1

hi, seriously consider picking up the keys, but i can’t get my hands on one to try in person, so i have some workflow questions.

  1. in step sequencing mode, when you hold down the step and print notes to it by pressing the keyboard keys, does the note input have to come from the hardware? could i hold the step down and send in the printed note from an external midi controller? will the sequencer recognize and print this input?

  2. are chords printed and/or recorded to individual step-sequencer tracks? and does the arp work with chords (playing just the notes in the chord). i guess related to above question… in general can all the features of the a4/keys be realized by using an external keyboard just to input the note data?

  3. i saw a video of overbridge in action and it looks great. will the a4/keys fx track be available in the daw as well? i only saw the 4 dry voices in the demo, but maybe there’s a trick to send the fx track out the main stereo outs by ‘muting’ the 4 dry tracks on the way out? the goal is 4 dry and 2 stereo fx tracks in my daw.

thx.

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  1. plug in a midikeyboard and configure its midi out to the corresponding midi in on the keys and send the note message works fine. But for what do you need a Keys then? :slight_smile:

  2. A Chord is is recorded in one track, but it uses up to all the four voices, of course. As the keys has LEDs on each key, when you press the step the chord is recorded on you will see the notes the chord consists of. Very nice feature that I do not wanna miss!
    The Arp takes the notes of the chord and plays them in an arpeggio, as expected. Additionaly there is a polymode on the arp that plays the whole chord instead of the arpeggio. I have yet to find a use for this feature. :slight_smile:
    Yes, the keyboard is completely replaceable by a midikeyboard. But finding one with the features of the KEYS will be difficult.
    Velocity
    Aftertouch
    LED per Key (I think this is not replacable)
    Joystick
    And when you buy the Analog four instead you don´t get the Multimap feature, I think, though I might be wrong.

  3. As Overbridge is not out yet nobody really knows about it´s featureset.

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of th emini keyboards around i think the qunexus comes closest, has led per key but no joy stick :frowning:
still, it has vel, aft and the key bend feature and mini pitch bender which could be mapped to joy stick params i spose

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The A4 does have multimap, but it’s a real wasted opportunity as it can only be used with an external keyboard, not with the keyboard buttons or in a pattern. It would be a lot easier to make a little drum machine without having to do sound locks on every step.

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great! so it sounds like the step sequencer will accept/recognize note input from an external midi controller.

this leads to another question… do the keys’ leds light up when sending a midi note from an external midi source?

in case you;re wondering, i’m a total hack when it comes to key playing, so i’m hoping i’ll be able to use ableton push with its scale locked grid to print triad patterns to the a4/keys sequencer in step-sequence mode.

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I don´t know if the Keys´s LEDs light up while you play on the other keyboard, but with another keyboard attached they should still light up when you press the step the chord is on and you can still see which cord it is. Would be strange if this would be disabled, from a programmers point of view.
No guarantees here, I never hooked up an external keyboard to my keys, cuz it haz keyz! :smiley:

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may I ask where I can find this arp chord setting vs arp individual note thing?

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[quote=“” dumbledog""]
The A4 does have multimap, but it’s a real wasted opportunity as it can only be used with an external keyboard, not with the keyboard buttons …
[/quote]

you can. use it with the internal keys whilst in that menu

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may I ask where I can find this arp chord setting vs arp individual note thing?[/quote]
Arp type encoder. Poly enabled in usual manner

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may I ask where I can find this arp chord setting vs arp individual note thing?[/quote]
Arp type encoder. Poly enabled in usual manner[/quote]
cool thanks … I always thought this stood for play, but ply as in poliphonic also makes sense … :stuck_out_tongue:

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[quote=“” avantronica""]

[quote=" dumbledog"]The A4 does have multimap, but it’s a real wasted opportunity as it can only be used with an external keyboard, not with the keyboard buttons …
[/quote]

you can. use it with the internal keys whilst in that menu[/quote]
Yeah but unless I’m mistaken it only works in that menu, for testing purposes. I can’t find a way to actually use it anywhere else, or sequence with it.

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Are you guys SURE the AK does this? I own the a4 and I have never been able to use my midi keyboard in step sequencing mode. It works for me in live recording mode, but not in step mode.

13

Hello and good day,

I’m a new owner of the Analog Four… I tried using the midi keyboard to step sequence the A4. It’s sequencing but not the pitch… It seems to be stuck on note C. I have to keep sequencing from the onboard A4 keyboard.

Is it possible to midi step sequence the A4 step sequencer using the midi keyboard? with Live recording I can but I’m having difficulties with step sequencing from a midi keyboard

14

Using the Auto Channel ?

Hold trig and press the desired key

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15

wow, thank you… thank you… I will do that tonight… If this works I’d love to buy you a Guiness

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BTW, it worked… Thanks Avantronica…

Now, I don’t have to use the onboard keys… I like using the keyboard as I’m confident what notes I’m putting in.

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How did you set this up if I may ask?

Edit: never mind, got it.