Electron ANALOG 4, Reference Manual

Page 1: ...4 Is developed by Swedish company Elektron and is an analogue four voice synthesizer 2 Analogue Oscillators 2 Sub Oscillators and a Noise Osc per voice It contains 4 synth tracks FX Track CV Track and Sequencer ANALOG 4 REFERENCE GUIDE A BLUESKYREPUBLIK PUBLICATION ...

Page 2: ...lso something for the more experienced user too Conventions used in the text FUNCTION Physical Buttons are shown in square brackets LEVEL Rotary controls shown in curved bracked Combinations are shown with a inbetween control sequence i e FUNCTION KEYB C1 Items shown in red on the A4 are selected by FUNCTION X Elektron www elektron se Elektron Forum Elektron User Blueskyrepublik Videos www youtube...

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Page 4: ...e filer each Voice 1 to 4 Voice X x4 Parameter pages are shown Ouput Section OSC 1 Page 1 OSC 2 Page 1 Noise OSC Osc1 Page 2 LADDER FILTER MULTIMODE FILTER Filter Page 1 Overdrive Distortion 1 2 Mod Sync Osc2 Page 2 Sub OSC 1 Page 1 Sub OSC 2 Page 1 AMP VCA PAN ENV VOL CHORUS DELAY REVERB Voice 1 4 Send FX Track ENVF Page 1 ...

Page 5: ...ASSIGNABLE DESTINATIONs FILTER CUTOFF s FIXED DEST ENV2 Page 2 2x ASSIGNABLE DESTINATIONs LFO1 Page 1 2x ASSIGNABLE DESTINATIONs LFO2 Page 2 2x ASSIGNABLE DESTINATIONs INPUT Left INPUT Right PAN PAN VOL VOL CHORUS DELAY REVERB Send FX Track CHORUS DELAY REVERB Send FX Track ...

Page 6: ...3 Synth Track 4 Synth Track 5 FX Track 6 CV SONG Series of Song Rows incl Chains Max 16 songs Songs are played row by row top to bottom PATTERN Trigs for Synth CV FX Trigless Locks Parameter Locks Trig Mutes Accent Swing Slide Trigs ARP Note parameters Linked Kit info Track length Time Signatures A E B F C G D H BANK 8 Banks host 16 Patterns each Pattern 1 A01 A02 A03 KIT Up to 4 Sounds 1 per trac...

Page 7: ... Synth Track used for synth sounds per track Track 3 Synth Track used for synth sounds per track Track 4 Synth Track used for synth sounds per track Track 5 FX Track used for effect send setup and external audio Track 6 CV Track used for controlling external CV and Gate signals See Song Structure in Section 2 Loading a Sound to a Track 1 Select a track to edit 1 4 by pressing Trk 1 Trk 2 Trk 3 or ...

Page 8: ...aring a Track 1 Select a track to clear i e Trk 1 etc 2 Select GRID RECORDING Mode by pressing REC 3 Press FUNCTION PLAY i e Clear Press again to UNDO Copying Pasting Track 1 Select a track to Copy i e Trk 1 2 Select GRID RECORDING Mode by pressing REC 3 Press FUNCTION REC i e Copy 4 Select a Destination Track i e Trk 2 5 Press FUNCTION STOP i e Paste Press again to UNDO Adjusting Sound Settings 1...

Page 9: ...meters Adding FX to Sounds Chorus Delay and Reverb are available on the FX track See the configuration section for order of effects 1 Select a track with sound to edit by pressing Trk 1 etc 2 Select the Amp section by pressing AMP 3 Adjust the control for CHO DEL REV to change the send amount 4 Select the FX Track 5 5 Switch to the selected effect by pressing the Chorus Delay Reverb button these a...

Page 10: ... sound 1 Select Track to adjust eg Trk 1 2 Select sound Envelopes by pressing performance button Env 3 Press Env button to toggle Page 1 ENVF and Page 2 ENV2 to the desired envelope 4 Use control G or I to select Envelope destination 5 Adjust H or J to change depth i e amount of envelope used to modulate the selected destination 6 Adjust the other Envelope parameters ADSR etc as desired Assigning ...

Page 11: ...are not used in a pattern Reloading Kit to default saved status 1 Press FUNCTION KEYB C1 i e Kit 2 Select RELOAD 3 Use to cycle Current Kit KIT or ALL KITS 4 Press Yes Save Saving Kits 1 Press FUNCTION KEYB D1 i e Kit 2 Select SAVE KIT press Yes Save 3 Use LEVEL control or buttons to browse to a kit slot to save the new kit to max 128 4 Select Yes Save 5 The Naming Menu Opens to create a name for ...

