The joystick is really great - esp when morphing between effects (and the reverb and delay are of the highest quality). Iām blown away by how good the AK is. I think itās the best second-hand bargain you can get at the moment. Iām thankful that the MK2 is coming out because it makes the AK cheaper in the 2nd hand market. Thanks Jukka for giving me the heads up.
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@ 2xA4 I briefly considered getting another second hand A4 as a drum machine. But the A4 does have a bit of a distinctive sound. I was afraid itd be too much of that kind of dull/dark sound the filters have.
Your opinions and my own brief experiences are also leaning to just a combo of rytm + A4 right now. Even with two A4ās, Iād still not have samples, and I am kinda coming to the conclusion that the sounds of an A4 and the rytm complement each other quite nicely. Also, the UI of the rytm is tailor made for drum duties so thereās that too.
WRT the A4 sounding muffled, I have noticed that even with the filters fully open, some waveforms do not sound nearly as ābuzzyā as from my moog or arp, however to my ears I can get much closer to that level of buzzyness by turning up osc lev and adding a bit of overdriveā¦ Would you agree?
Btw, is there a way to prevent a track from transposing? In some situations I might not want to xpose all the A4 voicesā¦ Do I just turn keytracking off for these voices? Or is there a way to preserve keytracking while still excluding from global xpose?
When you press Transpose youāll see which Tracks are āengagedā for transpose as theyāre lit, just toggle the ones you donāt want transposed
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Iāve just got back into Elektronland, swapping a Virus TI kb for an Analog Keys. After 1hr of fiddling - what a bit of kit :o
Is there a list anywhere that brings together all the different soundbanks out there? Want to hit the ground running and see what it can do 
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Welcome back! 
I bought that one :
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Awesome, exactly what I was after - cheers 
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Thatās nothing compared to Megabreak !
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I havenāt really spent that much time with making custom sounds with the A4 yet, but dabbled with it some more last night (formatted the plusdrive lol). Couldnāt really come up with anything super impressive though, and found it difficult to dial in what I heard in my head. Somehow programming the A4 is different than programming sounds with my other analogs, the process is much more deliberateā¦?
Well, anyway, started to get a bit discouraged, so thought Iād check out some soundpack demos from elektron.se to see what kind of scope experienced programmers could coax out of the A4. Listened trough then all just now and I am very impressed! I can only hope to get remotely as fluent with the A4 some day.
Got this one cooking last night.
Squelchy bass isnāt a typical sound for me, but it was working on AK Track 1 so I built the tune around it.
HPF with resonance up and keytrack at 32 to follow the notes.
Iām consistently baffled when I hear complaints about A4/K bass. Itās got the goods though it is more of a black cherry flavor of bass than the chocolate Moog sound.
3 note pad in Track 2.
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Nice one! Reminds me of drexciya in a good way
btw, you do have the AR808 soundpack, right? Works really well for elektro IMO, good starting points for building spiffy ādirect beatā kits
Stinsonās ghost is constantly haunting my studio.
He must have passed through on I-70 in his rig regularly when he was still with us.
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Just ordered an A4. I praise whomever suddenly set the price for new MK1 A4ās to be $829 USD across many retailers right now. After trying to get some other mono synths set up with the Octatrack and keeping track of MIDI CC charts and the like, itās just easier to dig myself in deeper with the Elektron workflow I know and love.
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Update:
This is my first Elektron. I got it at 829.00 as well. I was suppose to get the Korg Arp Odyssey with the SQ1 sequencer but when I saw the price drop of the A4 I immediately did research on it on youtube and here at Elektronauts.
I was worried about the steeeeeep learning curve but people who have used this machine advised me to focus on the A4 for about a week. Iāve been learning since Sat when I first took the macprovideo tutorial .
I believe the A4 will help me rhythmically and melodically to create these tunes . For the type of music I do which is Belgian New Beat I think this will serve me well ā¦ Itās a keeper too. I already know.
Iād like to get that Octa but I already ordered the Akai MPC LIVE>
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Hi,
Iām gradually becoming the owner of Elektron equipment; a Machinedrum a year and a half ago; an Analog Heat more recently and, 10 days ago, an Analog Four. I love all of them.
With my new found Elektron interest I have been reading more and more on this forum add things are now more relevant to me; previously it was only the Ableton forum that I would frequent as I have been an Ableton user for 10 years. Anyway. . . to return to the topic . . .
Iām quite suprised by some of the negative press the A4 gets around here. Maybe I missed the boat and the initial tsunami of enthusiasm for the device has gradually worn off. Maybe the announcement of the MKii has turned some peopleās heads. However, I find the device truly terrific. I read about concerns about bass, and even Elektron seen to suggest there are weaknesses with their promotional statements about the newer version and how it will provide improved bass. However, I find that the A4 rattles my walls perfectly well. Perhaps my naivety is on display here and there are other devices that would cause my neighbours to sell their houses or the local fire brigade to try to identify the tremors that are being generated from my music room. However, I must say that Iām not sure what Iād do with that much power of it really does exist. It reminds me of a Pirelli advert a while back that stated: Power Is Nothing Without Control. Surely there is no greater level of control than the A4.
Anyway, to finish, I guess Iām trying to say Iām suprised with the negativity for this device. It seems to be truly wonderful. And I know that I should disregard otherās views; they have no effect on my enjoyment after all. But, Iām intrigued: has the good will faded for the A4 or are the lovers of the device busy using parameter locks save assigning LFOs rather than enthusing about the little black box on the net?
Cheers,
Adam (Gradual Elektron Enthusiast)
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The A4 and Keys are nice and inspiring instruments. But I guess tastes differ.
Myself - I love the Analog Keys. 
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Personally Iāve never had any issues with the sound and Iāve had it since it was first released. The resonance boost addition was a nice touch but I was happy with it prior to that. I have had absolutely no problem getting room wrecking bass from it anywhere along the line. Anyways bass is such a small part of what the A4 is capable of.
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Yeah, itās funny how modern/electronic music and those instruments that are associated with the manufacturing of it are measured so often by their ability to produce bass. Personally, I find the A4ās versatile nature and inventiveness a massive attraction and the same applies to the Machinedrum.
These machines inspire exploration and experimentation and often lead to many āhappy accidentsā in my existence so far.
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I really like it! It can do all sorts of amazing sounds. It can be very traditional sounding or even do sounds usually associated with modular. It has a very wide array of sounds.
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It can make some massive bass lines and way more besides. I have mine about a month now and am delighted with it. Was such a steal with the price drop - paid 899 euros for it! Combined with the sequencer capabilities and being able to change preset sounds per step is another massive advantage. Bass on it sounds great to my ears too, especially when coupled with some of that lovely ambient reverb!