Time for a SH-4D cheat sheet!
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Please donāt quote me in other gear thread, never ending GAS ! 
SH4D seems very interesting !
I have still a lot to discover with what I have for nowā¦
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Youād love it 
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Tell you what Iād love to see added to this is that feedback osc from the JP8080, thereās nothing quite like that.
Has anyone found any use for the sync osc on the SH4D? Itās by far the least useful thing Iāve come across on it. Everything just sounds blegh.
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I canāt understand why the JP8080 was never turned into a boutique?!
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I heard some cool sounds in one of the demos/reviews but Iām struggling to remember which one. I personally donāt like using osc sync in my own music, I doubt Iāll ever explore that one. Or the ring mod.
Iāve made some nice sounds with the ring mod but theyāre more on the droney FM end or āearly musicā sounding things. The sync osc just sounds like dogdirt to me and I canāt fathom a way itāll ever sound decent.
I actually tried this evening. I couldnāt come up with anything, but again I hate using osc sync lol.
On another note, I feel like the reverb isnāt up-front enough when I try to use it, or Iām just missing something. Tried putting it on a Juno-style pad and, in a full mix with sampled drums, a bass (SH4d 3d w/ 2 squares) and some plucks, it completely disappears, even fully wet. The pad was audible, but not the reverb.
I got one of these this week. My goal was to have a machine that can do classic analog-style synthesis and since there arenāt that many polyphonic and multitimbral synths with sequencers, I thought it was a good option. After a weekend, random thoughts:
- Iām spoiled by Elektron UI/UX: everything else feels worse
- Just like the TR-8S, Lots of FX in this box, thatās really cool, it really spices up the sounds
- Generous polyphony, itās great to not be limited too much
- Sequencer is easy. Not āElektronā easy, but itās still very capable and fast. Inputing chords is natural (canāt say itās that natural on the Digitone).
- It has things I would like in Elektron sequencers like play modes (fwd, ping-pong, etc)
- It misses things I like in Elektron sequencers, like steps offset, cycling steps, etc
- Firmware 1.01 is shit: slow interface, sloppy midi sync, audio drop outsā¦
- Firmware 1.03 fixes previous points
- Dedicated controlsā¦ always a good idea. I wish Elektron would go this way, just like they did with the model:cycles/samples
- Hardware feels nice. Strong faceplate, nice knobs
- But dc input is usb-cā¦ not as bad as micro-usb, but still Iād prefer a proper dc socket
- Speaking of power, this one comes without a power supplyā¦ that sucks
- Some menu diving involved for more advanced settings, but all the basics have dedicated controllers
- Of course this thing is not a Blofeld, but I still wish it had more advanced filter options and sources/destinations in the mod matrix
- Horrible numeric buzz when used plugged in usb to the computerā¦ never experience this with my Digitone
All in all, great value.
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syntakt has 9 encoders for synth parameters, model:cycles 8 ā¦
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But the Cyclesā encoders always have the same function, so itās much more direct than the Syntakt.
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Yes, but the key word here is ādedicatedā 
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I will repeat it again: Elektron should put some performance controls on their devices. I always miss Elektrons pages with dedicated knobs and graphics when using any non-Elektron. If they could add some element that gives you access to some parameters without looking at the screen or pressing a button, Elektrons would be pretty much perfect considering UI.
Syntakt started to bring that into the digi format. While I dontāt find the four trigs to be that useful, the general idea is perfect: some additional knobs or sliders that can be routed to change any parameter(s) at a defined amount, that are mapped to e.g. cutoff/resonance, attack/release. The Deluge does this pretty great. A4 and OT show that this can be done even with relatively few controls.
Having them mapped to often used stuff by default could speed up the process when jamming. Make it fast to delete these default routings and set up new ones, so you have the best of both worlds: immediacy and pre-planned routing. Or make some dedicated out of the box like the first two performance trigs on Syntakt, although I would prefer flexible ones with a good default routing. The flagships are pretty much exclusively on the pre-planning but deep side. Thatās great, but sometimes you just wanna crank that cutoff knob or increase the release when youāre jamming without pressing anything.
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Or make MIDI internal routing possible. In that case you could dedicate a midi track and use modulation control to modulate all kinds of stuff on other tracks via After Touch or Modulation Wheel configuration.
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That would be a lot of dedicated knobs, considering all the parameter pages. Non-dedicated knobs have the upside that they can be assigned to a second parameter page if needed.
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While the Elektron way of doing it is ideal for a groove box, some dedicated performance knobs/sliders/trigs would be a great addition, see my post above. The dedicated knobs are a big reason why we buy something like SH 4-D. But then always miss the Elektron UI thatās just the best for operating such a complex but compact device.
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As much as I love all Elektron boxes Syntakt ( like Digitone and Takt) encoders do not have direct functions
The bigger boxes do though as you allude to 
OT has the crossfader and the AR has lots of performance macros - the AR + A4 MKII have the quick perf knob. I think this is one of those things reserved for those boxes to get you spending They could add more controls to the Digis but then you start blurring that line and probably need more space. Control-all feels like the solution to that problem with those boxes.
Useful rundown @oieubbrgov - Iād heard the sequencer was a bit throwaway so itās interesting to hear how useful youāve found it!
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Sure, but no need to cover all parameters. A careful selection of the most frequently used will do. As is the case on the SH-4D.
Yeah the sequencer is really no frills (well some I guess) but it really makes you aware of how well executed and flexible the Elektron approach is. Totally agree too about how much easier it is to chord on than the Digitone.
The SH4D sequencer is sort of nearly there but thereās lots of stuff thatās just not quite right - like, you can put a fill/repeat on a step but only a flam, 1/2 or 1/4 or something, nothing like the options from elektron though, turns out I use the velocity fade all the time. Iām really missing being able to nudge things backwards or fowards on the timeline by almost a full step either way.
Got to say though, for just banging ideas out, the SH4D is pretty much my dream machine in terms of parts/polyphony and sounds.
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