Analog keys the right choice?

Elektron Gear Analog Keys/Four
21

Hello,
I use the AK - A4 + DOM 1 and it’s a fanatstic combination. I use the A4 cv -out to the DOM and it works very good. I think the A4 is a good tool for the sounds you’re looking for as it can go from warm to cold - gritty to clean and the FX are perfect to my taste, they are very usefull to run the DOM 1 into. Sequences don’t have their own banks, but yo can copy them from 1 project to another with a little work-around. The Menu - diving is very easy and all parrameters are at the m0st 2 steps deep. If you train a little the moves are in your motoric memory in no time. I’ts only now and then I have to look to the screen. And it’s a joy to program - I would’n call it programming - it’s turning buttons wich is such a great relief coming from years of programming on my Kurzweil
The DOM 1 and A4 will give you a very grand and diverse palette of sounds and years of discovering - and they are perfect Tools to learn synthesis. It’s the best combination of synth’s I’ve ever worked with …[/quote]
Cheers. Yeah seems like a perfect combination for my needs. Though so many of the a4/akeys videos out there seem to have a thin/VA quality to them… In many cases not sounding much of an audible improvement (if any) over my mininova. But I’m going to take everyone’s world for it and put that down to user programming/preference. If I can get a good deal on a used one then I should be able to sell it on if I don’t gel with the sound. Hoping that’s not the case though as the feature list is amazing… I think with the Dom 1 I’ll have no issues with the sound and hopefully none of the build quality/software issues that I’ve read of… [/quote]

[color=black]Hi C.O.T.V

“Basic requirements are ability to get combinations of nice warm/thick/wonky/lo-fi analogue sounds (boards of Canada, John Maus, Animal Collective etc).”

“User interface - I really wanted a lot of knobs and minimal menu diving.”

[color=black]Struggling to understand why you’d risk the cash on an AK if you aren’t keen on the sound and the interface! Sure, it’s a DCO so not a Dom 1 or whatever, so don’t expect that kind of rawness, but it certainly isn’t a mininova either.

[color=black]I’ve not fully worked it out, but I don’t think there’s many interesting demos of the A4/AK because it’s easy to get focused on the sequencer rather than the sound. Or they don’t have a lot of imagination when programming. Anyone who takes a two ocs, two filter, two lfo synth, by any half decent company, and says “there’s not enough sweet spots” either lacks imagination, skills, or the ability to make informed purchasing decisions.

[color=black]That said, there’s now some really great sound packs from some great designers which immediately demonstrate the versatility of the A4/AK.

[color=black]I’d like to get a good mono too, but I wouldn’t sell my AK to fund it, they’d share the same cage at my synth zoo (I don’t really have a synth zoo).

[color=black]Sounds like you need to just buy a cool vintage synth and be done with it. Seems like you need temperature sensitive vcos that detune easily and perhaps a bit of crackle on the faders/pots for that authentic vibe!

[/quote]
Oh wow. Not sure how those massive gaps occurred, but they weren’t by me for dramatic effect, promise!

22

Hello,
I use the AK - A4 + DOM 1 and it’s a fanatstic combination. I use the A4 cv -out to the DOM and it works very good. I think the A4 is a good tool for the sounds you’re looking for as it can go from warm to cold - gritty to clean and the FX are perfect to my taste, they are very usefull to run the DOM 1 into. Sequences don’t have their own banks, but yo can copy them from 1 project to another with a little work-around. The Menu - diving is very easy and all parrameters are at the m0st 2 steps deep. If you train a little the moves are in your motoric memory in no time. I’ts only now and then I have to look to the screen. And it’s a joy to program - I would’n call it programming - it’s turning buttons wich is such a great relief coming from years of programming on my Kurzweil
The DOM 1 and A4 will give you a very grand and diverse palette of sounds and years of discovering - and they are perfect Tools to learn synthesis. It’s the best combination of synth’s I’ve ever worked with …[/quote]
Cheers. Yeah seems like a perfect combination for my needs. Though so many of the a4/akeys videos out there seem to have a thin/VA quality to them… In many cases not sounding much of an audible improvement (if any) over my mininova. But I’m going to take everyone’s world for it and put that down to user programming/preference. If I can get a good deal on a used one then I should be able to sell it on if I don’t gel with the sound. Hoping that’s not the case though as the feature list is amazing… I think with the Dom 1 I’ll have no issues with the sound and hopefully none of the build quality/software issues that I’ve read of… [/quote]

[color=black]Hi C.O.T.V

“Basic requirements are ability to get combinations of nice warm/thick/wonky/lo-fi analogue sounds (boards of Canada, John Maus, Animal Collective etc).”

