Its amazing to me that pads seem to be such an afterthought for companies releasing 1000$+ drum machines. When Rytm MK2 came out, I had the first run and it took them many months to revise them and correct the problem, and they were so opaque and hush hush about it. I was sent two replacements from sweetwater and ultimately just had to send one to California for repair, and I don’t believe I ever got a clear explanation, though I now know the data sensor sheets were made too thick and tight. I wonder if the newer s2400s have a hardware revision to make the pads better like Elektron did.
Yeah, pads seem to be done wrong so often. Only pads I’ve used that have felt 100% perfect for me are either Maschine MK3 or Push 2 (never tried push 1). MPC were too stiff for my liking but at least they worked lol.
The Hydrasynth Desktop, SP-404 MK2, and Arturia Minibrute 2s are devices I currently have where the pads just don’t work the way I’d expect and often don’t trigger (for the case of the two synths). SP-404 MKII just isn’t as dynamic as I’d like them to be but I use them with fixed velocity the vast majority of the time and they trigger fine there.
I’m confused. You said he pushed him to the brink…was Mickey not happy there? Did he public state this somewhere ? How do you know this?
Has Mickey left the company ?
The guy was pushed to the limit from demands. So much so he had to have time out. Everybody was after answers to their issues asking for Mickey. Nothing confusing about it??
Finally got mine today, I have not had a chance to use it but it is built like a tank. I cant believe people were able to buy these for less than $1k during preorder, brad must have almost been paying you to get one lol.
3 Likes
Ok, so I have been learning mine this weekend and I have to say this might be my favorite piece of gear in my entire studio already. I sometimes think about what I would grab if my studio caught on fire and I had to take just one thing and I think I finally made my decision lol. It really sounds great.
It makes me want to buy a turntable and find some old records and sit in the corner of my studio sampling all day :-).
5 Likes
I feel the same way. Had it for a few months now and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had making music. Have been completely neglecting all my other gear and even put my AR Mk2 up for sale. Funny you mention your idea of getting a turntable because it also got me to start a record collection for the same reason. I had a turntable and a few records that I rarely used. Now they’re set up right next to the S2400. What I love most about it:
Sounds amazing
Fantastic build quality
Fast, intuitive and super fun workflow
Very easy to learn and get muscle memory down (every function is well thought out and fast: sampling, copy pasting pads, bouncing tracks, record mode, step editor, undo/redo, time stretching, song mode, etc)
Can function as a sound card
USB sampling and audio recording from PC
Massive SD card storage
My only complaints were the inconsistent mute/solo buttons, and pads were way too sensitive out of the box (adjustable though). I’m also really hoping Isla follow through with their daughter card expansion idea. Imo, that would make it the greatest sampler ever.
2 Likes
The daughter card wont happen as for the next two years hes doing another project. We asked him at the beginning and bit by bit it became an awkward question that he didnt want to talk about. Careful with the select encoder. A few peeps are starting to have issues as theres only one hex screw holding it in place.
That’s a shame. Any idea what the new project could be?
Good to know since I use that encoder for everything. I know you can use the faders for stuff like waveform editing, but I haven’t gotten used to it yet.
They have a video on YouTube with what they are doing but they bought a huge lot of synthesizers from a collection and are planning on restoring them all. They are doing this mainly because the chip shortage has made making the S2400 hard to produce so they are doing a slight pivot until (hopefully) the world isn’t on as much fire as it has been.
Btw, what’s the daughter card thing?
1 Like
Yes its the most used button. The screw works its way loose and then you cant depress the switch anymore.
1 Like
To be fair, what he’s got his into his warehouse is pretty mind-blowing… suspect it may take more than a couple of years to deal with what he’s managed to get his hands on 
4 Likes
On gearspace, the owner briefly mentioned an FX/filter add-on card that would be discounted for existing owners.
1 Like
Yep, really close to being the greatest sampler ever. You also forgot ‘can function as a looper’ 
I wouldnt discount the daughter cards, in the instagram video where he said s2400 production was on pause he said they were still working an a few other s2400 related hardware projects.
2 Likes
Brad hearted a comment that asked if they still had plans for an FX board. 
2 Likes
I’m guessing he may be getting into the sample pack game?
1 Like
Did this happen recently or a sometime last year? Mickey’s activity listing on the Isla Instruments forum shows him responding an average of a bit over once a day through, Jan and Feb then slowing in March to in bit over once every three days.
1 Like
This was last year. The mods made a statemrnt to the community to stop putting so much pressure on him. Honestly i felt sorry for the guy. Even more so his wife was seriously ill in hospital and he hadnt the money to pay for the operation she needed.(so he had a small crowdfunding scheme set up selling some paintings). Whether he hangs around im not sure but he was put under extreme pressure and had to have some time out. It not Brads fault as he ran it on a shoestring and a lot of the developers time was paid in goodwill.
I expect it was the same with the KordBot. The old developer for that jumped ship and the replacement hasn’t provided the goods. The sequencer will never appear. :’(
I didnt know this. I found out after purchasing the S2400 that a lot of kordbot folk were unhappy with things.