Thanks for the posts, guys!
I ended up getting the Analog Rytm during Elektron’s 15% off sale, so it cost around €1300 with the cover. After six weeks with it, I feel that I’m at a crossroad now where I need to decide where I go from here: continue with hardware and buy an OT and an A4 at some point this year, or if I pull out while I still can and focus on software (ITB) again.
The Rytm is an amazing machine. The analog percussion sounds blow my mind – never heard, “in person”, a bass drum that sounds so incredibly “phat”. Videos don’t do the real thing justice. I really haven’t explored a lot of what the Rytm can do, so this is still all “early impressions”. For example, I haven’t layered samples or toyed with them yet, partly because of how tedious it is to get samples on the thing. I find myself mostly jamming, bouncing around the room while twiddling knobs and messing around with p-locks, scenes, and the performance mode. I can totally see what people mean when they say that Elektron boxes are great for live performances. It’s just a lot of fun and sounds good even if you have only a mild idea of what you’re doing. Coming from an ITB background, though, some of the workflow elements feel archaic to me.
My “problem” now is that I can see where this is going to lead me. If I focus on OTB music making, I’ll want an Octatrack and an Analog Four as well. This would be another €2500, plus cables/covers/stand etc. Well, compared to what “normal” instruments cost and other “fun stuff” people tend to waste money on, it’s not that much money. What I do worry about is that it wouldn’t stop there (I’m already eyeing a Sub Phatty 37!), If I stay in the box and I want a new synth (toys are fun), I can buy a VST for a hundred or two hundred bucks, find a free one that’s great to explore, or have fun with Renoise instruments. A hardware synth costs much more.
I also don’t want to end up with a ton of clutter as for the past few years I have embraced a kind of “minimalist” life style where I find it refreshing to not be burdened by “stuff”. Midlife crisis probably! That part of me really likes the idea of just having a laptop, an interface, monitors and headphones, and nothing else.
On the flip side, I like the hands-on approach of at least the Rytm. It feels like I’m “making” music in a “natural” way instead of programming or assembling music, though that very thing can be appealing at times as well.If I managed to only stick with a Rytm/OT/A4, it’d be OK, they don’t take up that much space and are fairly compact, but everyone who dives into hardware seems to end up with a room full of synths and other devices.
So basically, I don’t really know where to go from here. Overbridge, if it turns out the way they describe it, will allow a hybrid approach, so I’ll definitely wait to see how that turns out when the open beta starts next month. If I decide for an OTB setup, and Elektron doesn’t announce an Octatrack MKII at NAMM this week, I’d probably get an OT next. Then again, Renoise is more flexible.
The curse of too much choice.