“User interface - I really wanted a lot of knobs and minimal menu diving.”

[color=black]Struggling to understand why you’d risk the cash on an AK if you aren’t keen on the sound and the interface! Sure, it’s a DCO so not a Dom 1 or whatever, so don’t expect that kind of rawness, but it certainly isn’t a mininova either.

[color=black]I’ve not fully worked it out, but I don’t think there’s many interesting demos of the A4/AK because it’s easy to get focused on the sequencer rather than the sound. Or they don’t have a lot of imagination when programming. Anyone who takes a two ocs, two filter, two lfo synth, by any half decent company, and says “there’s not enough sweet spots” either lacks imagination, skills, or the ability to make informed purchasing decisions.

[color=black]That said, there’s now some really great sound packs from some great designers which immediately demonstrate the versatility of the A4/AK.

[color=black]I’d like to get a good mono too, but I wouldn’t sell my AK to fund it, they’d share the same cage at my synth zoo (I don’t really have a synth zoo).

[color=black]Sounds like you need to just buy a cool vintage synth and be done with it. Seems like you need temperature sensitive vcos that detune easily and perhaps a bit of crackle on the faders/pots for that authentic vibe!

[/quote]
Oh wow. Not sure how those massive gaps occurred, but they weren’t by me for dramatic effect, promise![/quote]
Haha :slight_smile:
Re my concerns about the a4/akeys it’s not that I don’t like the sound or interface at all (I have OT so I’m used to elektron thinking), just trying to figure out where the trade-offs are between options. And that isn’t so clear on a lot of the a4/akeys demos where the sound is pretty ‘meh’. I should probably only watch the few I’ve seen that I like and ignore the rest :wink: guess I can always run through Vinyl Warp + Deco pedals for character if needed… Think I’d be concerned buying one new though as I’m not convinced I’ll dig it but buying used shouldn’t be too much of a risk at a decent price. I like the idea of occasionally making some minimal stuff totally inside a4/akeys, limiting myself to 4 tracks, stuff like you’d sometimes find on the Ghost Box label. I think in that way the on board sequencer is a huge selling point. Just gotta see if I gel with the overall vibe of the thing :wink:

23

Hello,
I use the AK - A4 + DOM 1 and it’s a fanatstic combination. I use the A4 cv -out to the DOM and it works very good. I think the A4 is a good tool for the sounds you’re looking for as it can go from warm to cold - gritty to clean and the FX are perfect to my taste, they are very usefull to run the DOM 1 into. Sequences don’t have their own banks, but yo can copy them from 1 project to another with a little work-around. The Menu - diving is very easy and all parrameters are at the m0st 2 steps deep. If you train a little the moves are in your motoric memory in no time. I’ts only now and then I have to look to the screen. And it’s a joy to program - I would’n call it programming - it’s turning buttons wich is such a great relief coming from years of programming on my Kurzweil
The DOM 1 and A4 will give you a very grand and diverse palette of sounds and years of discovering - and they are perfect Tools to learn synthesis. It’s the best combination of synth’s I’ve ever worked with …[/quote]
Cheers. Yeah seems like a perfect combination for my needs. Though so many of the a4/akeys videos out there seem to have a thin/VA quality to them… In many cases not sounding much of an audible improvement (if any) over my mininova. But I’m going to take everyone’s world for it and put that down to user programming/preference. If I can get a good deal on a used one then I should be able to sell it on if I don’t gel with the sound. Hoping that’s not the case though as the feature list is amazing… I think with the Dom 1 I’ll have no issues with the sound and hopefully none of the build quality/software issues that I’ve read of… [/quote]

[color=black]Hi C.O.T.V

“Basic requirements are ability to get combinations of nice warm/thick/wonky/lo-fi analogue sounds (boards of Canada, John Maus, Animal Collective etc).”

