Sunday Synth Jam: This video, via Jimmy Myhrman, captures his Elektron Analog Four + Machinedrum live techno jam.
Technical details below.
Techno track performed live on elektron analog four and machinedrum. All drums are MD, and all other sounds are A4. Keyboard is used to play the strings manually on top of the sequenced bassline and arpeggios.
Meh. you can get the same groove and sounds using Tabletop on the IPAD.
That might well be. From a purely technical perspective, you can re-create almost any electronic music just using an old laptop, any kind of DAW/sequencer and some free plugins. But I don’t think that’s the point.
The question is: do you enjoy making music that way? Does it inspire you?
I don’t want to badmouth the iPad or mobile music making. If this way of creating music feels right for you, then it IS the right way for you.
It’s not about if a cheaper device can do a similar thing as a dedicated instrument – most likely it can. It’s about workflow and if you have fun using this musical tool of yours. And there will be a huge number of people who prefer hardware instruments over touch instruments, even if the latter have the potential to create similar results. It’s about what works better for YOU.
i own an ipad with nearly all premium synth apps, and dm1 and audiobus and 7 month after i bought the ipad, i bought a machinedrum.
and another 5 month later i will buy the analog four 🙂
its not whats possible, its how its possible. a touch device is classes better than a keyboard and mouse interface, especially for music apps.
but actual knobs are so much better then touch and mouse together that it blows any non-dedicated-hardware-device out of the water.
and i really enjoy making music on the ipad and also defend the ipad as a music production plattform in front of some of my friends.
but as i said, NOTHING beats hardware.
even if they would make an ipad dock with an ipad app, and the machinedrum would only be a controller where you could slide the ipad in and cant access the screen anymore and only use the processing power of the ipad together with the machinedrums tiny LCD, i would buy the machinedrum instantly^^
i will most possibly use the ipad as a sampler in my configuration though.
i just love tools that are made for a specific tasks
Let’s see you do it then, rogerdawg, instead of pissing on somebody else’s work and acting like that’s clever.
I like the Elektron gear, how it sounds and what he does with it. I own Tabletop, and it’s no Machinedrum + Analog Four!
I dont think tabletop would do the job either. But two ipads… One with DM1, the other with ipolysix… Now that would be a serious contender. Or… stylishly minimalist- One octatrack loaded with the right samples. Or one EMX, even! Analog four just seems like a complete luxury right now.
Wouldn’t 2 iPads be roughly the same price as an a4? Plus, although you’d get quad outputs you’d have to get a pricier device to record it. You also would have to spend more to get line in external effects and filtering ability. Does the polysix filter and effect or do you have to buy another app? DM1 lets you sample though. I think iPad into analog 4 would be the most fun! 😉
We just need a find a way to get CV into the iPad! 🙂
A, yes i agree!
I dont think tabletop would do the job either. But two ipads… One with DM1, the other with ipolysix… Now that would be a serious contender. Or… stylishly minimalist – One octatrack loaded with the right samples. Or one electribe EMX, even! Analog four just seems like a luxury right now.
Why do all the demos for the analog four sound the same?
Wow. So many things to argue about and take sides about…
Digital (soft synths/apps/whatever) are so much more flexible and powerful in a sense…..
Analogue is fun…sounds like analogue (digital can be close but its still not exactly the same thing)., and gives you more tactile feedback. In a sense thats cool as although I use it, it seems making music with a mouse sometimes seems very removed.
Why criticize either one? Their devices look cool. I personally would rather not invest in a stand alone device and just use LIVE but if you ca afford it and it works for you and inspire you, etc…WTF is the problem?