Need so input/inspiration…
So a little while back I bought an A4 mk2, but sadly I already have to sell it again to raise some funds for a new computer.
Now I am wondering what to do once I have enough funds to rebuy another analog synth.
My 2 ideas are as following:
Buy an A4 mk1, because they are dirt cheap have a lot of functionality and could probably fulfill all my synth needs.
Buy a minilogue & rebuy a monologue (which I really like), which are even cheaper than an A4 and could probably fulfill most of my synth needs as well.
Now I also have an OT mk2, which means I already have a more than capable sequencer to make use of any synth. This makes me wonder if the A4 might be overkill for me. Then again the A4 does very nice drums and is more flexible than monologue & minilogue, but also it is not as hands on and more menu driven.
Also important to note is that I am fairly new to the OT. And although I don’t have trouble with it there is still a lot to learn, which is of course more of a reason to go the Korg route.
so what do you people think?
OT mk2 + A4 mk1
vs. OT mk2 + minilogue & monologue
?
I just bought u-He Diva and Arturia Pigments and have to say … I’m almost healed from hardware GAS. Diva alone is like 1000x better than A4 (at least soundwise). Just my 5 cents … you can get both plugins for kinda 10-20% of the price of a hardware – I know it’s just not as cool.
It really depends on your commitment learning the A4 (since it’s most of the time not the instrument but the player) … I find A4 is pretty difficult to learn / not easy to find sweetspots that gel with the rest of the track. If I was you, I’d start with the Korgs and then look into Diva and Pigments
If you’re already used to the A4 mk2, I wouldn’t downgrade to the mk1 no matter how much cheaper. I tried doing the same thing a while back with selling the Rytm mk2 for the mk1.
Going from the better layout, extra performance knob, and nice crisp oled screen down to the lcd calculator like screen of the mk1 was not worth it once you’ve had the Mk2.
Plus the A4 mk2’s overdrive and overall sound is noticeably better than the mk1 (depending on how you are using it).
Just my experience with downgrading. I say if you have to sell the mk2, and want another one, then rebuy used when you can in the future as you can find them for $800-$900 frequently on reverb, ebay etc.
Do you need multitimbral too, or only poly?
Do you want to sample into ot and use ot too? Or do you want to use ot only for performing?
You could do a lot of different things with it.
What’s your plan exactly, what type of music do you want to do with it.
Does it need to be really analog? There are plenty of options for that.
I do not think that you really need a true analog synth for everything.
true, the downgrade was one thing I was worried about too…although I haven’t used my A4 mk2 that much yet(because of learning the OT). It sure might feel a bit crappy compared.
@gerkinear Multitimbrality is not a must…I’ll get more timbres from a cheap rompler, which I’ll get for sure at some point. My music is mainly Hip Hop, so a lot of samples but I also like making melodies myself to switch it up and having had the monologue before, I somehow am fond of the Korgs.
@PekeDorty I want some more hardware though also I don’t have any keyboard otherwise
I already had the Force and I really didn’t like it, because of the touchscreen workflow…very capable machine but it doesn’t flow for me. The Octatrack seems much nicer in this regard.
The 707 on the other is interesting, but I would like something analog first. Does anybody here have the OG minilogue?
I had and will rebuy the OG Mini after I move overseas (had to dump everything). It is FAR more immediate than the A4, and has tons of sweet spots. The A4 is deeper on paper, and can get you far if you are an experienced synthesist, but it’s more of a time suck. I wouldn’t buy an A4 over the Mini unless it was to be used as a drum machine or if I needed to sequence things rather than play on a keyboard. The A4 is the better choice if you are more into programming music than playing it, or if you want a fantastic drum machine.
Also the dirty pt2399 delay on the Mini sounds cool. I would never switch on the effects on any Elektron device. They just sound wrong to me.
that’s good to hear! the OG minilogue seems to go under the radar somehow ever since the XD…but I think it sounds nicer from the demos + here in Japan at least it is too cheap to not buy one.
Thanks! I’ll be living in Tokyo. I’m going to try really hard to resist accumulating a bunch of gear this time, even though shopping in Tokyo is just too damn fun.
I sold off a Polysix, Matriarch, SH101, Eurorack system, etc, and will only be rebuying the Minilogue. That’s how good it is.
For what it’s worth, every synth I use on a daily basis has its own integrated sequencer. I don’t see that as overkill or overlapping functionality. It’s an integral part of getting sound out of the box. And if you had (for example) some fictional A4-with-no-sequencer and tried to control it from your OT it would be a very different experience.
A lot of the A4’s “sound” comes from modulating it’s params per step, for example. And this is a pain from an external sequencer. A thing that is effortless when integrated always turns into a game of cataloging presets and charting out CCs. It becomes paperwork instead of music.
So I’d resist the urge to break your gear down into individual features and obsess over the overlap between them. Instead, think of them as whole instruments, each with their own sound and their own interfaces for making that sound.
So no, I just tested it again and tested the A4 against the VST Diva and there are worlds between. Better or worse, that should be up to you. But the analog A4 sounds a lot more massive, especially the heights are much more prominent. and in general the sounds are completely different. It was really difficult to create an identical sound and the VST plugin, on the other hand, sounds totally flat and one-dimensional. I also think that the A4 is difficult with its sweetspots, but it still sounds very good and analog.
I’m also always torn, sometimes just selling my analogue stuff and then jumping into the DAW, but then I compare it over and over and think the DAW is just crap. i also hate the music that’s playing on the radio today, a lot of it is produced that way and you can hear it too. like pink floyd doesn’t sound like anything;) this deranged mixture just sounds uncool. I think even digital outboard synthesizers and reverbs sound a thousand times better than those from a DAW.
But as I said, that’s just my opinion, everyone should know for themselves. everything is dear to pigs too …
