A4 Tips & Tricks

[Daisuk]

Wow, that sounds like a cool trick! I’ll have to try that out. Thanks for sharing!

[avantronica]

Wish you had some other ‘global’ effects on your A4? LPF? HPF? Well you do!

Sacrifice one of the effects, I like to use Chorus for this as it’s the global I use least - for example:

send all your tracks to Chorus then configure chorus to ‘do nothing’ - min depth, speed, 0 feedback etc.

Next, configure Performance params so you can control the Chorus LP & HP for instant ‘DJ style’ master filters.

With judicious Performance set ups you can even keep the Chorus should you need it for certain tracks.

The above might be obvious but it’s the season of goodwill so I thought I’d share anyway

Still not incredibly obvious, I can’t take a good chunk of the original out of the mix, so it’s creating gentle freq balance shifts over what seems like a narrow range top/bottom - not quite DJ style, maybe i’m missing something, tried with internal and external material!

[Libertine_Lush]

I’m a new A4 owner, but I noticed 2 things not mentioned in the manual.

[ul]
[li]Holding down the Parameter buttons (Osc 1 to LFO) will reveal the parameter value for all 10 encoders. Much easier and safer than pressing down on a encoder, hoping not to unintentionally nudge the value.[/li]
[li]Double-tapping the Stop button can be used to immediately cut off a sound being playing in realtime, not just to cut off a pattern in playback.[/li]
[/ul]

[TBN]

TIP 1: “Tonal feedback sound”

Had a lot of fun with setting osc1 to fbk and set am1 to on

Even with osc2 turned down you get a tonal feedback sound, the pitch is controlled by the osc2 pitch setting.

NB: you have to set osc 2 to pulse, or adjust pw of saw to hear this!!!

TIP2: ext input level to weak? use moderate amount of filt od to compensate. works to add a bit of compression to transients too!

[avantronica]

I’m a new A4 owner, but I noticed 2 things not mentioned in the manual.

[ul]
[li]Holding down the Parameter buttons (Osc 1 to LFO) will reveal the parameter value for all 10 encoders. Much easier and safer than pressing down on a encoder, hoping not to unintentionally nudge the value.[/li]
[li]Double-tapping the Stop button can be used to immediately cut off a sound being playing in realtime, not just to cut off a pattern in playback.[/li]
[/ul]

1. That feature ought to be covered in the release notes for OS upgrades, lots of upgraded features are only discussed there fwiw
2. That’s a common way to implement the all-notes-off midi-standard command cc123 - so, it’s possibly not mentioned, but may well have been in an earlier product’s manual
   .
   there are a few undocumented techniques which have popped up on here from time to time, it’s worth looking through the old threads ; )

[avantronica]

TIP 1: “Tonal feedback sound”

Had a lot of fun with setting osc1 to fbk and set am1 to on

Even with osc2 turned down you get a tonal feedback sound, the pitch is controlled by the osc2 pitch setting.

NB: you have to set osc 2 to pulse, or adjust pw of saw to hear this!!!

TIP2: ext input level to weak? use moderate amount of filt od to compensate. works to add a bit of compression to transients too!

great thread on 1 here

[Libertine_Lush]

1. That feature ought to be covered in the release notes for OS upgrades, lots of upgraded features are only discussed there fwiw

I’m compulsively meticulous. I’ll need to check out the entirety of the release notes now!

[pdp]

Hello Adam,
Thank you very much for your passion and time for this grat forum, elektron and especially the a4.
I also love your music, am a big fan of detroit techno, where the a4 can come near those hoodesque filter sounds and great elektro snares. I like my a4, what prevents me from more jamming and exploring is still one thing:
I have to reload the kit AND pattern (because of plocks) before switching
Patterns.
So the reload kit when… in the global is not so helpful.
Also , im afraid of destroying, loosing a kit and/or pattern by switching a wrong key or forgetting something.

I would really be very happy for an advice from a pro and enthusiast how you deal with that in studio and live.
That detail really blocks me from using a4 more and maybe buying rytm2.
Thanks a lot pdp

[AdamJay]

Another A4/AK praise thread

I have to reload the kit AND pattern (because of plocks) before switching
Patterns.
So the reload kit when… in the global is not so helpful.
I would really be very happy for an advice

Could you please elaborate, in great detail, on why you have to do this?
I’m not understanding your meaning, or what you intend to accomplish that A4 is preventing you from accomplishing.

[pdp]

Wow thanks for quick reply and sorry if it sounded complicated.
I just want to jam with a4, save a kit and pattern (there are the p locks saved) and from there play with sounds and p locks and save the new state.
I know i can or i should make a copy before jamming, but thats complicated, where is what.
I know there is a copy, reload paste, name thing possible, also very complicated.
But there is also the fear and experience of loosing stuff by accidently changing pattern.
And im MOSTLYcurious how you deal and organize with this. Also live, you play live with a copy of a project you can “destroy” or how are you organized? THANks for your love fore elektronauts, detroit and a4

[AdamJay]

Another A4/AK praise thread

I just want to jam with a4, save a kit and pattern (there are the p locks saved) and from there play with sounds and p locks and save the new state.

Get quick and practice with your copy/paste commands.
If you’re jamming and elaborating on a concept with no p-locks and notes, paste a pattern and elaborate from there. Don’t ever make changes within a pattern that you wouldn’t want to save on top of. For that, paste a copy of that pattern and work from there.

Another A4/AK praise thread

Also live, you play live with a copy of a project you can “destroy”

Of course.
And my main composition project stays locked on the +Drive.

