I probably wasn’t clear the first time- the Mono and MD are incredibly loud and the A4 is rather quiet so your findings are to be expected, when comparing them side by side.
OT output will seem to vary depending on sample recording/preparation/level of bloating.
Elektron quote the specs of main outputs as follows
OT +10dBu
AR +15dBu
MD +15dBu
A4 +19dBu
so if you believe Elektron, it’s not quite right to say the A4 is rather quiet when it is theoretically capable of being the hottest on paper !
According to the paper in my monitors the A4 is rather quiet and the MD and Mono are really loud, that’s the reality and the point is that the OP’s A4 is most likely not defective as many here are leading him to believe.
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Yeah I agree, he has to compare with another A4, not Md and Mono.
My A4 used to be really low volume but then I threw an Analog Heat on it and now it sounds great!
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I don’t consider my A4 to be “quiet”.
It is, however not nearly as loud/hot as my MM or MD, both of which I run at 12 o’clock on the master volume knobs.
A4 definitely requires some different gain staging. It is easier to distort the filters with high OSC volumes, and as such, for smoother sounds, I run the OSCs quieter. So the output volume ends up depending on the type of sound I am going for.
But overall, it is louder than other gear, like the Volca range.
Is the AMP level all the way up on each voice? Is the track level all the way up on each voice?
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what about note velocity?
I wasn’t doubting your experience, just offering potentially useful perspective amidst the anecdotal feedback … if the numbers were the other way around you could start to interpret in a different manner … as it stands, on paper at least, it should be of some interest if the A4 is apparently 3 x quieter
all i’d add is that I know of gear which is clearly hotter than average and others which are frustratingly quieter than average, I don’t power up the A4 and make any particular observation … i.e. it doesn’t seem like it’s obviously lacking in usable oomph … relative to this and that, who knows !
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When I had my A4 it was noticeably quieter than all my other instruments (MD, Rytm, Octatrack, Monomachine, MS-20, Evolver, V-Synth, etc etc etc).
Not likely anything wrong with your A4. When I had one, I remember it being a little quieter than everything else in the mix. Never really though it much of an issue though.
I’d venture the a4 has a hot output spec because it’s quiet and needs it.
Agree that you have to run the voices at less than full bore or distortion will result.
If it’s quieter in the mix it’s another problem…it’s a mixing problem.
My Blofeld is quieter than my A4, but it is well known that the Blo is quiet.
A concrete example :
With Preset pattern B01, (KIT 17 ACID), I have to set A4 master volume to 2 o’clock to have orange lights on kicks on the Octatrack, 3 o’clock for red lights, GAIN = 0.
A4 is directly connected in OT AB with unbalanced cables.
Hi guys, just picked up the lovely four
wondering if its normal for this machine to be quiet , just running through all the presets via overbridge and im getting most levels around -18db +! seems pretty quiet through headphones too, yeah I can boost the volume in ableton but just curious if there’s some hidden setting I’m missing
cheers n beers
Yep, it’s quiet. This comes up sometimes- A4 really quiet Search engine sucks so easy to miss.
or appears to be, based on some anecdotal evidence … perhaps the way it is used can have some impact, technically it seems to be plenty capable
OB levels are another matter altogether as is headphone driving
It’ll go louder if you use the feedback oscillator, resonant filter trequency boosts or drive the filter with osc level and/or the filter’s OVR knob.
The clean stuff comes out quiet.
That’s my point, in its typical state it’s apparently quiet to some, but if you think of all the ways you can assemble sound (including polyphony & stacking the inputs) etc etc and look at the stats can you still say it’s quiet … it’s designed to work well for all potential output scenarios, so if it’s not punchy enough in the one someone’s using (what’s normal anyway?) it’ll need added gain or balancing elsewhere … ‘quiet’ has perspective to take into consideration … on paper it’s potentially louder than others cited
There’s no doubt it’s subjectively ‘quieter’ than my Pulse+ e.g. because if I power that thing up I almost always have to dial the levels way way back, but that’s a single voice, so the comparison is of limited benefit … no doubt in the real world all this is a headache for many, but it’s never been an issue for me … people are always berating the AR inputs, but the A4 can happily play through those imho – I’ve definitely got a few bits of gear I wish were way hotter, but the A4’s not one
I guess I’m saying there’s usually a reason for most things, especially if they’re well designed, so look behind the headline
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M311Y was “wondering if it’s normal for this machine to be quiet”, I was merely reassuring him that this is normal, that’s all I’ve ever done in this now merged thread.
I never criticized Elektron or expressed confusion at the gain structure.
This is my favourite synth of all time and if I ever had to replace it or have it fixed it worries me that there is now a MK ii because I love it exactly as it is.
I hope this is clear now.
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