This second A4 tutorial focuses on designing a kick drum and tom sequence from scratch. A good sound system is recommended, as this video contains a lot of low end, but not much else ! Enjoy !
PLEASE do more A4 tutorials like this! There's too few of only the A4 without it connected to OT or any other machine and your tutorials (two so far for A4) are especially gr8 for those of us new to the Elektron Way but not new to synthesis at all. Your voice and enunciation and video method is very clear, concise and learned more from these two from anything the half-baked Reference Manual could ever convey! Kudos!
Hi Robert. Thank you very much for the kind words, it's good to know that these are being helpful and appreciated ! Next tutorial is in the works, I am focusing on LFO's, and it's sounding great :) Stay tuned ! Cheers.
You're welcome :) Yes the reverb "pumping" trick works great, instant techno ! And I love the little artifacts that you get when modulating it, it does all sorts of glitchy high end noises. Cheers !
Thank you ! :) Glad you like this one, it was fun to make ! I'll keep your suggestion in mind for the next one. Snares can be really punchy in the A4 with the bend parameter and the very resonant filters ! Cheers.
Thank you Laurent ! If anything, the world has more electronic music coming out, which is good, indeed :) Glad you can find some use from these, next one coming soon.
For creating pitch or frequency mod ramps/sweeps for perc/drum sounds. Elektrons are great for this when using a lfo or 2 to do the job, really well. Just experiment with the saw or ramp lfo shape, & make sure u set the lfo to retrigger, & use the One or Half lfo trigger mode. U can create sweeps that ramp properly tuned pitchs of drum sounds this way... Your drum patterns & sounds can be in tuning for the key of your song or track... They can also be swept syncing with BPM as well. I was using tricks like this for many yrs beforehand with Electribes or good iOS audio apps for drums. When I moved on to Elektrons, I finally had the tools that could really get & give the most from this lfo tip. It works on any Elektrons for making better drum sounds... That are tight for your bpm & tuned with the key of your music too.
Hi ! Yes indeed, the A4 reverb is really useful for this kind of vibe. Applying LFO's to its parameters is a good way to create unique backdrops and textures. Glad you liked this :) Cheers !
Hi Miguel. The kick in the video is from the A4, and I think you get a bit more choice in the sound design process with it. The different envelopes, oscillator shapes, overdrive, 2 filters with extreme resonance make it quite powerful. And I prefer the Elektron sequencers. All of this is a matter of preference though, the Tempest is more than capable of creating earth shaking kicks, I just like designing on the A4 a bit more. Cheers :)
thanks , this is the first really usefull "synthesis" tutorial for the a4 in all youtube , and you did it before elektron ! . Can you do a snare and clap tutorial and more percussion sounds in next videos ?
Thank you :) Indeed, the feedback oscillator produces massive amounts of low - end. It's very suited for kicks and bass, but I thought it was a bit too difficult to control for the scope of this tutorial. There are definitely lots of ways to get a good kick sound out of the A4, thank you for sharing your insight :) Cheers !
genshi86 Thank you for watching, I have too many projects and releases these days to dedicate time to Elektron, but hoping to get back into in the near future :)
Great tutorial - being new to this hadn't realised what you can get out of just one track with two oscillators on the A4 - fantastic possibilities for a range of sounds... I know some people have commented on the fact this could be achieved cheaper with software, but there really is something to be said for getting away from the computer screen and having hands on control of a dedicated unit with its own sequencer - its a real pleasure! Snares next? ;) keep up the great work!
Thank you for commenting ! I agree, some manuals are a bit difficult to understand. They are good for reference though :) I enjoy doing these tutorials because this way, users get the best of both worlds ! Cheers
Yeah I've heard that kind of effect in many dark techno productions. Did you mean applying LFOs to the reverbs? I ordered one today so will have it by tomorrow! If I love it I daresay the octatrack will find it's way into my collection too.
yes indeed, it is a sampler, you could load any sound you want, one shots, loops, long stems, ambiances etc. Since you can stream from the card, you could use a 64 gig card and stream extremely long files on all 8 tracks, if you wanted. Or build chains in your DAW from VST's or found sounds, load those up and go crazy with slices and random sequencing. There is really no limit to what you can do with a sampler, as long as you have interesting sounds to load into it :) Cheers !
