Context: I try to make electro music (e.g. Drexciya) with a A4+AR setup.
I love the AR and have a tremendous amount of fun with it. Probably one of my favorite machine ever. The A4 on the other side…well, it is a love/hate situation. I recognize its power but struggle to apply it to the music and production flow at its full potential. It just doesn’t really go where I want to… I will design nice sounds and sequences but nothing as fun, homogeneous and groovy as with the AR. I almost always end up using just one or two voice, struggling to find a balance between the different elements.
I also realize that there is no real alternative. A4 has a good sequencer, awesome effects and 4 analog voices in a compact format. It should be perfect
Anyone in the same situation?
Any solution, replacement gear or tip for an epiphany?
Hmm… Keep trying? There’s nothing on the market quite like the A4.
If you figure out exactly what’s bothering you about the interface then you’ll be closer to finding a replacement… Also try to make a list of the things you need in a synth - analog? sequencer? knobby immediacy? modulation options?
That’ll help narrow things down. Other analog 4 voice synths are perfourmer, tetra, but they’re pretty different. Apparently the new korg minilogue will have a sequencer too.
I actually do lots of good and fun session with just the AR!
The A4 is just there to add synths and fx here and there.
But that’s exactly the point: I feel like I don’t optimize it and that I may as well replace it by something that I am more comfortable with…without losing keys features: integrated sequencers, nice effects, compact…
Anfim is right too. I should keep trying… or just accept that it will never be the central part of my setup.
i found the same problem i bought mine last year swapped it for an octatrack but then got another one it’s still not the main thing OT &AR are the main ones but the A4 is great for efx /big subs/ bass lines quircky leads i got more out of it when i started to really program the performance macros with as much variation as possible on each sound…
stick with it for a bit you might crack it…a great thing is the OT with other synths so you still have the sequencer but then you can choose other synth and you get a great sampler…i got the virus ti to go with it’s given me a lot standard sounds the A4 couldn’t do.
hope that helps…
Knowing how you’ve gone through much of the A4 competition (MM, Audiothingies P6, Blofeld), and passed them on, perhaps it is just that you aren’t a synth person. Nothing wrong with that.
I would wait for the new OS update that brings the probability features. It’s going to add life to A4 and AR that will be hard to get in other standalone machines.
Aside from that, it’s only monophonic (though perhaps all you need?), the HyperSynth Xenophone for $900 may be up your alley.
Or a Mono Evolver Keyboard?
Mopho SEs are going for $519 from ProAudioStar lately, if you don’t mind the quirks of a gated sequencer.
I know my friend who bought my BS2 loves it because every time she touches it she makes a track.
I’ll post back if I think of more.
I had the same problem; this is my third time owning one. I appreciate it now though. I think the main thing is; the A4 can do a lot, but truly excels with some character at certain things. For me, it’s definitely, layered/unison type sounds, sounds that involve feedback as an osc, and certain poly synth duties. I feel the A4’s sound works really well for unison patches. So for me, it’s either doing some main riff type sound (usually a unison patch), or playing chords. Being able to sequence/parameter lock all types of variations is what makes me really enjoy the A4.
[ol]
[li]I probably expect the A4 to be like the AR: a machine that can create an entire track like a groovebox. Even if it is certainly possible (I have done it and other people like AdamJay masters the exercise), it is nothing like the AR for me . Just my personal taste and workflow.[/li]
[li]I also suffer from minimalism and want a compact setup where everything is used. Stupid. I know.[/li]
[/ol]
In the past (before moving to USA) my most productive setup was a Machinedrum UW+ and a Bass Station rack…very compact yet powerful.
So…yes it seems that I don’t need much from a synth. A monophonic may be enough. BUT it has to feature patch memory, internal FX and a powerful sequencer (as the AR can’t sequence external gear…sigh…).
Alright, I just described the A4…maybe I should just focus on one track at the time.
I can understand you 100% Klerc, i went through the same.
My solution is
RYTM
+
Tempest
+
Perfourmer mk II
I make music since quite some time,
But this is the most creative setup ever.
Basically you could do with Tempest and Rytm alone,
Since the synth in the Tempest is extremely powerful,
But add the Perfiourmer MKII and you got even more poly
Basslines, Arps, Leads choices.
I am sure you will love it and it is perfectly suited also for
Drexcya style electro … But truth is, you can do ANY style with it.
I would suggest first to try to do A4-only tracks.
Use sound-locks, program some performance macros, play with the FX track… But don’t touche the AR for such tracks. I feel like it’s the only way to really meet the instruments capabilities.
Then if you’re not really convinced, sell it and try some alien synth like a MM.
This synth is OK with a “from-beat” approach, and doesn’t overlap with the AR at all, even on the drum side.
The filters are really good, even if they are not analog, and you can feed the AR input with some of its outputs if you want to “round” the sound…
I
In the past (before moving to USA) my most productive setup was a Machinedrum UW+ and a Bass Station rack…very compact yet powerful.
