'deeper bass' on the AK and now even 'deeper' on the MKII?

J_C_SelectorV2 · 2017-07-08T04:29:35.466Z

I think the mk1 had fat bass, but the mk2 now has phat bass.

psyclone001 · 2017-07-08T04:38:18.832Z

Probably marketing to entice you to buy the new one.
They aren’t going to say new anemic bass.
Probably wouldn’t sell well

nightfade · 2017-07-08T04:45:58.806Z

‘Now with bass so phat your mix cannot be mastered!’

knobgoblin · 2017-07-08T05:44:42.542Z

Can’t find it now (on phone atm) but I believe it was Simon who posted a/b comparisons of identical patches on A4 and AK. It was a subtle but noticeable difference. Ak was a bit rounder and deeper while the A4 had a more aggressive 2nd and 3rd harmonic growl. I’m sure with tweaking to suite the characters of them, you could get things closer, but neither is a sloach in the bass department.

plusn · 2017-07-08T06:13:59.028Z

I had both side by side here too and thats my exact observation too.

knobgoblin · 2017-07-08T06:21:53.450Z

Found it in this thread

AK vs A4 : the sound is VERY different Analog Keys/Four

Purusha · 2017-07-08T08:24:34.317Z

Meh - so long as the channels can be split into a mixer, there’s EQ.

basehead617 · 2017-07-08T08:28:33.675Z

My guess is the A4 MK II has the AK-style sound, but who knows? Would be nice to get some official clarification of differences between the 3.

G0n35y · 2017-07-08T08:45:41.880Z

Fairly certain that whatever minuscule variation in circuitry that the AK had will be present in the A4MkII. Does it make a difference? Not to my ears.

I’m sure there will be some variation when using spectral analysis but I always found the claim that they sound “very different” to be a bit laughable really. I couldn’t hear anything different when comparing 1 voice in isolation let alone all 4 or when in a mix so it begs the question of who cares?!

William_WiLD · 2017-07-08T08:59:59.088Z

William_WiLD · 2017-07-08T09:01:43.465Z

Also it was Two years ago they probably reduce the step in between with all firmware updates in this 2 years next to this test…
But I had both and I felt something extra on the AK no kidding

basehead617 · 2017-07-08T09:16:00.335Z

They’re clearly different, just listen on good monitors in a decent listening space! (which some people here don’t have, going by the setup photos)

G0n35y · 2017-07-08T09:55:51.577Z

Yeah, a little different on the filter and raw exampels. But “very”? Nope!

Don’t hear much in the pattern at all. But then my hearing has been slowly going down the shitter these past few years.

L4rs3rik · 2017-07-08T09:57:44.367Z

I don’t think “reworked analog circuitry delivering very deep and defined bass” will be as subtile as the difference between a4/ak hardware. Would be a very strange thing to put on top of the new feature list.

Prints · 2017-07-08T10:11:32.792Z

I’m expecting big differences, especially if the OD has been improved with something more aggressive rather than smeary.

Matthewsavant · 2017-07-08T14:32:10.926Z

Just listened to the soundcloud example (On proper monitors in a proper environment) and I hear a subtle difference but very very far from anything worth caring about nevermind a selling point. Like others have already stated it’s definitely not going to stand out or matter in a mix, the A4 does just fine in the bass department and if really needed there’s always EQ.
Still interesting to see Elektron throwing this around as a selling point definitely a big change from their top notch marketing up until this point

AdamJay · 2017-07-08T14:41:49.536Z

I read the marketing note as bringing the A4 MK2 in line more with AK.
In fact many MK2 features bridge the gap that exists between AK and A4 MK1

4 individual voice outputs, all stereo - like AK
improved low end response - like AK
poly config menu via function button - like AK
dedicated kit/track/sound/pattern/song buttons, not shared with KB - like AK
less cramped physical interface - like AK

And the additional features (OB bandwidth, CV inputs, Quick Perf what is that!?!) surely bring it over the top.

glitched · 2017-07-08T15:13:32.992Z

The difference can’t be too huge.
Assuming all three machines use the same parameters, Elektron should aim to keep the sound-profile in the same ballpark.

If the bass is too intense or in a different place (frequency-wise), sound-packs won’t sound right at all. I’m thinking selfishly here because I did that “1991” soundpack for them and took great pains to “normalize” the bass, especially.

We shall see (hear)!

Prints · 2017-07-08T15:35:24.624Z

I think if they completely changed the OD, they value improvements over consistency with legacy sounds. I’m eager to hear how FM with the LFOs sound, and if they improved the resolution. I’m also hoping they tuned the resonance on the filters differently. I’d like the notch to carve out a bit more, and for the resonance on the low pass to not break up as easily.

jaystink · 2017-07-08T17:16:42.659Z

The website also says there will be “enhanced analog overdrive for more bite and growl,” so they’re definitely getting right into the circuitry, and changing some components. I suspect that the changes made overdrive circuit will be the same ones that improve bass response.