Yes I mean applying an LFO to the pre - delay time of the reverb, for example. Funky clicky stuff can happen that way ! You get 3 LFO's on the FX track as well so it can become wild and alive :) Enjoy your new instrument, it's a real beast, and the OT is sure to be tempting once you get into the Elektron workflow, just be prepared for a bit of a learning curve ! Cheers :) Keep us posted on your progress with the A4.
congratulations ! veery usefull video ! really usefull ! that is the kind of videos i was waiting for for my a4 . Thanks for sharing and continue making synthesis videos ! thanks very much !
You're welcome :) Yes, I have found this kick very useable, although it's just one way of getting there. Experiment with the feedback oscillator for some mad low - end ! Talk soon.
Hi, i was sure that they were higher quality, I did film those early on with my Iphone, so I'll have to look into it and possibly upload higher res versions, if I have them ! Thank you for watching nonetheless !
Hi, thank you for the comments :) It's a difficult choice between the MD and OT, however, the OT's sequencer is a lot more powerful, with different lengths and time signatures per track. You can also sequence MIDI gear, use it as a crazy effect unit etc. You're just missing the drum synthesis, but to be honest, the OT opens up a lot more possibilities. Try the MD, if you like the sound and the workflow, it might work for you, but for all around studio control, the OT rules, imo. Cheers !
Yes I think I know what you mean, it takes a bit of time for the resonance to kick in and set the filter into effect. Sounds based on high resonance have this issue, unfortunately. For the LFO, the best way to set it to 0 is buy holding the function button while tweaking the knob, to get the (0) symbol. Anything other than that will still run the LFO. Hope this helps, cheers :)
This is just awesome! Thanks for the tips videos! Hope you make more of them. I have learned lot more from tutorial videos (like the neighbour mode in osc section) than just reading the manual. Why manaufacturers don't make good tutorial videos, instead of lousy manuals?
i subscribed because i just got an analog four and been watching your vids, please make more like you did with the octatrack. Also i have a question, i have a nord modular g2, a tetra, and im getting an ms20, i need something for drums. I LOVE the the analog four, i love the elektron sequencer, so i was thinking electron. should i get the machinedrum, or should i get the octotrack and load it with samples? if i get the octotrack i can use loops, samples, and sequence other gear is that right??
My kicks that use highpass filter resonance are always inconsistent. Is this just a quirk of the A4 or am I doing something wrong? It seems to be worse the lower the frequency of the filter is set to.
Hi and thank you for commenting ! I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "excessive oscillator control" ?. Do you mean that it has been tweaked too much from its original, raw sound ? Regarding hardware "versus" software, I agree that software can achieve a lot of good results. However, people tend to choose hardware not only for sound, but also for flow, and tactile enjoyment. So even though the results can be achieved a number of ways, the A4 is a joy to operate and write with :) Cheers !
The comments section does not let me reply to most comments, you will have to thank Google for this. My apologies to anyone whose question has been left unanswered. I will try and answer them as private messages.
Indeed, relying on your ears rather than your eyes to make music is certainly a more enjoyable experience :) I love my computer, am a big fan of Reaktor, for example, but I believe that it's the combination of both worlds that makes my writing flow and feel effortless. Snares are coming :) Working on releasing new EP's so time has been scarce, but it's coming ! Cheers and thank you for commenting.
Hy, i had seen another videos from ScreteMusicUK using a Tempest. For this type of kicks in the video, which one do you think it is better A4 or Tempest ? I produce techno music with deep dark industrial sounds and i am thinking into to buy an analog maschine. My first choices are A4 or Tempest.
was able to follow you through most of the kick but I got lost with the tom. was using a squarewave for the tom to begin with and my sound very quickly sounded nothing like yours.
i know i wouldnt get the drum synthesis, but i can put samples on it right? I could theoretically make some nice analog drum sounds with my analog four and put them on the OT to free up those tracks again. Or make some sounds or grooves with VSTs like drumazon or nithonat or something and put those on the OT?
No, i not tried both machines. I just listened the sounds of both machines from youtube and soundcloud. The tempest is a really off budget so i am more into A4.
