Always fancied myself a ‘sampler guy’ for a very long time. Never really got the bug for synths. Apart from an (awesome!) 0 Coast, I don’t own a hardware synth at the moment, except for some soft/iPad stuff. Some of those are surprisingly good, but for performance and writing, I try to steer clear of the computer and touch screens…ANYWAY!!!
There’s a local shop that has a way above average amount of decent stuff, including every Elektron box. So I started messing around for a couple hours. Only tried maybe 10 different synths as some were either out of my price range, or too massive to fit anywhere in my music room. I was a bit surprised that in many ways my favorite was the A4MK2. I’d never really even considered it, plus it seems to get fairly mixed reviews, even around here. I thought it sounded fantastic, much more varied than I would’ve thought and the performance stuff was quite nice. Next up, the Digitone. I was sure I was gonna love it and I did, but I kinda liked the A4 better. Digitone drums were rad though.
Tried a couple Arturias, but for whatever reason, their sound has just never done much me. I’m sure it’s just me not knowing how to make the most of em, but…not my thing as of right now.
I really loved the Novation Peak a whole lot. Like, a whole lot. But if I went with anything poly, I’d want it to be multi timbral for my first real synth.
Started to try a Deepmind 12, but I just can’t go there yet. Maybe someday, but not today
Gonna have to sell a couple things, but right now, the A4 is in the lead. Is that odd, or good?
Im a fan of the Deepmind, aside from sounding great and treating my wallet nicely I also like it as a controller for my gear. Have a hard time finding a Analog poly synth with USB midi, sustain pedal input, aftertouch (works amazing with DN), mod/pitch wheels. Only other connectivity I would have added would be an input for external instruments.
For multitimbral stuff though I think Elektron has it covered.
I have owned both and I think Deepmind 12 sounds way better than A4. A4 has other strengths though. As a 4 track groovebox it’s a fun device and the sound locks add to its versatility.
Not odd at all but it’s great news for me. I just ordered an A4MKII yesterday brand new for $1,095 and all GAS is officially gone and nowhere in sight, it’s like a good dose of Pepto Bismol!
That’s strange, to me because my experience with the deepmind has always puzzled me as to why people like it so much… It sounds so digital and it seems so buggy… The presets are all over the place and boring to me… IMHO it doesn’t compare to the A4… Not even close…
I actually prefer the A4 as a drummer to Digitone. I have a MkI so I imagine a MkII would be even a little nicer in this respect (I heard the overdrive circuit has been modified).
Digitone has great drum sounds, but I’ve been using the A4 drums for years. Won’t stop.
Deepmind can sound identical to Juno-106 which is one of my favorite analog polysynths of all time with very large sweetspot for sounds. In addition to this, it can do far more than Juno with loads of effects and modulation options. I haven’t encountered any bugs either.
A4 sounds ok, but the sweetspot is quite narrow. It can take a while to get a pleasant sound out of it in my experience. Also, four note polyphony makes its usefulness quite limited compared to 12 voice Deepmind.
I was very pleasantly surprised by the A4 drum sounds…really nice. I could see me making patterns in the A4, then sampling into the OT to free up tracks on the A4, or just keep em in the A4 if I don’t need the extra tracks
Yes, exactly. I have the Alt 3-4 buss of my Mackie routed via Analog Heat into the OT MkII, so muting A4 or Digitone routs it for sampling and also opens the possibility of distortion.
It’s all good…everyone should just play what they like. I’m still not ready to support Behringer, but that’s a personal hangup of mine.
If I were just playing a synth, I think I’d pick the Novation Peak over the A4, but I have to consider what would be the most useful for me in a performance situation. The bulk of what I do uses samples and I always make my own. The reason I want to get into synths (besides the obvious and fun aspects of learning and working with synthesis) is mostly for subtle augmentation of my sampled bass guitar and whatnot. So while the idea of more voices on the Peak is appealing, you can only play one patch at a time. With the A4, at a minimum I can play 4 different patches at a time. Throw in plocks and careful arranging and it’s way more than that. But that’s just my use case, not yours and I’m not arguing your reasoning at all. Mines just different based on what I’m trying to do with the gear I have. Finances allowing, in time I could see me adding something like a Peak, Modor, Digitone…who knows?! In the short term, the A4 is seeming more and more like the logical next step for me
If I had a choice to grab a Prophet instead of my Deepmind I would pick up the prophet right away. Im not going to say that its a better quality product than something like a Moog, Prophet or AK but when I weigh in the price and functionality its a no brainer for me.
Presets are whatever but there are so many features within the editing menu that it doesnt matter. No bugs either.
I agree that presets don’t always tell the whole story and I prefer making my own samples and patches. I got an 0 Coast because you have no choice but to make your own patches
That said, browsing presets can give a good reference for the general character of a synth. Typically, I just turn down all the overdone effects and flashy crap a lot of manufacturers pile on their presets to impress folks on the showroom floor
The ace that the A4 has up it’s sleeve against most other analog synths is the ability to have (if you want) a different sound on every step, it is quite a flexible analog synth too with its numerous oscillator options, dual filters, LFOs and envelopes, but the downside is as others have said it can take a while to dial in a sound, and some people don’t like the character of it, I’ve heard some call it wooly, others say thin and there are probably others too, personally I think it can sound quite Roland DCOish.
It remains one of my favourite analog synths but if I’m to be brutally honest not always as the star of the show, although it can be, but it depends what you put around it.
ProAudioStar has an 18% off coupon on almost anything in stock but supplies are running out. If there’s another site you prefer and they price match you can do that too.
Have Digitone and fell in love. Ordered the A4 yesterday, I was conflicted between the Peak as well but ultimately to me the Peak just sounded decent. Nothing special when compared to the OB-6. If I were you I’d get the Digitone or A4 due to the utility they provide for the price, or save up just a bit more for a DSI instrument like the OB-6 or Prophet 12.
The Peak, the more I watched and listened to it started reminding me of the Sylenth 1 VST.
You could be right for all I know! I’ve only recently started seriously investigating all this stuff because my original ‘mission statement’ didn’t involve synths of any kind. I’ve always loved listening to them, but my initial purpose didn’t involve them for my music. At this point, the basic sound of the Peak appeals to me. I think it sounds nice in ways I could see me using. I do the the A4 is going to come first and I’ll have plenty of time to consider what’s next. I like to learn a piece of gear fairly well before adding stuff. For example, there is no way I’m going to add in another sampler into the mix until I suck a lot less at using my OT
