i absolutely love my analog four. it’s easily my most versatile and used synth. due to this, i keep on having this nag of getting a second one. here’s a few thoughts:
[ul]
[li]every time i think of expanding my make noise system (dpo, optomix, maths, mysteron) with something like the rene, echophon, or erbe-verb to make it more standalone, i am reminded that all three of those things cost more than an analog four. i can always get 15% off and 0% financing through guitar center on the analog four.[/li]
[li]the additional make noise modules are more modular in nature, but the analog four integrates very well already with my make noise system, provides a lot of the same features of the extra modules, plus leaves four tracks of synths left over for additional voices or processing. having a second analog four could leave one dedicated to modular interaction duty.[/li]
[li]or the second analog four could move between the modular and sitting on my digital piano’s music stand for some poly action leaving the other for drums, bass, and/or lead.[/li]
[li]the keys is intriguing, but it’s expensive and big. i like the form factor of the analog four. the extra money to go to the keys could get me halfway to a mint monomachine sfx60+ mkii. i’ve been eyeballing the monomachine on eBay.[/li]
[li]i could get a rytm, but i keep looking at it as a crippled analog four with pads. it is obviously geared towards a different workflow though, so i know that’s likely a harsh view. it does sound purty good though.[/li]
[li]the analog four is down right gritty, smooth, and versatile. i use it everywhere. the analog four is playing nearly every second of this track.
[/li]
[li]i have considered getting a kingkorg for some multi-timbral poly action as well. the kingkorg is very underrated in sound, and would give me keys with a joystick for the analog four. i am additionally torn between it and a second analog four.[/li]
[li]i care zero about the supposed sound differences between the analog keys and analog four. it’s all about features, form factor, and the core sound for me.[/li]
[/ul]
As much as I love my A4, I love having my Rytm to pair with it.
The thought that Rytm is a crippled A4 is looking at the Rytm through the wrong pair of glasses.
Rytm is a realtime performance beast. Having the Perf mode a’la A4 is wonderful, but adding Scene mode puts it over the top.
While the Rytm synth voices are less feature packed than A4, less LFOs, less filters, etc., there are several more of them than A4, and the sample layer goes very far thanks to p-locks and sample chains.
I’ve made several sample chains and loops from audio made with my A4, then imported into Rytm for re-arranging and layering.
Single cycle Moog waveform samples through Rytm’s analog signal path make for big warm basslines. Samples sound so damn good through it.
There was a time when I wished Rytm was more like A4. The single LFO seemed to really bug me. But once I began to appreciate it for it was, that feeling passed. I get past the single LFO limitation by using relative record to record the slow LFO automation I would normally assign to a second LFO.
The two were made for one another.
The compressor is seriously good, as are the individual outputs.
It’s good to have both.
However, if you have no interest in samples, get two A4s.
just as a note, i forgot to mention that i already have an octatrack and machinedrum from the elektron family, in addition to the analog four.
and yea, i figured i was short-sighting the analog rytm. although, i haven’t seen or heard any demo that really blew me away like the analog four did. do you have any favorite youtube or audio demos of the rytm? about the only one i’ve seen on youtube is danny loud’s videos, but i feel like it’s the analog four impressing me. there was one industrial demo i remember liking, but i forgot the name of it.
has elektron made the sample transfer to the rytm easier over usb? last i saw was the official elektron video showing a rather painstaking process using sysex. over usb. the machinedrum is annoying as well, which is why i mainly use the ram sampling capabilities for live sampling. and you can load up a sample along side every voice, right?
that’s an option, but i definitely prefer the more modern sound, kit, and pattern management of the analog series. the monomachine seems great, but i find it intimidating, which makes me hesitant. although i already have three elektron boxes, i just get the picture that the monomachine takes a while to get into.
and i know for a fact that i would get good use out of a second analog four. there’s no question there i think. what goes through my mind is if it’s worth it to double up rather than getting another unique box. i have even been selling off gear that doubles something else i have, including guitars, and am continuing to do so, but i just find myself reaching for my analog four a lot and running out of tracks. my most recent song utilized something like seven or so separate tracks of the analog four that i had to multitrack in across a few different projects. actually it was more like eleven, because one of the “tracks” in logic was actually four tracks of the analog four playing in multi-timbral, unison mode with neighbor oscillators.
The forthcoming OB 1.1 release is supposed to be the release that gives us the C6-less USB sample transfer, IIRC
As it is now, it’s not as bad as people make it out to be. I would have been begging for something as fast as it is currently when I began writing techno in 1999. Again, appreciating for what it is rather than for what it is not.
Yes, each of 8 voices (12 tracks including choke groups) has a synth layer AND a sample layer. Both of which can be used simultaneously.
Hi,
I use an AK + A4 and I love it.
I wouldn’t wanna change it for a RYTM or any oher synth.
I’m sometimes thinkng to add a RYTM in time tho
The A4 is fanatstic for Drums but there’s so many possible modulations I tend to modify them ass hell .
Maybe the RYTM would be a great companion for more dedicated percussion tracks .
