I'm think of selling my A4 and getting a Tempest

The Lounge Other Gear
#21

For me when you have 3 devices like this, you naturally engage each one with your attention divided.
I have a dark trinity rig, it can feel like I’m not using each one to their full potential at times, for example I use the OT only as a mixer with FX.

The Tempest feels better to me with less competition around.
Tempest and OT, is an insane combo though.

For me I much preferred creating sounds on the Tempest, vs the A4.
The UI is ultra fast and gratifying on the surface where it needs to be, but you can also go really deep in the mod matrix.
This is the spot where I would feel the most overlap with an A4 and Tempest.
I’d be doing essentially the same thing on both, but I would be having more fun doing on the Tempest.

The Tempest AR combo would be amazing in my mind.
The AR would still hold down the drums, because is smokes the Tempest ability to be that.
Tempest would do what it excels at, being a poly synth set up with drum pads that seriously hands on.

The A4 feels so clinical and programmy next to Tempest.

2 Likes
#22

Okay I’ve written this about 4 times in the past 24hrs and then cancelled it.
But here goes, no biggie!

I have owned both, sold both and only miss one - the Tempest.
I have a Rytm and would never let it go, I didn’t gel with the A4 at all, I mean it’s all there I just never felt inspired by it.
Sold the Tempest as I needed the cash, but I miss it.

Right, I’m off…

3 Likes
#23

Ah. There was no reason to cancel that. Thank you for your input.

Okay…well…shit…A4 is back on the potential chopping block. The decisions never end!

How is the Tempest for creating modest tiny synth lines? Similar to that of Raymond Scott? Manhattan Institute? That would probably be my biggest longing if I got rid of the A4. I am most in love with the A4 when I’m making nostalgic analog atmospheres like that and p-locking the decay.

If I can do cute little sounds like that on the Tempest, that would definitely make my decision easier.

Thank you!

#24

Let me help you being more confused : what about a used Prophet 6 desktop ?
:tongue:

3 Likes
#25

Since you’re thinking of selling the A4, not the AR, are you more interested in having a synth or a drum machine that can be like a synth?

The Tempest synth architecture is related to the DSI Evolver. I really dig the Evolver mono desktop model. This post on Gearslutz explains some differences between the Tempest’s implementation and the Poly Evolver.

Poly Evolvers are pretty rare but the mono desktop Evolver can still be found for pretty cheap (around $400) and have a deep MIDI implementation with CC control over everything. If you want to play more with the sound - especially if you’re looking for something for synthesis over drums - it should pair really well with the Octatrack. I’ve paired my Evolver happily with Machinedrum and Monomachine this year.

2 Likes
#26

is it multi-timbrel? I think it’s just a poly, isn’t it?

#27

I think I prefer drum machines, actually. I always get a kick when I make a song solely from my AR or MD. I get really excited taking this thing known mostly for just percussion and making it musical. I guess I favor the more percussive elements of electronic music.

Though, an element I really like with the A4 is it’s ability to be an entire synth environment out of just the unit.

If the Deepmind could JUST be multi-timbrel then all of my needs would be addressed

#28

Fair point indeed…

1 Like
#29

The AR is quite possible a better piece of kit on it’s own than any of the other machines up for discussion here. I love doing chromatic stuff with single cycle wave forms, it’s way easier than the Octatrack. I don’t want to seem too down on it, because it’s really a fantastic machine. (enough so that I’ve owned and sold it 3 times.)

On the other hand with the A4 I know I can go to it and recreate pretty much any kind of synth lines I need for any given song. It’s not the most exciting machine, but it’s utility is undeniable and it’s pretty predictable. PLUS if you really exploit sound locks / multi-map mode it makes a pretty good drum machine as well. It’s arguably as good if not perhaps better than the AR if you leave samples out of it and if you’re willing to either load up on sound packs or spend some time synthesizing drum sounds. (you won’t have a choice on the Tempest!)

For me the Tempest more than fills the hole left by ridding myself of the AR, and then some. It wades into A4 territory but there are just some things you want a synth to do that it doesn’t. (i.e legato / note slides / quasi-FM, etc.) But in terms of sheer sound it’s way more versatile than the A4 even with just one filter. It’s got tons of cool digital waves and a much better sounding analog oscillator in my opinion. I find the A4 oscillator to be pretty tame by contrast.

