korg electribe

[mrbenn]

Im thinking about investing in some equipment to experiment to start doing a little bit of live P.A.

I dont have alot of cash at the min but I guess I can build up my equipment over time. Any way I've been looking at the electribe series and was wondering if anyone has any experience with them and can shed some light onto 2 what there like to use.

The boxes im looking at are

The Korg Electribe MX (this is the tube valve box that has both drum sequencer & synth)

The Korg ES MKII (sampler)

The Korg EA MKII (Synth Module)

[dan the acid man]

no personal experience but everyone i know who has used them loved them

[Jimfish]

i know dirty bass has a couple of the new sampler ones - he'll be able to tell you all about thier good & bad points im sure :)

[dirty_bass]

The samplers are great.

Only gripe is when formatting smartmedia with the Korg, it puts a limit on the total amount of characters allowed in file names. So if you don`t shorten you file names, then you can`t get everything on you card. Although, I just dump em onto the machine in groups antway.

If you wanna know more them pm me with questions

[xfive]

The samplers are great.

Only gripe is when formatting smartmedia with the Korg, it puts a limit on the total amount of characters allowed in file names. So if you don`t shorten you file names, then you can`t get everything on you card. Although, I just dump em onto the machine in groups antway.

If you wanna know more them pm me with questions

Yeah and you have to have the thing format it itself... I tried formatting DOS format from my powerbook and the esx couldn't read it at all... :/[/i]

[mux]

IMHO:

Stay away from the EM-1 and EM-X. They're limited - the sequencer is nice, but the sounds are static; you can't really do as much with them as the ESX or the ER-1/EA-1 combos. They are really neat, especially if you have no other gear, but if you've already got a studio, or really know your way around software, the "M" boxes get real old, real quick.

[dirty_bass]

Hang on, we are talking about a live PA context here.

Well the esx is great for that.

As for the rest of the electribe stuff
Well Sebastien Marx uses a bunch of them in his live PA and he blitzes people with his live ting. So they`re good in the right hands.

[professor]

I had an EA-1 for about a month (borrowed from a friend who later sold it). It was really fun to play with, and really easy. Some good growling analog-esk noises waiting to pop out of it.
I've been looking for another one, but I think e-bay is my only option for 2nd hand...plus they are CHEEEAAAPPP!

[mux]

Hang on, we are talking about a live PA context here.

Well the esx is great for that.

As for the rest of the electribe stuff
Well Sebastien Marx uses a bunch of them in his live PA and he blitzes people with his live ting. So they`re good in the right hands.

No doubt. The EA-1, ER-1, ES-1 and the "X" versions of the three are *brilliant* gear for live use. I only have a problem with the "M" versions; they're limited to PCM samples of the synths and drums, where the others have actual synth or sample engines.

Don't get me wrong, I love my ER-1, and it gets used in every live set. :) I just wouldn't buy an EM-1.

[RichieV]

maybe i'm a pessimist but i think the electribe series sound like crap .
I thought they were designed for tweakers that can't afford any thing decent. By tweaker i mean whitsle blowing pill popping 16 year olds.

anyways
carry on

[Komplex]

u know that would describe all recent gear, not just the electribes.

but at the same time there are uses for all bits of gear, depending on peoples needs.

i love the es-1, its like a 909 on steroids when u load decent drums into it.

[Evil G]

my first piece of hardware was the EM-1. the sequencer is really easy to use, and it was good for learning on. i don't use it anymore though, as it sounds absolutely terrible next to me "real" synths.

[dirty_bass]

I thought they were designed for tweakers that can't afford any thing decent. By tweaker i mean whitsle blowing pill popping 16 year olds.

anyways
carry on

wow, patronising and condescending.

Really, until you play with something, or get comments of off people who have used the equipment extensively, these kind of opinions don`t really contribute anything usefull.

My advice would be, If you are looking for good and very cheap live PA kit, then you can`t go wrong with the korgs (avoiding the M series).

Believe me, Seb Marx live is truly and insane experience, I poo pooed the electribes as toys until I had him play at my club night. And then he played, and I stood there with a gaping jaw for an hour.

And all those flashing lights impressed the punters too.

[mux]

my first piece of hardware was the EM-1. the sequencer is really easy to use, and it was good for learning on. i don't use it anymore though, as it sounds absolutely terrible next to me "real" synths.

Yo Evil G!

I heard your live-pa at Konvergence was pretty sweet - got a recording I can listen to?

/me waves from over the mountains...

[DJZeMig_L]

It's not just about waht u use but how u use it... electribes can b "grooveboxes" (in the mean sense of the title) or the dogs bollo*ks... it's all up 2 the user.

When I started I used a Roland XP 50 (JV1080 + sequencer+keys+ cubase1.10)... Most people thought I had all the retros and loads of analog gear. If only I knew what I know now I could have donne so much more...

I am a tweaker ... Luv 2 twist a BIG, PHAT, DIRTY KNOB... sorry don't do drugs though... do I still qualify? ;)


Z

[acidchild]

I am a tweaker ... Luv 2 twist a BIG, PHAT, DIRTY KNOB... sorry don't do drugs though... do I still qualify? ;)


Z

I guess this makes me a tweaker too=o] When i had the ER-1, i thought it was one of the best percussion synths ever made, and i still think this! I want to check o ut the new version, see how it differs from the original other than looks. And the price they sell for, you can't go wrong at all. While not good as your ONLY drum machine, as an add on for analogue like drum sounds, it's indispencible (sp?)! Hell, run it thru a filter box (i use the Alesis philtre pedal) and have a damn blast=o] The ES-1 is capable of some great work too. Real time on the fly pattern sequencing of your own samples, unreal!

You know what i wanna see? A sampler than can read MP3s! Imagine sampling at a rate of 256k! For most apps, this rate, or higher would do fine. Unless you need ultra realistic strings or choirs. But for vocal samples, drums hits/loops, think of all the sample time you could have off of just 4 megs. If the ES-1 could read MP3s....ohhh man=o]

[DJZeMig_L]

Ok, my take on this is the older Electribes are a bit limited if u really want 2 make yer sounds, but if u wanna trigger some sounds, learn etc... it's just great and a great value for money as an entry standalone box.

The new ones are far better, and do have a powerfull synth engine! :)

I guess I would still get into the sequencing thru any of these (old or new) and probably most of the drums which sound great for industrial/ electro7 trance sounds!! :)

Still I think I would probably get a MPC1000 for it's price.. ( )

Z

[Evil G]

Yo Evil G!

I heard your live-pa at Konvergence was pretty sweet - got a recording I can listen to?

/me waves from over the mountains...

drew, funny meeting you here! :)

i did record it, but i'm still pretty shy about letting recordings out, cuz i always figure i can do better. i'll pm you with a url.