Apples and oranges. They have some overlap due to the sequencer, but the A4 is capable of so much the AR can’t do. And vice versa probably, altho I’ve never had an AR.
hey, sure. but i spoke of my needs with the devices compared and these can do the rytm much better for me. it also saves a lot of money.
I’ve had a RYTM mk2 for about 7 months. While there’s a lot to like about it, I’ve not gelled with it. However, I have a friend who’s making solid beats on his. He’s a very meticulous pattern programmer (I’m not - I like to add enough trig conditions to make it interesting and call it a day) and he also uses mostly samples (I don’t - my sample collection sucks).
I agree with @ghostbuddy, though - don’t think it’s comparable to the A4. More on topic, I find the filters and analog voices in general and the DVCO in particular underwhelming. If it’s doing it for you, though, that’s excellent. It definitely has a lot to offer.
It’s probably just me being impatient in programming. I find even after working hard at programming i come up with similar sounds most of the time. I also feel like the fx are a big part of making solid patches on the A4 which i don’t think is ideal. I think I would prefer a more solid core sound with the oscillators.
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I get stuck in ruts like this on a lot of machines when I get too familiar with them. Based on the fact that you had & want a PRO3 this is not your first rodeo, but setting up specific “challenges” or “goals” or “exploration targets” might help, e.g. self-oscillating filters, using audio-rate LFOs + fade to create FM, exploiting the digital noise to make more sample-like textures, feedback OSC, etc. Mostly giving this advice because I want myself to follow it 
I noticed the same, specifically with a lot of the preset snare patches and I feel like it’s a copout. This was needed in the M:C, but I for one don’t think it’s needed here. The finer details can be solved downstream in the final mix. I’m keeping those turned off unless I really need the expanded stereo image.
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Very broad range of opinions here. I agree that if you’re not feeling it then it’s time to move on.
For me … I’ve been in love with the A4 since mk1 was released. Almost every track I’ve written since has started in the A4 or incorporated it. It’s my most inspiring machine and my favorite mono. And I own quite a few other great ones , including Pro2, Pro3, AS1, Matriarch, M32, Medusa (and many others I’ve sold). But this is all so very subjective. For instance, I’ve never got along with the analog side of the AR, including the DVCO, although I’ve kept it for sample based rhythms.
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…my never ever selling sonic items are ot and a4…
…a4 is my last and only truu analog synth forever…it’s the rytm killer…the bassline wonder…
the lead miracle, 100 303’s at once and all sorts of free sonic inbetween radicals i could think and dream of…with individual fx lanes that can SING and SHOUT and shut up at once…
never ever used it for any poly missions…always embraced it for what it is…four mono analog synth that can JUMP and MORPH with ultra fast envelopes and that within each and every single trig that comes along…it’s a whole modular synth rig, if u only treat it that way…
so, i’d say, before u give it away for some standard poly synth, u better break all ur workflow habits first, start to wrap ur head around it’s performance makros and nowhere else to find additional slide n glide and accent options and try to create a track that uses a4 ONLY…
if that not lightens up any candle for u…get rid of it…
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I don’t think I could bring myself to sell my AK just purely on the price it would likely go for. Think I bagged it for about £550 with a deck saver cover but have seen them going for c£500 with the old gig bag which is just ridiculous. A4 Mk1s in great condition have even been sub £450 from time to time.
It’s now become the one piece of gear that I 100% don’t mind having sit off on the side getting little use. I’ll return to it, it’s great, but there is zero guilt with owning that thing.
But listen, if you’re not feeling it (and I’ve been there with the A4 mk1, 2 and AK in the past) then no point keeping it I guess if your comfortable with the £’s you’ll bring in. From plenty of experience, when you get so far that you are typing out these thoughts here then the battle is already lost!
You have a right to your opinion but it’s hard to believe we used the same synth. A4 has 5 audio rate lfos, 5 envelopes 3 of which are very complex, variables wave shapes and numerous complex oscillator possibilities, circular ring mod…per voice. You can route audio between channels may ways and make it a huge huge single mono synth…it’s simply one of the deepest analog synths ever made, it seems beyond debate to me. It’s hard to believe you even touched any of the parameters, most people find it daunting rather than ordinary.
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nope. I’ve had both for years and know them very well. with the rytm i have been able to achieve much more interesting results. because the OSCs offers ring modulation and frequency modulation in many different forms and also offers conventional waveforms and these can be mixed wonderfully with each other. perfect for me.
Of course, in contrast to the A4, it has a rudimentary structure, but again: for me it is so perfect and it sounds to me like more roughness and character than the A4.
I don’t want to make any enemies here;) sry. maybe not so smart to knock that out in an electron forum. 
but it’s just my honest opinion. A4 is a nice synthesizer, but I don’t need it because the rytm offers exactly what I need from a mono synth - period. It even replaces modular stuff for me, luckily - I can add thousands of LFOs and automations via OB. the perfect symbiosis with rytm is a decent polyphonic synth and for that i use the roland JV 1080 which i lock like a new machine in one of the rytm pads and can therefore control it with all rytm effects and sequencers. the rytm machines offer sooo much clan synthesis again, especially with the filter. processing the machines with the filter resonance is amazing. that’s such an immense range of sounds that I would never get out of the A4. eventually I will replace the JV with the JD 990 but the original one. but that’s not the point here. sry if i was too honest.
When I got my A4 I also let go of my SlimPhatty, and had traded my Tempest for a RYTM.
I was REALLY missing the sounds those others had, and just wasn’t hitting that mark with the A4.
Someone on here challenged my to find the A4’s sweet spots and I’m glad I took that challenge.
It’s takes a lot of mucking around with, but I totally fell in love with the A4.
Nevertheless I had quit trying to make it sound like. synths it will NOT sound like which is Moog and DSI instruments.
It was my attempt to keep my rig slim, and try to make the best of what I had which was the Dark Trinity.
The RYTM got updated with DUAL VCO’s which was AMAZING.
After a while tho, I decided to go ahead and get another SlimPhatty to sequence from the A4, and I’m glad I did.
So in a way I challenge you to find out what makes the A4 great for you if you havent.
But if it’s other sounds you’re really after, definitely trade it.
The A4 has it’s own character separate from the other synth companies.
It will NOT sound like a Pro 3.
Trading it for a Digitone, it’s hard for me to comment on that,I’ve not had my own Digitone although I have eyeballed it for a while.
Good luck on your journey.
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If they bought a modern keyboard version on the A4 but made it 6 or 8 voices with poly aftertouch id be all over it.
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The a4 has „acousticness“ to its sounds that I’ve never heard on any other synth before. I‘m not after modeling acoustic sounds but even clearly electronic sounds sometimes have a „body“ to it, pretty awesome.
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I recently traded mine away but I hadn’t used it in over a year. I still think it is a great synth though I reached for it less and less as I got more knobby options for a lot of the functions I used it for. Tons of stuff it does that I never really used though.
End of the day if you aren’t using it then maybe you don’t need to hang on to it.
Pro 3 I think is a great option for a different flavor of sequencer to go with an elektron box.
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Yeah i’m definitely going to have to sit down and have a good look at it again. I might just move some other things around get the DT to pair. If i still don’t mesh with the A4 at that point, i will look into the PRO3. (If only i could have all 3 
)
excellent.
Forget about Buchla bongos, this is the real deal. 
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Honestly the Taro drum patches are reason enough to hang onto an A4.
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