“User interface - I really wanted a lot of knobs and minimal menu diving.”

[color=black]Struggling to understand why you’d risk the cash on an AK if you aren’t keen on the sound and the interface! Sure, it’s a DCO so not a Dom 1 or whatever, so don’t expect that kind of rawness, but it certainly isn’t a mininova either.

[color=black]I’ve not fully worked it out, but I don’t think there’s many interesting demos of the A4/AK because it’s easy to get focused on the sequencer rather than the sound. Or they don’t have a lot of imagination when programming. Anyone who takes a two ocs, two filter, two lfo synth, by any half decent company, and says “there’s not enough sweet spots” either lacks imagination, skills, or the ability to make informed purchasing decisions.

[color=black]That said, there’s now some really great sound packs from some great designers which immediately demonstrate the versatility of the A4/AK.

[color=black]I’d like to get a good mono too, but I wouldn’t sell my AK to fund it, they’d share the same cage at my synth zoo (I don’t really have a synth zoo).

[color=black]Sounds like you need to just buy a cool vintage synth and be done with it. Seems like you need temperature sensitive vcos that detune easily and perhaps a bit of crackle on the faders/pots for that authentic vibe!

[/quote]
Oh wow. Not sure how those massive gaps occurred, but they weren’t by me for dramatic effect, promise![/quote]
Haha :slight_smile:
Re my concerns about the a4/akeys it’s not that I don’t like the sound or interface at all (I have OT so I’m used to elektron thinking), just trying to figure out where the trade-offs are between options. And that isn’t so clear on a lot of the a4/akeys demos where the sound is pretty ‘meh’. I should probably only watch the few I’ve seen that I like and ignore the rest :wink: guess I can always run through Vinyl Warp + Deco pedals for character if needed… Think I’d be concerned buying one new though as I’m not convinced I’ll dig it but buying used shouldn’t be too much of a risk at a decent price. I like the idea of occasionally making some minimal stuff totally inside a4/akeys, limiting myself to 4 tracks, stuff like you’d sometimes find on the Ghost Box label. I think in that way the on board sequencer is a huge selling point. Just gotta see if I gel with the overall vibe of the thing :wink: [/quote]
Btw, where are you based? If you’re in the UK, there’s one on in London for £800!

24

Hello,
I use the AK - A4 + DOM 1 and it’s a fanatstic combination. I use the A4 cv -out to the DOM and it works very good. I think the A4 is a good tool for the sounds you’re looking for as it can go from warm to cold - gritty to clean and the FX are perfect to my taste, they are very usefull to run the DOM 1 into. Sequences don’t have their own banks, but yo can copy them from 1 project to another with a little work-around. The Menu - diving is very easy and all parrameters are at the m0st 2 steps deep. If you train a little the moves are in your motoric memory in no time. I’ts only now and then I have to look to the screen. And it’s a joy to program - I would’n call it programming - it’s turning buttons wich is such a great relief coming from years of programming on my Kurzweil
The DOM 1 and A4 will give you a very grand and diverse palette of sounds and years of discovering - and they are perfect Tools to learn synthesis. It’s the best combination of synth’s I’ve ever worked with …[/quote]
Cheers. Yeah seems like a perfect combination for my needs. Though so many of the a4/akeys videos out there seem to have a thin/VA quality to them… In many cases not sounding much of an audible improvement (if any) over my mininova. But I’m going to take everyone’s world for it and put that down to user programming/preference. If I can get a good deal on a used one then I should be able to sell it on if I don’t gel with the sound. Hoping that’s not the case though as the feature list is amazing… I think with the Dom 1 I’ll have no issues with the sound and hopefully none of the build quality/software issues that I’ve read of… [/quote]
man… . there’s immense depth and possebilities in the A4, but you have to dig a little deeper than in the DOM 1. And I never had any issues I couldn’t solve with any of them . I even bought an extra AK - that’s how much I love it. The DOM 1 has an " older " more oldscool vibe - but the A4 can sound very oldscool to - depending how you program it. What i like about the DOM 1 is the VERY -slow - to INCREDIBLE fast LFO’s - every parameter at my finger-tips - 128 sound-memery’s -all those wonderfoul CV-in-outs and the SOUND - it just sounds Alive -
The way I use it is in having 1 track wich I can fiddle constantly ( cv to Dom 1 ) for those slow évolutions and syncing osc’rs on this machine makes me shiver :astonished: forget ANY plugin - there’s not 1 who can do that -
I have to say I started to appreciate the A4 even more after using the DOM 1 - those 2 filters are like scalpes - don’t know any synth who can be this precise !!! and the sequencer is sharp like a Razors-knife with the big advantage that you can save the fx-levels input amp - or anything other input parameter
PER PATTERN !!! - this means you can adapt all settings per pattern in connection to your DOM1 - find me any gear who can do that … Very practical and useful - no mess with amp -levels when you recall a project - just load the sound in the DOM 1 and GO :rage: save - all stays there for the next play - TO GOOD TO BE TRU in my opinion :slight_smile:

