i’m new to Elektron instruments and am torn b/w these 2 units. i intend one of them to be the “brain” of my work station which also includes a Kawai K4 (early 90’s digital synth used for noises and pads) & a Yamaha TX81Z (because i love FM synthesis).
the music i’m making/intend to make is heavily influenced by John Foxx, Fad Gadget, Liars, New Order, Stars of the Lid and The Knife.
i play guitar as well but would probably use it sparingly in this current project i’m trying. still, if my guitar signal could be affected by an Elektron machine that’s an instant-plus.
i expect to rely HEAVILY on the delays, reverbs, and parameter locks of the unit i choose.
i’m trying to assemble a list of pros and cons for both units and could really use some guidance. i’m not sure if some of my points are redundant or non-applicable to either - just trying to make a really informed choice as both machines sound incredible to me and in some ways capable of the same sounds/techniques. here’s my take so far:
MONOMACHINE: pros
many outputs/great control of external synths (could work w/ my K4&TX81Z !)
6 tracks
FM synths !!!
very glitchy
crisp digitalness (< — i’m totally OK with this - love the “cold” sound)
apparently great for drones/ambience
larger LED screen
cons
every drum sound = monophonic = takes up a whole track
ANALOG FOUR: pros step lengths can be edited
easier to achieve better drum sounds than the MnM ?
more frequent/future updates
delays/reverb sounds better - does the MnM even have “infinite reverb” ?
easier to get started than w/ the MnM ?
cons
single stereo output for 4 tracks !!
as you might ascertain, i’m leaning toward the MnM but am still very much up in the air.
The best thing about the A4 if you disregard it’s capabilities as a CV sequencer, is it’s reverb. Other than that I think the MnM is way more versatile.
It can sequence 6 tracks of MIDI, has a more flexible setup (machines vs fixed tracks), can host user waves, can do chords (ensemble machines), can do much better percussive sounds (my opinion), and so on.
It’s sequencer isn’t as advanced, and your point about the drum sounds is true. No sound locks which is kind of a bummer. But another nice thing is that any track can be an FX track, with 6 outs this makes it way more versatile in the studio for processing external sounds. Unlike the A4, the MnM can gate incoming audio which can be fun.
The only things that would draw me to the A4 are the creamy reverb, and the CV sequencer. Sure, it’s polyphony is more flexible but the MnM has ensemble machines. Sure it’s sequencer is more advanced, and has sound locks, but only 2 outs? And no MIDI sequencing
I have the Mono and the XD-5 (K4R with percussion sounds…and had a K1M and will be buying a K4 this year probably…probably a tx81z as well), and I think they would fit together well sonically. At the same time, it might be too much of the same sonic territory. I love sequencing other gear from the Mono-it really opens up a lot of things on the XD (especially with the arp), and it’s the reason I want the K4. The external sequencing alone makes it worth considering. But if you want the analog warmth and newer features of the A4…it is a sexy thing, innit?
My once loved XD5 is collecting dust… though I still use & built some interesting patches and emsembles on my k1m. Would love to hear the xd5 & MM in combination. Do you have anything available to listen to?
Re: topic, really I think both synths have different strengths so both would be useful. But… if you already have TX81z & k4, then the A4 would cover more blank spots than another digital/fm, but by the sounds of things you need a brain… only the Monomachine or Octatrack will cover than from an Elektron standpoint. Get both.
I made the same decision recently and wound up buying both of them, but I did choose the MnM first for its versatility.
As far as your one con for the MnM; it does have a drum kit that has different sounds on each pad and works very similarly to the MD.
The only limitations are that its sequencer only allows for a single note at a time per track and there’s only 32 sounds to use overall.
Tweaking parameters helps give it a good amount of variety.
That being said, the A4 sounds awesome.
Just huge.
Not Moog bass huge, but huge in its own way.
I do not envy you having to make this decision, but either way you can’t miss.
I really like it, but there are a couple more cons I hadn’t picked up on before buying.
Adding reverb (or some of the other effects) uses a track.
