‘If’… so you are presuming knowledge/experience because he has software synths??
Yeah, like that qualifies 99% of soft synth users to instinctively understand HW??
I would presume a history of preset using/adjusting for the majority of people in the OP’s position…which is fine and understandable.
I have been using synths in my music and other productions since 1989… understood the basics but would just find presets and adjust filters/fx to suit. I only got into real HW and sound designing from INIT during lockdown. I presume I’m not alone, and I presume other people need the basics explaining unless they say otherwise.
Who are we to judge that? He writes that he uses them and mainly focuses on sound design. So that’s what he says. People should stop interpreting stuff people say and focus more on what ppl say! (Or write in this case). and as you reference yourself into that: he didn’t ask if it is a good first HW synth for you
Sorry, if I offend you with that, but one of the main problems in online communication is, that people don’t just answer questions, but try to reinterpret them into something that fits their own bubble and answer with stuff, that’s often far away from the original qustion.
if someone is setting up false informations in the questions, it’s not the business of the people answering to magically see that and try to answer what they think the question should be.
No offence taken… obvs textlation is another problem with online comms.
But, in case you missed this from the OP;
‘Do you happen to have any suggestions for me? I would also love to hear from analog four users regarding their experience with drones, soundscapes and layering. Many thanks in advance.’
So I’m not sure how you think people are not going to answer questions from a personal perspective? That’s a prerequisite of asking other users for advice, and a given that it’s their personal take.
Apologies for keeping the OT going… but, overall I’d still stick to my original recommendation of the Novation Peak over the A4 based on the OP’s ongoing posts.
Thank you for your message but I think you are overgeneralizing without any basis. I don’t consider myself a maestro on synthesis but I rarely use presets and mainly use init as my starting point. And even if I were, there is nothing wrong with understanding synthesis and going for the tweaking route. They don’t need to be mutually exclusive. We only have one goal and it is to make music, so whatever floats your boat. I have been opting for software synths because of financial constraints and now that I have money to spare, I basically want to have fun with a hands-on machine without drawing automations or mapping knobs.
Yep, that’s all cool, whatever stage/level you’re at, you want a hardware synth and the best one I’ve used and would recommend is the Peak, not the A4 which I also think is superb, but not for what you describe… the MPC One is fantastic and has inbuilt synths, but I wouldn’t recommend that either… Peak.
I haven’t used an A4, so I can’t offer recommendations either way for that.
I think the OP already knows loads about synthesis and has a range of soft synths. As a result, I think they should focus on things you can’t do in the box (not necessarily all of these things at once):
analog signal paths for playable distortion without digital clipping
knobs + sliders
being away from the computer screen (so maybe the A4 after all)
pick up and play
much tighter limits
I think the Rev2 would be boring in this regard… it’s an excellent synth and I love mine, but it’s a workhorse and it doesn’t have that much character (it has some, but it’s cake and lemonade, not marinaded pork belly, and if you’re coming from Omnisphere, you need pork belly).
Personally, I reckon you go modular or semi-modular. It’s t.o.t.a.l.l.y different from the industrial strength soft synths. Get a pre-made Erica system. Or O-Coast, or Strega, or Lyra 8, or a Mother-32 + Subharmonicon; or all the weirder Volcas.
Dive straight in, headfirst. Let get of everything you know from soft synths.
(To a degree, I’m living vicariously here… The Peak/Summit and Hydrasynth also look amazing… but they’re more like the soft synths with knobs).
To be honest, I think the Analog 4 is actually a pretty decent first synth as it gave me something to “grow into”, but I guess it depends on your philosophy. It also nudged me into learning sound design rather than leaning on the presets (which, as previously mentioned, are not very good). There are numerous sweet spots, but they need to be coaxed out of the A4 with a bit of work – which isn’t actually a bad thing if you’re trying to learn subtractive synthesis. It’s a bit of a chameleon rather than one with a signature sound like a Moog or Prophet. It can credibly give you a diverse range of sounds once you know your way around it. With such a broad offering of Youtube tutorials, you can find your sea-legs fairly quickly as someone who is learning.
The menu-diveiness (it’s now a word) is a thing, but it isn’t much different in that regard than some other Elektron boxes, and certainly not to the same degree as the OT. I think the layout of the MK2 is also gorgeously accessible, and adding a Keystep goes a long way if you want to use it as a poly.
A couple of other thoughts:
It gets a bad reputation for having weak low-end, but I really don’t find that to be the case on the MK2 with the sub-oscillator, a bit of fine-tuning, filtering, some chorus and overdrive. Gets fat pretty quickly once you learn how to get there.
