How do your knobs feel?

Leyy · 2014-01-05T16:50:21.000Z

Hey

I got my A4 for christmas and I can’t help but feel that my knobs feel kind of weird.

They have very little resistance when I twist them, the only 2 feeling ok is the Master Volume one and they wobble very easily

Is this specific to my unit ?

Thanks in advance,

StinkyBeat · 2014-01-05T17:34:54.000Z

avantronica · 2014-01-05T17:53:36.000Z

wondering what it’d be like to have one of these bigger ones

srsly tho - i think the weight is just right for the soft/fine tweaking required, mine are consistent, but on checking now they’re all less resistant than virtually every other knob/enc on my other gear - esp nord stuff !
i’d say light, not loose, not wobbly - they give me confidence, but i usually find the algorithm for fine +/-1 tweaking a little too jumpy

i’d like there to be a user ‘weight’ option so they could be accelerated / decelerated which would possibly help with nudging accidents too

Leyy · 2014-01-05T18:48:57.000Z

""avantronica"":

wondering what it’d be like to have one of these bigger ones

akknob.jpg354×231 17.4 KB

srsly tho - i think the weight is just right for the soft/fine tweaking required, mine are consistent, but on checking now they’re all less resistant than virtually every other knob/enc on my other gear - esp nord stuff !
i’d say light, not loose, not wobbly - they give me confidence, but i usually find the algorithm for fine +/-1 tweaking a little too jumpy

i’d like there to be a user ‘weight’ option so they could be accelerated / decelerated which would possibly help with nudging accidents too

They don’t move at all if you gently move it back and forth in any direction ? Mine will move like 1mm and make a " glue " noise

avantronica · 2014-01-05T20:53:55.000Z

that sounds iffy, the movement alone may be reasonable, the encoders on my OT have a little play, but no significant worrying noise, remember it’s not like a potentiometer with finite travel, it’s continuous and free to some extent

those encoders are not surface mounted, i believe they are well hooked up, but the internals of the encoder could have play, as might the knob cap, so a little noise is normal

if it was new it’d be very puzzling unless you’re still just not used to the feel of those particular encoders

void · 2014-01-05T21:06:12.000Z

my encoders do make that glue noise when wiggling them. guess that’s lubrication or something and i figure it’s normal.

what’s not normal is that my encoder F is getting more and more skippy.

Leyy · 2014-01-05T21:14:14.000Z

""void"":

my encoders do make that glue noise when wiggling them. guess that’s lubrication or something and i figure it’s normal.

what’s not normal is that my encoder F is getting more and more skippy.

H is my main problem, having too much fun with the LFO !

""avantronica"":

that sounds iffy, the movement alone may be reasonable, the encoders on my OT have a little play, but no significant worrying noise, remember it’s not like a potentiometer with finite travel, it’s continuous and free to some extent

those encoders are not surface mounted, i believe they are well hooked up, but the internals of the encoder could have play, as might the knob cap, so a little noise is normal

if it was new it’d be very puzzling unless you’re still just not used to the feel of those particular encoders

Yeah maybe i’m just not used to it !

jasl · 2014-01-05T21:19:43.000Z

my volume pot control is tight and smooth - almost heavy and it feels right. I wish the rest felt this way because it feels solid and like I know I can rely on it whereas they have always varied and the worst being the level control which feels loose and yes… it wobbles a little too. I can imagine this could give problems later. I hope they are easily replaceable under warranty? My machine is also relatively new.

tonight · 2014-01-06T00:52:05.000Z

mine are quite tight, in fact 2 are a bit too tight and don’t respond quickly,
which I expect will loosen with use

did you get it brand new out of the box?

subicecom · 2014-01-06T04:50:18.000Z

Mine are quite stiff, probably equal to my midi controller kb (akai mpk49) What’s weird is that the metal plate that is the bottom of my unit has a slight twist in it. Enough that it won’t sit completely flat on my desk. It’s about 2-3mm raised on the left front rubber foot. On an ikea laptop stand though it doesn’t wobble so I don’t really care.

jasl · 2014-01-06T06:57:57.000Z

[quote=“” tonight""]
mine are quite tight, in fact 2 are a bit too tight and don’t respond quickly,
which I expect will loosen with use

did you get it brand new out of the box?
[/quote]

yeah brand new - I immediately noticed that the controllers had different resistances and I am super careful with my gear so they have been this way since receiving the machine. I also noticed that underneath the screen and right in the middle there seems to be a mark which I have deduced is from a tiny bit of sticky tape glue gathering dust. This made me think it wasn’t a new machine and one that had been repaired / exchanged or something? I thought better of opening the thing up to clean it away… The base plate is also not exactly flat and it wobbles slightly on a perfectly flat surface! Must say all of these things didn’t leave me feeling too pleased to begin with but the machine seems to be working as it should

Low_Life · 2014-01-06T09:58:32.000Z

Master volume knob is certainly stiffer than the others here, but I prefer how the others feel. There’s so much twisting to do!

tMt · 2014-01-06T10:03:18.000Z

can’t help saying: “don’t ask that in Northern England”

Leyy · 2014-01-09T21:03:27.000Z

Hum… After a few more days of use the knobs have gotten extremely loose and I mean all of them. I’m kind of worried, considering contacting elektron. Is there any way to tighten them up or something ?

avantronica · 2014-01-10T09:53:04.000Z

No way to tighten them up, sounds (to me) like it’s normal if it has occurred naturally over a few days normal use, i’m sure you said it was a new unit, it’s hard to say without knowing what you are experiencing, get yourself along to a shop and compare, or put a shout-out here for local-to-you A4 owners !

I had a niggle concerning the height of a few keys on my mini-keys, but decided to keep the unit by my side, they’re hand assembled, and probably have some small variations - i figured that sending it back to be opened up and probably returned the same was too much hassle for me - i’m majorly fussy

actually, i don’t tend to wiggle 'em, but now that i have in the quiet of the morning i can hear the noise (perhaps) you mentioned, doesn’t worry me, i wouldn’t make a habit of wiggling them though, just turn and push

same noise on my older OT and it’s fine fwiw

try another one, i’m sure it’ll appease you

Orwell · 2014-01-10T10:09:53.000Z

my knob is working fine tonight
going to try and use it live tonight out on the town
bit of oil and grease and the rest

miketheman · 2014-01-10T10:40:50.000Z

""Leyy"":

Hum… After a few more days of use the knobs have gotten extremely loose and I mean all of them. I’m kind of worried, considering contacting elektron. Is there any way to tighten them up or something ?

Contact support. They shouldn´t differ in just a few days…