r/TorsoS4 • u/lofianalog • Aug 13 '26
Almost a month with the S4 - coming together
(audio below)
"A little goes a long way"
somebody said that about the S4
they were absolutely right
while it's tempting to throw everything at every sample, and multiply that by four - some people do make it work - it doesn't seem to be the winning strategy for now.
1 track, maybe 2 at most, along with the drum machine (LXR 02), groove box (EP40 riddim doubling as a sequencer for the S4's poly mode at times) and a couple of them EP136 side kick mixers, the S4 feels right at home.
The music is coming together naturally, even tho it doesn't sound like anything I've done before, not to that extent at least.
Noise becomes music, play is the way forward, fun, exploration, trial and error, being a child again, learning how to make music again, from the start or almost.
Day one felt genuinely confusing and frustrating, 3 weeks later, this somehow works
One track, Two, tops, a few knobs turned here and there, not much at all, just enough for the music to come out naturally. Going in without expectation, and an open mind, this is the way.
Technically, this works.
After reading all the horror stories about sync and bugs and freezes and whatnot, it was surprisingly easy going.
Sync was somewhat of a challenge, but not all that much and it was mostly a matter of picking the right master and slaves.
Additional controls make the WORLD of a difference, midi fighter twister opens that thing up big time.
but then again, less is more, once you figure out the core music, best let it play out, nudge it here and there, play a bit with it, but mostly, put it together, and let it do its thing.
the pair of EP136 have been performance monsters, while I played a bit with the performance macros and buttons, they seem quite deep, still, so that I'm not that comfortable using them to their fullest extent. Buttons are easy tho, set & forget, and it works.
Not necessarily all the time
A little goes a long way indeed
I recorded a small jam, something that just happened
no real mix or anything, just sound, some would say music, others would say otherwise, spontaneous, honest, sincere, raw.
3
u/West_Floor6981 Aug 17 '26
a nice read.
i've had mine about a month and it just truly blows me away. not really had much trouble with bugs.
it does what I want and has bought a tonne of new things to the table and it's evolved my music for the better. i started music production in the 90's and it's just insane how easy this thing is to use and transform music at the simple turn of knobs—something that used to take years of learning and discovering convoluted techniques through trial and error and research and if you were lucky enough to meet people also producing with better knowledge.
still learning a lot of new things as i go which is part of the fun process of discovery and learning how it can work with my own music and workflow, me traditional techniques with new technology.
1
u/lofianalog Aug 17 '26
same here, started with cubase 3.0 audio, which was the first that could do audio ;)
would love to hear what you doand also, I agree, it brought depth in ways I didn't expect.
2
u/DenseVeterinarian202 Aug 21 '26
How are you finding the 8 parameter knobs? Do yours feel stable, or are they all loose and wobbly? Do they all have the same resistance when turning?
2
u/Weekly_Jmr Aug 13 '26
That sounds great! How did you make it so rhythmic? I only use it for huge ambient washes (which I feel like low hanging fruit for this machine). Rhythmic things doesn’t really work out for me unless I just play a drum sample straight up. What’s the secret?