25

Hello,
I use the AK - A4 + DOM 1 and it’s a fanatstic combination. I use the A4 cv -out to the DOM and it works very good. I think the A4 is a good tool for the sounds you’re looking for as it can go from warm to cold - gritty to clean and the FX are perfect to my taste, they are very usefull to run the DOM 1 into. Sequences don’t have their own banks, but yo can copy them from 1 project to another with a little work-around. The Menu - diving is very easy and all parrameters are at the m0st 2 steps deep. If you train a little the moves are in your motoric memory in no time. I’ts only now and then I have to look to the screen. And it’s a joy to program - I would’n call it programming - it’s turning buttons wich is such a great relief coming from years of programming on my Kurzweil
The DOM 1 and A4 will give you a very grand and diverse palette of sounds and years of discovering - and they are perfect Tools to learn synthesis. It’s the best combination of synth’s I’ve ever worked with …[/quote]
Cheers. Yeah seems like a perfect combination for my needs. Though so many of the a4/akeys videos out there seem to have a thin/VA quality to them… In many cases not sounding much of an audible improvement (if any) over my mininova. But I’m going to take everyone’s world for it and put that down to user programming/preference. If I can get a good deal on a used one then I should be able to sell it on if I don’t gel with the sound. Hoping that’s not the case though as the feature list is amazing… I think with the Dom 1 I’ll have no issues with the sound and hopefully none of the build quality/software issues that I’ve read of… [/quote]

[color=black]Hi C.O.T.V

“Basic requirements are ability to get combinations of nice warm/thick/wonky/lo-fi analogue sounds (boards of Canada, John Maus, Animal Collective etc).”

“User interface - I really wanted a lot of knobs and minimal menu diving.”

[color=black]Struggling to understand why you’d risk the cash on an AK if you aren’t keen on the sound and the interface! Sure, it’s a DCO so not a Dom 1 or whatever, so don’t expect that kind of rawness, but it certainly isn’t a mininova either.

[color=black]I’ve not fully worked it out, but I don’t think there’s many interesting demos of the A4/AK because it’s easy to get focused on the sequencer rather than the sound. Or they don’t have a lot of imagination when programming. Anyone who takes a two ocs, two filter, two lfo synth, by any half decent company, and says “there’s not enough sweet spots” either lacks imagination, skills, or the ability to make informed purchasing decisions.

[color=black]That said, there’s now some really great sound packs from some great designers which immediately demonstrate the versatility of the A4/AK.

[color=black]I’d like to get a good mono too, but I wouldn’t sell my AK to fund it, they’d share the same cage at my synth zoo (I don’t really have a synth zoo).

[color=black]Sounds like you need to just buy a cool vintage synth and be done with it. Seems like you need temperature sensitive vcos that detune easily and perhaps a bit of crackle on the faders/pots for that authentic vibe!