[pdp]

thanks again for answer and commitment.
It is as it is.
The great sequencer is very inpiring to turn on often quickly the machine and morph something harcore to someting ambient.
That i dont have the possibility to say to the machine (digital mind) that it is the same after mangling without worrying, copying, naming, clearing after turning off lowers my wish to turn it on and to buy other elektrons. Thats just me(?)
Often instead i turn on your enthusiastic sound discussions here.
Note to myself: pen and paper, to finally write more poems or to somehow organize a4

[pdp]

Hello again, sorry .
I hope im not too annoiing if I ask the other elektronauts once again how you approach the machine knowing that you have to reload the pattern ( because of p locks , trigs, …) every time you want to change pattern or turn off the A4. You have a strategy when and where you place a copy, how you deal with renaming.?

You have a lot of copies and copies of copies of kits when you play live and you have a strategy or system how they are organized?
Is something wrong with my brain?
Ok, yes…

I hope I made it clear im otherwise a big fan of elektron.
I like how i can mangle a bit and save or DONT save easily on a tanzbär, but would much prefer a more complex rytm2 or another a4(2) as great percussion mangling, ambient and cv synth
Thanks again to adam and the whole nauts for great forum.

[LyingDalai]

There is a checkbox somewhere (Kit menu most likely) that enables to “reload on change”.
Look for these words in PDF manual. Might be what you’re after, if I understood correctly.

Now you can also use the “tabula rasa” project (look for these words on this site) : that project is an empty one in which every Pattern is linked to its own Kit.

About Tabula Rasa on the good old EU forum :
https://www.elektron-users.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=28&func=view&id=219094&catid=9&limit=10&limitstart=0

[pdp]

thanks a lot for the effort and the link, will check out the tabula rasa thing.

But stil:

The reload thing refers to what i mean. (Global menu) Yes, it reloads only the kit but p locks are stored with the pattern.
And since the the sequencer is so great it invites to change trigs (stoted with pattern)

Im mostly surprised that this beaviour doesnt seem to bother or worry the experienced elektronauts.

And Im wondering why and how you approach the machine and what systematic you have to evolve one kit to another. “Save as” on computer, altough i almost dont have a computer.
And/or to change trigs and sound live

Adam wrote the best possible advice in short, to practice copy paste stuff.but it remains naming and organizing the copies of copies of kits.

Again, if there wouldnt be a great sequencer with p locks i wouldnt care.
Have a nice day

[LyingDalai]

The reload thing refers to what i mean. (Global menu) Yes, it reloads only the kit but p locks are stored with the pattern.
And since the the sequencer is so great it invites to change trigs (stoted with pattern)

Im mostly surprised that this beaviour doesnt seem to bother or worry the experienced elektronauts.

Sorry but I still can’t clearly comprehend what you are meaning no exactly.
Maybe you’re holding your hammer the wrong way

[pdp]

Aargh sorry, whats for shure is Adams advice (practice) is right. I dont use the hammer (a4) enough. Because of lazyness, possibility, but also because of fear of loosing stuff and I cant just turn on, move knobs and turn off.

You gave me the tip with " kit reload on change".
Thanks I know that well and have it enabled.(its in global> seq config)

But p locks are stored with pattern and pattern are always autosaved when i change to other pattern. Uff, my brain…

To make it more complicated i even know the on the fly copy reload paste…name new kit trick, ( not much practice, and yes it is dangerous and complicated)
as possibility IF:

I have a nice pattern with kit, i can not resist to turn some knobs and enter some trigs (shame on me) and i like the new pat and kit also and i want both saved.

So my question: first thing you do after turning on a4 is always make a copy of pattern and name new kit (to not loose if you like what you make?) or how you deal with that, how you organize, or you dont care?
What is your favourite vegetable?

I also shouldnt care too much, i dont do serios stuff anyway, i just want to be more motivated and less blocked to use the hammer or to buy another swedish hammer. (Good analog-y, a4 hammers enough already solo)

Again thanks for forum, now that i switched from iphone 3 to 5 i can see and use it again : )

[bigfrog]

This is my main dislike of Elektron equipment and the main reason why I like Overbridge so much.
With Overbridge I just save whatever is I am working in my DAW, when I change a sequence/kit and like it, I save it in the DAW.

Its too bad I cant do this with my Mono or MD.

[glitched]

Still having a hard time understanding exactly what you want to do, @pdp .

You claim annoyance with having to save new patterns and kits after you have modified them.
How else do you propose to save different versions of the same kit or pattern?

Ok, so you can’t load/name patterns to the one you’re working on, as you can with kits, but pattern save/load is extremely useful! Yes, copying the whole pattern to a new one is indeed the only way.

By the way, remember that the A4 has a kit memory-buffer, so you don’t have to save the kit every time you power-down.

Oh, yes; AdamJay mentioned a great technique: If you don’t want to “destroy” an original pattern by placing p-locks, etc., copy/paste this original pattern a couple times. Do your composition/performance/elaboration on the ancillary patterns. IF you like them, save the pattern. If not, reload. This way, you can have several versions of one pattern at your fingertips and one button combo: NO+Scene/Pattern (reload).

[LyingDalai]

I do believe you have a problem of workflow.

Basically, when you’re satisfied with a pattern, copy it and paste it to the following slot.
Now if you want to tweak a Sound, think of quick saving your current kit (Yes + Kit) and then save it as a new Kit.

Let’s do this with an example:

Let’s say I’m on Pattern A06.
I am comfortable with the current kit, I save it as “A06 ambient” for instance.
I play on Pattern A06 for a while… Once I have something I like I copy the whole Pattern, quick save the Kit if the tweaks suit me, and go to Pattern A07.
I paste previous Pattern, save the current Kit as “A07 ambient”, and now I can further mess everything up without touching anything to A06.

Try this for a while until it feels natural, that might help you to find your own way