A4 controlling Erebus via CV

Elektron Gear Analog Keys/Four
#1

Hi!

So, I went ahead and ordered an Erebus. my first dip into CV. I’ve never used it despite being into this whole synth thing for well over a decade…

Could somebody kindly get me started with the whole thing?

  1. Can I sequence notes using CV?
  2. Can I use the envelopes and LFO’s to modulate stuff on the Erebus at the same time?
  3. What kind of cables should I get?
  4. Is it difficult to configure the A4 in the right way? I’m a bit confused with all the… CV (Grounded) and V/OCT and such
  5. Can anything I do fry the Erebus?

Just giving me a gentle nudge towards the right cables, the right resource to study up on, or anything of the like would be really appreciated… Thanks guys :slight_smile:

#2

Don’t worry, using the CVs is easy. :slight_smile:

You can sequence notes. The Erebus uses the normal 1 volt per octave standard. So set one of the four VC outputs to V/Oct. You probably also need to set what voltage C0 and C3 is. If I remember correctly I have C0 as 0V and C3 as 3V for my modular. If this setting is wrong, it will be out of tune. What track should be used for notes on the pitch CV output can also be set. Since the Erebus is paraphonic you could, say, use notes on the CV track for OSC1 and notes on the FX track for OSC2 for instance.

You can use envelopes, LFOs and p-locks. Configure a CV output to be “value lin” (the range of 0-5 volts is usually just fine) and p-lock/modulate that just as you would any other parameter on the A4.

I can’t comment on cables. I own a modular and use a module called Greyscale Synapse, which is great, but of no use for you. If there is something similar as a breakout box it might be worth considering. The LEDs are very useful to get a visual indication of what is being transmitted, and also, it makes it easy to keep track of which cable goes where.

The Pitch CV is the only that might take a while to get right. Pitch HZ/V is another standard for pitch than V/Oct and can be ignored for the Erebus. Grounded means not in use, Trig is a short pulse at the start of a note and Gate similar, but is held for the duration of the note.

I seriously doubt you can do anything to fry the Erebus. Keep within a 10V range and I can’t imagine what you could do wrong.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Clock, so for completeness sake it is just a periodic pulse so you can tempo sync, say, the LFO or delay time.

1 Like
#3

I’d be very interested to hear your opinion on the Erebus, btw, once you have had some time with it.

#4

Very good answer but I would like to correct you on the settings for the CV range, sorry. I would start with setting Note 1 to C5 and 0V and Note 2 to C8 and 3V instead of your suggested C0 0V and C3 3V.

Ableton Live -> Analog Four -> Moog Mother 32
#5

I was thinking of doing the exact same thing after watching the sonicstate review :smiley:

#6

Ahhhhh. Thank you.

Right, the paraphony thing might be something that’s going to take some trial and error - but otherwise it seems simple enough. I don’t have the unit yet, but I think the manual had some info on the correct voltage amounts.

So the cable thing is still unresolved, but what a helpful post that was.

OT:

I’ll make sure to let you know what I think once the Erebus gets here. It’s actually been praised quite a bit. I haven’t seen anyone say anything but positive about the sound, seems like a charismatic unit, as Nick Batt of Sonicstate put it in his review (well worth a look!)

I did have 20 minutes with it in a shop in Berlin – it seemed to be able to do things that aren’t immediately achieved with the A4. The oscillators have, to my memory, some of the same weight as the Minitaur’s, and the paraphony combined with the delay allowed me to get really interesting tonal textures just by playing it with a midi keyboard.

My initial concern was that its building blocks are simple, almost a bread-and-butter type deal. But I think the sound of it will be a good complement to the A4 – the A4 has loads of features and options, the Erebus has vintage soul, so to speak :smiley:

They recently released a V2, which replaced the LFO Depth mod input with Pulsewidth. And there’s supposedly a handy DIP switch inside, which lets you bypass the built-in AD envelope, and hand the envelope duties over to the A4, if I understood it correctly.

#7

Very good answer but I would like to correct you on the settings for the CV range, sorry. I would start with setting Note 1 to C5 and 0V and Note 2 to C8 and 3V instead of your suggested C0 0V and C3 3V.
[/quote]
Could someone explain to me how this works in more detail? I know nothing of CV.

#8

This could help a bit:

#9

Great series! Thanks for that! :slight_smile:

#10

Ah, thanks for the correction. Its been a while since I set it, so my suggestion is likely to be plain wrong and should be ignored.

#11

Let us know how it turns out – I love them semi-modulars so this thing may be right up my alley.

As for C8/C5 instead of C3/C0, if I may take a guess I think it’s because the relative frequencies are much greater when you go up the scale. I think what Elektron considers C5 and C8 (which isn’t standard btw, grr) is around 523 and 8372Hz, versus 262 and 32.7Hz for C3/C0. Pitch can be pretty tough to discern at lower frequencies even with tuning software, which is why you’ll often see musicians compose basslines one or even two octaves higher to begin with, then lower it when they have the melody finalized.

I’d caution that 8kHz can be kindof pushing the limit of human hearing however, especially as you age. You may want to try C4/C7 instead depending on how things go.

#12

So how is this Erebus?
Happy with it? Is it a good A4 sidekick?

#13

Sorry, it’s taken quite some time, but as a couple of people asked, I’ll reply now :slight_smile:

I really like the Erebus, but I’m selling it.

Why?

What it does, it does really well. The oscillators sound robust and I really like the delay. I’m not a filter expert but that sounds really nice to me, too.
The reason I’m selling it is that I have very limited space for my music gadgets and I felt like I need something with as much flexibility as you can achieve.

I got a pretty great deal on a DSI Evolver, which is arguably one of the more complex monosynths in its price range, so it fit the bill. If I could keep it around for more vintage tones, Berlin-school stuff etc., that’d be great.

TLDR; really like it, but I don’t have the luxury of keeping it, had to try to maximize versatility.