Review: Rytmik by Cinematique Instruments

Rytmik is a fantastic percussion library that features a rich, cinematic sound combined with its innovative beat engine, detailed control and a ton of flexibility for delivering high-quality results in an instant.

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Review: Rytmik and Rytmik Beats by Cinematique Instruments

In a nutshell, Rytmik is a powerful percussion library that offers an exceptional sound, extensive playability, many pre-sets and great FX in a single NKI. Cinematique Instruments has once again set the bar with an inspiring tool for musicians that should easily fit into your next project regardless of genre.

Rytmik normally sells for €170 from Cinematique Instruments

Thoughts

Rytmik is an original percussion ensemble library comprised of various ensembles and phrases running through their inventive sequencer engine. At its core, this library relies on the first-rate recordings of both organic and electronic sound sets that serve as the driving force behind their extensive, pre-programmed loops. Needless to say, this combined with a whole new level of detailed control create a unique library that offers ultimate flexibility in an inspiring instrument.

Rytmik contains a massive collection of more than 200 exclusive sounds over 350 pre-made loops and covering a variety of emotions and colours. These are primarily split into several categories based on style which encompass 50 ‘main themes’, 65 ‘production beats’, 55 ‘chasing cues, 145 ‘score patterns’ and 45 ‘textures’ across a healthy mix of genres such as cinematic, ambient, hip-hop, industrial, pop, etc. In addition to the exceptional presets, there is a large amount of percussive hits with organic percussion like toms, snares, cymbals and bass drums as well as several electronic sound, FX, booms and ensemble hits. As one might assume, these definitely add to the value of the already packed library by giving users the ability to create their own unique ensembles, groups and sound design.

Kontakt Folder containing a single NKI

In terms of playability, Rytmik builds its platform on their newly-designed playback engine, in lieu of pre-recorded loops, which can be rigid as with most other phrase-based libraries. This useful tool enables users to have a ton of flexibility over their output by accenting particular beats, creating builds, etc. The real-time player holds a 32-step sequencer that performs every note in live and directly in Kontakt. The patch is split across the mid-range of the keyboard wherein yellow keys are used to signify the playback of the entire ensemble loop for quick auditioning while the green keys represent the individual and separate elements of the whole beat. All phrases are also divided into separate, solo parts that make up the entire ensemble. This, in addition to the Group load function, gives producers the ability to manage individual beats, tracks and phrases on a much more customizable level to truly make the rhythmic line your own. What’s more, by eliminating the need for static, pre-recorded loops, Cinematique Instruments ensures the beat does not get repetitive or time out. Rytmik also gives the option to load and save your very own beat phrases for later projects ultimately creating your own loops.

Main Page and Phrase Menu

Globally, the GUI makes use of the large Kontakt interface and is divided into four separate pages consisting of the Main page, Mixer, Blocks as well as Shape. When taking a closer look at the Main interface, users are presented with a clean and straight-forward display showing a few different categories to quickly scroll through the many presets. With over 350 available, it is handy that developer opted to include a helpful menu that can filter results by a few descriptive words pertaining to style, colour, energy, etc. In the center of this page, they also decided to include a nice little playback button which is perfect for quickly scrolling through different presets instead of switching back and forth between your controller and mouse. As well, composers can further differentiate between sounds by categorizing organic and electronic ensembles separately. With all of this content, the Zoom button is a welcome addition that makes scrolling a lot easier. If there is one gripe with the interface, is that at times it can be hard to read given that the text and background are similarly shaded. This makes reading through much of the text and menus a bit difficult especially in low lighting settings like a studio.

The Mixer page with many live, controllable FX

The Mixer page houses a ton of convenient effects such as volume, velocity, reverb, filters, and distortion among others. All of which are completely assignable, are available on up to 24 separate tracks and can change in real-time. Similarly, the Shape page gives live control over sound shaping via the mod-wheel or cc1. The dynamic effects react instantaneously which can drastically shift the whole tone of a particular phrase throughout a track. Last but not least, the Blocks page encompasses the ingenious 32-beat live sequencer that alter beat accents to create completely new-sounding phrases. This very cool creation even gives you the chance manually record in your very own parts which can be used custom editing later on.