If I had only one machine it’d be a tough call between the Rytm and the Tempest. The Rytm is more self contained (sample playback, FX, etc.) but I always find the analog drum sounds to be a bit boring. And the Tempest has 1000% better pads.

With 2 machines, I’d probably go for the A4 and Octatrack, or perhaps a Monomachine and Octatrack. And buy lots of Goldbaby samples. I just gotta have a synth that can do portamento/legato/slides.

With 3 machines I currently use and am very happy with the Tempest + A4 + OT combo. The Rytm is definitely more exciting than the A4 but the A4 can cover some ground none of the other machines can. (mainly smooth and silky stuff.) It’s my most frequently used but least exciting machine.

2 Likes
#30

Good demo indeed

2 Likes
#31

nostalgia is a certain type of illness… people seem to hark after the 1980s and trad synthwave… funny thing about this mindset is that the people that made the original stuff werent harking back they were looking forward… thats whats wrong in general with music producers of today… if its not synth wave its bloody trap which is a very dull watered down version of the most commerical sound on the planet, hiphop. i dont care less about sounding classic - the tempest is lovely… i dont own it or wish for it because i have the a4 which does a great job for me especially using with plugins and add on units.

#32

i dont think theres a machine out there that does eveything people want. thats why its good to employ a daw. i wouldnt use a digital kick or low bass but adding ableton and and my plugins folder allows me to very quikly make a sound ive never heard. the a4 for example is a great way to avoid the volcas and loads of modular wires which i detest. even if we were discussing top of the range cars someone would be complaining about the farrari not having the same electric window tech as the bently… its a joke really. all designed to keep you buying stuff.

#33

Buying things is fun. Electronic gear make me feel like a king of my musical empire

2 Likes
#34

+1

-1 EDIT: while it certainly can be, it is definitely not always. But that’s every genre. Furthermore, while there are types of hiphop on the radio, there are also types of all genres of music on the radio.

1 Like
#35

Im incredibly lazy when it comes to hardware - that’s the massive appeal of Overbridge for me, it’s a genuine godsend - but take that out of the equation completely then I’d most likely pick a Tempest over Elektron’s analog range. It’s a tough one though.

I’m not a huge fan of the DSI typical sound but I created some fantastic synth pads/leads/basses with the Tempest when I had one. With time, I will most likely do something similar on the AK I own but of everything I’ve owned, the Tempest was the most fun to unplug from everything else and go off and play with.

AR and Tempest would be a really cool combo though when I think about it.

Having bought and sold and bought again an AR and AK though I have to agree with the others suggesting you save up and eventually own all 3 before making a call. It’s something I will probably end up doing again with the Tempest…

2 Likes
#36

The Teenage Engineering is the closest to a desert island machine I’ve found. The Tempest is pretty close, especially if you exploit FX automation and modulation to squeeze more than one sound per voice out of it.

1 Like
#37

I’ve been very “pro” Tempest about a few things in this thread, but the bottom line is I’ve decided to keep the A4 to make my Trap style synth wave album, the one I’ve been working on for like 20 years now,…eventually

The A4 offers me more of what I want.
I was challenged in another thread to find the sweet spots in the A4, because there are SO MANY.
That has kept me diving in, programming performance macros, etc.
If I need sonics the A4 does not offer, I can add something like a SlimPhatty and use the CV outs to get transposing with the other voices in the A4.
Over time I’ve become more into the A4, and how much I get in a small little package that matches my other 2 boxes perfectly.

1 Like
#38

If I were in market for am analog poly the Tempest would definitely be on the short list with OB6 and that boutique, white box I’ve been seeing around (that’s how in the market I am…can’t remember a name for one…)

The Tempest, as a snyth, looks like a whole bag of fun.

#39

So basically, if I get the point you’re making:

If you have to sell either the A4 or the AR to get a Tempest, don’t sell either–but DEFINTELY get a Tempest :smiley:

3 Likes
#40

Or get rid of the lot. Just keep the AR.

Really, from what you’re saying, seems like you could make entire albums on just the AR.

With the new Heat demo out, just the AR and the Heat seems like a ridicilously cool match.

But I digress. As I tend to do. My good looks always confuse me.

1 Like