Korg electribe

[alexstringer]

My friend bought the EMX1. I tried it yesterday, it's freaking awesome!
It's the 1st time i hear a piece of hardware with good demo presets.
I was impressed...and i want one.

[Ricey]

i tried one recently and feel exactly the same way! it's on the short list thumbsup

[iggloo]

The EMX1 is amazing and the only machine made with 'that' great interface. The arp on it is probably 1 of the best in the sense of it being unique from other arps made...BUT...Here is the very bad news=
I finally got the tech support guy at Korg USA to actually admit to me yesterday in an email that the 'knob jitter' problem is in fact now a recognised problem with 3/4 of the machines made and he said that the 2 bug fixes do not fix this. When I pushed further as to ask what would happen if I bought 10 more of these units (for my Art/Sound Collective) and they were dodgy, what could he do?...and all he could say was that he would be willing to work with me on the problem.
I already own all of the Electribe series made and my EMX is fine so far and the guy at Korg USA has at least 'sort of implied' that he will help if I get further problems but my girlfriends one carries the jitter bug and Korg UK (she lives in Edinburgh) have ignored all her emails and 'recorded delivery' posted Complaint letters.

Now, with all this in mind this could mean 1 of 2 things if you get a dodgy one.
A/ A new unit will be supplied (probably more so if based in the USA - even though many replacements have the same problem and getting another one is a very stressfull experience. Read the Korg forums!)
B/ or not supplied (tech support will always usually make it an uneasy task ,regardless)

I am so bummed out by all this lack of respect the groovebox market often get (especially from Roland, occ. Yamaha, it's not like Korg to be this way)

Lastly, most people who debate this issue say that Electribe knob jitter is definately not fixable by a software version upgrade and that a new machine is needed and this is why Korg are ignoring most complaints...WELL...I do not choose to accept that as the Alesis Andromeda A6 had a knob jitter problem which was cured in a version upgrade (V1.40.09)
http://www.alesis.com/downloads/software/A6/A6NOTES.PDF

[lampmeister]

That really sucks badly.

So does the ER1 MK1 suffer jitter noise too? I hope not as I've got one in the post on the way to me!

You're girlfriend has an Electribe too? Man, I'm dating the wrong sort of girls!

[IntrepidFellow]

it depends on who you shop with.
I dont know how it works in the states, but if you get a dodgey instrument here in europe you return it to the retailer, and he deals with the manufacturer - what you get is a new unit, or they'll repair it if possible.


that, or a refund.


still - its a pain in the arse, but at least you shouldnt be stuck with a faulty unit - regardless of Korg's policies, thats the retailers problem.


I got an ea-1 & es-1 for a song just recently, in the mail!

[mathstatic]

They are fun when they work. I have seen some much korg kit go down recently.. I dont know what the deal is. The d/a converters suck a big one... I like step sequencing?

[pjplayer]

i have an ea1 and er1, both mk I. never noticed a problem with either, but then i don't actually know what "knob jitter" is.

[Aiyn Zahav]

No jitter on mine, and its for sale too!

Along with a demo I created myself
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/gears...mx-london.html

got pics too I can email them 2 u

[shadowfac]

I have an ER-1 and ES-1 (which is pretty beaten up), and I've never had any problem such as knob jitter with them. I will eventually buy an EA-1 so I can have the whole set of mk1's.

[The Architecture]

Yea I have had my unit for 2 years, and have had no problem with the knob jitter issue what so ever.

Its the EMX-1, and it is the most valuable peice of equipment that I have in my setup. Its an inspiration machine.

[The Architecture]

I have had the ER-1 and the EA-1, which I sold to get my EMX-1. So far I have not looked back one bit. Once you get your head around it, you can do soo much more that the EA-1 wishes it could do.

I have an ES-1 as well, and call me wierd, but I prefer the bit crusher on my EMX-1, it seems to handle loads of different sounds per buss much better than the ES-1. With the ES-1, it too destructive, and you have to kind of baby it, from what I can remember. Its not with me right now since its back in my Phoenix studio.

btw, here's a song that I made that is mostly EMX-1, with a little JD990 and some samples of me through a vocoder. Technology High, created by Architecture and presented through ACIDplanet.com

[d1rtynyc]

I really love the ribbon and fader control on the these.
I think that would be a great thing to have to control all my gear.

Has anyone out there used these two controls to control external gear or to input midi to a DAW? If so how did you do it???

