What do you use your A4 for?

Floppydisk_Pirates · 2015-04-23T21:55:47.000Z

I use my A4 or AK to create sound packs and new presets for both machines. 512 presets of mine adorn this little beauty already. The Sound and workflow of the A4 or AK is simply excellent. It’s always a matter of taste but for me the best analog synth with the best workflow and sound out there!
Just check the demos and download free patches and free sound packs on my website here: http://www.floppydiskpirates.com/

Cheers,

Janosch

FutureSomeday · 2015-04-23T22:01:54.000Z

Demos sound good Floppydisk, does anyone prefer the monomachine or octatrack to the A4?

clunky · 2015-04-24T01:57:23.000Z

""FutureSomeday"":

Demos sound good Floppydisk, does anyone prefer the monomachine or octatrack to the A4?

Yes i like my MnM more, but I tend to think thats cause I’ve had the MnM for a long time
and have some killer sounds that are simply not possible on the A4, add the bigger screen
separate outs, midi seq. etc.

Though I’m sure as I spend more time on the A4 the gap will close.

Currently I use my A4 in conjunction with my Tempest, making a 10 voice analog drum machine with a ch from each playing synth lines
their sounds sit very well together.

FutureSomeday · 2015-04-24T02:27:37.000Z

Clunky if you don’t mind could you expand on your experience with the Tempest vs Monomachine? And do you have any tracks/ youtube demos? I currently have two more weeks to see if I’m keeping the A4, my other alternative would have been the tempest or a combo of something like the monomachine and mono lancet which would be controlled by the monomachine sequencer.

debug · 2015-04-24T18:03:39.000Z

When I get a chance I’ll upload some and share with the community to see what they think.

It was sort of my goal to do this anyway at some point.

naniojuan · 2015-04-24T19:01:01.000Z

https://soundcloud.com/juan-nanio-2/tracking

Only A4

clunky · 2015-04-25T00:54:26.000Z

""FutureSomeday"":

Clunky if you don’t mind could you expand on your experience with the Tempest vs Monomachine? And do you have any tracks/ youtube demos? I currently have two more weeks to see if I’m keeping the A4, my other alternative would have been the tempest or a combo of something like the monomachine and mono lancet which would be controlled by the monomachine sequencer.

Nothing recently

Here’s a Tempest and A4 track, it was recorded on a phone, live and drunk so take that in mind. (rough)

On that site there are a few MnM only tracks that are a little more polished.

If i had to chose one out of the 3 it would be the Tempest, now that I’ve got a better grasp of the machine
and am pulling sounds I really like. (taken a year!)
It has some really stupid limitations, but its very fast and fun and actually got me enjoying drum programming again,
something I lost when I sold my devilfish 808 (dont tell robin i called it that, he gets upset, lol)

Between the A4 and MnM it would still be the MnM, mainly because I can get ballpark analog type sounds
from the MnM but the A4 cannot cover what I get out of the MnM. But as already stated I’ve had the MnM 8 years
so I’ve had far more time on it compared with the A4

Still the A4 is a great little box and I know I’ve got sometime to go before I get the best out of it.
And it still has OB software as an unknown to come

AdamJay · 2015-04-25T01:07:10.000Z

""clunky"":

Here’s a Tempest and A4 track, it was recorded on a phone, live and drunk so take that in mind. (rough)
Stream WooooooodddyyyYouTeeNai? by Woody | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

I hope you give this one a proper recording some day. Really great work here!

vos · 2015-04-28T10:09:47.000Z

To stretch and warp Time

SweetPeal · 2015-05-10T07:40:35.000Z

I find the A4 really versatile. It can yield huge drums, moving leads, shaking bass, mesmerizing pads, snappy arpeggios and the common alien farts.

It also give new life to your CV gear. P-locked Dark Energy is out of this world.

