mapping subtle timbral shifting params to the qper knob on the mk2 really made me love it. even just mapping filter 1 + 2 cutoff to it made it more playable. but i think it was a macprovideo tutorial/walkthrough [ https://www.macprovideo.com/video/elektron-102-analog-four-explained-and-explored/18-18-amplitude-modulation ] that got me experimenting with audio rate fm (especially freq modulating the filter cutoff with some drive) & am, again with audio rate lfos modulating vca levels. using the normalled mod envelopes in the signal path is very useful
but with any elektron box, manly the synths, i also find that makes a huge difference to take it away from my desk/the rest of my setup and just sit down with it for a few hours doing sound design and then doing meticulous little mono patterns that slowly evolve with p locks and subtle shifts.
then moving to the next track and making a pattern that sort of bounces around that initial pattern or weaves in and out of it. when you do that with all 4 tracks, and add performance modulation, its like an incredible world of sound design in a box.
tytykee’s lowercase/concrete style noise texture exercises with the feedback routing also inspired me a lot. you can get some insane textures by running feedback on 3 tracks, lots of drive between filters, adding bp filters, then putting all those cutoffs on the qper knob and scrubbing it back and forth. it starts to sound like scraping a metal pan with a spoon. its beautiful
Wow! That’s an amazing amount of enthusiasm, experiences and encouragement all of you have shared so far. I am very grateful and glad for having posted my little uncertainties into this friendly forum. Thank you!
Here’s what I did: Spent the last days soloing and experimenting with the A4 and had a good read into the synth track parameters manual section. From what I learned so far the possibilities for sound design seem very deep and almost endless.
And finally: No more thoughts about returning it, too.
Some simple tips (many of which I read here in this forum) that help to find pleasing classic analog mono synth sounds
For square wave, use the trapezoid wave with -20 pulse width
For saw wave, use triangle with -64 pulsw width
keep oscillators volumes moderate
rather use osc 2 as subosc, cause the suboscs have no volume control
turn off resonant boost
Use lp filter two instead of one for simple sounds, filter one fully open with resonance up to about 64
A source of sweetspots for me is
use filter 1 for lowpass
use filter 2 as peak. Turn resonance up to about half
set keytracking of filter two to 32
you find a of sweetspots now by experimenting with both filter cutoffs
The resonant peak filter uncovers many great sounds of the A4 and is my favorite feature
for fun poly sounds
set polyphony in the kit menu to 4 voices, rotating and use track sounds
build a nice poly sound on track 1, copy it over to all other tracks and make moderate variations to the sound on track 2-4
some experimentation tips:
learn to use osc1 feedback
learn how AM works on the A4
experiment with fm from the pitch linked lfo’s, I like modulating high resonant filters, panning, amp volume
Experiment with plocking and modulating the effect section. Many great sounds to be discovered
Another fun thing is to fill up your complete soundpool with drum sounds, set the A4 to multimap and sequence it from and external midi sequencer. A analog drum kit with 128 sounds at your fingertips…
I hope there will be an update any time soon. Want some features from the Digis (like the 2nd filter page) - find it pretty hard to place sounds into a specific limited spectrum
absoluty not… I like those two resonant filtrs - but I can’t tame the sound - more of the opposite. I would want a 3rd filter that limit both resonant filters.
My a4 felt frustrating in the beginning.
I was frustrated and bored, the interface feels so dead when the synth is not used properly.
Slowly understood the sound pool an the macro performance knobs
Also Lfo (dont use envelopes that much yet)
My ‘loops’ or ‘patterns’ feel liquid, in can create instant movement.
Now i use it as my main groovebox
Playable monosynth next to it (not necessary)
Digitakt for extra hh, perc, etc, to level up the groove of my a4
Digitakt i also use for song transition
I can keep my dt on the same pattern and swich a4 to next song. Then later i change my dt pattern and i am fully on my new song.
I have had the A4 Mk2 for over a year.
I like to sit down with my synths and make wonderful new sounds-I am almost just a sound designer over 4 bars. I love the elektron way and have a DT, DN and OT. The Digitone can just make magic new worlds in just a few moments.
Sometimes I use the A4 and make wonderful sounds and patterns. Just lovely. There is depth in the sounds. There is joy with it.