[/quote]
Oh wow. Not sure how those massive gaps occurred, but they weren’t by me for dramatic effect, promise![/quote]
Haha :slight_smile:
Re my concerns about the a4/akeys it’s not that I don’t like the sound or interface at all (I have OT so I’m used to elektron thinking), just trying to figure out where the trade-offs are between options. And that isn’t so clear on a lot of the a4/akeys demos where the sound is pretty ‘meh’. I should probably only watch the few I’ve seen that I like and ignore the rest :wink: guess I can always run through Vinyl Warp + Deco pedals for character if needed… Think I’d be concerned buying one new though as I’m not convinced I’ll dig it but buying used shouldn’t be too much of a risk at a decent price. I like the idea of occasionally making some minimal stuff totally inside a4/akeys, limiting myself to 4 tracks, stuff like you’d sometimes find on the Ghost Box label. I think in that way the on board sequencer is a huge selling point. Just gotta see if I gel with the overall vibe of the thing :wink: [/quote]
Btw, where are you based? If you’re in the UK, there’s one on in London for £800! [/quote]
Cheers for the heads up. Need to buy via eBay so I can put it on credit :wink: keeping eye on a few atm…

26

Hi,
you might also consider a DSI Pro 2. It has four paraphonic oscs, so you can play chords with four notes. One knob for each function and it is very easy to use. Well the OSCs are digital (so you have more waves than just Square and saw), but the rest is analog. It sounds not as moogy as a moog, but it is VERY versatile, because you have lots of envelopes and lfos that you can assign to nearly any parameter. I love mine and wouldnt trade it. More versatile would only be a modular (or maybe the new matrixbrute).

greetings,
Goat

1 Like
27

If you want arpeggios, then turn on the arpeggiator and play the keys.

It’s the same behavior as every other Elektron instrument.
The dedicated rec / play / stop buttons run the sequencer.
The sequencer and the arpeggiator are not the same thing.

The reigning mega tutorial king has one just for you: :wink:

1 Like
28

Thanks, checked that vid out yesterday :wink: I was hoping/presuming there would be a traditional basic synth sequencer outside of the overall song/pattern sequencer. Not a deal breaker. Maybe the arpeggio is programmable note for note and not just the usual shapes? I’ll look around for info on it. On OT you can make user arpeggios/sequences by drawing lfos for pitch… Ballache workaround mostly tho…
Also, Hopefully the a4/akeys sequencer isn’t the same as octatrack and it records note-off… Gonna go through the manual tonight…

29

You can check out the Arpeggiator Setup page, which allows you to set a pattern for arpeggiator note offsets of up to 16 steps. The arp can be set to output note off messages.

30

PeterHanes beat me to it.
But I’ll leave this here.

Screen_Shot_2016_02_03_at_12_46_07_PM.png710×314 102 KB

1 Like
31

Don’t know if you guys will like this but to me it seems like a match made in wonky heaven… Love the shitty vibe of my volca keys and seems like running it as an extra voice/Poly with a4/akeys will Def get me some of the vibe mentioned in earlier posts :wink:

Edit - scrap that idea. Just discovered a4/keys won’t sequence a volca keys. Very new to CV so just getting my head round possibilities/limitations of the cv sequencer tracks while reading through the a4 manual… Sorry for all the noob stuff :wink:

32

Take your time to investigate… if possible test the gear you’re interested in.

33

Or get a 2nd hand A4. And resell if you don’t like it.
I personally do : it’s a very impressive machine.
Even more now with the trig conditions : instant minimal dub techno !!
:smiley:

1 Like
34

[quote=““Lying Dalai””]
Or get a 2nd hand A4. And resell if you don’t like it.
I personally do : it’s a very impressive machine.
Even more now with the trig conditions : instant minimal dub techno !!
:smiley:
[/quote]

" IMDT " - a new style is born !!! :joy:

  • NO…
    " Instant Minimal Dub Techno " sounds better :heart:
35

I just read your post and skipped to the end.

The a4 is versatile but the sweet spots are narrow.

I don’t understand the individual outs requirement you state given that you’re looking for a keyboard that plays chords.

