i didn’t mean that i go from the rytm main exit to the a4. it was meant to be similar to what you described.
i use the rytm and a4 via ob in ableton. i go straight from my audio interface to the rytm input from which i can record. So each track can record separately. because the mk2 has this recording function, that’s the cool thing about the mk2. This speeds up creative work immensely.
i’m also of the opinion that the sampled recordings in rytm sound great. the sound gets a certain grain and pitching sounds great. e.g. the recorded pad from the a4 now sounds completely different.
the rytm has single exits. i go with the output, where the sample is in, to the a4 input and assign it via the OSC page. the signal now comes in an ableton track, through ob. So I do that with a cable, instead of using the sidechain function via whether. That’s what I meant. now you have all rytm possibilities plus all a4 possibilities to shape the sample. I do all this with several samples because the a4 is multitimbral. you could even add the second OSC to the sample, for example to get a sub-bass or noise. i use the a4 filter a lot here and automate it to make the sample interesting as the track progresses. and also the analog distortion from the a4 on the sample is great.
what is also special about the rytm and a4 mk2 is this quick performance controller. this can be automated in ableton. so it is possible to morph sounds. So I then morph e.g. from one sample to the next etc, so it doesn’t stay rigid.
I flagged it for violating the site guidelines. Posting false and misleading info does not “improve the discussion”. That post might get found by search engines, and eventually picked up by more AI data sets, and end up amplifying the “facts” posted there. No thanks.
Owning both, the Minilogue XD and the Analog Four/Key, I’d say, don’t even dare to compare — two very different sonic realms.
Personally preferring the Minilogue XD over the Analog Four, which is a great and very flexible synth, but barely fits in a mix for my needs/taste — it’s highly subjective.
Also since this was mentioned, the Monologue is a great machine but has a very different sonic character from the Minilogue XD (would love to have that gritty filter in the Minilogue). The Minilogue is better for bass lines than the Minilogue.
Can solely recommend getting your hands on an Analog Four and giving it a try, it’s a very flexible and versatile synth. I’m selling mines because I can’t find a way to integrate them (anymore). One thing to know about the Minilogue XD is the lack of a highpass filter, which is its biggest flaw, and never got why this was left out. The filters on the Analog Four are key to the range of sounds you can produce on it.
As for bass, the Analog Four can do, basslines, especially when programmed with its internal sequencer are fine, but it doesn’t get close to the punch of an AS-1 one or alike.
Sinevibes has created a set of digital filters you can add to the xd. Yes they work in a different way to the A4 but it can very much do hpf. https://www.sinevibes.com/korgsvf/
I have both synths and wouldn’t part with either. You can ‘achieve’ more with an A4 but personally I prefer the sound of the xd because it can do creamy better. A4 excels in being as harsh as fuck.
In terms of geeky tweaky = A4
In terms of easy tweaky = xd
IMO the A4 can do creamy very well. Of course it can go into other territory as well, but it can definitely sound silky smooth. I will say the A4 gets character from the programming more, where the XD has a touch more of its own character inherently.
A4 is more of a shape shifter.
Ah the joys of metaphorical text for describing audio
I was pondering exactly this question a couple of years ago. The relatitve cost of the A4 and my uncertainty about The Workflow™ having not yet tried it (have picked up a DN+DT since; they fit me well), together with the promise of the user oscillators, tipped me toward picking up and xD module.
The xD is a great pad machine, and covers bread-and-butter synth stuff well, but I was spoiled by the modulation possibilities of my modular or even the Digitone, and I kept feeling limited (maybe more so theoretically than practically; again, it does what it does well). I also had a hard time getting the xD and the DN to sound nice together, which might have been my relative inexperience with patching the DN at the time. So the xD eventually fell off the desk and is sitting in the corner of the room now, waiting to be picked up again somewhen.
Knowing what I know now about what I have fun with (sound design and weird processing; hybrid synth + modular composition; The Workflow™) I kinda regret not having sprung for the A4, and I look wistfully at it from time to time before remembering I’m focusing on practicing with what I have this year.
Yup, the downside of A4 is that it’s not really hands on (meaning knob per function) and shines most when using it for deep sound design instead of immediate results. Considering that’s your focus and you don’t even like the knob per function on XD, you should give A4 a try. If you’re on a budget or don’t have much space, you could go for a used MK I and maybe upgrade later if you like it and would like to have a bit more knobs.
I think at least this much is clear—put a Minilogue head to head against a freakin’ Minilogue (!!), the Minilogue is gonna come out on top, no doubt about it…
Sorry for causing such eXisDential confusion, it’s pretty minilogical . . . can cause synapses to shortcircuit.
For the record of the history of synthkind, it’s the Monologue suited better for basslines than the Minilogue XD (to be precise, as I never owned a Minilogue, and this is obviously highly subjective).
You’ll find quite a bit around this question in the depth of the net, also Youtube shall have a bunch of audible examples.
It can do bass, but that’s a wide sonic field, so depends on your needs and taste. Thus said, the Minilogue XD certainly isn’t my to-go synth for “bass” sounds, it lacks punch, yet you can go into some extremely nice sub-bas territories for pad/drone-like kind of sounds.
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