Some people prefer to “test the waters” before investing in something complex, but find they quickly outgrow it. A4 is so deep with its sequencing and modulation that you’ll keep yourself busy for a very, very long time.
I can’t imagine parting with mine anytime soon, and it was my first foray into subtractive synths.
Whatever you buy i guarantee you will sell as Synth hardware is riddled with GAS. So just get a cheap synth and learn hands on synthesis. The A4 fits the bill quite nicely. Cheapest option could be a Volca keys/bass with a reverb pedal.
There are some big issues with hardware synths. They have some kind of latency sometimes because of MIDI, they are expensive, the rarely come alone and they scale really really badly. There are not many multitimbral synths out there (A4 beging one), but when the available voices are used, you either have to find a workaround (sample) or buy more
I am not that about about the fact, that I am totally unhappy with making music on the computer, but besides the fact that hardware looks and feels better, more or less everything else is PRO Computer & VST
I would like to say Micromonsta2 may be an option to consider, at least when available.
Small price (and size), but great sound design options: modulations, great onboard delay, reverb, and chorus, little very simple but very helpful equalizer, bitimbral (6 voices polyphony each).
Not that much knobs but very nice UI.
This might sound strange, but I think you should consider a used MatrixBrute, if you have the space. With its successor, the PolyBrute now out, I am guessing used one’s can be had in the $1,000 to $1,200 range, I have many synths, and can think of no other hardware synth that lays out so obviously with knobs and buttons exactly what you need to do to create different sounds. It is practically a synth tutorial right on it’s front face. No, it isn’t the best sounding synth. but you already have Omnisphere, which might be the best sounding synth there is (if you don’t mind using your computer). One other thing to consider is whether you want to use your synth as a controller with Omnisphere. So, for instance, with the Monologue, Omnisphere v. 2.5 and later has presets designed specifically for this synth (too bad they don’t for the MatrixBrute, with its vast area of buttons and knobs).
A4 was my first hardware synth, and I sold it after a couple of weeks. Bought a digitone. Missed the A4 after about a month (weird, I missed it for longer than I had it!?) so I sold the digitone and bought an A4. Used it every day since. Hard to say what I like so much about it, maybe I have Gothenburg syndrome or something, but the sound is great.
I think computer synths are really where it is at for features. Ableton Live’s synths (wavetable, Operator, Analog) are all amazing, arturia’s Pigments is mindblowing, even Dexed (the free DX7 thing) is way more feature rich than the DN. BUT I program computers for money, all day, everyday. I want to be away from the screen for fun.
For me the A4 is great as a 1st hardware synth. You get pretty much a standalone groovebox, drums, bass, leads, a sequencer, effects. Maybe you don’t get the same level of instant gratification you get from preset tweaking the vast array of presets you get with (say) Pigments, but it can still give instant buzz, especially with sound packs.
All that said, I’ve only had soft synths, A4 and DN (I have AR now, but is it a synth or drum machine?) so I don’t know as much as those who’ve had the Peak, and modular, and moogs etc etc etc
I just bought the A4. I really like it. I don’t recommend it as your first hardware synth for the reasons mentioned above, but not really due to the screen diving, but because the storage structure is strange, unusual, and difficult to get used to (Projects, Patterns, Kits, Sounds, all on different lists, banks, slots, etc.). I get the reason for this, as this makes sense for the live performance aspects of the A4, but not everyone (me) need this kind of functionality. Seems like the Digitakt/Digitone are simpler in this regard, but not much simpler (my Model:Samples is just as clunky for storage as the A4). I am at my cabin this week really getting into the synth design features, which are really slick. The other parts of the interface, though, including how you save sounds, banks, etc. is kind of a pain. Maybe this is easier with Overbridge. I will say this though, the A4 is really fantastic for laptop synth fun–very mobile (except the power cord).
I would absolutely not recommend A4 as a first hardware synth. It’s obtuse, sweet spots are few and far between and it has a lot of utility features that you won’t get to use without any other gear.
If you want a groovebox, there are more user friendly options. If you want a 4-voice analog polysynth, there are again more user friendly options. The things where the A4 shines (drum synthesis, sound design, techno gig in a box) are IMO all features that are useful once you actually know more about (substractive) synthesis and making electronic music. For a beginner, just get a Minilogue if you want a polysynth or an Electribe if you want a groovebox.
My first hardware synth is A4 mk2. Rly hard to learn use all his features. It is really must weird and deep elektron box of all i have (octatrack and digitakt is much easier)
