The core sound, yes. To me they do (the ones I heard)
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I think that there are so many factors at play when trying to determine something like the core sound of a VCO - things like filter type, pitch, level, all play a part, it is quite difficult to say which is better, because some are better for some things but not all things.
Reducing an instrument to the sum of its parts does not tell the whole story I think, and certainly with synths with lots of parameters even matching things can be a tricky and time consuming task.
I don’t think the A4 or AK is always going to give the best result for a certain sound, but neither is any other synth. What I can say with confidence is that most typical sounds are possible, and for me the trickiest part is dialling in the envelopes right. I think this is an area where A4/AK could be improved, since the envelopes are digital I’d like to see more variety in the envelope responses. I don’t think it would be too hard for Elektron to analyse some other envelopes and add them. Same for AR too.
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what moods do you sell?
I think my moogs, I need to tame them
and my a4 is a bit shy in itself, but come to life very well and the sequencer + cv stuff makes them amazing to combine.
The sound from the Moog, I just do
the sound of the A4, I have to shape, carve, etc… Very different from each other, very good combination!
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The old modular stuff and the Grandma and Matriarch sound impressive. Most of the other recent stuff not so much. Very cool to see that they’ve made Moog mean something other that diplomatic, safe and tame again.
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Each to their own…yip…
They sit very well together in a mix by the way, and there is just a certain something about any Moog that just rattles your bones like nothing else can, even after hearing it a million times.
Its like the oscillators fight each other to get a chance to fight the op amp/filter…but neither can win…so it just purrs along…
I have a few Moogs sub37, sub phatty and DFAM and using the A4MKII as a second filter set to hp with the A4MKII fx just completes the sub phatty. All sequenced by using cv out of the A4… its just an amazing combo.
Then the internal sounds of the A4MKII don’t seem to eat as much sonic space as the Moogs so they can each be heard in their own sonic pocket…
I would keep one around and pair it with the A4…its very capable of doing amazing things to other gear, but seems to have exactly everything that Moogs lack…
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I used my MPC’s autosampler to sample as many variations of the core sounds as possible. It was a surprisingly low number, even with the Subharmonicon’s 4 suboscilators.
Being able to play them Polyphonically and quickly switch between oscilator tunings has meant that the units have sat in their boxes.
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This is complete non sense. Who is getting a synth for the sound of its presets, or from its “init patch”, and not from its design, components, or the amount of settings and capabilities to design and sequence it?
You gotta be kidding, honestly.
A synth is an instrument that allows designing sounds, and also in A4 case, sequence and processed them, and not a tool to load preset into, is it?
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Presets are mere additional init patches to start from.
At least to me 
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Again, I don’t use presets as I’m on 9U 124HP Eurorack atm. What’s so hard to understand that I chose the Dominion 1 raw, lively and huge core oscillator sound over the ones of the A4?
I take sound quality over features any day. The A4 is a good synth and capable of nice sounds. But to me, it sounds wimpy compared to the Dom 1, a Moog, Dreadbox or Vermona. Simple.
No need for being so defensive. If the A4 is your holy grail of sonic bliss I won’t question this as this is very subjective.
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there is not a single right way to use!
if you want a preset machine, a4 is very good too
benefit of a preset synth over sampler, is the type of adjustments you can do with a synth
sound design with a4 can be amazing
but can be frustrating too. many options, lack of overview and not too many sweetspots
my sounds become interesting after sequening and p locking
took me some time to understand what to do to use the potential of the a4
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A Mk1 sold in the UK a few seconds ago for £420 including postage. It was boxed and one or two minor nicks to the paint. That is incredible value for money. Nearly had to bid to try to get it myself despite buying and selling the thing 3 or 4 times over the years.
For me, the A4 Mk1 is Elektron’s most fun “groove box”. Lots of fun just to play away with it off to the side but also a really handy tool when integrating with an ITB set up.
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I would not buy a Mk1
For £300 more you can get a mk2 in very good conditions
It is a very popular second hand synth on eBay and Reverb
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I’ve owned both and I personally wouldn’t go back to the Mk2 - not a fan of the form factor.
Mk1 or AK for me. Each to their own though!
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Horses for courses I guess but I wouldn’t swap my Mk2 for a Mk1. Having said that, a Mk1 can be had for a darned good price these days … freeing up £ for something else.
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I was watching that one myself, found it difficult not to pop a cheeky bid on.
Absolute bargain, but I think I’m set on a Mk2.
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Mk. I is just a joy to use and look at. Mk II is definitely the better synth, with more outputs but it’s missing cv out, isn’t it?
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no. It even has proper cv outs, where you don’t need an adapter as on the mk1
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Remind me what your main mono is again?
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The Gorba
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