The dominion 1 has the lofi and it was the warm and tons of charisma. The filter is gorgeous but it is only 3 note para. However if I were cornered in a monophonic live setting, I would want it as my weapon. I have a track called bubbles on my soundclud which is the dom getting weird. Link below.

Menu diving on the a4 is no problem. It’s intuitive and in exchange you get a million features and new software added features.

The new sequencer features are the most important thing to happen to my music making since techno.

My own attempt at Boc on a4 is here -

36

OT has recently made me super cautious about buying anything that I can’t record all voices from again. And if I had a4/keys I’m sure it wouldn’t only get used in Poly mode… Also would like to run different voices through different external effects.

I checked those tunes out, love the Dom 1 experimental one. Nice BOC warble on the a4 track too.
Just found another a4 video that I like the sound of. They’re quite few and far between for me so I’m posting for anyone shares the same taste/dilema :wink:

37

[quote="“AdamJay” date=“2016-02-02 04:28:18"”]
The thing about the A4/AK is its versatility.

It’s got a wide spectrum of capability, and more so now with the latest linear FM OS update.

The more you use it, the faster you can dial in the sweet spots you seek. Sweet spots are as big as you make them.
It’s a very rewarding synth in that regard.

I feel like this video from Dataline does a great job at demonstrating just a few of the different flavors it is capable of.

[/quote]

As much as this is applicable to any pc of hardware out there, a potential menu ocean the A4/AK can be, the most rewarding thing they offer begins with your patience to achieve fluid navigation of its options, your grasp throughout planning and programing to reach your goals. After that, the sky is the limit.

With the OB6 and Prophet 6, dont be fooled, there are vast sonic possibilities, but I feel like once you are coaxing rad (rad af) sou ds out of them, you are bound to staying there to maintain momentum. If you are just a guy on your own programming most of your set, for me anyways, it feels like the DSI big guns need you to never let them be to wring the possibilities out of them.

That being said, I would go for the Analog Keys. It is really the best centre piece synth as you can program so so so so much taking advantage of its routing options, and p locks.
I have an A4, which I am not even very good at, at all. And already it is solvi g so many problems I have within my music only havi g two hands to perform. Elektron stuff is perfect for projects that cant use a multitude of cooks I the kitchen, but if I were a synth player I a band, those big gun DSI boards wuld be my first choice.

And I have not even touched these new FM possibilities yet.

38

This guy has a few videos that have fully convinced me now on analog keys. Seems like it’s a synth where you have to make your own mark on it to get varied vibes. That’s cool though. Not quite as vibey as dom1 etc but I’ll save for that next. Excited by all the elektron style depth on the Akeys. Just ordered it on finance. Should be here Monday :slight_smile: Thinking back on all the videos I’ve checked out the past week or two I think maybe a lot of my ‘meh’ feelings were due to a lot of them being drenched in the onboard reverb. Kinda washed out the character in a lot of vids…

39

I have A4 and this is my favorite instrument. IMHO, this is unique and the most intuitive, easy-to-use and very creative machine from Elektron family and even outside it. It is extremely wrong to see only 4-voice polyphonic synth in A4. The power of A4 is in organic collaboration between sequencer, synth voices and fx-processor. If you don’t need sequencer, buy Prophet 6 or other synth. But these synths will never give you such unique experience that A4/AK can give while using its sequencer with sound- and parameter-locks. In each pattern you have instant access to 128 sounds from project sound pool which you can assign to any trig! You can have different sounds on each step of each track and different parameters of effects (yes, you also have additional sequencer track for fxs and inputs with lfos). Enable ARP on track with sound-locks and you will receive unpredictable and groovy rhythmic patterns. Transpose is very usefull tool too. After OT, A4 looks very logical and easy machine. You can connect external synth to A4 inputs an add some effects to it… In latest OS trigs probability and FM were added which also expands possibilities of that machine.
And again, if you don’t need all these features – buy another synth. But I highly recommend to try it somewhere. And if you decide to buy it – try to create music using only A4 at the beginning – this will help you to discover how deep you can go with it.

This is my little piece which I create 2 years ago at the begining of learning A4. One pattern, one try, only A4 without post-processing: https://soundcloud.com/uturunku/night-mood-elektron-analogfour