as everyone said. i think you have to dig deep. i returned my a4 after one week. i do like the concept. you can use it as standalone on your couch. very nice for sketches, etc.
but for me the sound was quite boring with no charakter. like a boring VST plugin 
but i just reorderd a a4 … the price is too tempting. and this time i will dig deeper.
The key IME is to modulate the living daylight out of the synthesis engine. This is how you get the rytm to shine as well, if you do not program the variation and modulations in, the rytm can sound stiff and lifeless.
Another key thing is gainstaging. osc levels change the sound unlike on many other systems which behave alot more linearly. You will get a diff tone by using osc lev 128 and overdrive at 0 (harder sound) than you will get with osc lev 40 and overdrive at 30 (mellower sound), even though the resulting sounds might be about the same in loudness.
Lastly, make sure your save all your nice custom sounds for refining/reusing later, rather than relying on the preset content. This will make everything sound more like you prefer.
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Hi there
Have an AK, I am still in browsing the sounds and not really knowing what I am doing mode.
From what I gather, I will need to delve in the manual, perhaps some tutorials to really learn this machine
In the meantime, does anybody here with experience with the AK have some tips & tricks to share to dive in, pitfalls to avoid, common mistakes or creative shortcuts
Am open to experimenting, regardless of genre, and trying to avoid the delving into brainy manual study just a little longer
Thanks !
Best
J
There are already tons of threads in this regard to be found here on this forum. Without specific questions it’s better to do some reading first.
So the best tip is to try the search function like this (searching for A4 produces simply more hits):
https://www.elektronauts.com/search?q=a4%20tutorials
… or this …
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If you wonder why there’s an octave change while using the joystick, it’s because they put the shift octave buttons right under where your hand rests 
To avoid menu diving madness, start using the standalone OB interface, and you discover more quickly the many unique AK features.
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Thanks Tnussb for the links
It really is an intriguing complex machine, sometimes there is no shortcut right 
, part of me knows I have to either study the manual or watch some in-depth tutorial
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Thanks JamesM
Great idea ! The extra screen real estate might provide a better overview