Page 12: ...l of 128 Patterns Adjustments in patterns are automatically saved Definitions Note Trig A Step in the pattern that triggers a note in the synth to create a melody or beat Step LED Fully Lit Steps not configured to trig are shown off Trigless Locks A Step in the pattern that does not trigger a note but triggers a parameter change parameter lock Step LED Half Lit Steps not configured to trig are sho...

Page 13: ... Stop all FXs and kill sounds press STOP STOP Transport status is shown on the display Pausing Playback 1 Press PLAY to Play the sequencer 2 Press PLAY while its running to Pause the sequencer 3 Press PLAY again to continue playback from paused position Setting Tempo 1 Press TEMPO Button Current Tempo is displayed 2 Use LEVEL control in units or buttons to adjust decimal setting Tempo is shown on ...

Page 14: ...n 1 Press FUNCTION KEYB F1 i e Pattern 2 Select the SAVE PATTERN option 3 Press Yes Save Pattern is saved Or 1 Press Yes Save KEYBD F1 i e Pattern for Quick Save Reload an active Pattern 1 Press FUNCTION KEYB F1 i e Pattern 2 Select the RELOAD PATTERN option 3 Press Yes Save Pattern is saved Or 1 Press No Reload KEYBD F1 i e Pattern for Quick Reload Clearing a Pattern 1 Press FUNCTION PLAY i e Cle...

Page 15: ...ft one step each press back and forth Composing a basic Pattern using Live Recording Mode 1 Select the track to add a sound for a pattern i e Trk 1 2 Press REC PLAY Buttons 3 Sequence plays and is set to record The Main display shows Rec and Play and the REC LED Flashes in time with sequence 4 Play the KEYBD Keyboard Keys in real time to record notes 5 To Erase notes in realtime press TrkX NO RELO...

Page 16: ...g Page REC i e Copy 5 Select Destination Page Page 6 Press Page STOP i e Paste Press Again for Undo Clearing Sequencer Track Page 1 Select Track eg Trk 1 2 Select GRID MODE by pressing REC 3 Select Track Page Page 4 Clear by Pressing Page PLAY i e Clear Press Again for Undo Setting Length and timing of all track patterns SCALE MENU Normal Mode 1 Select SCALE MENU by FUNCTION Page 2 Select or to se...

Page 17: ...t number in this section indicates the total steps played before track restarts Adjust using LEVEL or or 9 The Second right number is the Master time signature 10 Select another track and follow same process for other Tracks Note Chained patterns are affected by this setting Also the INF setting infinitely will affect how this is Setting up a Click track internal metronome 1 Press FUNCTION KEYB A1...

Page 18: ...gered when a new trig is activated Enabling Track Transpose 1 Select Track i e Trk 1 2 Ensure Track Transposable setting allows track to be transposed i e FUNCTION Note 3 Use or to navigate to TRK X TRANSPOSABLE 4 Use or to activate or deactivate 5 Check affected Track can be transposed using TRANSPOSE Trk X Or 1 Select TRANSPOSE Trk X to quickly select a track to transpose With TRANSPOSE Pressed ...

Page 19: ...OUP A E i e Trig Mute 3 Press FUNCTION PLAY i e Clear Setting a Trig s Vol Filter ENVF Behaviour ACCENT 1 Select track Trk X 2 Press FUNCTION BANK GROUP B F i e Accent 3 Adjust the LEVEL or or to change setting 0 127 higher value means more accentuation 4 Select TRIG s to be accentuated which show fully lit in Accent mode DEP Parameter in Filter ENVF affects amount of accent Quick Vol Filter Env A...

Page 20: ...LIDE 1 Select track Trk X 2 Select and Press Desired TRIG BANK GROUP D H i e Parameter Slide Bank D H LED is Lit when TRIG is pressed if a Parameter Slide is in place Clearing a tracks Parameter Slide PARAMETER SLIDE 1 Select track Trk X 2 Press FUNCTION BANK GROUP D H i e Parameter Slide 3 Press FUNCTION PLAY i e Clear 6 3 Advanced Sound Pattern Design Parameter Sound Locks Up to 128 different pa...

Page 21: ... DATA ENTRY Control A J of the Parameter to clear Trigs removed and re entered also removes locks Clearing all locked parameters in GRID Mode PARAMETER LOCK 1 Select Track Trk X 2 Select GRID MODE by pressing REC Rec LED Lit 3 Press and Hold the selected Trig button TRIG or select multiple Trigs 4 PRESS PLAY i e Clear Adjusting the parameters per Trig in LIVE Mode PARAMETER LOCK 1 Select Track Trk...

Page 22: ...n semitones for 3 arp notes TRK KEY SCALE TRK KEY NOTE in NOTES SETUP affect this setting Creating a ARP Sequence 1 Select Track Trk X 2 Set up ARP Settings as above 2 Open Arpeggiator FUNCTION ARP Track is indicated on the left of display 3 Set Length using Controller E Max length is 16 4 Press TRIG buttons to select the desired ARP note indicated on central display 5 Press and hold TRIG A Contro...

