Sustain?

beaumont · 2014-01-28T22:24:29.000Z

Is there no sustain input on the AK? I was about to pull the trigger on one but as a keys player this is a deal breaker if so. I think i’ll spend that money on an AR then…

Modus_Op · 2014-01-29T06:25:55.000Z

Perhaps a MIDI sustain pedal?
Might not work… Haven’t read the manual yet, but it might be worth a shot checking into.

beaumont · 2014-01-29T16:07:31.000Z

Yeah might have to try that on my A4 to see if it works. I know there’s a hold function but i need a pedal when playing…

Modus_Op · 2014-01-29T19:37:12.000Z

Best of luck. Tell us how it goes.

ark · 2014-01-29T19:49:54.000Z

A normal MIDI sustain pedal sends CC 64, which the Analog Four (and presumably the Analog Keys) maps to performance knob F.

Slaughtrhaus · 2014-01-30T18:13:55.000Z

No input, and as far as I know no cc assigned to it. People are up in arms about it over at Gearslutz. I think it’s weird to leave it off, but it’s far from a dealbreaker for me…

chapelierfou · 2014-02-03T19:13:08.000Z

Haha : Does the sustain pedal work?
I am really, really annoyed by the lack of sustain pedal.

avantronica · 2014-02-03T19:29:53.000Z

It’s hardly a complete surprise given the origins of the A4, but the AK has a hold button fwiw

i doubt that either 4 voice model was conceived as the ideal keys player’s instrument, these instruments have strengths that others don’t - when you factor in how pivotal the sequencer is to the whole package it’s not that surprising

i’d be well pleased if it worked too as it’d make droning that bit easier, but in the scheme of things the pros far outweigh the cons

it strikes me that the manual is missing a Midi implementation Chart

namnibor · 2014-02-04T01:19:40.000Z

""avantronica"":

It’s hardly a complete surprise given the origins of the A4, but the AK has a hold button fwiw

i doubt that either 4 voice model was conceived as the ideal keys player’s instrument, these instruments have strengths that others don’t - when you factor in how pivotal the sequencer is to the whole package it’s not that surprising

i’d be well pleased if it worked too as it’d make droning that bit easier, but in the scheme of things the pros far outweigh the cons

it strikes me that the manual is missing a Midi implementation Chart

Noticed this too and was even looking for something that even referenced as in: “See A4 Reference Manual”, but perhaps this has had something to do with the delay in retailers having any clue now when AK will ship? I would think the Multi Map stuff from newer A4 manual would cover same as AK but with added functions of being able to use the keys to control (not sequence, I get that) other synths, while in-fact and for instance, the AK sequencer is running from internal engine has me a bit perplexed about some missing specs on AK.

davidplasti-k · 2014-02-11T03:08:36.000Z

I was the person that started the thread at Gearslutz about the Analog Keys (no sustain pedal?).

Just a couple of ideas.

I have been very interested in ELektron´s gear because it has fantastic sound and each machine has a personality of it´s own without loosing the Elektron soul.

However it came to me as a huge surprise that a flagship synthesizer that is oriented for stage and programmers but also keyboard players didn´t have the sustain option.

I mean when you look at the commercial promoting the AK you see a guy playing virtuoso melodies as a key player. Of course baroque music was not made to use a sustain but also melodies as we can observe in Moog products.
But I searched and almost every poly synth has had the sustain pedal option because it is simply necessary for many as me. The pedal creates colors harmonically speaking in a very nice way plus the essence of a keyboard synth experience is the hardware and using a pedal creates joy.

Taking away a sustain pedal because there is a hold button is like taking away a volume pedal in a hammond and justifying it because there is a volume knob.

Dear Elektron, I want to purchase the AK to complement my A6, Minimoog, XTK and jd800 but You should need to consider that option,. If you realize all dave smith poly keyboard synths, most yamahas, roland, nords, even the cheap microkorg or cheap psr line of yamaha, has them why didn´t you put it.?

CHeers

David

cuckoomusic · 2014-02-12T07:18:35.000Z

Would it be technically possible to customize the CV input to accept pedals, and make this a user customizable setting in the CV menu? One pedal could do sustain, and another pedal could lock the joystick.

MiniDX · 2014-02-12T19:38:04.000Z

Can the joystick have the “hold” function assigned ?

