First and foremost: please, don’t consider me dumb because of the thread title!
I’ve been looking for a standalone hardware drum machine for some time. At the very top of the list is AR MkII. It’s analog, it has all the Elektron sequencing skills and it seems incredibly ergonomic.
It turns out that I had a brief experience with a eurorack “drum machine” a friend of mine built. I don’t know the all the modules but I liked a lot the sequencer (Metron with that CV expander I forgot the name), the two kick drum modules (Crater and Mutant Bassdrum) and hi-hats (Tip-top hats 909). He has Basimilus Iteritas Alter too, and he made some nice crazy sounds with it, but I didn’t have enough time to really know it. I really liked the sound flexibility and quality. This last thing is something I’m afraid I’ll get disappointed with in AR because, from the demos, I don’t know, it’s not quite there.
I never tried AR personally and this seems an unjust comparison. And I don’t know how much more the AR sequencer can do compared to Metron.
So, my doubt is what can I gain and lose with each option? What are the risks? Am I spending a lot more if I choose eurorack? What if I get a sequencer, or Digitakt, and a MIDI to CV module and get the best of both worlds?
TBH, I’d like to ask a lot more but I really want to know the personal experience from those who tried or has both.
No one else can really help you to be honest. Only you know what works for you. Which one speaks to you the most. Dont worry about weighing up every option you can find. That wont help you make music.
I never tested the AR but I have a Digitakt and I know very well the elektron sequencer to imagine what can be done on the AR, and it’s HUGE. Every parameters on the machine can be locked on each trig, you can really go beyond the simple drum pattern.
If you don’t like the sound of AR, check other elektron box that can do drum. A lot of people love Digitone for the drums. Also Digitakt sound like what you put inside, sometime just a good sample pack do the trick. A4 can make really good analog drums too, some people prefere A4 drums that AR.
I don’t know about your modular, but I know you will not be disapointed with any of elektron box.
I will advocate for an Elektron box.
You can loose the elektron sequencer
Never know the power of an elektron box
yes + a lot of cables + a decent soundcard. (All this is included in any elektron box except OT that can’t do soundcard)
I don’t believe in “the best of both worlds”, but you can try. It’s end most of the time by selling everything because that was not the best.
It’s not THAT flexible, but it’s got a lot of flexibility if you make sure to use it.
EG - it has 1 LFO per track
But you can also use the perf pads to control any parameter, and these also have MIDI ccs so you could use MIDI lfos on these for example.
Then you also have slide trigs which can add another layer of modulation, (eg you could use them to create an envelop or a second LFO on a track using trigless trigs etc)
It’s not as “in your face” modular as eurorack - but it’s certainly not just a regular surface level drum machine.
I think if you want completely bonkers off the wall shit you always need to go eurorack tbh. You can certainly get there with all in one devices like the rytm, but you just don’t get the same “ill put this wire in here and see what it does” immediacy as you do with eurorack.
If you want an actually insane DRUM MACHINE that is likely the last all in one drum machine you’ll ever need, then get RYTM mk2 imo. Then down the line if you decide u want to incorporate some mental eurorack shit, you can use the 2 CV inputs to map to 8 parameters. And also sample any eurorack madness too.
The AR is a hundred times more nimble than a modular. Let’s take it point by point.
Metron with that CV expander- Elektron sequencer has this covered and then some.
Crater and Bassdrum- Sample Library and Kick Machine. Consider every p-lockable parameter and compare it with the number of jacks on those modules. It’s no contest.
Tip Top 909 Hi Hats- Does this even benefit from being a module? The hi-hat tracks in combination with samples clearly provide more veritility.
Basimilus Iteritas Alter- Pretty hard to match within the AR on it’s own, but the AR is a sampler. You sample your friend’s BIA and use those samples. If you want a modular synth get a modular synth.
That’s 4-6 tracks, that leaves 6-8 more channels to sequence and layer with. Try managing 12 tracks simultaneously in modular, I assure you it in an exercise in frustration…
But what really pushes the AR over the edge is overbridge. No modular will give you that degree of DAW integration for the price of the AR.
