Yes, it's another solid sample pack for the Analog Rytm drum machine! If you like your drums powerful, dirty, and raw, then this pack is for you. The Base Elements Sound Pack contains custom samples recorded from the Jomox Airbase 99, MBase 11, MBrane 11, and JaZBase 03 analog percussion synthesizers. Using a combination of analog engines and crunchy, lo-fi 6-bit samples, Jomox machines emulate the TR-909, TR-808, and also go much further into their own sonic territory!
Jomox drum modules are notorious for their unique, raw, and powerful character. The word is that the owner of Jomox once repaired TR-909 drum machines and got to know them inside and out, so you definitely get the TR-909 sound characterics in their products, with more tweakable parameters than the original machine. Think TR-909 with a twist! And now, with the Base Elements Sound Pack, these renowned sounds are available for use to the sequencer, filters, overdrive, compression, and effects of the Elektron Analog Rytm. An extremely powerful sonic combination! Check it out...
Ask and you shall (often) receive! After numerous requests for a sound pack that utilizes the internal synth engines of the Analog Rytm, Transient Synthesis has now landed.
This sound pack specializes in tight, punchy drum sounds and has plenty of other sonic surprises too: deep basses, ringing leads, pads, stabs, noise bursts, etc.
While Transient Synthesis puts the Rytm's synth engines on center stage, it also includes a supporting cast in the form of some specially processed percussive samples. These samples are designed to be used for layering with the internal engines, adding even more character and punch to the mix! The samples are all high pass filtered to varying degrees, and work perfectly with the warm, thick tones of the analog engines.
Since the release of the new analog machines in OS 1.30, the Analog Rytm has become even more versatile in terms of the sounds it can produce. All these new machines and new parameters means it can take a considerable amount of time and knowledge to find the "sweet spots" in the machine for the best ready-to-use sounds. Transient Synthesis is the answer to this! And with the bonus addition of the included transient samples, you'll have plenty of ultra tight, punchy sounds in your sonic arsenal.
If you use the Analog Rytm or Octatrack, you may know a bit about sample chains already. They are chains of samples contained in one file, and when you want to use a new sample, you just scroll through the chain using the start and end point parameters.
Some people prefer the sample chain method to using individual one-shot samples. Once you get used to the sample chain workflow, it's useful and easy to get endless variations in your patterns! For example, the ACID Sound Pack for Analog Rytm makes extensive use of sample chains by having hundreds of bass note sample variations contained in the chains.
Anything else you'd ever want to know about sample chains can be found in the video below from Carl Mikael's Cabinet of Curiosities. This guy has lots of great videos on gear and electronic music production, and here he explains sample chains and gives an informative demo on how to use them on the Analog Rytm.
Sample chains are long samples that are made from a "chain" of shorter samples. The samples in the chain are selected by adjusting the start (STA) and end (END) parameters in the SAMPLE page. You can easily scroll through the chain until you find the sample you want to use.
This is an efficient way to select samples, but another benefit of using sample chains is that you can fit a larger amount of sample data into a project than if you simply used single one-shot samples. The Analog Rytm can load 128 samples per project: if some (or all) of these samples are sample chains, it can multiply the number of sounds readily available. For example, the new Analog Rytm: Acid Sound Pack utilizes sample chains, and therefore contains a total of 567 samples!
In the SAMPLE page, when you adjust the start (STA) and end (END) points, it can be helpful to know the numerical increments of where a sample begins and ends.
For example, if you have a sample chain with 24 slices (24 samples), then you move the STA and END in increments of 5. (In the Rytm, the STA/END parameters have a range of 120 increments, so 120 / 24 = 5).
In this case, to select the first sample in the chain, move STA to 0 and END to 5; to select the second sample, move STA to 5 and END to 10, and so on...
So, the number of slices in a sample chain (12, 15, 24, 30, 60, 120, etc.) determines the increments of the STA and END parameters. Just divide 120 by the number of slices in the chain to get the numerical increments. Alternatively, Elektronauts Forum user NickD has created an Analog Rytm sample slice calculator that shows these increments for you!
The Analog Rytm: Acid Sound Pack, contains sample chains with a variety of sample slices. The number of slices in a sample chain is shown in the file name. For example, "BD_12_CHAIN" has 12 slices (BD / Kick samples). "BASS_120_CMajSCALE" has 120 slices: 120 Bass samples of individual notes in the C-Major scale in 5 octaves with multiple accent values. (C major is a commonly used key signature with no flat or sharp notes, so it's easy and quick to make melodic bass lines with this chain!)
It's nice using sample chains with similar sounds grouped within them. It makes it fast and easy to create variations in kits or patterns just by scrolling through sounds in the chain. Good luck with it!
Sometimes, reading something in a product manual just isn't enough. We all process information differently, so sometimes you need a step-by-step tutorial or video to make more sense of things.
