The electribes are great, very capable and some of the features are excellent, but the main problem is the voice stealing which has never been resolved, I have both the synth version and the sampler and both suffer with dropped voices, weird because the EMX and ESX never had such issues. Still, for the prices you can buy them for they offer a lot of bang for the buck and sound great.
Well thatās weird, I only own the synth version, and I never got to the point where it started dropping voices ā even though I made two EPs and an album using it.
But of course itās a matter of how you use your voices. Were you using lots of chords, lots of polyphonic tracks? I believe 20 voices are no problem, after that it might start to drop some.
To elaborate on my experience with it, there seems to be little logic to what causes it, for example sometimes it can happen in less busy patterns and not in more complex ones, I think it might be related to the sequencer rather than the sound source, or it maybe a combination of factors. I tried turning off the filter and insert fx for parts that did not need them, and using less complex synth types but it can still happen. Full disclosure though the electribes are not a mainstay in my setup, I only use them occasionally often just on their own, so it could be that Iām overlooking something, I guess I should check the firmware too as I have not checked for a few months.
The internal āGroove Templatesā can de-emphasize specific notes in a sequence, maybe in certain contexts it could sound like somethingās dropping outā¦?
Also, I usually set my tracks to āMonoā by default and only use āPolyā when necessary, to avoid said voice limit, which is pretty high for a groove box, but still there.
EDIT: to make things more confusing, you can also assign choke groups and priority to the tracks. I admit I have missed assigned choke groups on my tracks in the past, which resulted in ādropped voicesā until I went to check in the sub-menus and found the two tracks to be choking each other. In my case, user error, not the machineās fault.
With the tribe only? Can you point me to it? Iād love to hear a complete work done on these. I have Mistabishis full-lengther and follow Millolab, which I think is the best example of the Electribe in use on its own. But Iād love to hear your work on it.
Sure! This track is full on grey electribe 2, every single sound except for the vocal taken from an old interview with Duke Ellington, chopped on OT.
The other tracks on the EP use electribe and some, wait for it, rhythm wolf
Then later, in 2016, also loads of electribe 2 and RYTM for beats and sub, but also using a borrowed tt-303 for acid and my mother32 for the spooky high synth:
Non techno album, using electribe for all song demos, later elaborated using OT, RYTM and Mother, TR-8, ableton:
I bought an Electribe 2 a couple of years ago. Returned it to the shop after a week as it was rather lame. Like all of Korgās current products, it was little more than a toy. There was some pretty basic functionality missing from the sequencer. I guess itās not bad as a cheap sketchpad for putting down some ideas outside the studio. I saw someone comparing it to the Tempest in this thread and had to laugh.
I had to return it once because one of the buttons stopped working. Korg replaced the whole motherboard.
But even today, using it much less than three years ago, I wouldnāt sell it.
Itās got one of the quickest workflows and a very usable sound, despite its various shortcomings.
Tempest never tempted me because I knew Iād feel bad carrying 2 grand to every gig. What if someone spills a drink in it? Steals it?
Thatās the thing with doing live sets. Until you get to the point where youāre getting paid in the 3-digit figures itās hard to justify the risk and the hassle.
Well, I do get paid 3 digit figures for performing my music, but my main workhorse is the Octatrack and a mixer, so i already have a 4 digit number on the tableā¦ I envy the Djs who arrive with a usb stick and get 5 digit figures for their appearanceā¦
Where are you based? But yeah DJs without even vinyl is a fucking joke.
ZĆ¼rich, Switzerland. You?
UK. Over here everyone and his dog is making electronic music so itās pretty hard to get exposure as a live act unless you know the right DJs
Thanks! Iāll be sure to check it outš
Thereās an app on iPad called Groove Rider GR-16, which is to all intents and purposes a Korg Electribe. Itās really good.
Yeah I hear youā¦ I ran a night here for three years that would only feature live electronics, just for the reason you mentioned.
UK is hard to get intoā¦ had a couple of gigs in London in the mid noughties, but demand for live sets is centered on novelty acts and hyped namesā¦ what to doā¦
Thanks
Iāve been using quite a bit recently, perfect lunch-time music fix.
In a way itās even better than the Electribe as the edit mode is simpler and more accessible.
Thatās why I started my own night in the endā¦ and even played a set with an Electribe ESX, come to think of it.
Running a club night AND playing live at it.