So…yes it seems that I don’t need much from a synth. A monophonic may be enough. BUT it has to feature patch memory, internal FX and a powerful sequencer (as the AR can’t sequence external gear…sigh…).
Alright, I just described the A4…maybe I should just focus on one track at the time. also suffer from minimalism and want a compact setup where everything is used. Stupid. I know.
[/quote]
[b]also suffer from minimalism and want a compact setup where everything is used. Stupid. I know.
I have thesam “TICK” [/b]but that’s the way we are for the moment - sme times i think it’s stupid - sometimes I think it’s a very good way … > for me I think it’s because I have little gear and it took me very much effort to get it.
I can’t give you advice for your needs, that only you can know, but if you have a doubt to keep or sell the A4, wait a little longer to decide, until you know for shure , this is a machine that keeps it’s value.
Maybe you could start by using the A4 more like the A- RYTM = more as a drummachine - with the advantage of learning to use the tracks monophone at the beginning. Or try to make some musick only by tha A4 to find it’s real potential… ?
Mistakes in life are sometimes nessecary to find out who you raelly are .and what you need. Creativity is also journey into the unknown…
I can definitely relate to this. I do whole tracks on the A4 and AR each individually, rarely use them in conjunction when writing, and they each have different capabilities and restrictions. But there’s still a lot of value in doing entire tracks on A4.
On Rytm, I’ve never used a sound lock. Never had to with 8 voices and 12 tracks. Closest I’ve come to a sound lock is changing the start time on a sample chain to go to a different hit. For voice count, Rytm has everything I need. The things I would do for a 2nd LFO per track, though!
On A4, I am constantly using sound locks on at least two tracks. The workflow is heavily influenced by the 4 voice limitation.
However, one thing I do to circumvent that limitation is focus heavily on making the few voices (especially in tracks not containing sound locks) as interesting as possible with creative LFO, ENV, and Perf assignments. Also, parameter locks of subtle changes in the OSC pages. These are things that are far more limited on Rytm. View them as strengths, and abuse them heavily.
My A4 tracks sound completely different than my AR tracks, and I actually love that that is the case. It makes my live sets more interesting, dynamic, and enjoyable to perform. Also, there is more artistic fulfillment in using two seperate tools within the same medium.
Back to the A4 voice limitation. That CV track doing nothing has given me grief over the last year. I’ve toyed with Nord Drums triggered off the CV track, and the idea of other drum modules (currently considering an Acidlab Drumatix to run through A4’s FX, but still unsure). There are lots of ways I would change the A4, but it still has the juice to make interesting tracks and keep my mind engaged.
… turns out I have more to say on the subject of the A4 making whole tracks.
One common complaint with doing whole tracks on A4, and relying on sound locks, is not being able to mute sounds.
It really isn’t difficult to drop sounds out or in when you have tracks populated full of percussive sound locks.
One easy way to drop the kick on an A4 track that is full of other percussion is, with the root track sound being the Kick, and all other sounds being “sound locks”, simply turn the VOL parameter down in the AMP page. As long as there are no parameter lock saved on the root sound (Kick)'s AMP:VOL parameter, it will only turn down the root track sound (Kick). Otherwise the parameter locks will override anything you do to that parameter.
I often have two A4 tracks full of percussion and utilize this technique, along with a few Performance assignments to bring sounds in and out of heavily crowded tracks.
Have you got any track done exclusively on the A4 we could listen to?
It would be really helpful for me to see how much variation and how many elements to a song proficient songwriters manage to get out the A4. [/quote]
This is the busiest composition I’ve made on A4.
Recorded direct, stereo, no overdubs, no mastering.
This one is a bit more typical of my A4 only productions…
Since i prefer to work in one box for a song, I stared using the ARP set to random to get more miles out of a single track. I’m still developing the technique but it’s heavily on display here -
This track is four four bar patterns. Recorded into a single channel via OB. If I had it to do again I would have recorded the channels onto separate tracks to tune the mix a little but I didn’t feel like it at the time.
ARP notes can be PLocked.
LFO’s are PLocked to keep a story moving.
Add overall LFO on the different oscillator levels on leads and pads, plus the filters and envelope amounts, natch.
Don’t forget that pulse width and vibrato have their own LFO’s and you can PLock or LFO the SUB OSC.
Another trick is to do three bar patterns mixed with four bar patterns so the bits don’t always line up the same way.
AdamJay: great help. You make it clear that the A4 is a very powerful instrument on its own. However it is maybe dangerous to expect as good result as yours
Anyway, all this discussion comfort me in the choice of the A4.
I need to work more with it and experiment different way to integrate its sound in my workflow (sampling it maybe?).
There’s nothing on the market quite like the A4.
.and what you need. Creativity is also journey into the unknown…