Analog four compared to minilogue xd

Elektron Gear Analog Keys/Four
#1

Hi all,
I know there are a couple posts out there on this topic but they don’t cover some questions I have on the topic.
I am wondering if A4 can cover most territory of the minilogue xd. I own the xd and love the sound of it, but I am interested in the a4 as a replacement for multiple reasons.
I don’t like the knob per function on the XD and not knowing where parameters are relative to the selected patch. I would rather have elektrons menus for patch editing. A4 also has a solid overdrive from what I can tell. A4 has better lfo assignments and more specific design with envelopes etc. I am hoping that A4 can create some nice bass lines including some 303 sounds while also having polyphonic chords to be used at the same time. I don’t really want a 303 clone because they take up room and only fills one function in my eyes. Many factors are making me consider A4 and selling my XD. There are also not enough a4 videos out there to demonstrate the a4 to its full extent imo.

My main question is will I regret selling the xd for the a4? Can A4 achieve similar sounds (and hopefully more) as the XD? I don’t care about the instant feeling at this point. I like shaping sounds and editing later.

I can’t have both. I could possibly buy a prologue later in life but I have no room or money to have two analog poly synths rn.

TIA!

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#2

A4 can go into some just insane territory. Never owned a Minilogue so couldn’t rightly compare

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#4

You may want to check out this thread if you haven’t already:

There are a number of videos showcasing the A4 that might help give you a sense of what can be achieved with it. I don’t have the XD, but I love my A4. It’s an incredibly deep instrument. While it can certainly get nasty, it’s equally capable of beautiful, flowing pad sounds (for example). I use it for bass sounds a lot. A really fun and inspiring instrument.

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#5

I’d say the only thing you might miss is the user algorithms. Some of the digital oscillators on the XD/Prologues can’t be done on the A4. However, the sequencing, CVIO, voice architecture, etc. on the A4 go a lot further than those of the XD.

Actually the pair of them would be a pretty insane combo :wink:

I’ve had both and would go A4, but then I have other things with complex digital oscillators.

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#7

Yikes.

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#8

It forgot to mention the user oscs.

I have both and prefer the A4 but i’d say mXD covers some pad stuff that would be hard or impossible to do with A4. Also some user oscs/fx are really nice. But mXD’s four modulation tracks cannot compete with the A4 sequencer. Bit of apple/orange thing for me

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#9

Yeah the xd digital oscillator is a nice function. I do appreciate the availability of it. On the other hand I have a digitone that has really nice digital capacities. I never downloaded any open source oscillators for the xd so maybe I’m missing out on that. The ones I have been interested in are around 30$ which has deterred me from exploring them, but I’ve been meaning to check them out

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#10

Is this all true? I didn’t realize analog 4 has 4 main oscillators and a sub. Nor did I realize each track shares a filter. I’m pretty sure analog four can play 4 notes on one track too providing chord opportunities similar to XD without utilizing A4s multitimbral function.

#11

Another reason to ignore these things – it gets things wrong in an authorative tone and even contradicts itself at points such as saying the Minilogue is polyphonic but has a single filter :upside_down_face:

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#12
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#13

Based on this bit, I think you’d really enjoy the A4.

It’s always worth keeping in mind that these are two different instruments so comparisons can only be so helpful — ultimately they’re going to give you different sounds and experiences. But the A4 is an amazing analog synth, so deep for programming, so enjoyable/fluid once you get the hang of it, and it sounds excellent. (Some folks complain about the raw tone of it but it’s just a saw wave; once you start making a few tweaks you’ll hear the A4’s soul come out.)

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#14

A4 and minilogue are both worthwhile. both have their own sound. and the minilogue, is a decent analog synth for the price. however, both are in four voices.

the analog four has very, very many possibilities, also with external sources. I personally sample e.g. the a4 mk2 directly into the rytm mk2 with its super recording function. then i go back to the a4 via cable with the recording, which has been nicely tuned and filtered with the rytm sampler. So I basically have three analog filters available, lots of lfos, chorus, even more delay, envelopes, analog distortion, etc., that’s very unique. actually you don’t need anything else, except a4, rytm and a couple of external stomp boxes for interesting modulations. unless you need a lot of polyphony.

but the minilogue would be a nice addition to the setup with new tones.

Personally I would also prefer the old minilogue over the xd.

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#15

one of the best films of all time. it’s a shame that similar films with this certain flair aren’t being made today.

#16

Look, don’t go spreading second-hand bullshit here unless you know enough to be able to verify it. That includes AI-generated bullshit. Literally the only part of this that is true is that the minilogue is less expensive.

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#17

Can we not do this, please? Don’t make me have to start flagging…

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#18

Just be careful not to antagonize Sydney.

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#19

Imagine the future of YouTube synth reviews just talking about them as AI “musicians”

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#20

I had both. Sold the Minilogue. Still have the A4. Like you, I care more about sound design and complexity than immediacy (although both are nice).

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#21

What’s the benefit of going back from rytm to the a4 again instead of straight to a mixer/speaker? An additional filter after sampling?

I could see some amazing combinations between sampling on the rytm and synthesizing patches on the a4. You could use all 4 voices for pads then Sample that, then 3 to four voices for some chords and sample those. Then still use all 4 voices for a bass line, sound nuisances etc. there just wouldn’t be as much performance alterations to the chords or pads which may be fine depending on the case

#22

Well, I like the overall tone of analog Korgs and A4 cannot fully replace it, it’s just more pleasant to me and fits in the mix.

If it’s a question of price, maybe consider pairing with Monologue instead? Cheaper and a bit more compact and controllable combo, not polyphonic though. You can greatly shape the korg’s sound via 2 extra filters and the effects should be comparable.

Or maybe adding NTS-1 for digital oscillator (but these 2 together won’t be much cheaper than XD)