Beta testers. Can you trigger the tape playhead from midi in current BETA?
Yep, some tape effects were shown in the trailers, so I really hope it will be for the next big update, my S4 is waiting. Cool stuff by the way!
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Is that what you are looking for?
From Beta 13
- Fixes to MIDI NOTES for controlling functions externally (play, record, etc)
But I havenāt tried myselfā¦
Aah, Yeah it might be.
It was seriously debilitating that you could only trigger the tape internally.
Iāve seen that with the beta you can mute but also play / stop individually each track (sync or not). That way you can stop the track but not cutting the fx like delay or ā¦
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Good record @Bardial !
Really good use of S4.
I particularly enjoyed S4 filter and dirt fx modules from my experience and your record shows it really well.
As I said, my main thing was granular stuff, so I moved to Tempera, but S4 has particular things Ćād wish to have.
BTW I am curious about what type of filter is usedā¦Multiband filter with control of curves and random lfos on specific freqs ?
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Thanks! Yes random LFOs are fantastic. The filter is ultra versatile and on top of that thereās is another filter in the track page. This machine is special and unique.
I just ordered one. Iād followed all the discussion about it being incomplete and was a small bit wary about that, but after seeing Sarah Belle Reidās demo I thought ok whatever I can make it work as is. But what finally made me pull the trigger was your video (ok well that and another drum-featuring demo by someone named Han_cheng_yeh on IG). I canāt be sure how much is the s4 and how much is your source material but it doesnāt matter and I am really excited to play with this thing.
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Most of it is S4. Source material are a couple of drum loops (Iām changing it through all the video to add another couple) and 2 simple synth samples. The original material is boring. The magic is in S4. Thanks for watching the video.
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From video it looks like a lot of knob twisting in mixer section and other pages. Is there a way for quicker value changes? Like in Elektron devices you just push and twist encoder.
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Yes, I think you are right. Knobs needs a lot of movement. Personally I donāt mind, you can be very precise. As far as I know, there is no bigger increments. Surprisingly, Iāve checked the manual and you can go more precise with ctrl button.
I know elektron knobs, wich are maybe the best. The S4 knobs are very different in my opinion, very loose. At the beginning for me it was the worst of the S4 build quality but nowā¦ I donāt think that. Iāve used it a lot and I think they are great. But very very different.
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I have had the S4 for a while, the knobs are not different, they are low quality= cheap
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I wonder why you say they are cheapā¦ Can you share your thoughts about that? Thanks.
To be clear these are not knobs, a knob has a start and an end point at specific points.
Encoders, the ones on the Torso, can be rotated endlessly, there is no stop point.
I think there are better encoders out there on the market, for example those on the Push 3 or on some of the Native Instruments gear.
the ones on the Torso are not at the same level, low quaity, hence cheap.
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Thanks for the explanation. Iām not a technical person, the only thing I can say is that the encoders are very different to the ones Iāve tried. I donāt know if itās good or bad but but Iāve gotten used to using them and now Iām very happy with how they work.
Definitely, is the worst part of build quality in S4 but I can live with it. Time will tell how strong will be.
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good observation.i think theres no encoder value change preference options on the s-4 at the moment
I donāt really agree with this. The S4 encoders support both using slow turns for fine adjustments, and quick turns to make big adjustments. Pretty nice.
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I didnāt notice the larger increments. Thanks for pointing.
Folks, Iām getting close to pulling the trigger (especially before everything gets potentially very expensiveā¦) and Iāve been generally following the saga with this machine. Iāve absolutely loved the sound of it when it works, which is clearly still an issue. For those whoāve bitten the bulletā¦
How does it fare as a processing unit? How are the latest firmware releases holding up? My use case would be either bypass mode granular processing of a Minilogue XD, then running the output into my Digitone II for a final mix, or a simple sample setup accompanying the DNII.
I do know that the Tempera is usually cited as an alternative, but Iāve loved the spectral-y sound of the S-4ās processing on longform samples and Iām not sure that any other hardware can mimic it at this price point. Any advice, yāall?
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I wasnāt very impressed with the S-4, but I did only use it for a week early last year, and I know theyāve improved the firmware since then. It seemed kind of like a one-trick pony, though it does sound really good at that trick, which is kind of a granular effect machine with 4 tracks to build soundscapes. I guess I was expecting more depth from it. It kind of has an Elektron look and feel to it, but the build quality is not as good as Elektron, unless theyāve improved that (doubtful). I will say that I was hoping for more of a granular synth, which this is not, nor does it really advertise itself as such, so thatās on me. Iām much more happy with an Octatrack (or possibly a DT2, havenāt decided which Iām keeping) for sample manipulation and processing.
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