[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961)]sorry if this came up before but my search was unsuccessful:
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961)]How different are the synth engines of A4 and AR really? Is the AR basically just an A4 with a simple sampler on top and presets that lean a bit more towards percussion? Or is the engine really fundamentally different?
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961)]I am asking because my current live setup is an A4 and an MPC500. I love this combo and it does all i need. But it would be great if i could have that all in one box and have the samples included in the presets for better workflow. Is the AR capable of the same or comparable synth sounds (leads, pads basses, plucks, etc) as the A4?
To my ear the Osc’s sound the same however the AR has different synth parameters specifically for drum sounds. Sample feature is a bit tacked on and lacking in controls. It will not replace your A4 or the Mpc. The MPC is much more of a sampler than the Rytm will ever be and the A4 is a better synth. The Rytm would make a great companion to these two but it wouldn’t replace them. And yes you can get nice bass, pads ,fx and leads out of the Rytm. IMO the Rytm does this well but the drum abilities are a bit disappointing. I seem to be the only one that thinks this tho.
as far as the engine goes, one thing i like is that the rytm has fm machines, the buss compressor on the end is amazing as well, the velocity sensitive pads are also awesome
you can do drum sounds on the analog4, but it isn’t really geared towards percussion like the rytm is, for an analogy its like yes you can make drum sounds on a roland sh101 but having a purpose built drum machine like a tr909 is useful as well!
in my humble opinion, you need both, use rytm for percussion and some basic mono synth like capabilities, and use the analog 4 for evolving pads and basslines and other synthy goodness
This.
Plus they’re the same size, but otherwise little overlap, if you exclude the sampling side and the lovely analog manglers the A4 is a better all rounder because it can do usable percussives and fantastic synthesis .Those Elektron people make stuff which sits well in a family of differing products.That’s why one is never enough