[alchey]

I recently picked up the EMX and its a load of fun!

Can anyone suggest a good compressor to strap across it for live shows? It really needs to be tamed, and the onboard compressor effect sucks my balls.

I was thinking FMR RNC or maybe a DBX 166xl..

I need something cheap, it doesn't have to sounds 'tranparent' or pristine. Dirty and slammin' is fine by me.

D

[ilovemusic]

I have an ES-1.. awesome box with great effects and charming limited sound, however it's unuseable when slaved to a MIDI master because it is so unstable

[Reptil]

Originally Posted by ilovemusic

I have an ES-1.. awesome box with great effects and charming limited sound, however it's unuseable when slaved to a MIDI master because it is so unstable

hmm mine isn't?
the Jomox runs asynchronous much faster.

did you try directly from another seqencer, or through a midi interface? if so, that might be the problem.


no jitter either. is that maybe specific problem for the second series? the Xs?

[Aiyn Zahav]

It is alot of fun, but it also takes time, planning and patience.

This mp3 is a perfect example, I'm not all that used to working with patterns, so as you will be able to hear its quite choppy and really I should have made 2 patterns for each pattern I have made, one for intro and one for outro.

Also if you have different effects or synth parts on different patterns it will be noticeable as you can hear, however it handles it quite admirably compared to the Roland D2 I used to have.

Its limitations I find really drive me to be more creative. I don't know if I would have come up with this idea on a computer or something.

The tune is called Ryu Vs Ryu

Its one of the tunes on the Street fighter II manga, one I really liked, where Ryu is training with Ken, but actually its all a memory of Ryu's thus its an internal conflict, thus Ryu Vs Ryu, who will win? I need some good Shareokin!! and maybe a Hadooken! sample?

One thing I will say is that you can get a tune started in seconds, but perfecting it takes time and really takes it out of me, so this is basically a rough version.

[Aiyn Zahav]

does anybody recognize the tune though?

[shadowfac]

Originally Posted by DivineChemical

Alesis 3630!

Are you serious (sometimes I can't tell). I'm asking because I also need a cheap compressor/limiter for live stuff, just to avoid nasty peaks.

I used to have a 3630 many years ago, but I rarely used it and traded it for a unregistered copy of Cakewalk Sonar (which I've been using ever since). But back then I was making studio-only stuff and used plugins to compress the final mix.

[alchey]

I thought the funny face there made it pretty clear he was jokingly only half serious. e

I should probably just go with the RNC... for the price point I really can't see anything else thats going to kick its ass.

[thehuman]

I'm curious if the drum sounds on the EMX are any better than they were on the ER-1 mkii? I used to have the mkii, and I found it entirely useless for drum sounds. Great for quirky stuff, but it just didn't fulfill any need for solid drums.

How do you guys feel about the drum sounds? I would really like to get a decent outboard drum machine, so I don't always have to fire up the PC for simple drum sequences.

[alchey]

Originally Posted by thehuman

I'm curious if the drum sounds on the EMX are any better than they were on the ER-1 mkii? I used to have the mkii, and I found it entirely useless for drum sounds. Great for quirky stuff, but it just didn't fulfill any need for solid drums.

How do you guys feel about the drum sounds? I would really like to get a decent outboard drum machine, so I don't always have to fire up the PC for simple drum sequences.

Its alright for drum sounds... theres some stuff thats good and some thats not so good... For techno/house music I dig it and its useable.. but it would be a lot nicer if I could load in my own samples a la ESX... but then I wouldn't have 5 synth parts, which I use for midi out to control sequences on my virus b...

It really needs some outboard though... like, when I record it into my computer and throw some compression, eq and a nice reverb on the stereo out it sounds pretty good, on it own though its a bit aggressive sounding in the upper register.

D

[thehuman]

Originally Posted by DivineChemical

If you just want a dedicated outboard drum machine that you're going to love until the sun goes out, get an MPC.

That's actually what I have been looking at: the MPC 1000. I have never used one, though, and even after watching tons of videos and doing lots of reading on it, I'm still not quite sure if it's what I'm looking for. I may just order one, test it out, and if I don't like it, send it back for a refund minus shipping costs.

To be quite honest, though, I'm a little turned off by how geared towards hip hop it seems to be. I haven't seen a single demo anywhere using it for any kind of electronic music. I realize how stupid that sounds, and that it depends on what samples you feed it, but it would be nice to see someone using in an electronic setting...