I use the A4 for ambient / dark ambient / noise / synth pop / … whatever strikes my inspiration these days. I don’t plan to use it for my more traditional music (folk, punk, rock, pop ballads) but otherwise it’s bound to fit in everything else.

dumbledog · 2015-05-10T08:15:37.000Z

I’ve been stocking up on Moogerfoogers and have pretty much combined my A4 and MS20 into some sort of Minimoog Frankenstein. Good times. I’d post a writeup but I can’t imagine a lot of folks having the setup I do…

slo_loris · 2015-05-10T08:21:05.000Z

This is just the A4

Noisebuddy · 2015-05-10T11:30:37.000Z

And for the Leads, you mentioned it, i prefer to use the triangle sometimes on both oscillators … they sound great and give a mellow feeling… and in combination with filter 2 a lead sound will get some quite good character… the fx can also be regarded as part of the sound and from my perspective they are supposed to be like that…

anyway… let’s see what the next big update will bring to the a4…

vos · 2015-05-11T11:57:15.000Z

""dumbledog"":

I’ve been stocking up on Moogerfoogers and have pretty much combined my A4 and MS20 into some sort of Minimoog Frankenstein. Good times. I’d post a writeup but I can’t imagine a lot of folks having the setup I do…

A picture PLEASE ?

dumbledog · 2015-05-11T15:24:59.000Z

Here’s the current setup:

TlWp5KB.png1024×475 499 KB

dumbledog · 2015-05-11T15:32:55.000Z

I spent some time yesterday with the A4 and an instance of Arturia’s Mini V hooked up to an oscilloscope and freq analyzer trying to nail the oscillators and made a Kit I might share later once I have it better tested. I should do a sound demo as well – it gets me most of the way there to a Minimoog sound, although not exactly phase-canceling identical.

It’s effectively a monosynth like this – tracks 1-3 correspond to a Mini oscillator, and I use unison mode for triggering all three and the CV. CV A and B are hooked to the 251’s mixer to give keyscaling and base cutoff, with the CV envelope providing the contour. Resonance can also be plugged into CV C, which frees up D for whatever.

The MS-20 isn’t providing sound but I use its keyboard to play the A4 (you can’t use the A4’s buttons because you can’t trigger the CV envelope with the other tracks as far as I know)

At this point I have the performance controls set to do filter and amp envelope duties, and might make a couple other kits as well to swap out resonance for other duties like glide or vibrato.

analogback · 2015-05-11T16:07:42.000Z

Twitchers around the world are beginning to realise that the A4 is fantastic at emulating realistic bird calls. It can do almost any bird. The A4 sounds can be utilised in the field to study the mating habits of some of the most rare and sometimes endangered species. Unfortunately, illegal poachers and ‘budgie smugglers’ have also adopted the same technique to attract and entrap our feathered friends for sale on the black market. In fact the A4 is leading to a decline in birdlife the world over, in Japan for example, since the release of the A4, almost all bird species’ numbers are in steady decline. The synthesised bird song generated by the A4 can be heard on loudspeakers throughout Tokyo and is predicted to replace real birds completely by 2020. The only species of bird that cannot be imitated convincingly by the A4 is the ‘Bassoon’ (flightless bird native to India) but they are working on that one.

dumbledog · 2015-05-11T16:19:52.000Z

True that. I was able to catch two hummingbirds, a sparrow and a Charmander just last week.

rgraphic · 2015-05-11T17:10:57.000Z

I supplement my A4 and Rytm with a moog slim phatty and minitaur running from CV. So happy! Lately i will admit i build the lead and bass with the moogs but fill in the rest with a4. It really is a great set up. I still haven’t got really comfortable with the menus and quick changes on the A4 so its easier having the physical knobs of the other two machines as I get more confident.

poonti · 2015-05-11T17:16:10.000Z

""analogback"":

Twitchers around the world are beginning to realise that the A4 is fantastic at emulating realistic bird calls. It can do almost any bird. The A4 sounds can be utilised in the field to study the mating habits of some of the most rare and sometimes endangered species. Unfortunately, illegal poachers and ‘budgie smugglers’ have also adopted the same technique to attract and entrap our feathered friends for sale on the black market. In fact the A4 is leading to a decline in birdlife the world over, in Japan for example, since the release of the A4, almost all bird species’ numbers are in steady decline. The synthesised bird song generated by the A4 can be heard on loudspeakers throughout Tokyo and is predicted to replace real birds completely by 2020. The only species of bird that cannot be imitated convincingly by the A4 is the ‘Bassoon’ (flightless bird native to India) but they are working on that one.

Next level sampler!!