz, much of an ambient piece or something maybe cartoon-y that takes a fun left turn. No, its generally 4/4. There are many ways to use a guitar and even other DANCE styles, so why are the timbrally broadest instruments around always bowling down the same lane? I get the impression that this is worth its price, but the best design in the world still needs for the user to think outside the box more, literally. BOOM-BAP and CLAP-TISH are not instruments; they’re marketing hooks. I can’t always be sure that someone is playing a synth, but I always know when there’s a drum machine going. Shouldn’t it be less predictable? I’m asking seriously, too. I have a mass of sampled goods, including complex modular-type sounds and heavily-effected things that could choke a CPU, so I do respect where all of this came from and what I owe a lot of
      impressive people. Just don’t disco on my leg and say its raining. 😛

      1. Cool story, bro!

         1. omg lol

         2. its an assay not a story

5. Personally I think this is Elektron’s weakest machine. It’s still better than most and I’d probably choose it over Tempest but I’d still consider the Machinedrum UW to be far more interesting aside from Overbridge and independent lengths on the RYTM. I think creative use of rec and play machines and synthesis options alone make Machinedrum UW far more interesting.

   1. i would like to see different pattern lenght per voice as an md update if its possible, thats a feature iam missing a lot of times, not beeing able to halftime or doubletime single voices makes stuff unergonomic some times 🙂

6. My iPad sounds just as good. Sorry fanboys.

   1. But, but but….the iPad isn’t analog, and every knows that anything analog sounds like a billion times better and is far more capable than anything digital!

   2. But it has the option to use the midi out as a DIN sync out, you could sync you’re beloved 303!!
      No?

      1. “your” sorry, not english 😉

   3. why say sorry? its no competitione ^^

      thats what the manufacturers do, you/we are customers, why would anyone starts to feel better because a company makes a new product ?

      calm down my ipad sounds great to, love the polysix

7. the RYTM is expensive for what it is and how good it really is hard to say without getting my hands on it. I own an Octatrack and Analog 4 and think they are both better than the RYTM at what they do.
   the Tempest is even more expensive but I feel it’s a better machine than the Machinedrum and the RYTM.

8. Demo’s are what they are but do not convince me of the creativity or the way you can work with this machine. I recently played the DSI for the first time. I found the workflow is just briliant. And the synthesizer is just endlessly interesting. I do not hear such strength in this demo. Maybe DSI Tempest for me but i’ll wait for this to come out and decide what works for me.

9. Let’s hear some more pure analog action. Not convinced so much with the Rytm yet. Good tutorial video would be welcome too!

10. Rytm was a ton of fun to play at NAMM. It was right next to Dave and the tempest, and I’m much happier with the results I was able to pull out of the rytm in the amount of time I had with it, I’ve been using elektron’s gear since my mkI monomachine, and I found this one more intuitive than most. My only gripe is I kept hitting the track button thinking it was the function button, but that can be overcome in time. The rolling bass and the evolving drum lines you can create with this are Big Sounding, and it took all of five minutes to find my way around it. This will be a quick addition to my live setup.

11. I have the A4 and love the Elektron workflow and the sounds it makes. I’d love an Octatrack, but this isn’t doing it for me… certainly not at that price… ouch!

    My mate has the Dancing bear and that sounds FAT!

12. Does this sound analog? Guess what, you are listening to it after it went through a A/D and D/A chain at least once and it got compressed too!
    For that price I can buy a ton of digital machines with a tin of aditional VA and digital voices. That leaves the workflow as the only main selling point. At least I can see not a shit on this display! I am above 45 and want to see what I am doing without BIG glasses on my nose. This disregard for older guys makes me cranky. Or do only young people have the right to do this kind of music?

    1. the comment about conversion is absolutely inaccurate. Digital conversion of an analog source creates different digital material.

    2. I also don’t like small screens or too many menus and sub menus like on the RYTM. it’s also the reason why I’m not crazy about the Sonic Potions LXR. it’s much harder for live input and changes, and it’s really set up for building “Kits”
       I like direct control like an 808, 909 and possibly the Rhythm Wolf (we still have not heard it yet), the Tempest actually has too much direct control in a way and it looks cluttered and the knobs a bit small.
       A drum machine should be a drum machine it really needs great sounding percussion that can be pitched, decayed, you know tweaked! a menu is only needed for updating the OS, saving kits and FX routing. (if any exist onboard)
       I would love an analog drum machine with the Tempest’s pads and sequencing, 808 style knobs, and Ableton Live’s Drum Rack FX routing.