Having dedicated tracks for each Drum-sound is more reasschuring in a life -set and I could keep the RYTM running while reloading the others.
2 A4’s demands a lot more organisation an focus than 1 - wich couild be easyer to handle with a RYTM ( dedicated tracks ) or you could ( but I don’t ) have the discipline to dedicate each type of sound to a specific track on 1 of the machines. — question of keeping trackin a life - set
For me 1 of the most important features would be retriggering ( for the RYTM ) and find it importand to have very fast triggers in between the steps for percussion. I’ not shure yet this can be recorded with the RYTM
The advantage of the A4 is that each have 4 cv - outs
I would have preferred more synth parameters and no samples on the Rytm. - my opinion is still changing bythe day on this machine - and haven’t had the occasio to test it, wich is needed for me before buying.
But if I had to choose between 2 A4’s or 1 + a rytm - for shure 2 A4’s.
.
Call me crazy but what’s wrong with continuing to multitrack? Even with 2 A4s it sounds like you’d still be running short on tracks. Also don’t underestimate the increased hassle of juggling 2 sets of projects, kits and sounds.
nothing other than i prefer playing along with what i have going and then change things up as i see fit. multitracking the same way creates a bunch of back and forth. i often play a sequence as i build up the next on the same machine or on another instrument. can do that with cycles, but it isn’t easy to get in and edit a previous sound. and yea, i would probably use up the second analog four sometimes, but i don’t think it would be the norm.
i have considered the potential problem of having two analog fours and managing things between them. this is more so i think than having two different elektron machines, however, that is probably how i would treat it. one analog four does its thing and the other its own thing. i typically create matching projects across my octatrack and analog four, and i would do something similar, without worrying about trying to transfer data back and forth.
Get a Tempest, then use the A4 to Cv the T’s inputs and route them as mod sources and run the T thru the A4s effects.
It a wild combo, each has its own strengths the other has no chance to match.
Much more versatile than 2 A4’s
…i just love the drum and noise capabilties of my a4…
and that’s only it’s on top add on features it offers…it’s raw to smooth and deep sparkling, gargling synth voices it’s famous for…in first place…
not to mention the reverb, which i really love and adore…never heard such an in built in reverb anywhere before…and so is pretty much the delay, end of the day…
and after all these years producing music, i really appreciate if the tools and instruments i use do “only” one dedicated job…each…
so getting a second a4 and let it do “just” drums, some noise and bass lines, freeing the other one to shoot out “only” rhytmical synth lines and leads and even chords…
sounds like a good idea to me…
and yesh…the rytm is an amazing machine…but hey, the reason why i don’t have one is, because i don’t miss any analog drum sound options yet, because of multitracking options and my a4…
ot is giving me the sample backbone…and if there comes the day, i really want to expand my elektron collection, it would be a monomachine first…
but not in mint green, i guess…
i use the octatrack as a sort of live recording and sample playback machine. i have only had it for a year, and so i haven’t done too much in terms of building huge banks of samples. i typically create a new project, record some samples as i see fit, use older samples that were recorded in this way if need be, then start live sampling other gear. for example, i’ve done this.
i have recently been getting more into using the midi sequencing functions as heard here with it sequencing and then sampling a piano, as well as a grendel drone commander and the analog four. i haven’t recorded many of my experiments with the octatrack, which is what they tend to be. i certainly don’t use it in any way as a drum machine.
that’s interesting regarding the mixing of two patterns. do you have the two patterns on the analog four hard panned going into the octatrack? or do you use the octatrack’s midi CC ability to do the mixing on the analog four?
thanks for your take reeloy. sounds like you like the analog four as much as i do. i really love the delay and reverb on the analog four as well.
and while i’ve been investigating the rytm some due to some responses here, i keep wondering if it’s right for me since i find it sits right in between the analog four and octatrack in terms of synthesis and sampling, respectively. i suppose that was elektron’s intent, but i am trying to figure out if it’s what i need.
i’m thinking it’s probably best if i just suck it up and continue to get even more into the elektron gear i have (a4, ot, md).
But what about a completely different companion for your setup?
I don’t know about how much of your midi-capability of your OT is used already, but beside the Arturia you just could have seven more synth voices to be controled. Look for some analog gear with special character like the dreadbox Erebus or a MFB Dominion 1.
not late at all. i take forever to make a decision anyway.
i have been having fun committing energy to getting deeper into my machinedrum rather than dream about a fourth elektron box, although i suppose it will happen at some point though because i just love them. so i still dream, just reduced.
it’s really a shame elektron didn’t give the analog rytm at least basic sampling like the machinedrum has.
how did you know i have an arturia? my soundcloud? as i mentioned, i have been using the midi control along with the sampling more and more. current targets for the midi sequencing are a minibrute, atc-1, kawai es-100, and an old casio keyboard (lots of great sounds in there which are perfect for feeding into the octatrack!). i suppose my basic modular could be a target as well, but i don’t have a midi to cv module yet (i use my analog four).
i take forever to make a decision anyway.