Analog four or monomachine as first groovebox

Elektron Gear Analog Keys/Four
#1

Ok so i’m going to buy myself some kind of machine and I have a few criteria:

  • I want to be able to use it as a stand-alone instrument

  • I want to be able to sit in my bed or at my desk and program loops late into the night.

  • I want to generate my own sounds, so a minimum of rompler parts.

  • I want to make basslines and melodies with some kind of sweet, dark and deep sound (Maybe moog-style bases. Maybe some bremen style techno.).

  • I want to generate my own drum sounds if possible (as I said, I’d prefer a rompler-free machine).

  • I want a high quality instrument.

  • I don’t want to buy something that feels dated in a few years.

  • I want to get lost in my own loops and just keep building and building and tweaking the same 4 bars over and over again in deep electronica meditation.

I have been looking at the new electribes. I do believe that they will feel dated soon though, and I don’t like the mass produced feeling of them. So I looked into elektrons equipment and I really feel that this might be it.

I know that none of the analog four or the monomachine are grooveboxes or usually stand on their own, especially the analog four. But I always loved limitations and there is something very very attractive with the thought of using only one track and parameter locks to create drums.

I’m not aiming for live performances or releasing tracks, I will probably just sit by myself and maybe show some friends. I just love to make loops. Been using computer and reason for ages and i love it but i’m tired of sitting in front of the computer, getting low cpu, crashing, sound quality etc etc,

So, I guess that most people would say that the monomachine would be nr.1 choice to be used it as a stand alone machine. However, there is something with the analog four being analog and all mysterious and beautiful and all. To be able to tame those 4 voices and master them totally, kind of like the C64 scene. I don’t know if I would get tired of those sounds though.

What would you choose and why? And is there another good choice?

Cheers!

#3

MM and A4 both work great stand alone. I own both, and love each very much, though I’m more on-again/off-again with the Monomachine than I am the A4.

Often, MM is perceived to have “more” as it is a 6 track instrument, but keep in mind that FX like Reverb, Compressor, Flanger, Ring Mod, and (sometimes) Chorus will occupy a whole track.
So, many times, you end up with 4 instrument tracks and a couple FX tracks.
In this way, the A4 and MM are actually more similar than first perceived.
Plus, the A4’s FX are usually regarded as more desirable.
When you add “sound locks” to the mix, you end up getting a lot more out of A4 tracks than you do MM.
Plus it has newer sequencer features like polyrhythms, and micro timing. Also A4 will give you Macros via the Performance page, this is a huge feature for jamming on the single box.

Both instruments can meet the needs you mention, but I believe A4 is better at the darker sound do to its timbre.
It’s no Moog but has a ladder filter for that style of bass.

A4 is a very capable synth. The big points that MM gets as a synth is in the FM department, and the 3x LFOs per voice. I really like the way the filters sound, as they are quite unique, working as digital scalpels for carving frequencies. A4’s filters are more Roland-ey and musical.
Also, MM has an external midi sequencer that is great for sequencing several other instruments if you want to expand. A4’s external sequencing capabilities are more limited, and dedicated to CV gear only.

Also, if you’re someone who likes to work from existing patches, be they your own library or 3rd party creations, A4 has a wonderful patch library system. Working from existing patches on MM is cumbersome, as it requires navigating to a kit/pattern, copying the track from that kit/pattern, and pasting it into another kit/pattern.

Personally, I prefer A4, but to each their own.

I recommend these workflow videos to get an idea of how each one works in the creative sense. Ultimately, you’ll have to go with the one that you identify with the most.

MM:

A4/AK:

#4

Thanks for the replies! Really useful input! And interesting info about the monomachine!

Wow I didn’t see the workflow video until now. I cant believe that all that sound comes from only four monophonic analog tone generators in real time. It’s majestic! Deep! Beautiful! I have never seen anything like it!

This is the machine for me!

#5

Simple, yet each voice is quite complex.

The SUB oscillators (2 per voice) are capable of 5th below root note tuning, which makes it versatile for getting 3 and 4 note chords and stabs out of a single voice.

The two LFOs with 2 destinations each (with independent depth control) have over 50 modulation destination options to choose from. The two mod envelopes with 2 destinations each have over 60 modulation destinations to choose from.

It’s a beast of a synth, but can be incredibly simple when you need it to be. Like swimming in the deep end, but you can always see the floor.

#6

That aspect of the design is truly wonderful. Complemented with parameter locks and sound locks (the ability to switch to other patches per trig on a track), you’ll be quite amazed at the sounds you can make with a single track (of the four) set to monophonic: seventh chords, drums, percussion, a short pad, etc.