    3. I’m 43 and I know what you mean about eyesight. I fon’d find the screen that bad because it’s bright and the interface is actually pretty clean, but I’ve considred building a stand to have the machines a little higher and at an angle.

       The #1 annoyance for me (on all 3 of the black electron machines) is the tiny front panel text and the red-on-black labels for regular functions. You really need a small desk lamp or something to see them properly in low light, which is a bit of an annoyance.

    4. analog soundsource is not the same as analog signal conversion

       who cares if there is an a/d converter and obviously a d/a converter somewhere in the signal chain ?

       this is about analog soundsources, thats different, as this creates the sound, and if you would google about that, you would have days to read 😉

13. I agree that this doesn’t look like their hottest machine yet. BUT I think they sensed the coming battle of the drum machines and knew they could beat Roland, Akia… everybody. And I think they may have. It’s a victory that will help the company out and demonstrated that they are the real innovators on the scene.

    Basically it’s just some gangster shit, showing up to a knife fight with a shotgun.

    1. Eh, they haven’t beat anyone at that price except for maybe DSI. Also, I wouldn’t compare it to the Rhythm Wolf or the TR-8 is because they are far cheaper and the TR-8 is clearly aimed at people who want TR sounds in a performance focused machine. Also, it’s innovative for a drum machine but same old stuff for Elektron. If Korg released an analog drum machine tomorrow, aside from micro timing and Overbridge, it would probably be quite similar in specs to RYTM and be far cheaper.

       1. So… aside from two of the killer features it’d be far cheaper….? Wow – color me surprised… Overbridge is one of the *main* reasons I would consider this over a Rythm Wolf etc. They’re not the only extra features though – the TR-8 doesn’t do per-step parameter locking for example, which is one of the things that makes Elektron machines so fun.

          1. overbridge as a selling point? its a VST that has all the CC’s pre-set.
             make it in max.

             1. I think Overbridge means a lot more than just a CC based VST. From what Elektron has said so far, Overbridge will also now use audio over usb to allow the analog series to work as FX units within DAWs as well. Really it’ll just be interesting to see how the use of the analog series as sound cards gets implemented into this whole process.

             2. no its way more, its a complete fourchannel audio interface including the two ins, which means you could sync two machines with four channel audio with a dedicated plug in … thats WAY more than just CC presets

          2. Assuming you want those features maybe it’s worth $1300 more. It just all depends on what you’re after. Overbridge is cool but it wouldn’t make me jump from Rhythm Wolf to RYTM. The TR-8 is a different machine all together. Obviously Roland is targeting people who want the TR sound. Anyway, to me those features aren’t with $1300 more. I’d buy the Machinedrum UW over RYTM if I didn’t already have one.

       2. Elektron doesn’t compete on the price level, never has.

       3. The Rhythm Wolf is vaporware at this point – but is designed to be a small, cheap drum machine with limited capabilities. It will be a step up from the Korg Volca Beats, but nothing to compare with the Analog Rytm, the Tempest or even the Roland TR8.

          1. yes it is vaporware at this point.
             but I think it would be fun to route it into an Octatrack.

       4. if you look at it feature wise, they did not battle single products, but combinations of products, so they kinda kept the price down, i guess

          at least, if i wouldnt already own a md i would rather buy this, then an analogue only machine without sample capeabilities.
          but on the other hand i would buy the machinedrum over and over again if mine would break 🙂

          until RoHS kicks in of course hehe

14. I strongly agree with Gus about the Tempest: after a year working with the DSI i am still honing my abilities and discovering new ways to craft sounds. As he mentioned, the workflow on the Tempest is awesome (perhaps a result of it being engineered by folks who speak the same language as me??) all the way from individual sound synthesis through to constantly evolving live performance technique.
    It really is impossible to tell what a few weeks/months of getting to know the RYTM might yield; listening to audio demos is not a satisfactory way to judge the usability of the Elektron machine. HOWEVER, based on a quick glance at the spec sheet, I can see a big advantage of the RYTM over the Tempest: a way bigger amount of internal storage. The Tempest is terribly hampered by its laughably small storage space and lack of expandability. I do look forward to getting my dirty paws on the RYTM at some point for the proverbial shitz ‘n giggleZ…

15. I wouldn’t judge a machine by its demo sounds. I have a couple of Elektron machines and they are excellent, but the presets and demo sounds they ship with are terrible! The samples that ship with the Octatrack for demo purpose sound truly horrible to my ears and really do not sell the machine, wonderful creative tool though it is!

