Elektron Analog Rytm Drumcomputer

I wanted to buy this drum machine since it came out and, at last, had an opportunity to do it.
So, after some time i spent with this device (and its manual), i could make some conclusions.

1. Sound character
The sound is really transparent, punchy with lot of low-end and powerful mids. Not much of highs.
However, to my ears, it doesn’t have lot of own character in its synth part. Sound is a bit clinic and dry, but this is great, because you can make it sound whatever you want. Using samples (from classic drum machines, for example) could also add a lot of character to your beats.

2. Usabiity
Elektron packed lot of stuff in such a small drum machine, and, of course, it could be a bit frustrating for a person, who doesn’t know much about Elektron’s philosophy. You should dig the manual and spend some time on a learning curve to understand how this machine works. There are tons of key combinations and tricks, which are really handy and making your workflow much faster.
But i agree, that interface, with such a tiny screen, is a bit overloaded, but its the price you pay for a such a powerful and, at the same time, compact device.

3. Sample engines
Its a great feature to add sample engine to analog drum machine, but it’s really basic and has some quirks.
First, sample engine doesn’t have its own dedicated filter or eq, so if you want to make complex layered drum sounds - its a bit difficult, because most of the times you need just a part of the sample’s spectrum, which is not interfered with a synth part. Second, the start and end points is not graphically represented (like in MPC or Octatrack) and have fixed gradation from 0 to 127 (related to sample length), so its not very surgical if your samples are long enough. Third, there is no time-stretching (except changing pitch of a sample). Fourth, there is no dedicated amp envelope. Five, there is no dedicated pan control. And so on.
As you can see, some of the important manipulations, like filter, amp, pan or overdrive, you can only make BOTH for sample and synth parts at the same time.
What i also need to notice, is a sample transferring from computer to a device. I tried both PC and Mac and had some problems with stability and transfer speed when uploaded samples to machine (and not only me, if you check the Elektronauts forums). So be prepared for it.

4. Synth engines.
The most powerful part in this device. There are tons of MACHINES, which are synth engines for most of drum sounds you can imagine and even more. These MACHINES are so flexible in synthesis, that you can tweak it much further. For example, bass-toms could be transformed in deep kicks, rim shots in leads and etc.

5. Sequencer.
Incredibly powerful part of machine. Parameter locks (when you lock parameter values to a sequencer steps for instant changes in sound) are fantastic feature. You can also make very flexible drum rolls, retriggers, parameter slides and accents for constantly evolving patterns.
In addition you have, so called, conditional trigs and locks, which adding events with probability to make your patters even more variable.

6. Performance features
Scenes and performances are kind of snapshots for instant (or gradual) sound changes in live performances. These are killer features for those, who are using these devices in live situations. You can also play your sounds chromatically.

7. Build quality
Very solid and bulletproof. Heavy duty metal chassis, pads and buttons.

8. Overbridge
This is a technology, that streams audio from machine to your DAW via USB cable and also controls it’s parameters via plug-in.
You just add VST or AU plugin in your favorite DAW and using your machine like a generic VSTi, which is really handy. I heard some critics about latency problems in Overbridge technology, but version 1.15 works flawlessly on both of my Mac and PC.

So my final verdict is: no doubts, this is the best and most powerful modern drum machine.

Данная драм-машина является одним из лучших решений в своей категории. Отличный аналоговый звук и удобство управления позволяют быстро строить ритм-партии как в студии, так в лайв-перфомансах. Все, что не может быть охвачено аналоговой частью аппарата, дополняется возможностью использования сэмплов.

Analog Rytm - это лучшее из мира аналога и цифры. "Жирный" звук, аналоговые эффекты, возможность использования сэмплов и Overbridge - это дает практически неограниченные возможности для применения.

Идеальная драм-машина для техно.

Да, есть более бюджетные решения с аналоговым звуком, но ни одно из них не совмещает в себе все те преимущества, которыми обладает Analog Rytm.