Using the Analog 4 as a Drum Machine

For me it would be very useful to have only drum sounds in the sound pool. I only use “sound per trig” with percussion sounds. Has anyone set up there sound pool this way? I’m just curious what other people are doing.

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Checked out Mr Agers’ Druma bank for the A4?

Your’s for £7

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that is what I’m doing too… it slowly morphed into a percussion machine for me.

I also use one sound per trig and it’s percussion is layered over my kick, snare and hats which are on my OT which I also use for stems. I then record the tracks of the Analog 4 and OT I want using CUE for transitioning using the “transition trick” that everyone here knows.

this works well for me so far and the A4 makes nice percussion.

So far I have not saved that many sounds… only kits. each kit is the next part of my performance.

I do however know that I am not getting the most out the A4 working this way… having another OT or better yet a dedicated drum machine would free up the analog 4 to do what it’s capable of and allow for more improvisation…

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hey
i use it too for drums/perc
usualy 2 tracks for synths, bass and so on, and 2 tracks for drums (with sound locks)
it works great :slight_smile:
best
niko

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just bought Ager’s Druma today. stoked to check it out tonight.

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Me too. Just because I just swapped my MDUW for an A4 :slight_smile:

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I recommend getting a Jomox Mbase (and maybe Mbrane, MPX8 :slight_smile: ) as CV slave(s) for the A4! The A4/Druma Kit really shines with some nice fat Jomox fundament.

P.S. A4 -> Mbrane (CV slave) -> MPX8 (Midi slave, note 38)

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I’m triggering my Mbase with the A4’s CV track and would love to add a sampler/sample player but can’t see how that is currently doable, what would “play” notes/samples on the MPX8?

I’ve mostly used sound locks for percussion as well, although it can be fun with bass/synth lines too if you want a brief burst of variation. It’s also fun if the track has the arpeggiator enabled.

Someone figured out you can use the CV output to generate a decent sine wave based kick drum too, which is kinda neat.

http://www.elektron-users.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=28&func=view&catid=9&id=213870#213870

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id even buy a second A4 - i love synth percussion and its fabulous for this!

i know preaching to the choir, but what great boxes these are

I really like the deep kicks I can get with my A4. With proper compressing (in my DAW) they are so far much better then the kicks I’m getting from my AR. (Haven’t really learned how to tweak the AR yet, but anyways.)

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I prefer the majority of kicks I pull from the A4 over those which my Mbase produces, I find purpose-specific modules a bit limiting and you’re only ever creating a variation on the module designer’s idea of a good/perfect kick.
I guess Elektron did the sensible thing by putting purpose-specific modules/machines in the Rytm, maybe it had something to do with watching what happened with the Tempest, maybe not, but I wish they’d put in at least a couple of versatile, “freeform,” A4-like, machines to get really creative with.

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The A4 is a smashing percussive machine, I’ve got some sort of kick drum in every A4 pattern on my entire machine, and more often than not I end up with using all four voices for drums and percussive purposes, it just sounds the way I want it to :slight_smile:

Ehm, what was the topic again?

#LovetheA4

I prefer the majority of kicks I pull from the A4 over those which my Mbase produces, I find purpose-specific modules a bit limiting and you’re only ever creating a variation on the module designer’s idea of a good/perfect kick.
I guess Elektron did the sensible thing by putting purpose-specific modules/machines in the Rytm, maybe it had something to do with watching what happened with the Tempest, maybe not, but I wish they’d put in at least a couple of versatile, “freeform,” A4-like, machines to get really creative with.
[/quote]
This is one of the reasons I’m interested in another a4…
But I’ve also got gas for a rytm if it gets into abstract territory well.
I was going to sell my (new, hardly used) octatrack, but then thanks to the a4 I got ‘it’ as a whole and now am using it loads… I’d totally dig a squelchy trippy drum machine to compliment the machinedrums grit if the rytm is this and not just a tempest rival

(i.e an analogue md with tempest architecture “look we can do sample import” mentality)

Is anyone actually using this? How is it supposed to be set up? I’m guessing CV type: Value LIN and then LFO destination: CV Value (which the linked thread also says) but how are you supposed to “shape the amplitude” with the ENV?

[quote="“hooligansound”"]

Is anyone actually using this? How is it supposed to be set up? I’m guessing CV type: Value LIN and then LFO destination: CV Value (which the linked thread also says) but how are you supposed to “shape the amplitude” with the ENV?[/quote]
I only just started playing around with it, and it’s pretty fun. I suspect I’ll use it at some point. You can get a pretty wide variety of sounds out of it.

You got the CV stuff correct, although you can do it with the other CV modes if you map the LFO to the tuning. Set your LFO1’s depth to zero and then map ENV2 to the depth, then tweak ENV2 to get the envelope you want for the kick.

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Is anyone actually using this? How is it supposed to be set up? I’m guessing CV type: Value LIN and then LFO destination: CV Value (which the linked thread also says) but how are you supposed to “shape the amplitude” with the ENV?[/quote]
I only just started playing around with it, and it’s pretty fun. I suspect I’ll use it at some point. You can get a pretty wide variety of sounds out of it.

You got the CV stuff correct, although you can do it with the other CV modes if you map the LFO to the tuning. Set your LFO1’s depth to zero and then map ENV2 to the depth, then tweak ENV2 to get the envelope you want for the kick.[/quote]
Cool - thanks! The logic way when you think about it :slight_smile:

That’s it !
Since seval times, in Beef we made with electrofriends, I use the A4 for perc only. What a great perc synth ! Main rythm for MD (with sometimes proper perc samples in addition to internal drum synth) and all the polyrythm fills are left to a4. Really efficient in this function.
Thanks to it, our techno/house Beef have an afro/caribean flavor that makes people really enjoy and dance during our playing time. I must recall here that we improvise the music in our Beef, and we are 6 on stage.

So, personnaly, i put only percussive patch in sound pool, like you, so it’s easier to program different sounds on same track. i try to make 4 different tracks witch can play alone or with the others, that permit to, like dj, alternate or associate tracks in view to make the rythm change.
I also use the polyrythm abilities of the tracks to introduce exotics flavors in percussion.
Thanks for having point my research toward that direction.

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I chose A4 instead if AR for that too, more parameters than AR for synthesis.
No regrets ! :wink:
I think I will mod it with 2 or 4 individual outputs to add overdrive or compression, and return it in inputs. :loopy:

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I use the soundpool in the same way; mostly drum and percussion. Even more so since I got a small modular.

A4 does all the sequencing, drums and fx; modular does the tonal stuff, with fx through the ext in

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