Swedish music hardware company Elektron today announced free updates for its Overbridge hardware/software integration protocol and the Analog Rytm analog drum machine.
Here are the details:
Overbridge Version 1.10
Overbridge version 1.10 adds a variety of new features and improvements. Highlights include:
- Total Recall of all Elektron instrument parameters from DAW project
- Updated GUI
- AU plugin format support
- Support for Mac OS X El Capitan
- Improved support for numerous DAW hosts
- Tighter sync between Elektron instruments and DAW host
- Support for smaller DAW host buffers
- Plugin sidechaining allowing analog processing of DAW audio directly via the plugin
- Automatable track mutes for the Elektron sequencer
- Usability refinements
- Numerous stability and performance fixes
Elektron shared this video demo, showing how Overbridge is being used by students at Cal Arts:
Overbridge 1.10 can be downloaded for free via Elektron’s website.
Analog Rytm OS 1.30
Analog Rytm OS 1.30 adds 12 new analog percussion synthesis models, nearly doubling the range of available models. The update adds synthesis models specifically tailored for kick drums, snare drums, hi-hats, cymbals, and more.
Here’s an overview of the updated Analog Rytm OS:
New synthesis models:
- Basic Hi-hat – Hi-hat model with a tinny electronic sound.
- Metallic Open hi-hat – Open hi-hat model with a snappy metallic sound.
- Metallic Closed hi-hat – Closed hi-hat model with a snappy metallic sound.
- Ride Cymbal – A multi-personality cymbal model that featuring a selectable cymbal oscillator type and also individual levels for the cymbal components. Well-suited for ride-cymbal type of sounds, but can also achieve other types of cymbal sounds.
- Metallic Cymbal – Cymbal model with a snappy metallic sound.
- Metallic Cowbell – Cowbell model with a snappy metallic sound.
- Sharp Bass drum – A modern, hard-hitting bass drum model based on a single VCO featuring user-selectable waveforms. The VCO can be run freely for slight differences between the hits.
- Silky Bass drum – A silky smooth bass drum with a large sweet spot and a gentle VCO click for shaping the transient. Also comes with a dust parameter, allowing the drum to be buried in tape-like environmental noise.
- Plastic Bass drum – A bass drum model that utilizes both ring modulation and frequency
modulation between two VCOs to achieve distinct and almost plastic-sounding harmonics. - Natural Snare drum – A natural-sounding snare based on a single-VCO configuration. User-configurable noise color makes this snare very usable for both acoustic-type snares and subtle, electronic mini-snares.
- Noise Generator – A white noise generator with a resonant low pass filter and a high pass filter. There is also an amplitude envelope to control the volume over time, and controls for automatically sweeping the low pass frequency.
- Impulse Generator – Generates a short pulse with controllable attack, decay and polarity. This model is useful for triggering external devices.
Here are audio demos of the new Analog Rytm capabilities:
Analog Rytm OS 1.30 is available as a free download from the Elektron website.
Analog Keys/Four OS 1.23
In addition to the Overbridge & Analog Rytm updates, Elektron also released 1.23 firmware update for Analog Keys/Four. It addresses a few bugs and makes the instruments fully compatible with Overbridge 1.10.
Elektron, I salute you.
YUUSSSSSS!!! I just love the guys at Elektron. There is something to be said for being a relatable group of people, really makes the whole wait okay in the end.
Just awesome. Can’t wait to get these on the machine and give them a go. And the first free synthesis only sound pack for the Rytm as well… Thanks for listening guys!!!
Fantastic!!!!! Time to buy a Rytm.
Good on ’em for updating the Rytm, it was a great looking machine, now even better but those HH are still pretty weak.. Maybe it’s an analogue thing and the Rytm can rock the 909 style too
RYTM has analog and samples can easily do 909 style hats if you stick in a 909 hat sample!
Amazing update at a time when Tempest users are fighting for bug fixes and basic features Electron deliver.updates we didn’t even dream we would get. RYTM was already the best hardware drum machine imho since they introduced trigger probability etc but the new machines realy take it to modular territory and sonic ability….simply stunning, I hope they are rewarded with a ton of new sales, we need to reward developers like this, they are the real deal.
Yeah, really a case study in how brand matters, even for random stuff like drum synths.
The 909 uses samples for the HH after all and you can use those samples on the Rytm as well.
Yus that’s exactly what I concluded with :/
an agent provocateur if ever their was one!
RYTM probably should have been released with these machines. Still, it’s an improvement.
so you would have rather them have waited until yesterday to release the rytm? it’s not like they held onto these machines and saved them for 2 years, they were being actively developed after the release of the rytm, as in these machines weren’t ready yet
All this talk of 909 is making me ill. It’s a new world people stop with this over used sound and get creative.
This release is way more solid than the beta. Doubleplusgood!
Its funny that meanwhile People are waiting for a Tempest Update. How about no?
RYTM is the best hardware drum machine ever made.
Best sequencer (no competition), most flexible and varied real analog engine AND samples…analog and digital effects….Overbridge (individual outs over USB at 24 bit) and a great software editor)
No wonder tempest development was stopped ….
Credit to Elektron for their commitment to releasing improvements of products that have hit the market 3 years ago. This release is banging. I own a RYTM and I feel I am being respected as a customer and musician. Product and service worth to the last penny.
The new sounds are so much fun, like having an analog mono-synth built in. Add to that some of the interesting trigger mathematics added the last time the RYTM keeps getting better and better. Now, about that single LFO per voice limitation….
HOLY SHIT.
Oh yeah, Elektron are the real killers. Bravo!
I know every time they released a new sample pack I complained like a baby “where’s my analog instruments you promised?” Thanks, guys! Totally thrilled!
And now that Strom is updated too, I have nothing to complain about! Well, nothing Rytm related anyway.