Elektron Analog 4 Tutorial #1 - Oscillators and Velocity Mod.

[@axelrigaud]

loving the subtle introduction of harmony not thru notes entering but by empirically detuning each oscillators individually with p-locks.

[@SecretMusicUK]

+Axel Rigaud good tip indeed :) Thank you for watching !

[@sponsi]

Thank you very much! As the A4 is my first Elektron product im just scraping the surface of what this analog sequencer synth can do. Thanks again i learnt alot here. Keep me posted for tutorial #2.

[@DjMinkusfs]

What a great video! I just bought an A4 last week and I had no idea just how deep the setting parameters could go... Still learning alot but thanks! By the way, it sounded amazing!

[@solgoodman1]

Thanks very much for the tutorial, i just got my analog 4 about a week ago and I'm loving it. Your the only guy on the inter tubes that's doing proper tutorials on the analog 4, so keep up the good work, I've found the first 2 really helpful, hopefully there will be more to come ;)

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hi ! Thank you for the kind words, I enjoy doing these just as much as you enjoy watching them :) More are coming ! Cheers.

[@OmnilimbO]

I'm really loving the little A4 tutes you've put up, and am eager to see more of them from you. Best I've seen on youtube. Thank you.

[@Funky1ism]

This machine goes way deeper then i thought, still on the fence of buying it, hope to see some more in-depth tutorials on this..nice work

[@1mooger]

These tutorials are amazing!! More coming i hope. Way better than anything from Elektron.

[@andresrincon3340]

Excellent tutorial guys. Very detailed and well recorded. Keep up the good work!

[@SecretMusicUK]

I am not exactly sure what you are referring to, but when a parameter gets highlighted, it means that I am holding a trigger down, and tweaking that parameter, effectively locking a value to that step only. This is one if the most powerful function of the Elektron gear, and allows for some expressive sequences. Being able to lock different waveforms or envelope shapes to steps is very cool ! Hope this helps :)

[@dmagennis1]

Fantastic tutorial. Clear, interesting and extremely helpful. Please make more :)

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you :) Glad you found this one useful ! Been working on more, stay tuned ! Cheers.

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you for the kind words, and glad to know that these are being helpful :) Next one is in the works ! Have fun with your new instrument, it's a very rewarding piece of kit ! Cheers.

[@MrHollabk]

Man your tutorials are dope.. I would looooove to see more A4 tutorials, please?

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you for watching ! Yes, more coming soon, I have a bit of free time these days. Cheers !

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hi ! Glad this could be of help. Indeed, the settings menu is quite vital to extracting the most out of the A4. Sometimes I wish Elektron would have made the velocity mod menu a lot more accessible, since it is a great source of modulation, and it's partly why I did this video, in order to show users how powerful this can be :) Next one is almost done ! Cheers.

[@Funky1ism]

Thanks for the info, i am going to the shop in a couple of weeks to try out, been following this machine for a while now, and now its time to test and probably buy ;-) still hope to see more of your videos on this in the meantime..always good to go with some knowledge

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you :) The manual does indeed just skim the surface of this deep instrument ! I think Elektron would rather have the users figure out creative ways of using their machines, but I'm all for extensive manuals, which is why I have started to do these videos in the first place ! Cheers :)

[@TheMSilenus]

Yeah, i knew allrdy most things about the A4 but didnt came up with the idea to use the vel. mod for some "on the fly" filter goodness (and the other mod dest.). Realy cool, thanks for you showing that here, looking forward to your next vid, maybe i will find out other great stuff that didnt came in my mind :). Made a little A4 vid myself btw, nothing fancy, just wanted to test my new cam and see how it looks.

[@LeonvanBokhorst]

Yet another great tutorial. Very helpful.

[@SecretMusicUK]

My pleasure :) Glad this could be of help, and welcome to the Elektron family ! The next tutorial will be up soon ! Take care :)

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hi ! Thank you for the comments :) The A4 is certainly a deep machine, but, most importantly, it sounds alive and organic ! Which is very difficult to convey in a KZbin video. It is inspiring to program, and has a big amount of character. I would recommend trying one out for a bit if you are undecided, for the price, it is one of the best packages out there ! Cheers :)

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you ! Glad this helped you.. The second one is up, and the third one is getting there :) Cheers !

[@SecretMusicUK]

i meant *side not *size. For the CV, you need to know first if you want to send CV or Gate, and specify that in the CV settings menu. Then it's a matter of trying things out. I'd say start simple and just try controlling one parameter at a time. I takes a bit of fumbling, but I have gotten it to work just fine with an SH101. It's actually really fun, as the LFO's are quite fast, so you get sounds out of your synths that they wouldn't be able to create on their own :)

[@nedavine]

So good. Just got my A4 yesterday.This was great. Just as good as the OT videos. Someone should donate you a monomachine so you can make some videos for that too.

