Octatrack and Analogue 4 as a combo

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#33

For me it completely depends on my mood and the track I want to make. That’s the cool thing about these two boxes… both are capable of a big variety of sounds.
I tend to use the OT for drums and the A4 for melodies and pads/drones. Usually about four drum tracks on the OT with sample chains, and on the often A4 a bass track, a pad (tuning the oscillators to chords, played with single notes) and two lead melody tracks. Then I sample some lines from the A4 into the OT either to make space for more stuff on the A4 or to manipulate the sounds on the OT in order to create additional elements. I love slicing, pitching, reversing melodies.
Since drums on the A4 sound so great I also often start with a drum beat on the A4 and sample it into the OT. Then slicing it up, make variations and glitches, applying effects etc.
I sequence the A4 from its own sequencer most of the time, cause it’s more direct (less time to setup - I’m lazy!) and I love the little keyboard.

Lately A4 and digitone share a lot of their tasks. Digitone is also great in every department, even better for ambient stuff imo

I know this trick from @sezare56, I used it a lot. Really powerful

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#34

I sometimes ask myself almost the opposite…If only someone could show me any other synth which can be brought into the A4 territory ! :smiley:

I was about to sell my AK a few monthes ago and even @500 euros, nobody wanted it…

It’s now the central piece of our live setup…Go figure ! :slight_smile:

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#35

Here are my few cents … having an AK and a DSI Prophet 08. The Prophet 08 is the predecessor of the Rev2. If they didn’t change the filter of the Rev2 dramatically, it should produce the same sounds as the Prophet 08.

Soundwise there is some common ground, which is shared by A4 and Rev2, but IMO there are many differences too.

If you played the A4 and the Rev2 using the factory presets, I am not surprised that you liked the Rev2 more. The presets are just much better quality. The factory presets of the A4 have disappointed many, including myself.

But … let’s dig deeper … (significant differences IMO, not a full list)

  • Obvously the A4 comes with 4 voices and the Rev2 with 8/16 voices. This can make a difference for pads. But if we compare single voices only, the A4 is much more versatile in many aspects compared to the Rev2.
  • The two oscillators of the P08 are quite standard, the two oscillators of the A4 allow PWM for all waveshapes and there is this Transistor-Shape, which is unusual. Additionally we have one tuneable sub-oscillator for each oscillator. The A4 provides more options for sync/crossmodulation.
  • I like the 24dB/oct filter of the P08, but the 12dB/oct lacks character and its resonance is too weak for my taste. That isn’t an issue for “my pad design”, because I use very small amount of resonance for pads if any, but comparing this to other mono-synths, it really sucks. The A4 provides 2 filter, which can be used in parallel and sound great.
  • The P08 and the Rev2 are very versatile giving us 3 envelopes, 4 LFOs, and the mod-matrix. But from a sound-designers view I would say that the A4 is even more versatile. The A4 has 3 envelopes too, comes with 2 LFOs, but provides additional LFOs on various pages. Example: PWM for each osc and vibrato speed and depth.
  • The Rev2 has more or less standard envelope shapes, but the A4 provides a couple of different shapes having linear, exponential, logarithmic, and even mixed slopes. For me that makes a huge difference, particularly if the sound shall be punchy or very smooth.

And there is more, but the post is already too long :wink:

6 Likes
#36

Thanks for your insight! That’s helpful, I appreciate it. The rev2 and P08 are supposed to sound the same (patches of the 08 will load into the rev2 and are supposed to sound identical). The rev2 is fully bi-timbral (2x 4 or 8 voices according to the model) with independant sequencers and arps (and midi channels), and the rev2 has a sub oscillator for each oscillator plus an extensive effects section, and much more modulation options than the p08. It’s quite an upgrade…

Yes, the A4 factory presets really aren’t huge selling points. Most of the time I had the impression that I was playing a Digitone (with all due respect), apart from the sub oscillator that is beyond the DN’s range. Having a DN already, I didn’t have the impression I was about to expand my sonic palette in a significant way… when I changed from the A4 to the rev2 (or a P6 which also on display) it was like I removed a blanket from the sound. There is some sort of airy and clear character I couldn’t find in the A4. Still, every time I hear music made on the A4 I find it inspiring. And if I hear videos demoing the rev2 I find them bombastic and uninspiring! Maybe I should look for a used AK… I was bothered with that tiny keyboard, even though I’m not a keyboard player at all it didn’t feel right.

