Zoom ARQ AR-96 Aero RhythmTrak

Don't judge a book by its cover perfectly describes The Zoom ARQ AR-96. The Zoom ARQ AR-96 is an amazing Groove box!!! Very underrated. What you get is a drum machine / sampler and a synth! A lot of great features.The firmware update has made the ARQ AR-96 a serious instrument. Don't let the shape and lights fool you, this machine is not a toy and not a gimmick this machine is deep!! There is a lot of menu diving you are going to have to go through ,but is not bad at all once you get your head around it! If menu diving is not your thing , it comes with a software editor that allows you to sequence and edit your sounds and is very user friendly and the GUI is clean!You can easily make full tracks with the AR-96 there is plenty of power under the hood to make great dance tracks.This is the way I can describe the layoutpretend you are looking at a drum machine that has 32 pads, now for each pad you can load a sample, loop or a synth waveform .now each pad you can edit your sample or wave form with the following signal path[Sample or Synth Wave]--->[Noise]-->[Effect]-->[Filter]-->[Amp Envelope]->[volume, Pan]->[effects]each section of the signal path can also be modulated with (LFO , Envelops)Is deep but if you use the software you can understand and see how the sound shaping is amazing.the step sequencing is super easy, you enter the notes using the ring and once you have enter a note on a square ring lights up to indicate that a step has been enter, at the same time the LCD shows you the sequencer grid like a drum editor from a computer sequencer. Is really funEach pattern can have from 1 bar to 8 bars each bar has 16 steps so that's a total of 64 steps.Sampling from the unit is really easy! all you do is connect your 1/4 stereo cables to the input and hit capture button and it starts to record immediately , once your done you hit capture button again to stop it. you can then crop your sample and save them or map them to a pad. You can also import your own samples either by connecting the unit to the computer and from there the computer detects it as a standard mass storage device or you can take out the sd card and load it to your SD card reader. You can used the inputs to process external signals through the effects (filter, delay, reverb , masterfx) only the delay and reverb have dry /wet signal for the incoming signal.It also has a mode where you can used the ring as Loop player. is very straight forward you load a loop on one of the pads and trigger the loop by hitting the pad, I can see this mode useful for DJ's.It also has a song mode. in this mode you chain patterns in order to create a song.The software is great since it lets you sequence patterns in the computer using a basic piano role and this is a great feature since you can work on an idea in the computer and then disconnected the unit take with you and keep working on an idea away from the computer.You can change the color led of each pad and you can also change the light pattern. all of this can be done on the unit itself or the software editor.You can detached the ring and used it as a controller , however I have not used this function that much since I was more interested in the other features.The AR-96 does not have MIDI ports so sequencing external MIDI gear requires to have a computer in between with a midi interface. I was able to sequence my Alesis Micron using the AR-96. to do this I connected the mini USB cable to my PC then open up MIDI-OX (a midi until for pc's) and routed my midi interface to the correct midi channel and it worked great! Also the MIDI in of the AR-96 does notAllowed you to record notes into the sequencer with an external midi controller. You can only used the AR-96 as a sound module :(These are the issues I did come across with the Unit.1) When I connected the 1/4 outputs to my computer's sound card and I connected the mini USB cable I could hear a buzzing hum cause by the AR-96 Bluetooth frequency. to remedy this I turned off the ring and the buzzing sound stop but I could still hear some humming. another way to get around this is to used the headphone jack from the unit itself since there was no hum when the ring was turned on.2) When loading samples on the fly while the sequencer is running the unit stops for a bit and restarts when using it in standalone mode .When is connected to the computer and your using the software editor and you load a samples on the fly while the sequencer is running , the sequencer stops and it hangs and sometimes it leaves the old sample in place instead of the new one you load it. to remedy this what I would do is just to stop the sequencer and load the sample and everything work as normal.overall I would recommend the AR-96 to anyone that makes dance music. If you are looking for a standalone groove box with a great sound engine this is it. It also comes with a copy of ableton lite. As with any other piece of gear you have to read the manual you can't be lazy.If you are still unsure download the user manual and go over it to get an Idea of all the features.

My product has problems (bugs) when it saves music files.I make a loop. it messes the saved file up. I take it off distortion-save the same file and it moves all the music layers and scatters the beats.I received a broken product. . .

This instrument is amazing. It requires some getting used to. It’s unorthodox. But...take a chance on this. I think the original price ($599) was too steep but honestly more closely reflects the power of the unit compared to its price now ($199 as of this review). My favorite function is to either capture my own sample and then chromatically play it using the ring or use the ring to control iOS device apps (GarageBand for example). The internal sounds are also solid. Fun to play Toms or Kick drum chromatically (has lots of other scales to choose from like Kaossilator). And this is probably the most beautiful looking instrument there is in a dark space. The lights really look stunning. Thank you Zoom.

I like this product. It VERY innovative and made with great materials as opposed to cheap plastic. Although the LCD screen NEEDS to be more user friendly. Bigger, more clear. Also the intro videos on the site need to improve.

Uninspiring. I just could not get into it. Sounds were subpar and ring idea is cute but useless. I returned it.