I think you could ask your friend to let you play with his modular drum machine, for a while.
If modular is really interesting for you, start slow with a DFAM for instance.
AR will offer you a way to conserve your sounds (save the patch, or sample it), capture your performance (live recording), refine it (grid mode) and, most of all, replay it. Major difference with modular. Believe me, you can go crazy enough, there are many ways to distort the sounds.
But the fact that you can replay it means you can go further in term of preparation, sound design or song structure.
Another aspect is that a modular invites you to experiment. With new modules, as the power they bring is fascinating. An ever ending hunt that takes its toll, financially speaking.
I have been there. Guess my choice
But you got to make yours.
Or get both a modular and a Rytm, if you have money and time to spend.
Well … not as a drum machine … but I have a couple of modulars in the studio.
From my experience I would say:
Trying to built a modular to have the functionality like a “simple” groove box will cost dramatically more money.
IMO to rebuilt many facilities of an Elektron box with a modular system could be a fruitless endevour, particularly the sequencing features.
A groove box will often have the option to save and recall complex projects, a modular will not.
If a modular patch of a certain level of complexity has to be rebuilt, we need decent documentation and time to get all the cables and parameters right.
Particularly for drum machines I would suggest to compare the features and workflow of the AR to:
Erica Synths Techno System, or
Soma Laboratory Pulsar 23
If … in principle … those modulars appeal to you more than the AR, follow the modular route.
the RYTM is a blast but gives some headache when tuning the voices to play well with other instruments…the razorsharp tuning on the A4 should have been part of the Rytm from the beginning.
that’s why I bought the A4 for drums, controlled from the 4 drum tracks of the OP-Z.
the Rytm is super inspiring but with that missing correct tuning more or less a contained groovebox
This is true for the early engines, but the latest were easier to tune and they follow the chromatic scale in my experience. Especially true for Dual VCO engines.
Anyway, you can resample a sound and use the sample layer to tune very precisely your drums, if you need.
So I disagree with you on this. Rytm can be tuned very precisely, in the contrary.
The Machinedrum might be a good option too bcs of its more “modular” structure. Although it lacks the analog goodness, trig conditions and scale per track its an incredible device that inspires the user to explore all the weirdness.
I´ve had a modular drum machine for years and its a pita after a while. Its easy to find cool sounds and weird grooves but refining stuff is difficult and must in many cases be done immediately while you still remember what is actually going on with the patch. Also you can´t just unpatch it to try out something else before recording it. No recall.
I ended up getting the AR mkII and I adore it. The sound is superior to any drum machine out there that I´m aware of and the fact that you can save stuff and continue it later on is invaluable. The performance tools are VERY nice and it can do so many things well. With engines like the dual vco it can do synth stuff that I´m not able to replicate on the A4 plus there is a digitakt with analog filters built in too. Also the master compressor that is modulatable is superb and its easy to create stuff that sounds like its been mixed already.
Obviously having only one lfo per track sucks Baal´s balls but with other Elektron gear, cv from another synth and the OB you can remedy that.
My conclusion is that personally I couldn´t have made a better decision but when using my bandmates MD I can´t help but to feel a bit envious of the flexibility, especially the ability to use all the 16 tracks lfos in one track if desired. If elektron would implement another lfo to the AR it would improve it immensely. Also I think its worth mentioning that the crispness and low-end articulation of the AR rarely comes across from demo videos properly as it´s so big sounding it needs a bit taming more often than not.
The bottom line is it sounds ridiculously good and unlike a modular drum machine it´s an instrument.
A modular system can always be an instrument. It depends on the configuration. If people only collect cool modules, you might have a point, but systems like the Pulsar 23 or the Techno System are definitely instruments by their own right.
IMO playing a modular system extends even the options of playing a standard synth, because it supports to play “plug- and un-plug” the cables as well