But I’m afraid this is drifting off-topic (even if my point is also to find a companian for my OT)… so sorry hijacking the thread, guys :wink:

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#37

Thanks. Thats very helpful.

1 Like
#38

Hi! In my setup I have all 3: OT, A4 and the rev2. I explained here in detail why I ended up with this setup. To make a long story short: The A4 is very flexible and useful in many ways, while you need to fall in love with the rev2 to really appreciate it unless you need instant thick cinematic pads. But, once you do, and it seems like you did, I guess there is no way around it, although an A4 would be the rational choice if your only other machine is an OT.

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#39

When you say ‘rational’ choice. Do you mean the A4 is better as a companion or…?

#40

The rev 2 is a beatifully sounding relatively “classic” analog polysynth ! Huge sound, beautiful sound ( even If i’m more of an Ob-6 guy myself ) ! And that’s it ! It is a beast in its category but you won’t be able to move as far as you want, you’ll finally hit a wall.

Tha A4 is much more a programmer sound design tool.
You can go deliciously wild with it exploring an almost infinite sonic territory…Some it will excel at and some where it will be a rather ok synth.
With sound lock you can produce full tracks in it.

You want a huge classic sounding poly ? Rev 2 !
You want a extremely versatile sound design tool ? A4/K.

My 2c.

4 Likes
#41

Having a huge sounding poly next to the OT doesnt appeal as it would dominate the set up. Sort of push the OT into the corner. Thats not a good combo i feel.

#42

I myself use : AK + OT + Peak.
Peak covering the poly category, A4 used mostly as 4 monos but with the occasional voice stealing/unisson feature…

#43

That’s what I am concerned about too. But “huge sounding poly” doesn’t mean you neccessarily need to play majestic 10-finger chords on it either :wink:

1 Like
#44

I wouldn’t say that the ‘rational’ way is necessarily the better way, but the A4 is just more versatile in the ways you can make use of it. If you cannot, like me, afford a lot of gear I would say its more rational to get a swiss army knife instead of the greatest machete in the world because it is more likely that it will be more useful. But, this also depends. If you know you will exclusively go hiking in the jungle, better get the machete.

#45

Digitone got multimap too with the 1.20 update!

2 Likes
#46

Yes that makes a lot of sense. The versatility would be immense. More than anyone could handle. Thats a good way to cure GAS if at all.

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#47

True.

#48

personally, I didn’t gel with the AK interface. there’s too many pages, and secondary pages, and then global pages. I have mostly analog gear (new and vintage) that is one knob per function, no memory, everything is “live” and I prefer that. I can get along great with OT, RYTM, MD and MnM but for some reason not the AK…

anyway, if I were going to slim down to just one analog synth and the OT, I’d probably go for something like the Vermona Perfourmer instead. sure, it’s a lot simpler and more limited synthesis architecture, plus you lose the sequencer, memory, effects, and all sorts of other bells and whistles. but the interface is better for sound design. for me, anyway. and if you’re sampling it/sequencing it with OT anyway, a lot of those limitations can be overcome. otherwise… a small eurorack setup could give you a similar synth architecture to the A4, and would provide ample sampling fodder.

but on the other hand… at the prices the MK1’s go for, you could always just grab one and see if you like it. you can definitely resell it without taking a loss (or a very little one).

#49

This is a challenge I’ve had as well with the Virus TI. Obviously not a true analog but the Virus makes such a BIG sound that it’s super easy to overwhelm the more subtle OT/A4 combo. But the different sonic palette of the Virus really adds some textural variety to what the A4 produces if you’re smart with your sound design/EQ.

I recently purchased the Moog Sirin and that little device is an absolutely stellar companion to the A4, IMO. Highly recommended to add a more straightforward analog sound to the A4.

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#50

Yeah, I was interested but they made a production run of only 2500 and it’s sold out!

#51

The Sirin is almost the same as the Minitaur. If you have not a problem to play notes only up to Midi note 73, The Minitaur is a relatively versatile little synth, but only, if we use the software editor. Many sound parameters are under the hood only.

#52

Get a Keystep and enjoy your setup. :slight_smile:

I LOVE the combo of Octatrack and Analog 4. I think there is no better or more powerful hardware sample mangler out there than the Octatrack. And re the Analog 4, I feel it is one of the nicest sounding synths for thick pads and interesting out-of-the-ordinary sounds.

1 Like