Kicks on A4

I can do that but I am trying to learn A4 from the ground up and master it versus just using presets.

I have not suggested to use presets. I have suggested to LEARN FROM presets.

(analyse == examine how something works)

Since tastes may vary quite heavily IMHO its a good idea to start from something you like personally. Then check how the oscillators are set up, how the envelopes are configured, etc.pp. This way you should get a basic understanding really fast.

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No worries! I like posting in these threads more than the Overbridge thread, so I guess Iā€™ll put a lot of energy into this :joy:

I got started back in 2009-ish on a Nintendo DS with the DS-20 software and built everything with the virtual MS-20 architecture. It taught me a lot about constructing sounds from the ground up.

I know this is a ā€œKicksā€ thread, but my favorite clap synthesizer ever is the Simmons Clap Trap. There used to be an iOS emulation but it got taken down for some reason. Iā€™ve spent quite a bit of time trying to get that out of my AR MKi and havenā€™t even tried yet on my AK as itā€™s harder to incorporate into my workflow, but Iā€™ve put some thought into how Iā€™d do it.

Iā€™d use an LFO with the exponential decay shape at a fairly high rate to modulate either the filter cutoff frequency, oscillator volume, or something similar. I would lean toward oscillator volume (not amp volume) and try to get ā€œblipsā€ out of a square or sawtooth (maybe PWM to taste). The trick is that as the decay from the LFO approaches zero the bandwidth of the signal approaches infinity. Essentially, the width of the sine tone harmonics widen until the sound becomes white noise. Iā€™d also use FAD on the LFO as an extra envelope generator. Basically, youā€™re making a series of clicks with control over the timing and dynamics. This method leaves the white noise generator available to layer on top.

Brief citation - Bandwidth = 1/Pulse Duration (http://www.radartutorial.eu/09.receivers/rx10.en.html)

This is similar to how the AR synthesizes the clap, except the white noise comes after the texture so there is no way to shape the transient. With the A4/AK the white noise will hit with the ā€œtextureā€ and you can use the Amp/Env to shape the sound more effectively.

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Cool yeah I had tons of fun this evening digging into my new Elektron A4 MK2 and trying settings to come up with different drum samples and bass sounds. Bass and pads are easiest to create as there are less rules. Drums are a wee bit trickier but I managed to create kick, snare, and clap from scratch. This is great way to really learn the synthesizer as well as to build on knowledge of what synthesis is. Last thing I want to do is become a preset monkey.

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Just thinking outa my head, about using an LFO on Random to modulate a noise+sine wave :thinking:

Kind of like a fluttering kick?
I dunno.

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/physics-percussion

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Kicks on the A4 are beastly, but kicks on the MD are no slouch either! Funny how I find hardest to get the kind of kicks Iā€™m after from the rytm as well :diddly: As soon as bidic sample transfer comes to the rytm mk I, Iā€™ll start resampling the kicks from my other elektrons into the AR.

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My 2 cents for a quick fat kickā€¦
Personal taste.

Init Sound (Track+Clear)

NOTE : C2, LEN 16
OSC1 : TRI, LEV 127
FILTER 1 : 48
LFO 1 : SPD 64, MULT 4, MOD ONE, WAV Exp, DEP1 64, Dest 2 OSCX Pitch Mod, DEP2 32
Et voilĆ .

To taste, increase Overdrive, adjust Filter 1, lfo MULT / Speed, DEP1, DEP2
Add noise if you want.

With filter 2, you can add resonance to the bottom (FRQ2 25 ,RES 64, TYPE Peack) or reduce harmonics with Envelope Filter (lower FRQ2, TYPE LP, DEP > 0, ENVF SUS 0, adjust DEC)

I prefer Lfo rather than BEND (not enough depth), more control and the ability to retrigger the kick, with LFO TRIG mode instead of ONE, increasing MULT.

If I want to free lfos, I use ENV2 with OSCX Pitch Mod, Filter 1 as DEST.

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itā€™s an interesting topic.

I would like to point out something important, in many cases we have heavily processed things in mind.
(usually processed and very often with high end equipment ā€¦ music genre also turn the wind not in the same direction regarding sound design or processing)

People generally want something out of the box and (except with a sampler) itā€™s most of the cases impossible to get the final sound, only some stage of the sound design because after the A4 you misses some stepsā€¦ to get the sound right.

Also, I would say try to reinvent those main elements in your music genre and use uncommon elements in place of those classics. This can lead to track with your or their own sound signatures, and it can help to stand out your track from the others.

Like a recorded kick from the Turntable except you shape it with your hand by speeding the attack portion to make it more snappy like a compression on the transcient and slowing down for the body and decay by handsā€¦ Use that material itā€™s uncommon itā€™s not a classic 808 or 909 but in some track context it can give a better element in some ways.

Remind me some part of a track construction with some reverse kick a la lil louis :wink: And a authentic turntable reverse kick will always sound better than a computer edited reverse process (to me itā€™s better record it and make it with your hands) there plenty of things you could do with a turntable and records reverse portionsā€¦ and rework and editing further on the computer.

(maybe a reverse kick on the Analog Four can be something interesting to make, sometimes exercices you give to yourself can lead to more sounds idea and happy accidentā€¦ some kind of challengeā€¦)

Itā€™s (to me) very difficult nowadays to separate for electronic music, all the steps of creation and techniques you need to handle it from the ground up. Sound design, composition, mixing, effects, arrangements, all is parts of the tracks. Every steps influence each other oneā€¦ itā€™s really like pottery.

Maybe itā€™s different for the other music genre but Iā€™m not sure. And the more fusion will be for the music future and the more what Iā€™ve just said will be true. (Thatā€™s what I think)

I know itā€™s very difficult to be good - strong on every aspects of music production.
It is however the same for a Multimedia Artist, he needs to understand and practice all : sounds, graphics, video, 3D, photo, vectors, programming languagesā€¦ to be able to express themselves through all kind of medias.

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Here is a newer video on creating a kick drum on the A4 MK2:

I try watching your videos but you constantly bashing on your trig keys gives me anxiety

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Thanks, ok I will work on the sound editing! A work in progress.

If you want people to watch your videos, you should record the audio out of the A4 for the video.

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Iā€™m not trying to pick on you im sorry it seems to constantly come off like that.
I have broken trig buttons on my monomachine from doing that. Now I use pressing trig keys as few times, and as light as possible, as part of my workflow. I normally scale track down to 2 or 4 steps and hit play as opposed to constantly pressing trigs. I catch myself every now and then but I always try to pull myself out of it.

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no worries bud its all good and constructive feedback is welcome. If it helps me produce quality content that is the goal. I want to help as many people learn the new Elektron gear as possible and as a newbie it helps me as well. I love the videos by guys like Cuckoo and Mr Dataline they are masters of the Elektron gear so producing good content that fills in the gaps is my goal.

At this point, I feel way more comfortable with my A4 and OT! Still lots to learn. I figured out the performance knob stuff thanks to the one video someone provided in the links.

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Word of adviceā€¦ donā€™t make a tutorial video until you actually know what the parameters do and how to explain them. Turning things at random is fine for experimenting, but when youā€™re making a tutorial you need to be able to explain what youā€™re adjusting, and how it affects the sound. In the first half of the video you were adjusting parameters that didnā€™t have anything to do with making a kickā€¦ and then you had to go back to the sound you made previously because you couldnā€™t figure out what to do in order to get the envelope shape back to normal. This is something that someone making a tutorial should know!

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Or design kicks in A4 and sample them into the AR?

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