If you own Elektron gear (or even if you don't), you owe it to yourself to check out a very informative series called "Carl Mikael's Cabinet of Curiosities". A musician and university professor, Carl Mikael does a great job of explaining various musical gear features so that the concepts can be applied in a musical context.
Analog RytmOS 1.22 features a whole new set of features related to trig probabilities and fills. You can now create and trigger percussion fills and add notes that triggerrandomly or occasionally (you decide). So, for example, you could make a simple 16-step pattern, but then add some random note triggers for complexity and seemingly unending variations of that "simple" 16-step pattern. Huh? It's probably better to just check out the video below for an in-depth explanation...
The new fill and trig features in OS 1.22 also work some serious magic on bass or melodic patterns as well, turning a simple 16-step bass pattern into a complex pattern with infinite variations! The new ACID Sound Pack for Analog Rytm is perfect for this. Imagine creating a bass line with randomly repeating notes, accents, and filter variations. Mind-blowing stuff!
Good news! There's a new and simple way to load samples into the Analog Rytm!
SDS Drop is an app for Mac OS that enables one to easily and quickly drag and drop samples into the Rytm, directly to the pads. Made by Jacob Penca, the same person responsible for the excellent Strom sampler app for iOS. Using SDS Drop, I just made a new drum kit tonight in record time!
Worth checking out... life just got a little easier.
2016 has arrived, and we've all arrived with it. Time to celebrate! Time to reflect on the past, and time to stop reflecting on the past. Time to look backward and see where we've been, and time to look forward to where we want to go.
I know I want to make more music this year. I hope you feel the same. Happy music making in 2016!
The Acid Sound Pack turns the Analog Rytm into an all-in-one acid machine! It contains hundreds of individual bass and percussion samples and 16 kits and 16 patterns with full performance and scene mode macros for expressive performances. Perfect for acid house, techno, and far beyond.
If you've used the Vermona DRM1 MKIII Sound Pack, then you already know the Analog Rytm makes the perfect platform for warm, powerful drums. Well, it turns out the Rytm is also an amazing platform for powerful, expressive bass, and the Acid Sound Pack proves this.
This sound pack uses samples in sample chain format: sample chains are chains of sliced samples. This means you can load many more sounds into a Rtym project. This was done to make space for the hundreds of bass samples needed to recreate expressive TB-303 style acid bass lines. Now, when you want to change the sound of a track, instead of loading a new sample from the browser, you can simply change the start and end times of the sample chain until you find the sound you want.
The bass sounds were recorded from theRevolutionanalog bass synthesizer from Future Retro. The Revolution gives faithful renditions of the TB-303 bass sound, but with an extended parameter range, it also has its own character. Multiple variations were recorded, including individual notes, resonance values, accents, saw and square wave versions, and even noteglides!
As if that wasn't enough, the pack also includes a full range of 16 drum kits with processed and blended sounds from various drum machines, including the Jomox Airbase 99 and Jazbase 03, Vermona DRM1 MKIII, Boss DR-110, Roland TR-606, 707, 727, and more!
I've been getting excellent feedback from Analog Rytm users who purchased the Vermona DRM1 MKIII Sound Pack. I'm pleased that people are getting great results from it.
I also love hearing tunes that use the pack, because we get to hear the sounds in a variety of musical contexts and genres, which is always a nice surprise. Drums often form the backbone and character of a track, and certainly the Vermona DRM1 MKIII delivers this: the sounds are oozing with unique analog character.
I've always been a big fan of Depeche Mode, so I was pleased to hear this cover of the song "Wrong" from Franck Superbaby, done all on Elektron gear. On the Analog Rytm, he uses a demo pattern from the Vermona DRM1 MKIII Sound Pack. Waiting to hear "Master and Servant" next! Anyway, sounds great, check it out:
If you make some tunes with an Elastic Membrane sound pack, let me know... I'd love to hear it!
Send a link or sound file to: info@elastic-membrane.com and I'll feature it on the blog or feature it in a upcoming mix, etc.
Although Elektron make hardware machines, Overbridge gives a new flexibility for controlling the brilliant hardware they make. Hardware interface, analog sound, and the convenience of computer editing.
In terms of features, the video says it all:
The sample browsing and loading should save some time and make life easier. And, you can now use the USB port to easily multi-track the sounds directly into your DAW. (Note the Fireface 400 multitrack interface innocently sitting on the sidelines... won't be needing that for recording now! But I'll be keeping mine as it sounds so good.)
Also, with Overbridge, it will now be dead simple to add whatever VST effects you want to all your tracks, all separated and ready to go. Want to add side-chain compression from the kick drum? Sure, why not. All kinds of automation and patch management can all be done via the computer now.
If you use Overbridge, what do you think of it so far? Can't really go wrong here, and there has never been a better time to jump on board the Elektron hardware train. All aboard!
