Elektron Analog Rytm MKII Black

I have waited about a month to finally get to write the review of this machine since I wanted to take a good look at it first and test its possibilities.

A little bit of background first - I have been producing music (electronic) for more than 10 years now and I am using digital/analog setup. What I needed was a drum machine with great sonic character and decent sequencer for making beats as I was not happy with anything I tried before in "cheaper" price range (TR's, Volcas, ....) due to either a weak sonic character or limited tweaking options.
Of course this was my first purchase of a drum machine in this price range, so my expectations were high and Analog Rytm seemed as something that would be perfect for me.

My first impressions were really great - the machine is built like a tank, it looked amazing straight out of the box. But you are probably more curious about the sound/features...

There are rumors going around that Elektron machines are complicated to use, that there is lots of menu diving and so on. Honestly, I got a decent grip on the features after a few days of using it and it really isnt difficult to use at all if u have any basic synthesis/sequencing experience. Of course there are tons of features on the machine which will require more time to get comfortable with and of you need to develop some muscle memory to quickly jump from menu to menu and edit parameters. But as with everything in life - practice makes perfect.

What I really love about it is that everything is laid out very logically (commands/parameters/menus). In my opinion this machine has one of the best UIs I have experienced. Analog sounds are amazingly tight - there are so many sonic shaping possibillities especially with kick/snare/hats/cymbal sounds but also other devices do not disappoint. It has its own unique synthesis approach and its own sound which enables lots of tweaking. Not to mention the FX section which enables you to run each track through (fantastic!) filter, dedicated LFO, Rev/del sends, analog overdrive and distortion which all sound great and expand sonic shaping possibillities.
If that is not enough - you can layer each track with its own sample (loading your own samples is really simple drag-n-drop approach with the latest Transfer software).

Next thing which I never thought would amaze me that much is the famous Elektron sequencer which is simply amazing. Parameter locking opens a whole new door in beat making plus you can adjust probability or so called "trigger conditions", meaning that a 16-step pattern can quickly become an ever evolving pattern.

Plus there are scenes/performances which I allow you to enable a set of parameters with a single pad press (for example to open/close reverb/delay on certain sounds and so on). So basically it is incredibly powerful for live applications.

So to the conclusion - you know the feeling when you start making a beat and a few hours pass by without you even realizing it? Well, this machine does that to you... It is incredibly inspiring and fun to use and I can see myself using it for a very long time. It is a bit expensive but worth every penny...

PROS:
- amazing analog sound, tweakable + sample use = lots of sonic possibilities
- great FX section (fat sounding compressor, distortion, overdrive, ...)
- amazing ELEKTRON sequencer - probably worth buying it just for that reason basically
- scenes and performances which combined with the previously mentioned sequencer enable you to jam "the hell out" of this machine - great for live applications.

CONS:
- could use another LFO/additional filter on a single track but that is really cherry picking (Elektron actually has really powerful updates so who knows what they will add to the machine in one of the following updates).
- maybe a few different types of delays/reverbs (there is only 1 type of reverb/delay on the machine which can be a little bit limiting but it sounds good to me).

If you want a powerful device for beat making and you are not on a tight budget, I would definitely suggest you go for it. For me this is one of those machines that puts a smile on my face even after so many years of music making and brings me lots of inspiration.

1) This is the ONLY analogue Kick producer who understands the amplitude envelope right: it has Sustain parameter (called Hold here). Without Sustain your kick will never sound loud enougth comparing to all the other house/techno/whetever tracks DJs play. I tryed many analogue kicks: Jomox MBase 01, MBase 11, MFB Tanzbar, Korg Volca Kick, and they all lack Sustain. I tryed to compress them with inexpencieve compressors (under 400€, SPL Transient Designer, FMR Audio RNC 1773, Symetrix 501, Origin Effects Cali76 Bass Compressor) -- and never could get desired result -- all of the compressors can't work with low frequencies and produce audible artifacts). The only possibility was to record it and apply digital compressors/envelop shapers - wich makes no sense, you coud get better resuts faster with digital kick synths like Kick2.
Additionally, Rythm has many kick machines, not just one, all with unique parameters.
2) Very easy to understand/remember interface and shorcuts. Logical, fast, intuitive. Manual is huge, but you can start just by reading few pages and then open deeper possibilities later.
3) Lost yourself with delay with applyed LFO - sounds so evolving and never boring.
4) Perfect tool for contemporary Techno. Period. Add few synths or another sampler and this is all you need.
5) Hi-hats/shakers made by noise generator sound amazing, sweet, lush.
6) Can use it with outer sequenecer (DAW) - no setting needed to change, it just works.
7) Beware that if you layer your analogue Kick with sample - you cannot apply HPF to sample only (only for sum of both). Solution is to put sample on another track (but this will eat you another track), or prepare filtered sample in computer (never know exactly the cut off frequency).
7) Cost every penny. Bravo, Elektron!

Analog madness with sampling capabilities. Love using the conditional triggers and per-step parameter locks for sound design, experiments, happy accidents. Minimal menu diving. Very immediate workflow. Elektron sequencer (the best one) which is not only a sequencer but a powerhouse for tweaking sounds and making something you've never heard before. Adding analog warmth to samples feels so good.
I mainly use it for writing drum beats but it's perfect for composing melodic rhythms too since it has numerous engines to choose from that you can transform further. Every time I turn it on I can come up with something completely new. On top of the cake there are delay and reverb effects that just sound great. Plus the analog distortion and compressor make everything crisp, warm and crystal clear. I've been learning about music production for a couple of months but this device opened up new possibilities for me outside the DAW and plugin world. Can't wait to pair it with another synth later.