Page 23: ... knob or or and pressing YES SAVE 4 Use LEVEL control or buttons to change character 5 Use buttons to change text position 6 Press Yes Save to store new name Setting Performance Macro knob to Bipolar 64 to 63 mode 1 Select FUNCTION Perf to enter Performance Menu 2 Select PERF CONFIGURE option using LEVEL or or and YES SAVE to select 3 In Edit mode Press the LEVEL control until BiPolar is selected ...

Page 24: ...DIT to modify an existing Song may be cleared if a blank song is required Use LEVEL control or and Yes Save to select Or 1 Press FUNCTION SONG i e Edit 3 Song Structure appears with highlighted current pattern 4 To insert a new Pattern navigate to location before or after a pattern using Highlighting a pattern will mean the pattern will be replaced rather than inserted 5 Select Bank Group desired ...

Page 25: ...ve the position as indicated in the bottom left of the display 2 Select Bank Group desired 3 Select Bank X X TRIG of Pattern to add to chain 4 Pattern now appears in the chain at the selected location Need to change to Song view to see the full song structure Copying Pasting Chains 1 Enter Song mode as shown in the edit chain section 2 To select the copy chain a good method is to select the cycle ...

Page 26: ...elect the pattern to move highlight dark 2 Press FUNCTION or to move the pattern Rearranging a Song Row in a Song 1 Select the row to move pattern highlight dark 2 Press FUNCTION or to move the pattern Adding Mutes to Patterns 1 In Song Mode Select Highlight Pattern to Mute 2 Press FUNCTION Trk X for the track to mute for the selected pattern Display shows muted track in bottom right corner when p...

Page 27: ...e LEVEL control or buttons to change character 4 Use buttons to change text position 5 Press Yes Save to store new name 9 MIDI CV The A4 Has MIDI IN OUT and THRU as well as 2 dual CV Outputs A B C D for connecting to external devices 9 1 MIDI Configuration Setting MIDI Synchronization Transport Clock 1 Select FUNCTION KEYBD C2 i e Global Mode 2 Select MIDI CONFIG option using LEVEL or or and YES S...

Page 28: ...ect FUNCTION KEYBD C2 i e Global Mode 2 Select MIDI CONFIG option using LEVEL or or and YES SAVE to select 3 Select MIDI CHANNELS option using LEVEL or or and YES SAVE to select 4 Set up Configuration Use LEVEL control or buttons to change parameter and buttons to change status TRACK 1 CHANNEL Selects the dedicated MIDI channel to control the tracks synth OFF means incoming messages disregarded TR...

Page 29: ...superseded CV however CV Gate functions have again become popular to allow communication with older and modular equipment and where improved resolution is required Although the implementation of CV can vary it typically uses a mechanism of Voltage per Octave 1V per Octave and Hertz per Volt as controls The A4 Supports both as well as a linear control voltage output Gate is a pulsed output to trigg...

Page 30: ... Turns CV Off PITCH V OCT PITCH HZ OCT VALUE LIN TRIG Note Start Short Pulse GATE Long Pulse at Note Duration See Table for further details CV GATE Settings Function Parameter Parameter Parameter PITCH V OCT MIDDLE C Overall Pitch Tuning V OCT Pitch width of signal PITCH HZ OCT TUNING overall Tuning of Pitch CV OCTAVE WIDTH Pitch width of signal VALUE LIN MIN Lowest allowed voltage level MAX Highe...

Page 31: ...o CV Output Identifying Output Connection required 1 Select CV i e CV Track 2 Select CV x where x is the channel A B C or D 3 Plug indicator at the bottom of display shows the Tip or Ring flashing showing how the connection will send CV Gate signals 10 Other I O Installing KITS using SYSEX Requires connection to external Sysex source i e PC or MAC via MIDI USB MIDI and a SYSEX File Utility e g Ele...

Page 32: ...IDI and a SYSEX File Utility e g Elektron s C6 SysEx Tool 1 Select FUNCTION KEYBD C2 i e Global Mode 2 Select OS UPGRADE option using LEVEL or or and YES SAVE to select Or 1 Press FUNCTION while turning on the power switch to the A4 2 Press TRIG 4 for OS Upgrade and confirm 3 System Waits to receive data 4 Cancel with No Reload if necessary Use a SysEx tool to receive OS Update file System Restart...

Page 33: ...rs occur contact Elektron Erasing ALL Kits Patterns Sounds and Songs 1 Press FUNCTION while turning on the power switch to the A4 2 Press TRIG 2 for Empty Reset and confirm 3 All Kits Patterns Sounds and Songs are erased Factory Reset 1 Press FUNCTION while turning on the power switch to the A4 2 Press TRIG 3 for Factory Reset and confirm 3 The unit will be restored to factory settings ...