I just think it was made for performing, be it in the studio or live, and Its also capable for making full songs with without any eternal gear.
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I‘m no expert and also never record something that is nice, not annoying.
But A4 ( still mk1) is my favourite synth, for quick jamming and berlin school anyway, but also for the sound.
I got dreadbox erebus ( mk1) as the obvious choice ( at that time) as a fat sounding small synth that can be cv sequenced from a4.
When i think if I could/ would record something serious with erebus, only a 70s soundtrack (vampyros lesbos) comes to mind. Or the massive subbass ( probably dificult to record, don‘t know).
I use dreadbox hades now for crystal clear arpeggios…
I have a4 and dn in two different places atm, but i would use them the other way round than i thought together.
Getting nice simple pads from dn is less easy than i thought. So i would use dn for percussion and acid and a4 for pads.
Now i use dn the same as a4, a four voice quick techno groovebox. Experimental ambient on dn is also nice with lot of assigned aftertouch and modwheel stuff.
I have a better understanding of your thoughts now, thanks. I actually really enjoy writing on the A4 and coming to the settings without a perceived sound like a moog or whatever. We are probably making different kinds of music since i’m writing ambient tracks to work with guitar & vocals. ultimately, it’s good for us all to hear why the A4 doesn’t fit with other people’s styles because it is potentially helpful for folks doing research. cheers.
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Sorry, liked it just accidently with scrolling.
4 tracks is more than enough for nice simple techno jamming for me and also the sound with velocity mod. Just for nice simple acidtrance 2 tracks more would be ok.
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I used the presets as an example because they clearly and undeniably demonstrate that the possible palette of sounds is vast. It’s a valid argument imo.
You seem to make lots of assumptions. 
I have used and owned lots of analog synths, and to me nothing quite compares to the A4’s potential really.
It’s one of the few analog synths that actually surprise me regularly.
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Sounds kinda thin through my laptop speakers. Can you post 32 bit floating point surround sound 5.1 laser disk file? 
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Exactly. This proves me right. It’s not the machine, it’s the User behind the machine…any discussion about bass or not bass is obsolete.
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impressive! definitely shows it’s just a case of learning the unit, didn’t look like you had a hard time finding the sweet spots like so many people say.
I definitely don’t use mine as much as I should because I’m a bit spoiled for choice with other gear but I love how great an aux device the A4 is.
Here we are!
For me the great A4’s issue it is exampled by the following statement: it can give the best analog sound, BUT you have to practice, learn and became an A4’s wizard.
I’m an easy guy: I prefer a synth that simply sounds always good, also if it’s played by a beginner. There are many…
Surely if you have time enough to learn the unit, spending hours and hours to make a patch, it can give you great pleasures. But most of us have few time. Life is short, music doesn’t await.
Peace and love 
Since we’re discussing the sound of the A4 I thought I’d mention that I find the FX on the A4 to be really great for sound design. Especially the reverb does something lovely. Just yesterday I rewired two of my mixer’s AUX sends to the Inputs on the A4. I find its reverb more satisfying for sound design than a lot of the pedals I own.
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Yes, when I used A4 I loved to process external audio with onboard effects. Reverb and delay are lovely.
About A4’s strenght points, as someone have written here, it shines as a drum machine!
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…yup…too much pro for hobbyfun…
is the perfect final conclusion to this neverending lament…
and IT’Z open end…
I think the source of anyone’s discontent with the A4 can be attributed to this truth:
The larger the param set, the smaller the sweet spot.
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Sorry, I do desagree with you.
The notorius “Elektron’s learning curve” it’s not synonymous of “professional”. There aren’t pro instruments, only pro musicians. The instrument doesn’t do the “professionist”.
Moog’s synths haven’t any learning curve: are not good for a pro?
It’s only a matter of what is good for someone, if music it’s a job or not it’s irrilevant.
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…well…on a moog…u get what u can expect from it…solid.
while behind that notorious swedish learning curve, u can expect things u’ve never heard of before…
the difference between hobbyfun and serious pro attitude is the amount of time and passion and imagination ur willing to put into ur sonic crafting…not the machine…so basically…ur damn’ right…just a little lazee, maybee…
Thank you, this can be the last word about this topic IMO. True.
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It doesn’t prove anything, and blaming the user does somewhat keep fanning the flames of this conversation. I personally was a very competent user of the AK and lived with it for a couple of years so I knew it well. I haven’t heard any demos or examples which have sounds that I didn’t or couldn’t get out of it. But I still hated the workflow / interface and eventually couldn’t put up with the sound any longer. I sold it to buy either a second Boomstar or a Lyra, I forget which. Either way, I’d take one of those over an A4 any day of the week! They give me proper moments of delight with their weighty characterful sounds.
And to say that a conversation is obsolete and you’re proved right, thus implying that this one video you’re posting totally rubbishes any contrary opinions… I mean, really?! Why does it matter to you so much to be proved ‘right’?!! With those statements, you really ramped up the expectation that the video would provide some kind of mind-blowing example… And that isn’t the case.
What it does do, is show how we look for different things: the example you posted sounds good for the A4 (bravo to @Eaves for that 
) and I got many similar sounds out of my AK using the performance macros in a similar manner. But in my opinion / personal taste, I still don’t think it sounds great. Better oscillators and filters would make a better sounding instrument, no?
So very true!
Glad to hear you like them, for sure it’s useful to be able to sequence the fx. But I always found them disappointing (I’m talking MK1 though, not sure if they improved for MK2?) - especially the reverb. It was just about useable for live stuff, but certainly not upto scratch for studio work. What pedals do you have? I use a Ventris a fair bit, and to me that sounds world’s better.
I’m interested in this comment… Instinctively I don’t think it’s true… But maybe there’s something to it. Have you got other examples of instruments to back it up?
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How about this: “There’s a direct correlation between the amount of control the user is afforded and the amount of work is expected from the user.”
Ie. Rytm gives the user something like 6 gain-stages per track (track level, synth level, sample level, filter resonance, overdrive, volume) before involving the FX sends, distortion, and compressor. That’s a lot of gain-staging to juggle. Wrong moves on any can lead its output to sound like mud (which it often does), and yet people think the Rytm’s to blame?
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For reference, I also have an A4 Mk1 and was referring to that one.
The reverb pedals I own and use are a Meris Mercury 7, Boss RV500, Crazy Circuits Splash Mk3. I also have an Alesis Nanoverb and some other random stuff I don’t use (the reverb on a Space Echo, Zoom G5 etc etc). And of course nearly all the reverb vsts my macbook can handle lol.
I think the Mercury 7 and the Splash Mk3 sound better, but the A4’s reverb gels better with the sounds I aim for / create / come out of my synths. So for me it’s a great tool for sound design (basically as a pre-fader/insert effect, so part of the sound design, not as a space-adding effect).
The Ventris is a very good pedal, I’ve looked into buying it quite a bit but ultimately went with the Mercury7 because I liked its sound better. But I’ll get a Ventris eventually as well, I think it’s one of the best big boxes out there.