Pitch Bend on Analog 4 - Multiple Parameters?

Elektron Gear Analog Keys/Four
#1

Hi all,

My first post!

I only recently discovered the Elektron line while looking into the upcoming Roland System 8. (I am a happy System 1 user). I kept reading hearing about the Elektron brand name, so I decided to investigate further. Well, I am now quite smitten with the A4 and AK - such that I am strongly considering getting one.

One of the things I enjoy about the Analog keys is the 4-way pitch bend toggle. There is so much variety happening when you move that small bar!
If I hook a midi controller up to the A4, will I have access to the same qualities as the AK? Each of my midi controllable keyboards have the classic two wheels (pitch and LFO). How would that translate to the A4 in comparison to the AK?

Thanks in advance - looking forward to lots of reading here!

#2

The AK joystick uses three separate midi commands

Left- Right is PitchBend (there are Five modulation slots to various destinations)
Up - is Breath (also Five slots) & Down is Modwheel (further five slots

Up and Down may be reversed I have the A4 and it’s easy to get the similar control potential with miscellaneous controllers - It’s arguably better when you use a traditional controller as the values can be latched - the joystick always returns to zero

I’ve made a Fake springy joystick in Lemur a long while ago and it mimicked the AK joystick

Ideally you’d want to add Aftertouch into the equation, but please note, pitch bend aftertouch, breath and mod wheel are PERFORMANCE params - they can’t be recorded into the sequencer

All the parameters can be sequenced by other means

A4K makes sense if you want to do CV control - really excels at that :thup:

Oh and welcome :okej:

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#3

Thank you avatronica,

So I should have access to three of the four AK parameters? Pitch up, pitch down, as well as Modwheel?

Will the A4 behave the same way as the AK? As I experience it, you are listening to a patch and then you move the bar and “whoosh” you are taken into a whole new sound!

…if that is the way to describe it…:slight_smile:

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#4

Exactly the same. You can use a cheap iPhone app connected to USB to become auxiliary MIDI controllers and connect your existing keyboards into the DIN MIDI ports to extend the control possibilities

AK has a nice keyboard though, and individual analog outs for the four tracks

You can also do exactly the same thing directly on the A4 using 10 sets of x5 macros in the Performance mode - so it does the same changes to the sound, but it’s done with one or more encoders - these latch, so again, more useful imho for sound transformation than a sprung joystick

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#5

Thanks so much for the detailed reply.

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#6

Hi =) Are those param recordable into the sequencer ?

#7

You can program (in kits) modulations for a number of control sources which affect various parameters.

If you modulate any of the following sources you will not be able to record the effect

performance macros
Pitchbend
Modwheel
Breath control
Aftertouch

Each source can control a number of parameters all of which are recordable by other means, such as plocks or by velocity

The group of sources listed above should be considered as part of a performance layer, always live only

If you have an OT you can program pitchbend aftertouch and so on but the A4 won’t record it

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#8

I like to use my Roland JD-Xi with my A4, that way I can use the sequencer of the JD-Xi to record mod wheel and pitch bend changes.

For most synth sounds I prefer the ability to be able to record continuous modulation as to opposed to step modulation. Though step modulation is perfect for percussion.

#9

Allright, thanks a lot ! I think it can be nice to apply it for pitch evolution as transposition maybe ? Dis you use those pitch bend supply to this ?
I do not know much more of basics use of pitchbend in general…
Here what did I dod when I turn one of the five param ? I apply the same pitch value on some parameters ? What the the process of pitchbend on parameters ? Is it related to the pitch played ?

…
Sorry for not hq message

#10

this pitchbend menu is to create continuous mod ?

#11

yep - a mod source just like the others
it’s not the pitch of voices or oscillators but the midi message itself
likely the MSB(coarse) part of the pitch bend midi (if it is even 14bit internally for normal pitchbend on oscs)

pitch bend can be decoupled from normal duties I think so the 5 destinations can be atypical

#12

Blockquote
A4K makes sense if you want to do CV control - really excels at that

Can you explain further? In particular the “really excels at that”

The keys and desktop have the same number of cv outs. Is there an a4 keys feature I’m forgetting?

Thanks

#13

A4K = A4 + AK (meaning: both of them)

1 Like
#14

Indeed. I should have typed A4/K or AF/K or AF/AK

They’re both equally capable on the CV side although the AK does have more performance controls that can be used without further midi gear or p-locks - e.g. velocity can’t be linked with gate so a third channel of CV could be used to modulate a VCA level or you can map aftertouch etc more readily - simpler whilst using the AF

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#15

Apologies if this isn’t the right thread for this, but I’m wondering if anyone has any pointers on sending pitchbend controller data to the A4 from Max MSP.

I’ve tried [bendout], as well as [xbendout] using the port name + respective channel, but I’m not seeing any results.