And sometimes, I sit down with it and cannot break through to new sounds and directions. I think it is a boring synth, the same sounds are coming out (maybe the exotic DN has spoiled me and I can never return to the more gentle, sensible and beautiful girl). I have not, as yet, found how to make of the some of the settings interesting-Does AM do much? Vibrato is so unsubtle and has a tiny sweetspot. Lots of settings do little, then start doing something interesting and then suddenly far too much- overwhelming any other sound design choice.
And, And, And a volume control on the sub oscillators would have been so useful! I barely use sub-oscillators now, as it is blunt club that overwhelms the main sound/osc. I realise I just want hint of a sub osc or a fifth-and all I can do is turn it on or off. There is no control and that is tragedy on a synth in which I am starting to glimpse its subtle beauty.
I am sure designing and building a new analog synth is not easy task but some of the design choices are too crude-maybe with more software revisions some of this might get improved.
Some of this might be limitations of a truly analog synth-that might open to the infinite sound design when I master it.
As someone else said, a merlins guide for the A4 would be very welcome.
I am going to try both of these techniques with the Linnstrument that will be coming to me next week. Although the A4 is not specifically MPE compatible, I saw a video or description somewhere (here or Reddit or KVR, can’t remember now) where the person basically just copied the same sound to the four tracks, so he could use the Linnstrument to play and tweak each sound separately with different pads played. Seems like your idea will be an interesting twist on this. The version I bought has exactly 128 keypads, so should be loads of fun. I am not sure how to do this yet, but will give it a try.
A4 takes a bit more effort to make a complete jam with no other gear, but I’ve always found that it excels at coming up with complimentary parts when im working on a song and need another something - another arp, another little lead, some chords in the background, anything like that… fits in the mix well and so fast to bang in a pattern and get it looping
The A4 is much deeper as expected. But if you understand the basics of subtractive synthesis you are good to go. I have learned a lot of the pro-users here on Eletronauts. And still so much to learn.
A big rewarding moment was that I can connect it to my iPad Pro M1 with just a simple usb-b to usb-c cable. USB-midi both ways and USB-audio from the A4 straight into my iPad.
It’s just wonderful to see him perform live starting (almost) always from init patches and building the performance from scratch like in the live stream just now:
I have just spent the last 2 hours drifting away.
Gary Hayes is amazing. He always makes beautiful music from scratch. And he breaks out well beyond the 4 bar limit. He is brave just to make music and then move on to the next sound/pattern and let it evolve.
For me, he shows the A4 might be best used as an instrument first. And how beautiful some of sounds are that come out of the A4.
I remembered starting this thread almost a year ago. That first A4 got returned because I felt overwhelmed and not ready. Swapped it for a M:C first and then quickly into a DN, which I had loads of fun with from the start. However I used it mainly as a subtractive synth with rebuilt classic analog-ish waveforms.
Now, since a week or so I have an A4II again – but this time all is different. Sounds and patterns simply seem to flow out of the machine. So… in essence it boils down to: Sometimes it takes more time and patience than expected. Or just a change of view. Who knows?
And the information condensed in this thread is still a most valuable source of inspiration!
I went through the same process. Got the a4 and sold it. Then worked my way up from a model samples to the digis and eventually picked up another a4. I didn’t love it right away and considering selling it again but decided to use it during every session in some way. Now I just sort of get it and have had more successes with it.
A lot of the advice in this thread applies. Like using a little pwm and pitch modulation to create some movement because the oscillators are stiff. Also had tendency to use filter drive to warm up the sound but that can be a mistake a lot of the time.
Another thing that helped it click for me was a sound design idea I challenged myself with. I used the a4 to simulate a stack of moog dfam, mother 32 and subharmonicon. Can’t get there 100%, especially with the SH. Used two tracks to simulate the subharmonicon and got some cool polyrhythmic chords going.
For me, just putting chorder preset or similar on some trigs on 1 (or 3 poly )tracks, plocking or velocity mod, delay on those and a kick ( and maybe hihat) on track 4 is rewarding for me.
The simplified hoodlike sound with a4( mk1)s not in your face sound, i like always.
Evolving dub chords using p-locks and lfos on parameters like f/env attack and all the other usual tricks. Simple but that did it for me.
Also found that while the A4 may not sound mindblowing on its own, it’s a bit like the Nords in how it sits quite nicely in a mix with minimal effort.
