Just pulled the trigger… Needed more voices than my Digitone has and I’ll be damned if this fat synth can’t provide them.
Any tips/tricks regarding the workflow, sound design, songs/patterns you’ve discovered through your usage and wish you knew earlier?
-2nd filter is key (use notch mode with res to emphasize certain frequencies, also good as LFO target)
-always use all modulation slots, even if only ever so subtly
-arp+endless reverb=bliss
-one voice goes a long way with clever use of sub osc / detuning the 2nd osc (don’t forget to turn OSC2 level up)
-FX/arp can be p-locked (unlike the Digis)
-sound locks (you know those from your Digitone)
-try different osc levels (my OCD self stuck with 100 far too long)
-read up on kits and develop a strategy how to use them (e.g., one kit per pattern, one kit per group of four patterns, etc.) and stick with it
-clever use of delay on hats will make your rhythm track sound a lot bigger than it actually is
Awesome. I can’t wait to experiment with those oscillators and the 2nd filter.
The last tip is something I’ve been doing a lot lately on my Digitone when I cue in the shakers heh.
OT+A4 user here.
With MULTIMAP you can assign up to 128 Sounds of the Soundpool, and play them like a drum kit or per octave, with external midi notes (DN, OT or any midi gear with notes) or with mini keyboard. It can also be used to trigger patterns.
Midi control of Perf macros can be combined.
Ah another question I have. How does MIDI work with the Analog Four? I know with my DN I can play it with a MIDI controller and also sequence analog hardware with MIDI and VSTs even.
With the A4 is it just able to be sequenced by my DN, but can’t sequence anything externally?
Can do a lot with CV/GATE!
Unfortunately, no midi sequencing. It can send midi clock / transport / prog change (for pattern sync), midi notes with the mini keyboard, Control Changes with the knobs / buttons (mainly if you want to record movements with midi).
In the first weeks with my A4 I lost kits. Take care of saving kits. On the Digitone everything is saved by saving the project. On the A4 this is not the case.
Thanks mate. That’d be disappointing to lose a bit of work!
Put a preamp or some other type of color or distortion on it. Brings out a lot of character.
use a free running slow LFO on the FX track (track 5). the delays/reverbs and FX in general come alive with some subtle LFO modulation on overdrive/feedback. Be careful to not add too much depth it can get unwieldy.
I have an audio interface but it only has two inputs and it’s currenrly taking the Digitone… Any tips on how I should link all the gear? I drew a picture to get an idea but tossed it out. Perhaps I’ll draw one tomorrow and post it.
I was thinking:
(Guitar + Sub Phatty) > A4MKII > Digitone > Digitakt > Audio interface
what i would do here is
guitar into subphatty (mono) -> digitone left input
digitakt right output (tracks hard panned right) -> digitone right input
digitone stereo out -> A4 stereo input -> 2 channel interface
your digitakt inputs are open for a sampling source here so i think this is most ideal. Both machines with input FX (digitone and a4) have LPAN, RPAN, and individual level settings so you can even track 2 separate sounds in mono.
Good call, as you can see I’m a complete noob with samplers. I’m guessing I’ll be sampling my guitar, Moog and A4 the most. If I have the guitar running through the Moog it’d take up one less input at least.
The effects can be parameter locked, but AFAIK the Arp parameters (besides note values for the chord) cannot. That’s one thing I really think is missing, it’s surprising.
The direct jump option works brilliantly. Really nice for fills and switching up patterns live.
And if you like happy accidents - once you have a pattern you like going on, go into the polyconfig setup, turn all voices on, set to unison and select ‘use track sounds’ (I think thats the correct settings). Each note will be cutting off the previous note, regardless of which track its on, and you can end up with a really interesting pattern. Not only that, but the unison makes everything sound incredibly fat and rich, especially with a touch of detune. Of course, sometimes it can sound shit as well, but when it works its awesome. Combine this with the direct jump thing above and you can get some really interesting stuff going on.
Oh, and apologies for the necropost!
No need to apologise,please keep em coming.I purchased the MKII a couple of days ago and would love to see more tips and tricks 
When I first got it I found the bass lacking. Then I noticed a cool trick used in some of the preset patches. Use the 2nd filter in high pass mode. And up the resonance at least 10 oclock or so.
Now I know it sounds crazy to use a low cut to increase bass? But the trick is to set the frequency very low. Sweep it around until you find a good spot. It thunders.
I also find the detune is often a better fattener than PWM. Though in moderation both together can be nice. LFO one, Envelope the other.
Familiarize yourself with the different envelopes. They are very very different.
What I discovered way too late was the gate length setting on the envelope pages. For long-lasting notes (e.g. pads), adjusting the gate length can give such beautiful movements. Also, familiarize yourself early with all the different envelope shapes. They impact on your sound design heavily.
When you have a little patience, you can do the following: You can match the frequency of the high pass filter resonance with the tuning of the oscillators (either by ear or with a tuner). Then you set the key tracking of the high pass filter to linear (this should be at +32). This way, you can play different notes and the bass boost will always stay in tune (at least over an octave or so).