for sure
Agreed.
I think the Rytm is amazing, weirdly and in contrast to popular opinion I absolutely love the hat, cymbal and tom machines, but not so much the BD and SD (or BT) machines which I find take a lot of work to get sounding how I want them to. That aside the chromatic mode and sample playback set it way above most other drum machines, sample transfer remains a big sore point for me though, way too laborious and slow, 1.32 canāt come soon enough 
I used to like the kick and BT machines more, but now that I have an A4, I know what you mean. A4 for most of my kicks from now on. Having said that, the rytm & A4 make a formidable 12-voice synth combo!
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I sometimes entertain the idea of selling my Rytm and buy 2 additional Analog Four for drum duties.
But then again, the Rytm is too good to be sold, I regretted selling my MD for too long, I now know selling my Elektron machines is a terrible ideaā¦
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For total drum control I used to layer on the A4, one synth for the click part of the kick, one for the low end, one for the body then sample and go!
Iāve been playing and patching synthesizers for 37 years (!) and most of the classic analog synths have passed through my studio. I still own and maintain quite a few classic instruments. The Analog Four holds its own with any of them. Its architecture is far more flexible than some ālegendaryā synths and it sounds a lot better to my ear than many beloved classics. By their nature, analog synthesizers will have some character of their own - a Minimoog doesnāt sound quite like an Odyssey, which in turn doesnāt sound like a Super-Jupiter. The Analog Four is no exception. If anything, the modern niceties of the A4ās architecture give it the flexibility to more easily adjust to the synthesists needs than some of older synths.
No synth with any depth is always going to provide instant gratification. People (rightly) love the Minimoog for its simplicity, but that simplicity limits its palette (Iām not knocking the Mini - I have one and love it). You can always get a good sound out of a Minimoog and in very little time. However, what you canāt get are complex patches. There are simply too few parameters. It means less to screw up, but less to play with. The more parameters a synth has, the less likely it will be to provide instant gratification - or even long term gratification if the owner doesnāt put in the time to get to know the instrument and where to find those āsweet spotsā mentioned by Unifono.
Of course, every synthesizer has a raw sound of its own - determined by the specific shape of the basic waveforms, the character of the filter circuit(s), the envelope response, VCA and more. There are going to be some people who simply donāt get on with that raw sound - and though they can probably get past it with patching, they shouldnāt have to do so, as there are plenty of alternatives out there these days. Me personally, Iāve never encountered a synth with a raw sound that I couldnāt use (I want them all 
), but I understand the sentiment.
I love my Analog Four and it is here to stay. I think it is a modern classic that people will be coveting in future decades. The synth engine sounds good, is flexible enough to make just about any sound and it offers that special Elektron interaction between sequencer, sound generation, and effects that keep me throwing money at this company.
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Iām normally not a huge fan of delay, but I have to admit - the per track delay feature (combined with p-locks) in the Monomachine is sweeeeet. I canāt wait to start figuring out where and how the A4 and 
will cooperate within my setup.
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That is a bold move. Fatar on the Ti is the best of the best.
And FYI the A4 box fits nicely on the right side of the Ti 
And they work great together.
Yea. I mean the focus on bass kind of makes sense at least in dance music. Whether it is a kick drum or some other kind of bass patch, strong low end is a pretty major factor in dance music of all types. It is the core of melody and rhythm.
That being said, I donāt need everything I own to be bass-oriented or be a bass tool or whatever.
True, the keybed is amazing on a TI. I just found that I could get the same sounds out of a few VSTs, and got fed up with the dismal timing on the TI plugin so it had to go 
Hello worldk,
BTW, Iāve been spending a few hours every night to get to know the A4.
Now I understand why people like thisā¦ itās about the āPLOCKSā and āsoundlocksā but the PLOCKS are very interestingā¦ I never had this on a synth beforeā¦ The Roland System 8 has a feature where I can change a parameter on each step but itās not as smooth as the ELEKTRON A4.
I was able to create this pure electronic synth melodic rhythm.Thereās more to learn but learning PLOCKS was yesterdayā¦ As for the Performance mode, honestly, I think this is where I will be using the OVERBRIDGE instead of programming it from the unit. Performance Mode is another beauty. I can twist 1 knob and a lot of parameters can change therefore changing the sound/dynamics/effects dramaticallyā¦ Wowww ā¦ But yeahh, programming it from the unit is hard or i have to get use to itā¦ Iāll use overbridge to program my setting and save it.
This is a very special special synthesizer. Iām glad I bought it during the price drop. I suggest people get one for 750.00 on Ebay free shipping. Itās a very unique synthā¦ If you do experimental, electro, acid, techno or anything electronic music, this could be your new best friend. It was eye opening for me yesterday. I had a blast. I will be using this to create new tunesā¦ This ELektron A4 will give me that spice.
Iām keeping mine and I actually understand the workflow now slowly but surely. I get it. You basically utilize the sequencer as this is the strength of the unit. The sequencer is for sound design.
Hereās the thing, Iāve been using the sequencer only but tonight will play it via keyboard as I would treat and play my other synth. With the Elektron Iām always on the sequencer creating melodic linesā¦ Thatās the unique way for me to create and sound design.