#7

Yes, I’ve been working as a sound engineer and I’m also a guitarist who loves effect pedals and such. And I’ve been tweaking soft synths half of my life. I understand all the details of the signal processing in the workflow video, but still the amount of control and all the combinations at once and the speed and preciseness of the changes while keeping an all analog signal path are mindblowing to me! I would love to connect one of the oscilators to a osciloscope and watch how the wave behaves while it is subjected to intense changes with the parameter lock. Will do as soon as I get my own A4!

It do remind me of the C64 scene, where the sid-chips three voices where cranked and also rapidly changed, for example to keep snare and bass drum on the same voice, or even using glitches like pops at drastic volume change as percussion.

Thanks again for the replies!

#8

Analog Four. Not even so much because it’s analog and all, but mostly because the Chorus, Reverb and Delay effects are excellent and will really help you put the finishing touches on the kind of sound you’re after.

#9

I’ll briefly share my experience and hopefully it helps!

I haven’t owned monomachine (yet) but it’s going to be my next synth purchase. That being said, I want the monomachine because of how much I love my A4. I’ve owned mine for just over a month (after being a 5 month Rytm user). It took me 5 months to really master the workflow of Rytm and gain an understanding of the full potential of the Elektron sequencer. At that point I realized that, though Rytm is an amazing standalone machine and can produce full sounding thumping tracks, it lacks a bit of shaping capability when making synth type voices. Hence I went for A4.

Now right out of the box (literally in my car on the way home from work where it was delivered) I threw down an idea for a track in about 10 minutes and it sounded AMAAAAAZING. I can’t express my love for the smooth, roundness and plushiness of analog.

Now I have tracks written just with Rytm, some just with A4. A4 has fantastic drum capability, but you’re a bit limited in that they sound very “synthy”. The synth voices however, feel limitless and sound SO NICE. The fact that is only has 4 voices is a limitation, but you can easily defy this limit and sound like way more than 4 voices with plocks and sound locks.

Now here’s the point where I realize I would love adding monomachine to the mix: I want more voices, sharp quirky digital madness, and the ability to use mnm to sequence more gear. I love the way OP-1’s digital weirdness sounds alongside A4 and AR, but the sequencer styles don’t line up so you can’t really wrangle the OP-1 while playing live.

Anyways … my two cents. I think if you get either one you will be happy and maybe eventually want both !!

Sidenote: I did briefly own an Electribe 2 and it was super fun and easy to write on, but very toylike and not professional sounding. It was too clean and proper and the running lights and pad lights give it a look that I would be frankly embarrassed to have on a real stage. There’s only one guy IMHO in the world who can make that machine sound good (Mistabishi) and he’s reverted back to playing his EMX1 with a Sampler2.

#10

off topic, no matter what you’ll choose . you’ll buy the other one later, it’s a very common thing when you buy elektron machine :slight_smile:

#11

AdamJay wrote
The SUB oscillators (2 per voice) are capable of 5th below root note tuning, which makes it versatile for getting 3 and 4 note chords and stabs out of a single voice.

Can’t wait to experiment with this, I guess when combining that with parameter lock and switching between different intervals, both on osc 2 and both of the sub oscillators, you can actually make one voice play many different chords and be semi-polyphonic.

AdamJay wrote
The two LFOs with 2 destinations each (with independent depth control) have over 50 modulation destination options to choose from. The two mod envelopes with 2 destinations each have over 60 modulation destinations to choose from.

Wow, the interconnectedness of the inside of this machine is stellar. It sounds like exploring an alien world and creating it at the same time

#12

Hehe yeah I guess =)
I’m trying to stay away from being obsessed with gear though. I’ve been using propellerheads Reason forever even though I’m not satisfied sound-wise or with the workflow when it comes to song-writing (love patching things though!). But I’ve noticed that I always use Thor and Kong (the synth-drum parts), and control them via matrix pattern and redrum, and then I’m just trying to make it sound good via various signal processing, but I always run out of cpu power in the end. And I shun away from completing songs because of the uninspiring sequencer. So I think I will enjoy both the endless possibilities and the limiting frames of the A4.

#13

It sure does, thanks!

onoffon

Sidenote: I did briefly own an Electribe 2 and it was super fun and easy to write on, but very toylike and not professional sounding. It was too clean and proper and the running lights and pad lights give it a look that I would be frankly embarrassed to have on a real stage.

Allright, thanks for the input on the electribe! I guess it is as I thought with that one! From the youtube-videos I’ve seen I feel that the sounds are nice but very mid-2010’s and with only few parameters accessible for editing. I guess you can have a blast with it but I’m really into sustainable consumption and buying something that I will enjoy for 6 months and then wanting to get rid of is not my thing at all. I like to stick with the things I buy.

#14

I have a short sketch from Reason to show some of the sounds I’m interested in. It doesn’t have to sound just like this, but as a general idea.

That is all Thor with Analog Osc and Kong with synth modules.

Sorry for the mix, I don’t have any monitors, I’m just using a computer mouse and it started to glitch and pop due to low cpu.