A4 as drone machine?

strawberry · 2014-11-06T23:13:27.000Z

Recently found the Folktek Illuminist Garden on youtube, and cant get the sound out of my head.

Can the A4 do drones like that? I don’t have a clue where to start.

I know that reverb and delay are important here, but as I run my A4 thru Ableton I think that side of things is covered.

My attemps so far sound more like a Dalek being gangbanged by a swarm of angry dustbin lids, which although interesting, is not really what I’m going for!

Any help/tips greatly appreciated,

Thanks

snowcrash · 2014-11-06T23:51:38.000Z

Ok, let’s ignore the electromechanical interface at first.

What mostly colors the sound in the illuminist garden is the “shimmer”-like delay/reverberation that can be heard.

The cheapest option to get that effect is afaik the line6 verbzilla:

but there are other options like the line6 M5, or even go the full range with a strymon bluesky/bigsky, eventide space etc… etc…

There might be ways to simulate some of those “shimmer” aspects with the A4 alone but it will never behave and sound the same. Shimmer basically is delay/reverb with pitch shifting, mostly an octave-up in the feedback path. That means the signal in the feedbackloop gets transposed over and over again with each repeat, the output is that ethereal star-dust you can hear.

You can’t do that with the A4’s FX but try to max out reverb settings (making the dry to wet ratio as wet as possible) and feed it with high pitched swells or short impulses. That should help to get at least some of the characteristics of the original.

alfred · 2014-11-07T02:57:31.000Z

I think the reverb in the A4 is pretty awesome and definitely lends it self to drony stuff. Regarding the quality I’d say it’s pretty close to Strymon stuff just without the different algos like shimmer and so on.

Creating drones just by maxing out reverb settings gets old pretty fast though. The A4 is great at making interesting pulsing ambiences of all kinds without too much reverb.

But if the Folktek stuff is exactly what you’re heading for I’d say just feed whatever noise bursts into any shimmer reverb. Reaktor has some nice shimmer reverbs. But maybe you’d be even better off using some physical modelling software for a source sound instead of A4 to create the metallic cling clang.

strawberry · 2014-11-07T06:58:56.000Z

Thanks guys, i’ll keep tweaking, hope to find something good soon.

R7 · 2014-11-07T09:12:04.000Z

Since your running into Ableton it sounds like you need a copy of ValhallaShimmer. It’s made for that kind of sound.

http://valhalladsp.com/valhallashimmer

I’d highly recommend any of the Valhalladsp stuff. World class sound quality and a cheap price. ValhallaRoom is probably my favorite reverb VST and I’ve tested a huge list of them.

strawberry · 2014-11-07T13:43:10.000Z

I have Shimmer and use it a lot, will try more tweaking this weekend

kwamensah · 2016-06-23T14:46:03.263Z

Hey folks, looking for some tips and tricks for otherworldly/sci fi drones/atmos/pads

Having a hard time coming up with stuff.

Here are some examples of what I’m looking for…

https://dmtrecords.bandcamp.com/track/the-language-of-the-birds-original-mix

Paega · 2016-03-07T04:43:28.000Z

Just as a general tip I would say max out modulation via slow LFOs and then setup performance knobs to keep things moving. While I often tune oscillators on one voice for chords it is probably worth using the A4 in poly mode for this.

NaturaPenumbra · 2016-06-23T14:47:05.898Z

Hi guys,

Do you have any particular advice for creating ambient / drone music with changing pads . Mine seem flat . I tried unison , PWM , reverb, and all waveform. etc … (NO SAMPLES)

But can not cold pads as I would like .

I put here an example of what I would like .

VERY GOOD EXEMPLE HERE

Cheers Bro

PeterHanes · 2016-06-23T14:43:14.389Z

https://www.elektronauts.com/search?q=analog%20four%20drone

phedoz · 2016-06-24T22:43:59.787Z

Here are some of my drone/ambient explorations on A4:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5k28-BBK1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76GpX0-37tk

BasariStudios · 2018-01-12T13:18:04.274Z

Hello, how can i get a Drone on it? Instead of retriggering on each step
to have one step drone thru all the 16-32 e tc steps…a Drone.

Thanks

Ryan · 2017-03-24T20:11:22.592Z

Max out the length and decay?

H445 · 2017-03-24T20:14:37.765Z

^ - Also using the probability trigs you can have it trig only once and keep on droning instead of re-trigger on every pattern.

invisible_acropolis · 2017-03-25T01:32:51.029Z

you can set the AMP ENV REL and the FIL ENV REL to INF (infinite)

RoyShade · 2017-03-25T01:56:05.808Z

Yeah, I set the trig to fill and inf note length and trigger it once.

analogresearchlaboratory · 2017-12-27T08:32:13.866Z

For those who want to make drones with the A4 here is a solid foundation example :

> 1.Step : 
> Poly Config Voices 1.2.3.4 : ON / ALLOCATION : UNISON
> 
> 2. Step : 
> OSC1 : TUN +7 / FIN 0 / DET 0 / TRK ON / LEVEL 90
> WAV SAW / SUB 5TH / PW 0 / SPD 0 / PWM 0
> OSC2 : TUN +10 / IN 0 / DET 0 / TRK ON / LEVEL 100
> WAV SAW / SUB 5TH / PW 0 / SPD 0 / PWM 0
> 
> 3.Step : 
> FILTER : FRQ 53 / RES 24 / OVR -12 / TRK ON / DEP 0
> LADDER FILTER : FRQ : TOTASTE / RES 24 / TYP HP1 / TRK ON / DEP 0
> 
> 4.Step :slight_smile:
> AMP : ATK 0 / DEC 0 / SUS 100 / REL 8 (Play Full Length note Or Infinite Release)
> 
> 5.Step
> LFO1 SPD 16 / MUL Y2K / FAD 0 / SPH 0 / MOD FRE
> WAV SQUARE / DST FM1 For Bright Or PM1 For Dark / DEP 12 / DST NONE / DEP 0.

Dont Forget try OSC sync To Taste and add Noise for creepy sound + LFFO 2 Modulation.

Setting FX TO Taste

Cheers.

Ayoub · 2018-01-12T13:18:49.900Z

Hey lads

I just bought one the other day, and love it!
I’m hoping to make some dronish tracks on the A4 itself, and record straight to tape.

How do you guys make your soundscapes on your A4? Do you have any tips or tricks to achieve long lush (or harsh) drone stuff on the A4?

Cheers

William_WiLD · 2018-01-12T11:03:41.212Z

Hello Ayoub

Those movies are a good start point for long evolving tricks

NUoldNu · 2018-01-12T13:34:16.616Z

INF note length and then removing the trig once it’s been triged is your friend.