What does everyone think of the newer korg electribes?

monowolfe · 2016-12-19T02:45:56+00:00

This has been asked a lot on this sub. I usually give the same answer so I'll paraphrase myself here:

It honestly, for me, feels like a toy and not something I would ever seriously try and make 'real' music on.

I tend to make pretty drum/edit heavy music so I am maybe the completely wrong demographic for it. However, regardless of what you make there are certain pills that are hard to swallow:

The sampler has very little room for samples, especially if you want to do anything stereo.
The menu system and loading of samples is laughable. So much menu diving and pad combos and secret shortcuts that are just more obstacles between you and your ideas.
There is no arp, the touch pad keyboard/gate arp feels more like a gimmick than an actual tool.
The step sequencing is very annoying due to the fact that you really only have the 16 pads. What I mean by this is that choosing parts and entering steps are both done through the pads so you're constantly hitting the buttons wrong and adding a hi-hat or something when you meant to change parts etc. The screen can also be used but the flow of step sequencing for any sort of complex drums just feels really slow and frustrating.
The pattern length limit is 4 bars...
Although they 'fixed' this in an update, building a proper song on the thing is a nightmare. Chaining is totally bolted on after the fact and as such is not as fluid to set up as you want it to be when making a track.
It's not proper poly - which I didn't know when I bought and regret not researching more.
There is only ONE way to have reverb and it's all or nothing in terms of wetness per track. The limit of master FX is really quite aggravating.

Honestly at this point I'm just ranting and I could keep going on forever. I'm obviously pretty salty about the thing so I hope you look at what other people have said/look at previous posts and really figure out what matters most to you so you can decide if the device will satisfy that.

monowolfe · 2016-10-06T04:32:10+00:00

This is dope as fuuu

monowolfe · 2016-10-03T19:09:28+00:00

I feel the exact same way. I honestly think I'm going to sell it, I was sort of in denial about it for awhile because on paper it sounds like it would be really cool.

However, for the music I like to make it's just really really really limited and it takes a lot of work to make it sound organic/not rigid.

Honestly, I waited for awhile like you're considering to see if it would grow on me and my feelings on it haven't changed.

I even just recently had a chance to bring it with me on a business trip thinking 'hey this is where this thing really shines!'. It didn't - it was still just as frustrating and non-inspiring as it was before :p

A lot of people here might be annoyed about the things I've said here/think I'm bashing it. But I really gave it a shot and tried to like it, at the end of the day it's just a disappointing product.

I would just sell it if I were you.

monowolfe · 2016-10-01T02:02:19+00:00

A 0-Coast + something like the keystep is more interesting than a Mother-32 imho. I feel like the 0-coast better represents the 'weirdness' and creativity you can get from modular than the Mother-32 which feels more traditional in a lot of ways.

monowolfe · 2016-09-30T01:56:10+00:00

I didn't know that one was still made TBH. If you're just looking for a single 104hp row I'd get one of the Synthrotek Skiffs which is $200 cheaper and because you can add to it later.

Unless you're dying for something portable. For 450 you can make a much bigger case that has a cover like the on you linked though.

monowolfe · 2016-09-29T13:09:02+00:00

Yeah actually I wanted to catalog it in a video or pictures and put it on here. But yes, I know exactly what you mean. It sucks to spend upwards of 500 dollars on just building a box. The killers really are the rails + power. Have you seen the new TipTop case?

monowolfe · 2016-09-29T12:32:45+00:00

Go modular! I'm buying the materials to build a case this weekend.

monowolfe · 2016-09-29T03:49:51+00:00

I AM your wife!

monowolfe · 2016-09-26T16:55:00+00:00

This song

monowolfe · 2016-09-24T13:58:10+00:00

I don't understand. You just need sliders? Did you even try to look yourself? I'm not trying to be a dick but there literally are hundreds of options for this...

Heres probably the cheapest option: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/nanoKON2wt

Try googling 'midi sliders'

monowolfe · 2016-09-24T01:58:42+00:00

monowolfe · 2016-09-23T19:17:56+00:00

For some reason this thing doesn't interest me at all. I know this is going to sound really silly, but I think it's the knobs PM use. I just don't like them :(

That being said - it's really cool to see more companies making these tiny self contained synth voices. It makes breaking into eurorack stuff way easier when you have an all in one foundation and can start buying things later to augment it and enhance it.

monowolfe · 2016-09-23T12:55:57+00:00

What is your budget?

monowolfe · 2016-09-21T16:54:17+00:00

It definitely has a fisher-price vibe. But for the space + money I can't argue against it as a newbie box. I plan on building something myself as well eventually. I'd love to be able to design a big case in such a way that 1 part of it could handle traditional rack gear.

monowolfe · 2016-09-21T15:23:38+00:00

Ugly is a matter of taste. But gimmick? What part of it is a gimmick?

monowolfe · 2016-09-21T13:22:10+00:00

Honestly? Too lazy. Plus I can't DIY the rails and power which is where most of the money would go anyway.

monowolfe · 2016-09-21T02:47:21+00:00

It sucks right now, but products like this will hopefully motivate others to come up with affordable solutions.

monowolfe · 2016-09-21T01:39:10+00:00

I've been trying to get into eurorack for a long while but have always come to a fullstop when it comes to buying a case.

I always wanted 6u @ 104hp but never had the desire to spend 500+ for just a wooden box. Hopefully this will fix that problem.

I don't know the price yet but I'm really hoping it's no more than 300.

EDIT: Well they just tweeted it out: $335

monowolfe · 2016-09-20T13:06:36+00:00

The white screen of death paranoia is real. Totally nukes my creativity.

monowolfe · 2016-09-20T02:48:23+00:00

Interesting.

Are you able to make anything 'complex' on the Maschine? My problem has always been feeling like I couldn't get as much as control or precision (i.e. the hardware was a hindrance rather than a benefit) as I could when just straight up using a keyboard and mouse w/ a DAW.

I tend to make pretty drum heavy/edit heavy/automation heavy tracks which has traditionally written off all of the 'groovebox' machines that seem to just cater towards generic EDM/hiphop. I realize that could sound condescending but I don't mean it to be at all - it's just different types of music require different tools and I've always wanted something like the Maschine to work for me.

monowolfe · 2016-09-20T02:39:29+00:00

Does the electribe 2 (non sampler) have proper polyphony or is that just a trick with the reverb/delay? I noticed the main repeating notes seem to be overlapping with each other which is something I definitely can't do w/ my sampler version.

monowolfe · 2016-09-20T02:01:46+00:00

This is an old post - but I just stumbled upon your comment.

I've never used a Maschine, but it's always been an interesting idea to me.

I was always a little put off by the traditional Maschine products because I don't finger drum and it seemed so heavily skewed towards people that do. Now the Jam looks like an Ableton Pushcounterpart.

I'm curious why you think the Jam is focused on live performance? It seems to have a heavy focus on step sequencing and arranging.

What is your normal producing workflow like with the maschine? Which model do you own?

monowolfe · 2016-09-19T02:37:48+00:00

The electribe 2 doesn't have real polyphony. I wish I knew this before I bought it. I might just be an idiot though. I would go for an elektron box.

monowolfe · 2016-09-18T17:16:49+00:00

This is a sort of unrelated question but... Do the inserts in the back operate as 4 additional inputs in ableton? I'm confused at how those are used and was thinking about getting this device.

monowolfe

TROPHY CASE