[@SecretMusicUK]

Grats ! Enjoy your new instrument, post some jams for us to listen to :) I used to have a MnM, but it got drowned in beer at a gig ! I might get a replacement eventually.

[@nedavine]

SecretMusicUK ouch that's a bad way to go. I would be so peeved if someone doused my MnM. Must ahve been one hell of an expensive beer. I already have my first A4 jam up on youtube (I wont spam your video with a link though).

[@SecretMusicUK]

nedavine Cool, just took a look, nice one :)

[@SecretMusicUK]

My pleasure :) I have been busy with releases, but will get back to doing those soon ! Cheers :)

[@talkinghead22]

Cool thanks... Printed out the manual and pouring over everything.. How do I create my own sounds and kit without having a song or kit preselected? You know, like start from scratch? I keep messing around with patterns and it always saves my modifications which I don't want to do.

[@lying-dalai]

Thank you mate for the knowledge dropped.I read the manual and dived in menus but managed to miss this point. I wonder what the next tutorial of yours will teach me :)Cheers !

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hi ! thank you :) Yes indeed, the 5th sub oscillator is part of the newest OS ! Make sure you keep your A4 up to date to benefit from all the goodies ! Cheers.

[@cdeization]

Great! Thanks. Can you lock the velocity depth settings?

[@SecretMusicUK]

My pleasure ! More coming soon.

[@SecretMusicUK]

I would go through the presets first for a few hours, then wipe the machine and start from scratch. That's the way I prefer to work anyways, might be different for others, but I like a blank canvas :) It's good to spend a few hours reverse engineering some sounds / sequences to get ideas of what the A4 can do, though. Then do a reset, and I would use 1 kit per pattern, so it's easy to remember which pattern uses which kick. Cheers !

[@whiteboxvolume]

Thanks so much for your videos - they're extremely helpful

[@talkinghead22]

So I am currently trying to route a Minibrute to the analog four to receive sequence information via gate/cv. Is a standard 1/4 to 1/8 cable workable, or do I need something more specialized? How do I set up the cv menu on the A4 to send/receive data from the mb? Looking over the manual, haven't found anything relevant yet.. Thanks for all help!

[@talkinghead22]

Awesome thanks... In the beginning of the video, it looks like you are highlighting certain envelopes and then the wave form type. What is happening there?

[@Luwispurpul]

Excellent video as ever SM!

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hi ! As you can see from the comments, people are enjoying this video.I think you got the wrong idea and thought that this was a musical statement, which it isn't.When I produce music, I put it out on record labels.The goal of this video is to show one particular aspect of the A4, namely, the way we can use the velocity mod menu to introduce variations in a simple sequence.I'm using the raw sound of the oscillators,nothing more.I've sold quite a few A4's already, btw :) Cheers !

[@talkinghead22]

Just got the a4... I understand how to change the scale to 8 steps, but how do you record notes? I hit record, play and then play a quick 4 note arrangement but nothing is recorded when I press play.

[@grandmasterjo1]

Thank you for teaching me this on my A4 MkII 👍👍

[@danraiche4823]

Gr8 tutorials much appreciated!

[@SecretMusicUK]

It's up :) Cheers and enjoy !

[@SecretMusicUK]

They are 2 very different beasts.It's difficult to compare them without getting people really excited!The MD is fully digital, the Tempest has 6 analog oscillators, suited for drums, but also excellent for synth and basslines. The MD has more tracks, and the sequencer is more fleshed out that the Tempest's, and you can use samples in it as well.Overall, I could not get rid of either one of them, they compliment each other very well.I'd wait before getting a Tempest, see what the new OS brings :)

[@SecretMusicUK]

My pleasure ! More soon :)

[@SecretMusicUK]

Ha ! That is the point :) I want to hear more A4 and mad music made with it !

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you for watching ! Cheers.

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hit and hold record then press play, the red record light should be flashing, which indicates live recording mode. When you are done entering notes via the mini keyboard, hit the record button again so that the red light is solid. You should see the steps that you have entered. Make sure you select an oscillator shape, turn the oscillator and amp up, and make sure the track is not muted. You should hear a sound at that point, let me know if that works :) Cheers !

[@sponsi]

Another thought im looking in to buying a drum machine. I see you use Tempest. What is your thought on Machinedrum vs Tempest ?