    1. Synthesists judging a synth by its presets or a sampler by the samples = genius

16. What worried me was the Elektron demo dude got some really weak sounds from the Rytm. He is animal I have seen him demo other gear and he gets great results. Demoing the Rytm he got fairly annoying results. The guy is good so it begs the question – what’s the problem? Maybe he was having an off day – more likely the Rytm just doesn’t sound that good. Hopefully that’s not that case and we’ll start to hearing earth shatteringly good demos soon.

17. sounds alright, yeah.. reckon i could make some beats with it..

18. Elektrobs demos have always been well weak, but their kit, is and has always delivered…I expect no different from Rytm. For us that know the MD-uw, the things you can push this machine to do is mind blowing…the demos presented are perfume, but the romance starts when you get your hands on it, and step up your game…I fear hardware guys are sounding like vst guys lol all jaded 😉

    1. I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT! They’re obviously not “replacing” the machine drum and I think there was a huge market demand for an analog drum machine that also implemented some modern approaches to synthesis and I think the Rytm takes that into account. Hopefully they will also learn from these machines and their overbridge implementation to bring us some interesting new machines that could replace the functionality yet far surpass the old greats such as the octatrack, machinedrum, and monomachine.

       1. I really want a Poly-monomachine, but I also want to be surprised by another feature that I won’t know I want until they announce it. An analog low pass filter and multimode filter could be cool, but it’s still too much within a realm that I find predictable.

          1. I think, as long as the analog-hype is swelling you will see no new inovation from Elektron in the digital domain.

19. I don’t plan buying this machine, I have the UW and had it for 5 months and I find it to be very subtle or very edgy if you tweak it.
    That being said, my first Elektron machine was the Octatrack and the sequencer is great…as I see Elektron dropped 2 or / 3 Machines (A4 , A4 key and RYTHM) I think they should start updating the UW, I think it hasn’t had an update since 2011 and mix the octatrack or these new sequencer features to the UW, also the Octatrack is in beta since 2013, and I’ve been having problems with that beta.

    And with the OverBridge function they should start making a Digital Mixer inside the Octatrack’s USB port to channel each track and maybe add some returns to the Digital Mixer. But well, they don’t make interfaces like Apollo of Motu. but that will be nice.

20. i think its great, but 8voices is 8 voices less then i would like ^^

    ii own a md and a a4, so what i would need next is a sampler anyway 🙂

21. I’m personally extremely excited to break the bank on this kit. The compressor, which I will assume will be at least decent, will save the expense and need of another piece to run other machines through. The demo’s, although somewhat lacking creativity, sound solid to me. The best drum hits I’ve ever made come from my A4 and sound way better IMO than what I’ve coaxed from my maschine. Rytm drums will probably be similar to better I’d imagine. Those thinking 8 voices isn’t enough, if you make a song with 8+ drum hits at once yikes. Plus with parameter locks you have potential of much much more than what seems like 8 voices. Expensive yes but some buy jetskies and guns. Il cave up with my synths : )

    1. I tried the Analog Rytm at MusikMesse, and as owner of all present elektron machines, Im completely in love with this new machine! Super quick workflow, but still lets you very quickly go deep and creasy. Sound is great, and the ability to parameterlock in scenes is also cool.
       I also like the LFO on all Elektron machines. The Rytm has one per track, and one on master. (would be nice with 2 LFOs per track, like the Four/Keys though..)

       The compressor is analog, and it sounds powerful. No need for my RNC after I get my Rytm delivered.

22. rca component video adapter

23. How can anyone even put the Rhythm Wolf beside something like the Tempest or RYTM? Apparently its one of the worst drum machines ever made. It could have been great but it’s terrible. At about a 10th the cost of a RYTM it sounds like crap, only has 2 outs and limited functionality.

    Better off with a Volca Beats.