Any Deluge A4 users?

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

Recently I purchased a A4 to sequence from my Deluge. As a beginner I finally stumbled onto the Deluge and it clicked with me much quicker than some other gear I tried. I purchased the A4 because I am not supper happy with the synths in the Deluge and figure it would be a nice addition having 4 analog tracks and some good sound. So far it has been just that. A sweet addition sound wise. More or less the only sounds running on my Deluge are drums. So that got me looking / listening to the Rytm…

My random thought is that for me the A4 + Rytm would be a nice setup. If I were to do that I feel like the Deluge would be a waste as just a sequencer and that I should give a shot at learning the Elektron sequencer so I could just run the two Elektron boxes. After messing with the A4 sequencer for a few days I feel like I have not made much progress in understanding it. Far less than the first 3 days with the Deluge… Something about the visual notes on the pads must be working for my brain…

-Any other users of Elektron and Deluge?
-Did / do you find the Elektron sequencing more difficult to pick up?

I figure Im fresh enough that I could make a switch but wondered if any others might be in the same shoes and might have thoughts to share.

TIA!

#2

Thats my personal experience and may vary for others:

I purchased the Deluge for my Digitone as sequencer. I tried to get around with the non existent kits on the Digitone with it. Plan was: Use empty pattern on the Digitone as Kits, and Sequence it with Deluge. Well, didn’t worked out: Hanging notes?

Elektron stuff and Midi is something that does not work for me. I really don’t want to invest any more time in it. Also my Octatrack is bad at midi sequencing. If I try to sequence my Sledge it drones away. I don’t want to invest more time into it, i want to make music and not a technical fix it degree.

Deluge is imho perfect for sequencing - it’s small, you can drive it with battery, and you can change synth tracks easy into midi tracks to drive other synths with it (if it’s not an Elektron). It’s perfect to sketch ideas, and then decide what synth you want for bassline, etc.

But if you just learn the elektron sequencer - that means you want to have that sound of this elektron device and don’t need to sequence other stuff, than elektron is perfect. Those boxes really, really have good internal sequencers!

Just sync those boxes and ignore other midi stuff if you want to avoid issues with elektron.

#3

You will always be fresh enough to try out other sequencers and see how you like them :slight_smile:
Maybe the elektron sequencer takes more than a few day to get the hang of it, but for me it’s absolutely worth it!

#4

I was on the Deluge for quite awhile, and have been on Elektron since 2014.

The Elektron sequencer as a concept has two main things going for it, as I see it -

First, it’s just a great sequencer overall, as long as you’re comfortable within the restrictions and possibilities that a pattern structure provides. In Elektron world, it’s not a more limited way of sequencing compared to working with a more traditionally linear structure, like you can with the Deluge if you want to, it’s just another way of looking at how you structure a song. I’d say that as far as defined pattern sequencing goes, Elektron is the standard others try to follow.

Second, since their sequencing concept has been around for some time and as such, given plenty of time to mature, it’s such an integral part of the way you can approach sound design, that it’s not just a very capable way of building songs. It’s also much like a gate sequencer on steroids, or any fx or mixer unit that has a sequencer built in.

So I think that the Elektron sequencer is much more than what a sequencer traditionally is considered to be, and one of the strongest reasons why their hardware compares so well to software. Essentially, having an Elektron kit and not make use of its sequencer, is not using it to its full potential. It’s so much more than just a way to bring down notes to build a sequence.

#5

Interesting responses. Thank you.
I was not aware / have not seen any MIDI issues on the A4 yet but it is good to know.
Agreed that the Elektron sequencer may take more time and I do plan to give it that. I honestly think the biggest thing for me is the note entry / visualization on the deluge. It’s just so easy to enter / change notes on those pads.

Oh well, this is just a hobby for me so no loss in pouring more time into more gear I guess. For me its more about doing something other than work and less about “finishing the perfect song” So long as the hardware sounds good and is built well I tend to enjoy messing about with it. The A4 has that and I feel like the Rytm would as well. Guess I just need to do some reading, video watching and button pushing for a bit to see if I can get notes entered on the Elektron. On that note, I do find it crazy how one can take guitar lessons on just about any corner but figuring out a hardware synth is like a solo snipe hunt depending on where you are.

Again, thanks for the thoughts!
-I

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