I’ve had many years experience with synths, but I find getting good patches on this one really difficult. Might just be the way I’m used to working. I’m planning to spend a bit of time reverse engineering the downloaded patches from Elektron’s site I like to see how other people are doing it.
I’ve also ordered an A4 since I do like the contrast of analogue and digital in recordings.
^ adding reverb to a MnM track uses another track ? yikes !
does that simply mean adding FX to 1 or more tracks uses a track, or would that 1 FX track is necessary for each track you want to affect ?
maybe this’ll make my situation clearer:
i do want a very flexible sequencer…so there’s a point for the A4.
i do want to control BOTH the K4 & TX81Z from my “brain”… so +1 for the MnM (can the A4 do this at all ??)
i have zero need for CV-anything at the moment…so no points given.
i REALLY REALLY want a killer reverb… +1 for the A4 ?
the new OS 1.1. for the A4 has a polyphonic mode in which i think i could find some workarounds for playing chords while having 1 or 2 other sequences in the background… +1.
the BPM sound pack found at some floppydiskpirate site i checked out last night sounds really good to me… +1 for the A4.
multiple outs & nice crisp clarity from the MnM…+1 for that.
Here’s a thought - how about a Octatrack and DSI Tetra? Best of both worlds. 4 analog voices, newer style Elektron sequencer, 2 FX per track, and it can sequence your K4 and TX81z AND 4 tracks on the Tetra. Plus the Tetra has mod sequencers on each part for even more craziness.
You could run the stereo out of the Tetra into the inputs on the OT and further mangle it with the OT’s thru machines OR sample patterns with flex machines and slice and dice.
Even tho the Tetra isn’t super hands on, it’s really not that painful to program. Plus it receives MIDI CC so you can p’lock it’s parameters.
well, i’m working with about 1100-1200USD and can’t justify much more for various reasons. if $ was no object than i would certainly look into that sound advice !
in my case it might seem like the “outs” will make a LOT of difference. i can’t think of any workaround for the A4’s lack of multiple stereo outs, but i wonder if the MnM’s less-technically-advanced sequencer will bother me… probably not.
my previous experience w/ sequencers was just Reason’s Matrix & Redrum : /
still, i’ve spent years w/ that program and have a relatively good understanding of what i need for the sounds i want.
while I was convinced that the MnM was for me I bought an A4 after checking out both in the shop. I found the A4 much much more ‘musical’ to use even though I like the look and feel of the oldschool elektron boxes better.
sonically it’s obviously a matter of taste and the 2 machines couldn’t be more different in this regard. I highly recommend to have a dabble yourself though.
both are musical instruments and both certainly have a very characteristic sound IMO
leaving aside the obvious and deliberate sonic differences between the two machines, i think you’d be hard pressed to get the same level of hands on control and power that you do with the A4, it’s so well laid out and has so much control potential of its own performance, it’s quite an instrument when mastered - i find that even the recent OT seems a bit clunky compared to the A4, it’s an evolution of the Elektron workflow - the OT’s a different beast, but you have very little resistance to realising your ideas on the A4, it’s all there and it’s intuitive - there are many shortcomings discussed ad infinitum here, multiple outs and midi sequencing (both don’t bother me, because it’s so perfectly self-contained) - i’d also substitute a tonne of flexibility for a gramme of sonic gold and you get that from the analog circuits, i love digital too, so i get the dilemma - in a word(or 2), the a4 is incredibly musical (& deep)
It depends which effect.
Reverb eats a track. Delay is available per synth track without eating any more track resources.
You can have reverb and route multiple synth tracks into it, but not by variable amounts. That’s another con which I’m not ever-so happy about.
A4 treats reverb as a send effect though I believe.
so i can set different amounts of reverb per track on the A4 ?
live performance is another thing i need to keep in mind because that, in the end, is what i aspire to get back into.
i know that Olof Dreijer (the knife) uses the MD & MnM live quite a bit, and i love the sounds that him and his sister put out. still i’m sure his setup is infinitely more complex than mine would be, as this choice will be my “system’s brain”.
