I did some research and came up with the following:
http://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/comments/31o6vi/which_synthesisers_support_step_edit/cr3gixn
I don’t know if I can enter a table of data on this forum.
The Electribe 2 has the most tracks, and polyphony but poor editing; it’s also not a sampler - there is one on the way.
The OP-1 is very portable but quirky.
I own an Analog Four, Electribe 2 and OP-1. I’m looking at a Rytm, though I’m trying out an MPC 1000 I’ve had for a while.
The answer is always “get both” or “get all of them”.
I was really interested into the Electribe 2 Sampler but the A4+OT combo is superior. It seems to be an interesting alternative though, especially if your budget is tight.
The OP-1’s synth engines make me drool but its sequencer is not up to par with the other solutions.
Interesting how, on this chart, the A4 looks to be the most limited.
And yet, it is definitely the most powerful synthesizer out of the four.
Charts.
Hmmm.
I’m sorry, I understand the reasoning behind this, but such chart is extremely misguiding.
You can’t just pick some parameters and arbitrarily ignore others.
I own both an A4 and an Electribe EMX2 and while on the paper the EMX 2 is an absolute beast, in practice it pales in comparison to the A4.
The A4 synth engine gives you plenty of choices, (I won’t enter in too much detail) while the EMX2 just gives you a limited choice of parametres with very little modulation.
The sequencer on the A4 albeit it doesn’t send midi is really developed and extremely flexible, the one on the EMX2 is really clunky and entering basic info like pitch value and length is actually painful.
I like them both, don’t get me wrong, but they’re too different and in 2 different price ranges, comparing them like that is not fair.
Plus, the octratrack is a sampler, not a synth, it doesn’t really fit…
I can’t comment on the OP-1 as I don’t know it enough.
PS: I didn’t mean to sound aggressive or paternalistic, so don’t take this post the wrong way
I agree.
And at the very least give a full account of the parameters that are already in the chart.
i.e. LFO - Analog Four, Yes (2 per track)
It was a chart to help myself see the strengths/weaknesses of each product. It’s also very much from my perspective. I tend to look for sequencer/editing features and number of tracks.
So…
Octatrack - very powerful sampler but not so good sequencing. Also no transpose.
Analog Four (I have one) - very powerful synthesiser, good sequencing but only four tracks - though there is a lot of scope with parameter locks. Also has transpose.
Electribe EMX 2 (I have one) - powerful synthesiser - not as deep as Analog Four - 16 tracks, 24 note polyphony but awful sequencer - can’t edit so easily. No transpose.
OP-1 - the one that got me looking at sequencers - it had so many!
I’ve been looking at these to see which one(s) to get - I think the next one would be Analog Rytm - it’s a sampler and a drum synth. However, as I’ve already got the EMX2 I can use that for drums and certain sounds, and the A4 for leads/bass/pads.
I watched a video of the winner of one of Elektron’s competitions on the Rytm and at first couldn’t believe the guy had taken some spoken sentence and created all those sounds of it. Then I tried something similar on my OP-1 and saw what he was doing.
I like the A4 with its minimalist keyboard, but wish it had eight tracks not four. Similarly, the OP-1 - wish that had eight tracks.
I had long look at the MicroBrute as well - that is a monosynth with a sequencer.
I get that the A4 has a lot of depth - seeing as I’ve had a chance to play around with it now. Watching videos for it on Youtube has been helpful.
I’ve come from the world of DAWs, of presets and softsynths. I’m starting to see that twiddling and experimenting is an interesting and more fulfilling way to go - something that’s trickier in a DAW. I’m also starting to take that back to my DAW software.
What I really want is something that’s portable and can be used on a train etc. The OP-1 has that, but has limits in other ways.
I’m a software engineer so I’m looking into writing/rewriting a groove box I’ve put together myself. Trouble is it takes time to write… what I’m thinking of will have 16 tracks - 4 synthesiser and 12 sampler based. Each will have it’s own pattern editor. I’m not expecting to match anything like the A4 or many of the other soft synths out there, but I expect I’ll have a lot of fun writing it and learn a lot on the way. Since I’m writing it with a cross platform package, it may end up on Windows, MAC, iPhone and Android. iPhone is the one least likely (but actually better for audio!) as there’s a fee to get software onto hardware, unlike Android.
Of course if you know of something out there on Android or iPad I’d be interested to take a look.
Octatrack - very powerful sampler but not so good sequencing. Also no transpose.
On the contrary i believe the Octatrack has a far superior sequencer than the other machines. Of course this is only my opinion but what with independent step length for each track, 8 tracks of midi sequencing, and LFO’s to control midi parameters, there doesnt seem to be much contest 
…if sou seriously look for something to work with on the run, the only answer is an ipad…
no hardware gear will let go that limitless…in options to tweak, discover, write, sequence AND to take it any further later on…AND to run on battery power that long…
if you go for charts, logical reasons and hard fact for real…that’s your answer…
if you want a real instrument…
the op1 is the way to go…might be a luxury toy…but there’s serious shit to do with it…and also easy to take any further later on…
a daw is needed in the end anyway if you wanna get serious and comparable results…no matter how much hardware you collected…
If I’m not mistaken, Octatrack has 3 LFOs per track.
edit: my input on Electribe. I wanted it so bad, bought it after having an Octatrack for about a month or two. Returned the Electribe, did not like it at all. The sound design seemed too limited, and I’m a novice at sound design. Maybe I just didn’t get it, but thats my view.
The Samplr app on Ipad gives the OT a run for its money and the UI puts it over the top, IMO. It’s not a full feature for feature comparison, but it bears looking at.
The OP-1 can be really frustrating if you’re looking to replace a sequencer with it. You really can’t save enough sequences or sounds to build a track library on it. Great for noodling and oddball sounds, but a different animal, IMO. An instrument, yes. A hub, no way.
Found the new 'tribes soooo frustrating to make music on. Good improvement in sounds and reverb over the last batch but impossible to play in the dark and annooying to program. Why oh why oh why didn’t they just start with the awesome EMX and improve it?