As for the Analog FOUR bass? not impress with the low end(bass patches) of the A4 but Iām still learning to program
As my first ELektron with the A4, now Iām curious about Analog Rhythm, Digitakt and Heat. Iām not interested in the OCTA yet because I have MPC LIVE coming in ā¦ I went the MPC route for sampling.
But maybe one day Iāll get the OCta MK2
I love Elektron now.
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A4 / AK has spoiled me in so many ways. As a victim of consumer culture Iām regularly looking at the shade of grass on the other side of the fence. But the marriage of synthesis and sequencer is truly at an apex here, and thatās what kept the A4 in my studio for two years before I decided to trade it up for the AK.
Weād all love more LFOs, always, yea, but not having to use them on things like vibrato or PWM (which have their own dedicated modulars, independent of the LFOs) makes it deeper than it appears.
Also, PWM on every wave shape? yes!
And what other synth is going to let give you LFOs that modulate delay feedback, and can be p-locked?
Are the square waves perfect squares? Iām told they arenāt.
Can it cut through a mix like a Moog? Well, if you know how to mix and donāt mind using more than one of the four voices in the name of your art, it can.
No synth ticks all the boxes, and no synth ever will. Potential is key here, and A4/K is just so darn flexible! And, like a yogi with a daily practice, the more you put into it, the more flexible it (and your use of it) becomes.
The only other instrument that has come close to wowing me the way the A4/K does is the Korg Monologue, thanks to clever step mutes of note/slide/motion independent of one another. Such an axe, and the limited selection of parameters was expertly chosen. Another pinnacle, thanks to Tatsuya.
Itās an entirely different beast from A4/K, but again, the relationship between synth and sequencer makes both instruments greater than the sum of their respective parts.
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I had been an owner of the A4 way back when it first came out, but eventually sold it off and upgraded to the AK when that came out. While Iāve loved the AK, for some reason itās never had the immediacy of the A4 for me ā not sure why, perhaps the compact size of the A4 or the tiny little on board keyboard that make it really easy to noodle around on while sculpting sounds.
I was excited to see the price drop on new A4s after the announcement of the MkII line. After trying to be ārationalā about not really needing an AK and an A4 I decided to pull the trigger on another A4. Iām really glad I did ā my passion for synthesis sounds has definitely be reignited by this little box. Itās the perfect size to while away a couple of hours on the couch with a pair of good headphones, coming up with cool sounds and patterns.
While the AK definitely is the winner in terms of playability and performance, I have to say that in terms of inspriration and exploration, the A4 canāt be beat!
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After about a month Iām still blown away with how great the AK sounds through AH. I canāt play the AK without using AH (I use the Enhancement setting a lot). I bought both second hand and consider them amazing bargains. My recommendation is to get a AH before anything else (like the Digitakt) and I want another one for my RYTMā¦ Also the reverb on the Keys is really great when you dial it in right. I demoed a Strymon BigSky and personally found it lacking - or perhaps its been over-hyped? Anyhow with the Keys and Heat and Rytm you can go a long way. Iām not bothered by Digitakt becauseā¦well anyway I would recommend picking up an A4/Keys and (must have) Heat before anything else.
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I have found that using a Zoom MS70CDR on my A4 outputs gives a nice improvement to the sound (currently using stereo eq plus a touch of plate reverb). This also allows me to dedicate each A4 FX to a single track.
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+1 for the AK/AH combination. That sounds about as good as anything. Agree also that the in-box reverb can be nice with some work. The BigSky is amazing though if you spend some time with it, offers so many extended possibilities.
Iām a bit weird when it comes to reverb. Iāve tried the Zoom, Strymon, Erbeverb in eurorack and the Valhalla plugins. I prefer the reverb on the AK to all of these. As I said I have my own peculiar tastes.
I like to set pre-delay to about 12 oāclock and decay to about 120 and then volume to 35.
Got my A4 last night! First thoughts:
- Great for chords/harmonics. Iāve been considering the Minilogue for a long time because I like its voice modes and the chords you can get out of it. The A4 squashes that desire and fills this longstanding hole in my lineup. (The Monomachineās ensemble machines did OK here, but I really like the A4 for this, even without using Poly!)
- Love the Poly option. I always assumed the A4 was like the Monomachine, or like having 4 monologues or minibrutes: basically four monosynths, but instead I get the features that attracted to to the Minilogue plus all the Elektron goodness and more choices of how to use the 4 voices.
- Really like the reverb. The āinfā setting is what I had hoped the Octatrackās Dark Reverb would be. I look forward to running the Monomachine through it. (But Iāve been having so much fun with the gated reverb on the older boxes that I kindof miss it here).
Thereās a lot more for me to dig into, obviously. My other main thoughts:
- Man Iād love a Monomachine with the A4ās additional features (not just in the sequencer, but the performance mode/mixer, little on screen keyboard, direct pattern jump (finally!)).
- After going through the lineup (excl Sidstation) in order, the little screen takes more getting used to than I expected. Glad to see this being addressed in the MKII.
- Disappointed that thereās no big printed manual.
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Ditto. Would love a new versatile great sounding synth from Elektron that merges the MNM and the A4. If they added user waves to the MK2, that would put me over the edge and I would use my MK1 for beats.
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Picked one up a couple of days ago too at the reduced price - hard to resist - got one years ago when they came out first - but couldnāt get my head around it and sold it, so giving it another chance. Been using the machine drum and mono machine recently so itās a bit easier this time around.