A4 and CV outs question

Elektron Gear Analog Keys/Four
#1

Hi,

I have a nord drum 2 i would like to sequence with my analog four. There are 4 cv outs and one cv track as you know.

Is it possible to trigger only the CV output of our choice on that cv track alone ? i have 6 cv inputs on the nord drum 2, and the 4 inputs i connect to the a4 all trigger at the same time when setting the a4 cv outs to gate.

for example, i would like this:

trig 1 will spit out on cv output A and trig 5 on cv output B …

P-Locking CV Trig Level
Analog Four CV
CV triggering
Control CV Trig Level From Sequencer?
#2

yep - just select a different source ‘SRC’ (Enc E from memory) on one of the CV setup pages - the CV outs can be driven by any track

#3

Is it possible all from the cv track, to select for each trig the cv output destination ? i don’t want to use the other tracks.

like:
trig 1 cv output A
trig 2 cv output B

etc …

there are four cv outputs and i didn’t find any way to select the cv destination per trig, it should be possible no ?

i am trying to drive a drum module, but when i put down a trigger, it spits out on the 4 cv outs at the same time.

It looks like i have to use one track for each cv out channel then ? bummer …

#4

there’s no direct way to do it exactly like that (sound lock style)- in theory you can plock the SRC for ‘each’ CV out for trigs on the CV track, so you could make the default SRC be an empty FX track e.g. and manually assign some trigs (to each cv destination) to be active (directed to CV track) on a trig by trig basis - sounds like a bit of a hassle as a workaround but might be alright for you (let us know if/how it works) - i don’t have enough destinations to bother trying

i think i previously asked hq if they could provide a ‘dummy’ ie zero source for this very purpose !

even then electing to use FX as a ‘empty’ source might not fly for all cv tasks, may be okay for gate (ie 0v = off) purposes though

e.g
each destination defaults to FX with no trigs
all trigs are active on CV track

so, as each destination can be manually edited, do the following for CV track trigs (if u have patience) …

CVA SRC : CV FX FX FX CV FX FX FX CV FX FX FX CV FX FX FX
CVB SRC : FX FX CV FX FX FX FX FX FX FX FX FX FX FX CV FX
CVC SRC : CV CV CV CV CV CV CV CV CV CV CV CV CV CV CV CV
CVD SRC : FX FX FX FX FX FX CV FX FX CV FX FX FX FX FX FX

clumsy at best, if it works and still uses two tracks (one as 0v only !)

might be easier to use ‘value lin’ on all cv outs and just plock the voltages
set a range 0 to 5v then plock levels to 0 for gate offs and 127 for gate ons for each destination, then only one track is required !

#5

Thanks for your input, i will try and report :slight_smile:

so it is possible to p-lock the voltage per cv out ? nice ! i will try that asap !

#6

I just tried with the val lin method and this work but…

for some reason each step on one cv channel has to be opposite on value like:

step 1 val 0
step 5 val 127
step 9 val 0
step 13 val 127

but it works yay ! thanks for that brilliant idea. We can trigger drum modules ! on 4 independent channels from only the cv track :+1:

BUT if there are 5 trigs it doesn’t work … because the last and the first one on the pattern are same value :dizzy_face: can’t have two trigs with same value that follow each other !

trying to play with the values…

#7

of course, did you try putting a ‘gate shaped’ env on the value lin per step, that might fix that so it spikes the voltage rather than just raising it ?

#8

it does work a treat btw, just tested it, you can get ‘gates’ per trig, just use the two envs and two half sqr lfos to serve as gates, remember to set value lin to zero then

i’ve only tried one cv pair, but it’d be easy to do four by using fast ‘half’ square lfos - it works !

edit: it’s prob okay to use just two envs as you are plocking the depths and you have two pairs of depths per trig

#9

Nice idea, going to try it :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

the lfo must be set to one shot i presume ?

#10

no, half ! - it’s actually defaulting on the two envs to dest cva cvb cvc and cvd so i’d do it all on a pair of envs - use shape 9 with a short decay sus and rel to zero - then dec becomes variable gate length and depth becomes voltage - use lfos to mess/random things/trigs up a bit :wink:

#11

just having insane fun with my Doepfer DE1 and four cv outs (one track)- the A4 is beautiful sounding but even this ‘average’ VCA is mind-blowingly lovely treated with a bit of elektron seq magic :slight_smile:

#12

Awesome ! This should be documented in the example setups at the end of the A4 manual :astonished:

#13

there’d be no room to include all the great things you can do with the A4 (& a bit of imagination) in the manual :wink:
it’s surprisingly quick as you only need to plock what you want, but it’s impossible to ‘read’ it (leds/trigs) easily as it’s on one track, there’s still a lot left to play with too with lfos, it’s a beast

#14

How has the ND2 + A4 combo been for you?

As much as I love the A4, I’m looking for a trigger based drum solution to free up the 2 A4 tracks I use for drums. I’m considering the ND2 for my A4.

I prefer to make entire tunes with one Elektron sequencer at a time. ND2 seems like it is the best A4 add-on for this purpose.

#15

Hi guy, I’m also a new owner of nord drum 2 and want to sequence it with my A4 as others mentionned previously.

I’m total beginner in CV. Can someone please tell me which kind of CV cable (with a link f possible) do i need?

#16

i don’t have the nord, but something like this or better quality for longevity perhaps, but for triggering purposes i wouldn’t get too bogged down in fidelity issues

#17

Thank you for the reply. I think i can trigger maximum 4 voices of the nord drum 2 right?

If so, do i need 2x cables?

#18

two splitter cables, there’s only 4 cv outs
.
however
.
do consider how you will sequence those four tracks
.
cv track and fx track are obvious candidates for laying down easy trigs
.
beyond that you’ll have to get creative with the cv settings and envs/lfos or sacrifice two synth tracks to get an easy trig source for nord ins 3&4
.
either way - similar cables to that are the place to start

CV cables
#19

Thank you, i’m gonna try

#20

In addition to the TRS insert cables, I suggest using a midi cable from A4 to ND, as A4 sends midi program change. It’s quite nice to be able to have a Nord Drum program automatically switch when your A4 changes patterns.

I use the CV track to sequence all 4 triggers, thanks to p-locks. You can sequence all 4 triggers on each step of the CV track this way. You get real good at copy/paste of trigs doing it this way too.
And this leaves the FX track open for FX p-locks.

I just spent a little more time with my A4 and ND1. Layering the big bass of an A4 kick with that nice hard knock of the Nord Drum brings great results.

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