Dear Analog Four/Keys users.
As Conforce I’ve worked on a soundpack for the Analog4/Keys for quite some time.
The soundbank is called Dark Synthesis, it is released today and can be found here.
This demo, is 100% made with presets from the soundpack.
https://soundcloud.com/conforce/analog-fourkeys-dark-synthesis-presetssoundbank-demo
Check the link to find out what type of presets the soundpack contains.
I hope it inspires you.
Here are some honest thoughts about this synthesizer:
Some love the Analog Four, others hate it. In all honesty for me it’’s a bit of a love hate relationship too. Before you intend to sell your precious Analog Four please read this. Take into account that you can use your Analog Four in many different ways, first of all if you have the keys version you are covered with something extra. Keys invite for a more polyphonic approach in my opinion. If you have the module version make sure to connect a keyboard to it. Let me just tell you that the name of this synth is totally misplaced and misleading. I find the oscillators in general quite thin sounding for certain types of analog sounds. I think the A4 is a very diverse synth and needs some tweaking to find the right sweet spots. It’s not an instant pleasing synth and such is not good for people without patience. Ask yourself the question, why did you buy this synth? Elektron are not known for their original and good presets, a shame because they make such amazing gear but apparently they don’t know how to get the best sounds out of their own instruments. Don’t tell me you bought this synth because of the presets? I did, “joking”.
The A4 challenged me at this point, and this forced me to really work towards some sounds that are to my liking and use the strength of this synth. In polyphonic mode it sounds good but in monophonic mode it just sounds kind a lame unless you treat the filter and distortion well, it also depends on the type of presets but generally I think the A4 is more powerful when hitting multiple notes. Working the filter helps you a lot to beef the sounds and also get some decent bass results. Also the use of pulse width modulation is essential in getting more rich harmonics.
The structure of the Analog Four’s oscillators is a very Alpha Juno inspired one but it does not give me a similar type of creamy round sound at all. The Analog Four has a strong mid presence and weak low end unless you work the multimode filter. So does the low end come from the filter? Yes for a big part… I also think that the oscillators don’t really blend well, there is just very little separation of the waveforms. Try some lower volumes and you get better results and things are more balanced. The internal effects are of a high standard (if they are matching with your taste), the chorus is a bit clean and not super warm. The Analog Four without the effects sounds dull and a bit lifeless. My advice is to work the effects in the background to get a bit of extra crunch and stereo wideness. It really adds up to the warmth and character of the sound, especially with some of the delay (set it to some sort of tape echo style).
The modulation options on this synth are crazy allowing you to make very modular alike sounds and you don’t need to do all the spaghetti noodling in front of you. It’s modulation heaven. The true power lays within the sequencer and the sound pool that allows you to use single presets on each step. Because of that it’s the ultimate synthetic drummachine where you can use your own programmed drumsounds. So for snappy contemporary sounds you should start to appreciate this synth more and more. Don’t approach it as an Analog synth because it’s called Analog. That is just a fancy term to get the this synth sold to some analog fetisjists and hipster kids that go hard on this term.
Don’t forget that with recent upgrades it has become a poly midi sequencer and I find it by far the best CV/Gate sequencer I have.
The Analog Four is a unique synth and very musical instrument but you need to find a personal sweet spot on it.
About the bank:
The Dark Synthesis Bank is the first soundbank/library Conforce made for the Analog Four/Keys. It consists out of 140 patches that are considered very useful for techno, electro and all kinds of music types that require a bit of darkness. The soundbank contains a nice variety of sounds but explores the warmer regions and rich sound potential of the Analog Four. The synthesizer really excels in rich pulse width modulated pads, electronic percussion, sound effects, chords and bleepy scifi interstellar stuff. With the right treatment it does also some proper bass sounds as showcased in this soundbank.
Please watch the attached demos in the showreel for a good impression of the sounds, these are all made with patches from this particular library.