Anyway, I don't want to steal the thread from the focus of Electribes. Thanks for the input.

[thehuman]

Originally Posted by DivineChemical

I only began to take the thought of getting one seriously when I decided I didn't want a computer involved in the musical process anymore.

That's about where I stand right now. I feel like I was a lot more productive back in the days when I just using a cheap GM keyboard and an SR-16. The results certainly weren't as hi-quality, but I was more creative without the PC.

Anyway, you should send your resume to Akai, because I think you just sold an MPC 1000. If I don't like it, I can always return it. God bless 45-day money back guarantees. Thanks a lot for your help!

[The Architecture]

Thats what I wish my MPC2000XL had, a step sequencer. Its great for hip-hop production, but for say sequencing Techno/Trance drum kits, it doesn't do great at, you need a step sequencer to get crazy with that

I still want an Rmx-1. which I plan to get when I get some extra money here soon.

[rachel]

I bought an EA-1 very cheap about a month ago. I haven't set it up to try it yet as I
have my microkorg plugged in to the ports for my project. Do these 2 instruments overlap?

The EA-1 is a 2 osc monosynth but it's the same engine as Microkorg - am I correct?
I have been using the MK for arpeggiated stuff, maybe the EA-1 is better for that..... I had
my MC-303 plugged in for a while, I don't like that one much as it is a bit "obtuse" for
a groovebox. I want something immediate, not a multi menu box...


rachel

[shadowfac]

Originally Posted by rachel

I bought an EA-1 very cheap about a month ago. I haven't set it up to try it yet as I
have my microkorg plugged in to the ports for my project. Do these 2 instruments overlap?

There may be a little overlap, but keep in mind that the EA-1 has a much limited architecture and is dual-monophonic, so you can use it for the simpler sounds (bass, bleeps, simple leads, etc) and use the microKorg for the more complex sounds (pads, effects). Also, the EA-1 can do a few things the microKorg can't, such as ring modulation and decimation, plus the extra fun electribe sequencer. I think both are worth having; in fact, I have an MS2000R and still want an EA-1.

[DGTom]

I had an ER-1 mkII for a little while, saw it cheap in a pawn store & figured 'why not' as I've been hunting for something to sit next to my MPC.
I liked having a box with four sine wave gens in it & it sounded great thru my Radial + ULN2, but, the clock was preeety sloppy.
The seq was really good to program which is a shame as there was alot of drift which made it kinda useless for me.

[Dj Pound]

I love the EMX.......I cant say that enough.

[Popbott]

ESX-1 owner here. Loading samples into this thing is a breeze, it's a great sub for my ASR-10r for live use. Got it cheap on Craigslist and in great condition.

[tysonviolin]

Originally Posted by iggloo

The EMX1 is amazing and the only machine made with 'that' great interface. The arp on it is probably 1 of the best in the sense of it being unique from other arps made...BUT...Here is the very bad news=
I finally got the tech support guy at Korg USA to actually admit to me yesterday in an email that the 'knob jitter' problem is in fact now a recognised problem with 3/4 of the machines made and he said that the 2 bug fixes do not fix this. When I pushed further as to ask what would happen if I bought 10 more of these units (for my Art/Sound Collective) and they were dodgy, what could he do?...and all he could say was that he would be willing to work with me on the problem.
I already own all of the Electribe series made and my EMX is fine so far and the guy at Korg USA has at least 'sort of implied' that he will help if I get further problems but my girlfriends one carries the jitter bug and Korg UK (she lives in Edinburgh) have ignored all her emails and 'recorded delivery' posted Complaint letters.

Now, with all this in mind this could mean 1 of 2 things if you get a dodgy one.
A/ A new unit will be supplied (probably more so if based in the USA - even though many replacements have the same problem and getting another one is a very stressfull experience. Read the Korg forums!)
B/ or not supplied (tech support will always usually make it an uneasy task ,regardless)

I am so bummed out by all this lack of respect the groovebox market often get (especially from Roland, occ. Yamaha, it's not like Korg to be this way)

Lastly, most people who debate this issue say that Electribe knob jitter is definately not fixable by a software version upgrade and that a new machine is needed and this is why Korg are ignoring most complaints...WELL...I do not choose to accept that as the Alesis Andromeda A6 had a knob jitter problem which was cured in a version upgrade (V1.40.09)
Search

Thanks for the info.... My EMX DEFINITELY has the knob jitter issue. I just thought it was a piece of crap. I do love the way it sounds though.