I love the performance macros but i dont like setting them up. I felt this could be much easier, how about this:
Press and hold the performance mode button, then press an encoder you’d like to modulate. Still pressing the perf mode button, a screen shows with 3 dials, select macro, select slot and mod depth. You turn the dials, release the perf mode button, done.
Maybe some autonaming would improve it further but not shure how that should work.
The same trick could be done with lfo’s. Hold lfo button, click encoder, screen lets you choose which lfo, which destination slot and mod depth. Same for the envs. This would make it blazing fast to set up the most complex sounds. What do you think?
Yep, great idea. I was messing around with the performance macros earlier today, and setting them up is a pain in the ass. This method would definitely make it easier.
double plus good this is. Macros go mostly untouched on my machine due to laziness. I would love to see a similar setup scheme employed for the vel/pitchwheel/modwheel parameters. It would also be handy to have some of the trig buttons become macro “scenes” in performance view so you could quickly tap or A/B between snapshots of your performance macros
The most underused part of my A4 by a mile, any attempt to speed up the setup time gets a big
I always tell myself ill go back to set up any parameter changes i like but never do, theres gotta be some virtual mould growing in my pref menus by now, long time since i even bothered. I think not using and relying on them for major changes from the beginning has helped me better navigate and evolve patterns with some degree of confidence a bit quicker than i would have otherwise , taking em somewhere new each time, some good, most terrible & disturbing
SB-SIX, your idea sounds like a more natural/fluid way of setting up the macros, lfo’s and envelopes, the more i think about it the better it sounds, sweet!
I hope if Elektron ever do decide to add better functionality to the macros it’s not restricted to Overbridge and a computer.
This is great topic. I hear some great potential for improving the performance mode of the A4. Switching between performance mode is basically already possible because performance modes are saved with kits.
I try to work a lot in performance mode so I can instantly play the instrument. Setting it up is definitely time consuming and therefore I made some kind of a template/standard settings and stick to it, this improves your hand-ability with the unit, get familiar and better with the device. Also you can easily copy to other kits without being afraid of over-pasting.
Template:
use knob A for track A
use knob B/G for track B
use knob C/H for track C
use knob D/I for track D
use knob E/J for track FX
use knob F for all tracks
For the FX track E/J…I normally put delay gain on E and HP filter on F…to wash the sound.
For each track I use mainly frequency 1+2 and some reverb. But Also just what suits the sounds best for the kit/sound.
I other people have nice template ideas, please share…
“We have similar ideas already, but more like how performance is set up on Analog Rytm. A future OS will provide more convenience for this on Analog Four. Stay tuned.”
I’ve been thinking of the same lately. Right now I’m using the macros mostly for filter and relative volume control.
It would be nice to have a switch telling whether macro changes are recordable or not. Right now, if you want to record e.g. filter changes, you have to launch the filter menu and then the two filters can only be altered separately. With recordable perf macros, this would be much easier.
Alternatively, the second row of macro controllers could by defautl be set to ‘recordable’
AR doesn’t have performance knob macros but scene and performance settings on pads. The difference is scenes change all the perameters you have locked when you hit the scene, which holds and can only run one at a time. Performance are pressure sensitive perameter changes and you can hold multiple pads at a time. Scenes and performance are on different pad pages so you can’t toggle at the same time nor mute tracks etc that I can tell which is somewhat annoying because being able apply effects than mute/unmute some tracts at the same time would be great and is a benefit of having performance macro knobs. I would probably trade the pad performance for knob performance in fact.
I do believe setting up the macros to be much easier . You select the pad to edit and navigated track perameters and fiddle with them to lock them into the macro-however keep in mind the modulation possibilities are far fewer than on A4 which is also why it doesn’t feel so tedious.
I just made some amazing perfect macros for a track last night. 1 knob especially did some space effect sounds I’ve never heard. Turned on my machine today and enjoyed them some more then changed my pattern. Guess what. I didn’t save my damn kit and now I will never know exactly what made up that macro : / always save the kit
Ok so I’m really curious how they are going to implement this on the A4. The workflow is possible on the AK because of the pads, so lets see what they come up with then…