Elektron is an electronic instrument company based out of Sweden that has been putting the soul into electronic music since 1998. They believe that making music should be fun, and that there’s nothing quite as fun as playing with a physical instrument.
Their products combine cutting-edge technology with an incredible user interface designed with a musician’s eye for playability, ready for the studio or the stage right out of the box. Each Elektron product is easy to pick up and start making cool noises with, but with practice they become powerfully expressive and individual to each person’s playing style. With each product, they strive to create a new classic, a timeless instrument that will outlive its moment of ‘newness’ and still be relevant for years to come. The legendary Elektron Machinedrum (originally released in 2001) is the world’s premier drum machine, still in production and highly sought after a decade plus.
REVIEW — Analog Four – $1149
The Analog Four combines old warmth and new control and puts it all into one sleek, travel-sized box. It has two analog oscillators and two sub-oscillators, with an additional noise oscillator per voice. Each oscillator then runs through two separate analog filters and then into an analog overdrive circuit that ranges from slightly warm to volcano obliteration. All of this then runs into the Analog Four’s FX section containing the Wideshift Chorus, Saturator Delay, and Supervoid Reverb, each constructed from the ground up to work perfectly with analog sound. Controlling all of this is Elektron’s critically acclaimed step sequencer, which gives precise control over synth and FX parameters with the added bonus that it sends CV/Gate signals that can be used to control any other hardware that’s lying around. The Analog Four also has intense modulation capabilities with LFOs, envelopes, AM cross-modulation, and oscillator sync. The digital brain of the Analog Four makes saving/recalling patches a breeze, and can even automate patch changes mid sequence. Put it all together and you have the Analog Four, one of most impressive and inspiring synthesizers in recent memory, perfect for those looking to experiment with new sounds or for those who know exactly what they want; with the Analog Four, the possibilities are endless.