[@SecretMusicUK]

Yes indeed, knowledge is key. Enjoy your test run with it :)

[@SendyTheEndless]

One thing you need to understand is that to work with music you need to love it in all it's forms. Not every note of practice, composition, learning to use gear, demoing features of gear, etc, is going to sound like finished music.For instance a lot of piano players get discouraged from practicing because practice requires playing the music in a slow and disjointed way until their muscle memory learns the information.If you can't cope with music in it's raw form you don't deserve to complete it!

[@starengineboy]

hey, is there a 1st one, can u start from when you turn it on, nd show hands?>

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hi ! This is the first A4 video I did, it shows the A4 right after you turn it on, basically. I try to show as much of the screen as possible, but that's because of filming limitations. I am working on getting a better camera, and being able to do wider shots while still keeping it crisp, as I'd like the viewers to still see the screen :) Thank you for watching and happy new year !

[@starengineboy]

SecretMusicUK ah no problem, keep it up though

[@XephyronDigital]

More how to. How to make the sound at the beginning of this video??? Keep them coming.

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hi and thank you for commenting. The sound at the beginning is from the A4, I'll have to dig through and find it again, but it sounds like a random LFO on the filter cutoff with a bit of reverb :)

[@egidd]

Amazing tutorial, thanks!

[@TheMSilenus]

Nice approach, thank you.

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hi ! Unfortunately, the parameters in the menu pages cannot be locked. The A4 would be even more deep if that actually worked ! Now you have me imagining all sorts of things with that idea :) Cheers !

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you and you're welcome :) Glad this is useful ! Cheers !

[@SecretMusicUK]

you need a balanced cable, the actual size of each size is not relevant, as far as I know(I'm not a CV specialist). I don't think that you can receive CV from the MB, since I don't know what you would be controlling in the A4.You can send CV, gate, and now clock from the A4, the setup is a bit too involved to describe it on a KZbin comment. I'd suggest visiting the Elektron forums and looking at posts there. Or looking at the manual for an explanation of which setting does what. Cheers !

[@jseppersoninstereo]

Useful and helpful. Thanks!

[@SecretMusicUK]

Haha indeed ! I thought "noise" was a bit harsh too, when I'm just playing the open oscillators. But I suppose everyone is entitled to their own definition of what "noise" is :) Cheers !

[@SecretMusicUK]

It's coming :) Cheers !

[@SecretMusicUK]

My pleasure !

[@SecretMusicUK]

Cheers Trond !

[@davidhrivnak]

Very informative, but why such low quality? I couldn't make it through the whole thing in one sitting because my brain was getting wrecked by the 240p audio. But it's still a helpful video, and I appreciate you making it.

[@SecretMusicUK]

Hi, thank you for watching ! This is strange as the video was uploaded in much higher quality than this, it's the first time I notice it being only available in 240p. I'll look into it, thanks for pointing this out !

[@SecretMusicUK]

nice, I'll take a look at your vid soon :) Cheers !

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you Leon :)

[@SecretMusicUK]

Cool ! Hope this helps with your creativity ! Cheers.

[@dxtrs_mnpltr]

We want moooore! :-)

[@SecretMusicUK]

Yes i know :) I have been very busy however, and my priorities have shifted, at least for now ! I will get back to doing tutorials though, cheers !

[@psmith247]

very nice! please make some more A4 tutorials!! :)

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you for watching, I will soon ! Thinking of the AR for now, but the A4 is so deep, I could certainly do a few more :)

[@vanroykoen]

very usefull, thanks a lot! MOOOOOOOOORE

[@alessandromarfia]

amazing

[@SecretMusicUK]

Thank you :)

[@shawnkawa]

cool thanks !!

[@sponsi]

Hey me again. Still waiting for part 2 :)

[@spreadofsound]

i cannot see your fingers ... :(

[@SecretMusicUK]

I know, working on a better way to film these ! Cheers.

[@tolikfilter]

MOOOORE,PLEAASSSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@it.ux.designer614]

very nice explanations. just two tutorial about analog 4???? noooooooooo

[@SecretMusicUK]

hi, thank you for watching ! more are on the way :)

[@it.ux.designer614]

phew....thanks :)

[@djbethove]

It is not a noise !!!! it is a sound !!!

[@SecretMusicUK]

You seem very angry, and this is the last time I respond to you. Maybe you can post some of your own music so we can enjoy what real music sounds like :) Cheers, and chill out a bit, this video has 35 likes and zero dislikes, that seems to indicate people like it :) Enjoy !

[@TrondC]

Sounds to me like you are not into electronic music at all, which makes it pretty useless to post your negative crap all over when someone is trying to demo a piece of gear that he clearly enjoys. I think I speak for many users of the Analog Four (and other Elektron machines) that SecretMusic here not only knows exctly what he is doing, his videos are immensly helpful to beginners and advanced users alike. Also, his music released on labels speaks for itself. Go watch some more squirrels instead