Modus_Op · 2014-02-13T09:16:39.000Z

I believe the CV is output only.

audiocookbook · 2015-02-05T16:57:21.000Z

""ark"":

A normal MIDI sustain pedal sends CC 64, which the Analog Four (and presumably the Analog Keys) maps to performance knob F.

So presumably the pedal will send 0 and 127 to the performance knob? If this is the case perhaps F could be routed to manipulate the amp/filter envelope release setting thereby simulating a hold pedal. I’ll give this a try at some point and report back.

audiocookbook · 2015-02-05T17:10:27.000Z

""audiocookbook"":

[quote=“ark”]A normal MIDI sustain pedal sends CC 64, which the Analog Four (and presumably the Analog Keys) maps to performance knob F.

So presumably the pedal will send 0 and 127 to the performance knob? If this is the case perhaps F could be routed to manipulate the amp/filter envelope release setting thereby simulating a hold pedal. I’ll give this a try at some point and report back.[/quote]
Yep. That works! Sustain is achieved using a standard hold pedal connected to my MIDI controller.

avantronica · 2015-02-05T17:22:06.000Z

""audiocookbook"":

[quote=“audiocookbook”][quote=“ark”]A normal MIDI sustain pedal sends CC 64, which the Analog Four (and presumably the Analog Keys) maps to performance knob F.

So presumably the pedal will send 0 and 127 to the performance knob? If this is the case perhaps F could be routed to manipulate the amp/filter envelope release setting thereby simulating a hold pedal. I’ll give this a try at some point and report back.[/quote]
Yep. That works! Sustain is achieved using a standard hold pedal connected to my MIDI controller.[/quote]
if you have a sustain pedal attached to a midi controller, isn’t it just sustaining the note, as opposed to passing the midi command
whilst it sounds like a canny workaround , it doesn’t give you a sustained gate as you point out which presumably means the sequencer could steal the next note as the sequencer isn’t actually playing, the note off has gone
i get why the a4 has no sustain pedal input but you’d have thought the keys would allow the internal note hold rather than passing the spurious cc

audiocookbook · 2015-02-05T18:22:55.000Z

""avantronica"":

[quote=“audiocookbook”][quote=“audiocookbook”][quote=“ark”]A normal MIDI sustain pedal sends CC 64, which the Analog Four (and presumably the Analog Keys) maps to performance knob F.

So presumably the pedal will send 0 and 127 to the performance knob? If this is the case perhaps F could be routed to manipulate the amp/filter envelope release setting thereby simulating a hold pedal. I’ll give this a try at some point and report back.[/quote]
Yep. That works! Sustain is achieved using a standard hold pedal connected to my MIDI controller.[/quote]
if you have a sustain pedal attached to a midi controller, isn’t it just sustaining the note, as opposed to passing the midi command
whilst it sounds like a canny workaround , it doesn’t give you a sustained gate as you point out which presumably means the sequencer could steal the next note as the sequencer isn’t actually playing, the note off has gone
i get why the a4 has no sustain pedal input but you’d have thought the keys would allow the internal note hold rather than passing the spurious cc[/quote]
Yeah. It’s only going to be effective in certain situations. Furthermore, sometimes a controller might send 0 and 64 (my Moog Sub 37 does this) instead of 0 and 127, so you won’t get infinite sustain. Although if you set the knob to bipolar, apply -127 to the depth, and then invert the pedal you can get it to sustain infinitely. So, both examples will do it. Of course none of it’ll get recorded into the sequencer. It’s more-or-less a performance workaround.

reevus · 2019-03-05T22:59:17.000Z

This may be kind of a nonsensical question, but is it possible to “latch” or hold a note on an A4, say using the A4 keyboard or an external controller (while not using the sequencer of the A4)? I’ve got a CME XKey controller, and when using with a DSI Tetra the sustain button on the controller can latch/hold a note or chord on the Tetra - sort of like a drone mode.

I wonder if on the A4, if one of the tracks is able to be played with the XKey with proper Midi setup - and this does work (can play on the XKey as well as the A4 keyboard), but while pitch and modulation controls on the XKey work like they do on the Tetra, the sustain won’t hold a note on the A4. Maybe the machine doesn’t have that functionality like the Tetra does??

Again - may not make much sense, but I’ll ask anyway. Thanks.

ivarin · 2019-03-05T23:24:46.932Z

I’d just set amp release to inf