32-Step Sequencer page for real-time loop creation

For users looking to test out a ‘lite’ version of the library, Rytmik Beats is brilliant addition to the product line packed full of just under 300 audio loops derived from the exact same sample-set. Contrary to its big brother however, these are not fully configurable midi phrases which does make it inherently a bit more rigid. That said, the library is still quite controllable since every NKI contains 48 individual drum loops, across 4 octaves, that can be played and combined separately. The loops are split into 6 main patches that over a few different musical purposes like ‘Chasing’, ‘Main Themes’, ‘Ambiences’, ‘Production’, ‘Scoring Light’, Scoring Busy’, etc. These specific loops were hand-selected by the developer and much like Rytmik, these categories cover a plethora of musical needs and genres making it quite flexible. Cinematique Instruments also takes advantage of Kontakt’s time-stretching function for multiple tempos and includes quality essential effects like reverb, high/low filters and distortion. This certainly gives users some much needed control over phrases to easily match their specific production. Of course, everything is housed in a minimalist GUI similar to Rytmik which isn’t bogged-down with unnecessary and distracting buttons or functions.
At its core, this mini-release is intended to inspire and give users quality-sounding results in seconds while still giving enough flexibilityfor many different situations. At its very reasonable price point, Rytmik Beats is a great option for producers looking for quick pre-sets and to get a good idea of the true capabilities of its parent library. In essence, this is an excellent option for music producers hoping to create deep rhythmic textures on a budget.

Rytmik Beats as a great, entry-level option

Overall, Cinematique Instruments Rytmik and Rytmik Beats are two great percussion libraries with a full sound, many pre-sets and excellent versatility. It’s exceptional features like individual loops layers and live sound-shaping that give composers the chance to design their own sonic world. While it is not suggested that this should be used as your go-to percussion library, Rytmik is a brilliant option to supplement your existing percussive palette. The Kontakt-based sequencer is quite pioneering and is a ton of fun to experiment with. Having the chance to create your own ensembles as well as sounds sets this library apart from its competitors and is hopefully a step into the future of percussive libraries. This is really helpful for occasions wherein certain elements can be boosted, lowered or removed altogether. Similarly, Rytmik Beats is a valuable, entry-level option for composers who love the sound and instant pre-sets, but aren’t in need of detailed control. The library takes advantage of the high- quality sound from Rytmik and contains a large amount of individual loops and decent collection of FX.

The Shape page for crafting your perfect sound

Though not a ‘workhorse’ library per se, Rytmik and Rytmik Beats are two top-notch tools for creating deep-percussive soundscapes in a single click. The perfect addition for those interesting in producing evocative atmospheres, a subtle sonic pulse, driving rhythms or perhaps just some original beats for your next hip-hop, industrial, or pop track. It is also highly recommended to check out the very interesting ‘live performance’ demo via the product page from the developer website to see Rytmik in action!

Facts

Rytmik is a 400 mb download with a single NKI patch and contains around 1,200 individual samples. Rytmik Beats is a 450 mb download contains 6 NKIs and 288 samples. Both libraries require Native Instruments Kontakt 5.6.8 Full or later; it will NOT work with the free Kontakt Player.

Rytmik normally sells for €170 from Cinematique Instruments

Demos of Rytmik and Rytmik Beats by Cinematique Instruments

Videos of Rytmik and Rytmik Beats by Cinematique Instruments

Contributor BenG reviews Rytmik by Cinematique Instruments
“Rytmic is a fantastic percussion library that features a rich, cinematic sound combined with their innovative beat engine, detailed control and a ton of flexibility for delivering high-quality results in an instant.”